Telescope recommendations needed please ?

[Rob Sellent]

5 hours ago, PhoTenix said:

I spotted the Philip's guide to stargazing which shows monthly. Is this a good buy to start with?

You'd do better downloading the free planetarium, Stellarium and play around with its settings and read through something like this each month.

I've had a thought and although I agree with pretty much all the advice in this thread, I think @happy-kat has hit the proverbial nail on its head. Save your budget. By the time you've priced in postage costs, basic accessories, along with a scope and mount, a total budget of £150 isn't going to go far.

The good news is the stars and planets aren't going anywhere soon. If they're not visiable now, they'll soon be back. In the meantime, you could learn the winter and autumn constellations visible from your site, and if you fancied, following the insight and advice from Binocular Sky (also a member here on SGL), get a nice set of binos to go just a little deeper and see a little more 

Edited October 3, 2019 by Rob Sellent

[joe aguiar]

6 hours ago, PhoTenix said:

My thinking was that I'll check what's on the FLO site, then have a look around secondhand for the same ones. 

I have found a few the same so far but am checking condition, use etc. 

With ebay I have a certain amount of guarantee against anything that's damaged or doesn't work. That's why I'll only buy secondhand from there. 

Does this sound like a sensible plan ? ☺️

Yes we understand about u getting some guaranteed it has missing parts or broken it's not about that.

There are some scopes there which are brand new in box that the quality and parts like mirror are really cheap that as soon u go above 100 x power it's never clear.

This has been talked about for years since we first saw these scope and talked about, since the early 2000's.

As an example some if the good quality brands selling a 4.5" reflector with eq for $169 usd

Then comes these new guys selling same size with their name brand logo for $49  for the whole package. He had thousands of buyers.

I guess new people just bought cause price.

Biggest thing I saw at that time was shipping from 1st guy was 49 and shipping from cheap guy was 89. So 2nd was doubling up on shipping to make up for low price.

2nd thing was 1st guys scopes was parabolic mirror which is lot better and more expensive to make. 2nd  guys mirror was spherical mirror which is cheaper and with Barlow in focuser.

1000s posts were made after telling people about buying these cheap scope and alot new people found out hard way u get what u pay for

So it's not about broken it about knowing what's good quality or bad quality.

Edited October 3, 2019 by joe aguiar

[joe aguiar]

For ex if u buy the same size reflectors lets say 5 inch the parabolic mirror costs 70 cdn more then the spherical mirror

[PhoTenix]

6 hours ago, Rob Sellent said:

You'd do better downloading the free planetarium, Stellarium and play around with its settings and read through something like this each month.

I've had a thought and although I agree with pretty much all the advice in this thread, I think @happy-kat has hit the proverbial nail on its head. Save your budget. By the time you've priced in postage costs, basic accessories, along with a scope and mount, a total budget of £150 isn't going to go far.

The good news is the stars and planets aren't going anywhere soon. If they're not visiable now, they'll soon be back. In the meantime, you could learn the winter and autumn constellations visible from your site, and if you fancied, following the insight and advice from Binocular Sky (also a member here on SGL), get a nice set of binos to go just a little deeper and see a little more 

Thanks for the literature advice Rob. That's brilliant. 

 

On ebay some of the scopes are going for roughly 47.00 - 80.00 for the same ones that FLO are selling, making them half price or less ! Should I not trust the ones that FLO sells  ?

[johninderby]

Not clear if you mean FLO is cheaper or more expensive than eBay. 🤔

 

Edited October 3, 2019 by johninderby

[PhoTenix]

9 hours ago, happy-kat said:

Why not save your budget towards the telescope at this stage and instead sign up for the free monthly newsletter from Binoculaysky website as it provides interesting things to see.

Thanks. I'll definitely sign up for that ☺️

Edited October 3, 2019 by PhoTenix

[PhoTenix]

4 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Not clear if you mean FLO is cheaper or more expensive than eBay. 🤔

 

FLO is more expensive as theirs are new, but on Ebay they have the same ones used going for less with the same spec etc. 

I will ask about any fungus or scratches on mirrors etc too which I didnt know about before. ☺️

[PhoTenix]

I guess my issue is that without buying a scope, I have no way of learning about how they work or practicing with one. 

I can't attend meetings etc so it's really  a case of jumping in and buying one ! 😶

[johninderby]

If buying a scope on eBay I would want to see if it is actually as described and collect the scope then you can cancel the sale if it’s not as described. 

Buying from Astrobuysell or SGL is so much safer as no one minds letting you look before ypu buy or even pop over and have a look through the scope first.

Edited October 3, 2019 by johninderby

[PhoTenix]

1 minute ago, johninderby said:

If buying a scope on eBay I would want to have a look at it first to see if it is actually as described. 

Buying from Astrobuysell or SGL is so much safer as no one minds letting you look before ypu buy or even pop over and have a look through the scope first.

I'd love to be in a position to do that, but am disabled without transport, and most of them are far away 😕

[johninderby]

If you are seriously considering buying a scope off eBay then post a link here so a few SGL members can take a look at the listing and give their opinion.

Edited October 3, 2019 by johninderby

[DaveL59]

23 minutes ago, PhoTenix said:

I'd love to be in a position to do that, but am disabled without transport, and most of them are far away 😕

only thing in that case would be how well its packaged up and then the carrier handling it "nicely". Any loose items in the package might find their way into the OTA and damage the mirror, or for a refractor the main objective. Assuming the seller has the original packaging it was shipped in you might be ok but it does increase the risk. Disputing condition when it arrives makes it your word against theirs etc. Bear in mind that a scope plus tripod is large and heavy, not to mention the OTA can be quite long (1m) so shipping may not be cheap. Insured shipping may not cover any optical gear either. Given that, best to get a quote from the seller first then decide, might be better to go new from FLO or another where you'll have warranty if it gets damaged in transit.

