Seeking Telescope Rental in the Austin Area - Any Suggestions?

[FenTaylor]

Hey all,

I recently moved to Austin and I was busy working and trying to save some money and my hobby faded into the background, and am eager to get back into stargazing тщц. Before committing to buying a telescope, I'm wondering if anyone in the area would be willing to rent one for a night or two.

I couldn't find any local rental services online, and there's no dedicated equipment sale section on the forum or I just can't see it because of my rating. If you have a telescope to spare for reasonable money or know of any rental options, please let me know.

Thank you!

P.S: I planned to just spend the night or two admiring the Moon, and maybe some other bright objects, without planning to shoot anything. Therefore, I don’t need any serious equipment, I'm just looking for telescope with a mount, and that’s it.

Edited January 26 by FenTaylor

[DirkSteele]

You should reach out to Austin Astronomical Society. As well as practical observing sessions which you could attend, they have loaner telescopes which you can borrow.

 

https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/club-view.cfm?Club_ID=1259#:~:text=AAS is one of the,hold monthly practical astronomy sessions.

Edited January 26 by DirkSteele
typo

[FenTaylor]

On 26/01/2024 at 00:31, DirkSteele said:

You should reach out to Austin Astronomical Society. As well as practical observing sessions which you could attend, they have loaner telescopes which you can borrow.

 

https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/club-view.cfm?Club_ID=1259#:~:text=AAS is one of the,hold monthly practical astronomy sessions.

Thanks for the advice! I couldn't resist and ended up buying a telescope that I found on Facebook nearby. Now, I'm searching for a tripod, a mount, and other accessories as well. Interestingly, the telescope was sold empty, without a finderscope and eyepieces, but I'm happy with my purchase!

It seems I can't access the local buying and selling section. Are there any specific rules or requirements for entry?

 

Edited January 31 by FenTaylor

[DirkSteele]

3 hours ago, FenTaylor said:

Thanks for the advice! I couldn't resist and ended up buying a telescope that I found on Facebook nearby. Now, I'm searching for a tripod, a mount, and other accessories as well. Interestingly, the telescope was sold empty, without a finderscope and eyepieces, but I'm happy with my purchase!

It seems I can't access the local buying and selling section. Are there any specific rules or requirements for entry?

 

The Buy & Sell section
Access to SGL's buy and sell section is a privilege that has to be earned, You can do this by accumulating 50 posts to view / buy from the classifieds and 250 posts to place an advert in the classifieds.
This has been initiated so that people can't just join the forum so they can off load or buy up astronomy equipment.
 

 

One thing to be aware of is SGL is far more UK and Europe focused on its membership (though there are quite a few located in the US as well) so the stuff for sale may be less helpful to you as you likely get hit with import duty and taxes when it is sent to the US. Cloudy Nights is far more US focused so you might have more luck there acquiring items you need. There are also dedicated Astronomy market places like AstroMart and AstroBuyAndSell etc.

 

 

 

[Naughty Neal]

One will need to make at least 25 meaningful posts to meet the requirement for sales sub forum access.