Buy a telescope or attempt DIY?

[RIPM]

Hello Everyone, i found this forum a couple days ago and ive been reading all sorts of incredible advice, im very new to stargazing and im already planning on getting a true telescope.

 

Of course i followed some advice on starting and got me a pair of 15x70 Celestron Skymasters on a recent amazon sale, ive barely had them for a week, havent taken them outside my backyard in the middle of a very bright city in the 3 or 4 days where it hasnt been too cloudy to see anything, but looking at dots i know (through an app) are venus, mars, saturn, and some bright stars have got me jumping with excitement and scrambling to get my half-sleep family to see them too.

of course, im plan to go "camp" at a ranch where light pollution seems to be way more optimal to see way more.

 

The advice i read on starting stated that i should stick to the binos for about a year so i get familiar with the sky and measure how deep i am willing to get into astronomy, i plan on doing just that but im looking out for any good sale on a telescope mainly on amazon, as there isnt much of a telescope market here in Mexico.

 

Reading reviews on some pages as well as this forum led me to narrowing my choices of equipment at arround $350 dollars

both the zumell z114 and the Heritage 130p sound very nice to me, id prefer the bigger aperture, but i dont ive read about how the 130 gets way dirtier, needs a shroud to work properly, and it has a fiddly focuser, i may be new to the sky but i think i can learn to live with those "disadvantages" seeing how many good reviews and praises i have read for that scope

typing "z114 vs heritage 130" in google led me to a topic on this very forum where the general consensus was to get the best of both in the Z130, "thats the one!" i said, its literally best of both worlds right? why would i look for anything else? maybe because it has almost 5x the price in amazon.mx for no reason at all, checked the price tracker and everything, $350 in the us and $1440 in mex, "thats not the one".

 

i was deadset on the 130p then, but of course, the algorithms of youtube heed my plight and put forth a diy guide to make 6 in reflector off parts from ebay which doesnt even seem that hard, just a couple drillings on pvc, printing some 3d parts and glueing the mirrors, but the catch is i just cant seem to find the exact parts so some adjustments to the guide must be made. This in turn has led me throughout the rabbithole of diy scopes and tools like Newt for the web. 

if any of you have stuck with me thus far i commend you.

 

The TL:DR is i want a telescope and im between buying a Skywatcher Heritage 130p if it ever goes on sale or attempting to make a 6in f/8.125 dob out of a mirror set from ebay and a trip to home depot and i would appreciate if someone could help me decide or give me some advice on the matter.

 

lastly, im attaching the guide that im following in case someone wants to see it too, its in spanish however and i think i saw a reupload with an english title but without no voiceover, captions, links or files at all so i dont think its at all even worth to look for it. 

if i go through with it im looking at a 160mm mirror with a 1300mm focal length and a secondary of 35mm and im currently set on the sv181 focuser.

 

anyhow, i look forward to any replies and hope this wasnt too bad of a first post.

best regards, RIPM.

 

[Elp]

The US has many good scope retailers, don't they ship to Mexico? FLO this forum sponsor also ship worldwide.

Try and make use with what you have first, you'll soon realise what it is you want to narrow down on (planetary, deep sky, visual, AP etc). Otherwise it gets very expensive very fast.

Edited June 21, 2023 by Elp

[Cosmic Geoff]

People used to make their own Newtonian telescopes when I was a boy, but nobody, except hobbyists who want a Project, does this anymore. 

In most markets it is cheaper to buy a used telescope than to buy parts to make your own.

Beware of reviews written by people (e.g. shoppers on Amazon) who know little about telescopes.

[AstroMuni]

18 minutes ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

In most markets it is cheaper to buy a used telescope than to buy parts to make your own.

Beware of reviews written by people (e.g. shoppers on Amazon) who know little about telescopes.

Very good points 👍

[Emperor!Takahashi!]

Welcome to stargazing! 

