Good evening to all

[ZOG]

Hi mick and welcome to SGL, as has been suggested previously the 130 and 150pm scopes are great starter scopes and will give you loads of pleasure, but can I throw a spanner into the works and suggest that, unless you desperatley want to get into photography, and given your knowledge of the sky, for a little extra outlay, this,

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=dobsky200

Has more aperture and will give better views. Investing in optics rather than technology could be the way forward for you.

[ron.s.g]

Hi Mick and welcome,

have you looked at the for sale section on here yet as some good scopes come up for sale.

regards ron.s.g

[ldd55uk]

now Zog, that is a lovely scope and has a camera connection. Now this is the problem i am having wth looking for a replacement for the old Toy Tasco. I knew this would never be easy because of the amount of scopes on the market and even though there are 3 types the choice is amazing and confussing. The one thing i am not looking for and this might sound supriseing is a scope that i can type an object into a computer and it takes me to it. I`m sorry to say that isn`t the type i have in mind,i am still looking for a motor drive but only for following planets etc not ooking for them.

I shall look at the sale section also.

many thanks

Mick

[ldd55uk]

yes its me again.How does you folk think about this

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=330298388963&Category=3636&_trksid=p3907.m29&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26its%3DI%26otn%3D2

best regards

Mick

[barkis]

Well, it was a decent scope, but the bidding has ended.

I would look out for 200 millimetre scope. That is one with an 8" mirror, at f5. It would be a good scope for you to start off with, and it has a large light gathering capability. It may even be a Dobsonian, which is a simple mount, very easy to use. No complicated movements.

It will serve well as a Deep sky telescope, and give nice views of the moon and brighter planets.

Ron.

[michaelmorris]

Hi Mick

MY advice would be not to buy anything yet. IF I were you I'd join your local Astronomical Society and get a good grasp of what it is you want from a scope. Speak to loads of people, including dealers. If you are on a very limited budget a nice little Newtonian form the Skywatcher range can be a good buy. The somewhat heavier TAL range of Russian scopes have really nice optics for the money but are not as portable as the Skywatcher. Remember the secondhand market. You can pick up some real bargains. I've bought two scopes secondhand - a Meade ETX set up worth £900 new for £400 and a Meade 8" LX200 Classic for just £800 (new price £2,600).

[premo]

hello

[ldd55uk]

Hi there Premo

thanks for the hello

Mick

[Zaphod_B]

Hello Mick

A warm welcome to SGL.

Best piece of advice would be not to rush into anything just yet.

Before buying a scope, ask yourself what you want to do with it. This will enable folks on this site to give you better advice.

However, when you decide to take the plunge, Barkis (Ron) had a piece of good advice and that was to check out the s/hand astronomy market as there are some great bargains to be had and the folks there are not out to rip you off (merely sell their current kit to allow them to upgrade).

Zaph