Where are you based tho? could be worth waiting until something nearby comes up, all but the TAL100RS I was lucky to find not so far away, that one was a v long round trip but one I felt was worth making.

Edited October 3, 2019 by DaveL59

[fozzybear]

If I was to sell any of my equipment (not that I am in a position to do) I would advertise here on SGL not ebay . Would not Buy from Ebay unless I knew the seller from SGL recommendations. So as @johninderby     post what you are looking at on Ebay. Here then an honest valuation if good/bad at the end of the day it is your money spent well or bad. (not that I have a problem about ebay as buy stuff from the site but this is specialised equipment with a lot of TLC, People looking after their equipment or someone after a quick buck...)

[PhoTenix]

30 minutes ago, johninderby said:

If you are seriously considering buying a scope off eBay then post a link here so a few SGL members can take a look at the listing and give their opinion.

Ok thank you. That's much appreciated ☺️  

[PhoTenix]

12 minutes ago, DaveL59 said:

only thing in that case would be how well its packaged up and then the carrier handling it "nicely". Any loose items in the package might find their way into the OTA and damage the mirror, or for a refractor the main objective. Assuming the seller has the original packaging it was shipped in you might be ok but it does increase the risk. Disputing condition when it arrives makes it your word against theirs etc. Bear in mind that a scope plus tripod is large and heavy, not to mention the OTA can be quite long (1m) so shipping may not be cheap. Insured shipping may not cover any optical gear either. Given that, best to get a quote from the seller first then decide, might be better to go new from FLO or another where you'll have warranty if it gets damaged in transit.

Where are you based tho? could be worth waiting until something nearby comes up, all but the TAL100RS I was lucky to find not so far away, that one was a v long round trip but one I felt was worth making.

Thanks for the advice. I'm in Bristol ☺️

[PhoTenix]

I'm looking at this right now ! 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F153663511382

[fozzybear]

12 minutes ago, PhoTenix said:

I'm looking at this right now ! 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F153663511382

obvious error finder scope wrong way round  220 quid new 120 quid max.. or 130

Edited October 3, 2019 by fozzybear

[DaveL59]

see that so often lol

Otherwise, probably a nice scope but I've no experience of the dobs. Quite a way from you tho. Depends how much of a hurry you're in really, some decent binos might help tide you over till something more local turns up, perhaps. You can pick up good 10x50 waterproof porro's for good money from time to time, I landed a pair of minolta's that were under £25 and mint, for example.

[fozzybear]

Returns refused by seller be carefull as if Glass broken not covered by shipper.. well here in France, do not know  about UK shippers?

[John]

The starting prices on e.bay are sometimes very low but the bidding usually carries the final price up to, or sometimes beyond, the used market price. The scope you have linked to is a decent one but it almost certainly won't go for £49 - by the time the bidding has ended, the final price will be similar to the figures that fozzybear has quoted I expect, possibly a bit more.

Due to your transport situation, I assume you are planning to get the scope delivered to you ? That scope is collection only from Torpoint.

 

 

 

 

[happy-kat]

Depending on your personal situation things to consider might be observing position. It might be easier to observe if the eyepiece is positioned at the bottom of the telescope as this makes it moved around less then day a telescope has the eyepiece on the top side. Reflectors are on the top side whereas mak, sct and refractors are at the bottom. I like to sit to observe and using a telescope with the eyepiece at the bottom has the edge on comfort. 

[Rob Sellent]

1 hour ago, PhoTenix said:

Thanks for the advice. I'm in Bristol

Wow, Bristol...home of Bansky, Massive Attack, Tricky, Portishead, Gloucester Road, Park Street, Montpelier, Stocks Croft, open farms, amazing cafés, bars and people. That whole area (Somerset, Avon) is one of my favourites in the whole of all my travels around the UK. I haven't lived in England for getting on for 30 years, but fond memories, or the gradual disappearence of them live on.

1 hour ago, PhoTenix said:

I...am disabled without transport, and most of them are far away

It might be tricky for you but it might be an idea to drop a line to BAS in Bristol and ask to attend one of their open nights? I'm sure you'll find really friendly folk who can show you their scopes and you'll be able to get a feel of them and the kind of things you'll be able to see? If I'm not mistaken, @Johnis a member and is also one of the most respected visual observers not only in the UK but in the English speaking world.

[PhoTenix]

1 hour ago, fozzybear said:

obvious error finder scope wrong way round  220 quid new 120 quid max.. or 130

I'm not sure what you mean ! 

[PhoTenix]

1 hour ago, John said:

The starting prices on e.bay are sometimes very low but the bidding usually carries the final price up to, or sometimes beyond, the used market price. The scope you have linked to is a decent one but it almost certainly won't go for £49 - by the time the bidding has ended, the final price will be similar to the figures that fozzybear has quoted I expect, possibly a bit more.

Due to your transport situation, I assume you are planning to get the scope delivered to you ? That scope is collection only from Torpoint.

 

 

 

 

My son lives near Torpoint, so was going to get him to collect it as he's coming up soon and could bring it with him.

[DaveL59]

you often see pics on the bay where the little finder scope is fitted pointing the opposite way from which it should be. The finder should be the other way round from what's shown in that pic 

Edited October 3, 2019 by DaveL59