As others have noted, making a telescope is most often more expensive than buying (especially a used) one. It's also easy to make mistakes and lose money in the process unless you're knowledgeable about telescope optics/mechanics and have the needed materials and tools. (I learned this the hard way.)

Plenty of used telescopes come up for sale in the US on a daily basis, and I'd be shocked if no one was willing to ship to Mexico. If I hadn't just moved from the US to the UK, I'd sell/ship you one myself.

Different telescope designs work well with different viewing conditions and priorities. Of course, there is so much information online. And the nice thing about forums such as this one is that many people don't mind offering advice. For example, I'd be glad to share thoughts about ways to get a quality telescope in Mexico, so PM me if you'd like.

Clear skies!

[Guest]

Any US based company will ship south of the border so you have no issues there.  Making a scope sounds fun, but as mentioned above very few people actually do it these days as the commerical scopes are pretty good and making one may or may not be worth the headache

Edited June 21, 2023 by Mike Q

[bosun21]

As has already been said either buy a new or used telescope from the US as it sounds like you are at the very beginning of your astronomy journey and some prior knowledge is highly recommended before attempting to build your own. You also don’t want to glue down the mirrors as they require some mechanism to allow them to be adjusted to attain good optical alignment. I certainly wouldn’t attempt to glue any mirror in position. Food for thought. I hope you find a solution to attaining the telescope of your choosing.

[Naughty Neal]

The Zhumell Z130 reflector  isn't bad for a first scope , nice little dob mount so needs a stand /  table to sit on . Very portable and one should be able to get good seeing at about 150 - 200 x mag.  My one arrived with a 25mm Kelner plossl EP which tbh is not too bad for seeing  the moon, though one will likely need some better EP's for viewing. 

My immaculate model one was £142 half the price of a new one selling on Amazon.

The North American used market is so much larger then the UK one so sourcing a reasonable used scope shouldn't be too much of an issue but also think about eyepieces as well, as it is these that will start to break the bank.

 

 

Be wary of plastic parts in cheaper refractors  and inferior mounts /tripods.

 
 

[RIPM]

first of all, thank you all so much for the fast replies, i didnt expect to get so many in such short time!

 

8 hours ago, Elp said:

The US has many good scope retailers, don't they ship to Mexico? FLO this forum sponsor also ship worldwide.

Try and make use with what you have first, you'll soon realise what it is you want to narrow down on (planetary, deep sky, visual, AP etc). Otherwise it gets very expensive very fast.

i hadnt check FLO as of writing this topic and now i feel kinda dumb, bigger stuff like a 150p are cheaper there than a Z114 in amazon, many more options now, so back to reading reviews, thank you for pointing that out.

also, im already narrowing down a bit, it sure would be very, very exciting to look at saturns rings or make out the spot on jupiter but i find looking at stars to be so much more entrancing than i expected.

i just cant wait to go see rural sky and try getting some looks at the messier catalogue and some nebulae!

so i guess id rather get something "all purposey" but more aimed at deep sky, and id like to get some simple pictures every now and then to show my family, but i dont think ill get too invested in AP just yet, just looking at the monsters of setups some people have makes my wallet ache.

7 hours ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

People used to make their own Newtonian telescopes when I was a boy, but nobody, except hobbyists who want a Project, does this anymore. 

In most markets it is cheaper to buy a used telescope than to buy parts to make your own.

Beware of reviews written by people (e.g. shoppers on Amazon) who know little about telescopes.

dully noted, i've been reading some reviews by the people at Telescopicwatch.com where they rip most of celestron scopes to shreds due to all sorts of trouble, meanwhile these scopes have thousands of units sold and good reviews on places like amazon, you quickly realize its mostly beginners who never had previous experiences.

 

6 hours ago, The60mmKid said:

Welcome to stargazing! 

As others have noted, making a telescope is most often more expensive than buying (especially a used) one. It's also easy to make mistakes and lose money in the process unless you're knowledgeable about telescope optics/mechanics and have the needed materials and tools. (I learned this the hard way.)

Plenty of used telescopes come up for sale in the US on a daily basis, and I'd be shocked if no one was willing to ship to Mexico. If I hadn't just moved from the US to the UK, I'd sell/ship you one myself.

Different telescope designs work well with different viewing conditions and priorities. Of course, there is so much information online. And the nice thing about forums such as this one is that many people don't mind offering advice. For example, I'd be glad to share thoughts about ways to get a quality telescope in Mexico, so PM me if you'd like.

Clear skies!

i've never had any previous experience importing stuff from the us outside from amazon and ebay, where they handle everything for you anyways. i'll do some research into it then, but i would be very thankful if you could point me out to some page or forum where i could find such sales.

 

4 hours ago, Mike Q said:

Any US based company will ship south of the border so you have no issues there.  Making a scope sounds fun, but as mentioned above very few people actually do it these days as the commerical scopes are pretty good and making one may or may not be worth the headache

this was my main issue, im not affraid of making my own stuff, ive done plenty of diy in my life thus far, but a scope feels different in the fact that i would never know if its working properly as i have little experience with telescopes, none with reflectors anyways. 

I ommited that i used to have, or well, my younger brother got for christmas a 50 mm bushnell refractor about 6 or 7 years ago, he never got that invested with using it (being like 8 or 9 years old), but i learned to calibrate the finderscope, got some understading on eyepieces and barlow lenses, and mainly used to look at the moon which was about the only thing i could locate with what i knew. as kids we were and as kids often do, stuff started to break or get lost, so i cant really do much with a fogged up department store tube with no eyepieces and a scratched up lens and AFAIK my binoculars are just better anyhow.

3 hours ago, bosun21 said:

As has already been said either buy a new or used telescope from the US as it sounds like you are at the very beginning of your astronomy journey and some prior knowledge is highly recommended before attempting to build your own. You also don’t want to glue down the mirrors as they require some mechanism to allow them to be adjusted to attain good optical alignment. I certainly wouldn’t attempt to glue any mirror in position. Food for thought. I hope you find a solution to attaining the telescope of your choosing.

its mostly a mature beginning, as my previous experience was when i was like 15 years old, so not much money or knowledge to "get serious".

in the video and looking at forums on diy of course they mention the colimation setups, those are actually the parts you need to 3d print, but after reading these replies, i'll definitely buy a scope to have real experience before attempting to diy one.

2 hours ago, Naughty Neal said:

The Zhumell Z130 reflector  isn't bad for a first scope , nice little dob mount so needs a stand /  table to sit on . Very portable and one should be able to get good seeing at about 150 - 200 x mag.  My one arrived with a 25mm Kelner plossl EP which tbh is not too bad for seeing  the moon, though one will likely need some better EP's for viewing. 

My immaculate model one was £142 half the price of a new one selling on Amazon.

The North American used market is so much larger then the UK one so sourcing a reasonable used scope shouldn't be too much of an issue but also think about eyepieces as well, as it is these that will start to break the bank.

 

 

Be wary of plastic parts in cheaper refractors  and inferior mounts /tripods.

 
 

also noted, im very wary of the mounts now, back when i had the bushnell scope it came with this forked alt-az mount with a thumbscrew at each side on a rather spindly tripod, this mount was so bad im getting shivers just thinking back about it.

 

im looking at dobsonians now for how simple they look to use but ive always been interested in equatorials (ever seen that one simpsons clip where bart is helping skinner with his astronomy and he just keeps telling bart hours, minutes, seconds and what not, along with "no sightings" for hours on end, it just looked so fun and it has lived in my head rent-free ever since)

anyhow, any and all info on such gear would be welcome.

 

whew, i got a bit carried away responding, then again im so glad for the replies in such short notice, thank you all for your advice!

best regards, RIPM

Edited June 21, 2023 by RIPM

[Guest]

You can check out Orion Telescopes and Binoculars in California, Astronomics is another good one, Agena Astro, Mike High Astronomy and High Point Scientific here in the US.  I would guess Orion is probably the closest one to you as the are in California.  

[FenderGreg]

Buy a telescope, get used to it and into the hobby then make one in your own time eventually if you’re still tempted. 
At least you’ll find far more info on a mass produced scope in forums like this if there are troubles.

 

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @RIPM and welcome to SGL. 

I do envy anyone that has the mindset to design and builds a telescope to their specifications, etc. Not only that, it is personal, satisfying and humbling too!

[Celerondon]

On 21/06/2023 at 15:00, Mike Q said:

You can check out Orion Telescopes and Binoculars in California, Astronomics is another good one, Agena Astro, Mike High Astronomy and High Point Scientific here in the US.  I would guess Orion is probably the closest one to you as the are in California.  

Actually, depending on where in Mexico the OP lives, the closest vendor is probably Agena Astro.  They are located in Cerritos, CA.  Cerritos is a small city in the southern end of Los Angeles County.  For reference, it is a three hours and 15 minute drive north from Ensenada, BC.  
 

Speaking of California, this state has loads of telescopes both new and used, if you know where to look.  The Classifieds sections of the Cloudy Nights and Astromart websites have plenty of new deals every week.  Astromart has a small membership fee but the variety and value of the offerings on their website make it worthwhile for even occasional shoppers.  These two sites are generally regarded as being better than eBay and other options because they cater to astronomers and have tighter security.  Still, I must remind you to avoid deals that seem to good to be true.  Stick to standard payment methods like PayPal and run for the hills if a seller tries to switch to a less expensive (less secure) payment method like the PayPal Friends & Family option or other non-refundable payment systems. 
 

Don

Edited August 24, 2023 by Celerondon

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Celerondon said:

Actually, depending on where in Mexico the OP lives, the closest vendor is probably Agena Astro.  They are located in Cerritos, CA.  Cerritos is a small city in the southern end of Los Angeles County.  For reference, it is a three hours and 15 minute drive north from Ensenada, BC.  
 

Speaking of California, this state has loads of telescopes both new and used, if you know where to look.  The Classifieds sections of the Cloudy Nights and Astromart websites have plenty of new deals every week.  Astromart has a small membership fee but the variety and value of the offerings on their website make it worthwhile for even occasional shoppers.  These two sites are generally regarded as being better than eBay and other options because they cater to astronomers and have tighter security.  Still, I must remind you to avoid deals that seem to good to be true.  Stick to standard payment methods like PayPal and run for the hills if a seller tries to switch to a less expensive (less secure) payment method like the PayPal Friends & Family option or other non-refundable payment systems. 
 

Don

Yeah they would be lots closer.  I always forget about them being out there

[Piero]

Mm.. I think DIY makes sense if you want a medium/large dobson (e.g. > 12") or you want a custom solution.

It's an amazing experience though. I'd recommend a copy of "the Dobsonian telescope" by Kriege. "The portable Newtonian telescope" by Highe is also excellent but in my opinion it's more advanced and this can put one off.

If you are interested, here's the album showing the building of my 16" f4 dobson: https://photos.app.goo.gl/DAZ8CqeRtJGe83jF8 .

Edited August 24, 2023 by Piero

[Bivanus]

@RIPM I do think that , maybe, a small refractor would suit you better as a first scope . You would learn a lot and could be in a better position to decide on a large scope and/or have something to use until you build one. Also, a 60-70mm shortish achromat is a good future finder scope 😄 

Here is mine , Miss Violet , 70/350 Bresser Classic. I did all the 'first time' things with her including what I fancifully imagined AP was 🤣 Probably more like entry level EEA but still, there it is:  Orion's Belt and Orion Nebula !  Visually it's actually better, the camera mercilessly accentuates the violets . It can even be stopped down to a 50mm f/7 for planets.