First telescope

[steaven1325]

Hi everyone,

I'm brand new to astronomy and am looking to buy my first telescope. I have been looking around for relevant specifications and brands and came across this
>http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3704408 85758&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT<

I'm sure that telescopes are like everything else in that you get what you pay for. This does seem to tick the boxes for what i'm looking for however (+100mm aperture, long focal length, under $300).

Can anyone give me some advice as to whether this is a surprisingly good deal or a fantasy that will drive me mad?

Any advice at all would be much appreciated!

[Cosmic Geoff]

The link does not work. For general advice, a beginner should not buy a telescope from ebay.

Read the other threads started here by total beginners, and the advice given.

[AstroMuni]

Welcome to SGL @steaven1325

It would help us provide better advice if you gave us a bit more info on what you wish to use the telescope for:

- Viewing using eyepieces or Imaging (photography)

- Are you interested in moon/planets or Deep sky objects (like nebulae, galaxies)

- How dark are the skies where you plan to use your scope (how much light pollution is there around you)

- If you need to carry your scope from home to a different place, then do you have any constraints

- Budget range

 

[RT65CB-SWL]

G’day / Hi @steaven1325 and welcome to SGL. 

Have a read here: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes.html

Edited September 20 by RT65CB-SWL

[Earthserpent]

Hey, as others have said Ebay is not a great place for used astro gear - depending on where you are in the world there is astrobuysell.com, astromart and the cloudynights classifieds.

[Alan64]

It has been six days, and the OP in Australia has yet to address the replies.  That happens all too frequently, and within sites all over the world, regrettably, leaving us good fellows in the lurch.

I recently got a 80/400 achromat, which would be a great choice for someone first starting out...

https://www.opticscentral.com.au/saxon-804az3-pioneer-refractor-telescope.html

[Gonariu]

15 hours ago, Alan64 said:

 

I recently got a 80/400 achromat, which would be a great choice for someone first starting out...

https://www.opticscentral.com.au/saxon-804az3-pioneer-refractor-telescope.html

I agree, in 2020 I bought a used 80/400 achromatic, the Konus Vista 80, which I use a lot.

Edited September 17 by Gonariu

[Alan64]

On 17/09/2024 at 11:15, Gonariu said:

I agree, in 2020 I bought a used 80/400 achromatic, the Konus Vista 80, which I use a lot.

The Konus Vista 80 is very nice, perhaps with a metal focusser even.  The aperture, at 80mm of unobstructed optical-glass, is a 3.1" "pupil";  just as our own pair at a dark-adapted 7mm, for example.  80mm is far larger than 7mm, and most welcome.

I haven't renovated my own yet...

It's an iOptron R80, however iOptron is a vendor of mounts mostly, although they do offer a premium Maksutov under their marque.

Despite the considerable slop of the draw-tube within its run, whilst racking back and forth, first-light views were quite encouraging.  As a result, I'm going to give it the works.

The dove-tail bar was removed not long after the photograph was taken.

Edited September 18 by Alan64

[Gonariu]

I use the Vista for a bit of everything, even on the moon and planets, even if it's not its field. The reasons are the following:
1) its thermal adaptation time to the environment is very short, I resort to it if the weather is uncertain and there's a risk of rain; in these cases, I consider putting the Nexstar 8 SE outside an hour before a gamble, with the Vista you have time to bring everything back inside if it starts to rain.
2) It's very good for grab and go observations, after dinner sometimes I get sleepy because I commit the "imprudence" of sitting in an armchair, then I go up to my room to lie down and, while I'm closing the door to the terrace, I decide to start watching something at the last minute.
3) With a photographic tripod I take it with me on vacation along with the rest of my luggage without too many problems, I'm thinking of going to Tunisia for the total eclipse of August 2027 and I don't think it will cost me much living in Sardinia (I take the car from central Sardinia to Cagliari, the ship to Tunis and the bus to the place of the eclipse, I just have to find someone to look after my two dogs ......).
The residual chromatism can be greatly reduced using an orange W21 filter, yesterday (always before going to bed and at the last moment) I made some purely contemplative observations of the moon, the observation with a red W25 filter at X100 with a Vixen LV 4 mm eyepiece seemed good to me. X200 with a Celestron achromatic Barlow X2 were less good (on other evenings yes, it depends), I didn't think of using X80 (Unitron OR 5 mm eyepiece with the usual Barlow X2), we'll see this evening, weather permitting because the long-awaited autumn rains have started here.

[Alan64]

I do hope the OP has settled upon something to their liking.  A large monocular, yet with the ability to change eyepieces, thereby the magnification, is a compact and ergonomic solution for all; however, with a caveat. 

The shorter the optical-tube, the more critical the collimation of a draw-tube within its run.  It must be as accurate as the components involved will allow, whether the focusser is of metal or plastic; rack-and-pinion only, and usually among inexpensive achromats and Newtonians.

The doublet of an 80/400 may be very well figured, but you'll never truly know how finely with a wonky draw-tube within its run.  That is why I am working on the focusser of my own 80/400, and plastic at that.  

For example, I've improved the manner by which the pinion-cover is battened down...

[Gonariu]

1 hour ago, Alan64 said:

I do hope the OP has settled upon something to their liking.  A large monocular, yet with the ability to change eyepieces, thereby the magnification, is a compact and ergonomic solution for all; however, with a caveat. 

The shorter the optical-tube, the more critical the collimation of a draw-tube within its run.  It must be as accurate as the components involved will allow, whether the focusser is of metal or plastic; rack-and-pinion only, and usually among inexpensive achromats and Newtonians.

The doublet of an 80/400 may be very well figured, but you'll never truly know how finely with a wonky draw-tube within its run.  That is why I am working on the focusser of my own 80/400, and plastic at that.  

For example, I've improved the manner by which the pinion-cover is battened down...

Well, an achromatic 80/400 is an economic lens with all the limitations that this entails, knowing how to get your hands on it to improve it or correct certain defects is important but not for everyone. Already a check on each model produced and not on a sample as I understood is done, would raise the price a lot and at that point, if you have to spend, rightly one buys a small apochromatic.

[Damo1965]

I knew SGL was my people when I saw this thread - the OP has vanished, but raised a question worthy of discussion. So discussion ensues. 

I just hope that they pop back and see the replies.

Just for the record, and in case the OP does return, I would have gone down the 114 to150mm tabletop Dob route as a first scope.

[Alan64]

3 hours ago, Gonariu said:

Well, an achromatic 80/400 is an economic lens with all the limitations that this entails, knowing how to get your hands on it to improve it or correct certain defects is important but not for everyone. Already a check on each model produced and not on a sample as I understood is done, would raise the price a lot and at that point, if you have to spend, rightly one buys a small apochromatic.

For visual-use, an achromat will satisfy most, as long as the price is right, but beginners must realise that the focusser of these achromats is mechanical, consisting of many parts.  There are those in the world whereby an 80/400 refractor would be most welcome, and as their only telescope for quite a number of years. 

Many wanting a first telescope tend to choose, regrettably, the cheapest kit they can find.  That is the reality.  If they're lucky, the focusser will work well, hopefully.  If it doesn't, it will have been all for naught, and the telescope is generally set aside.  But it doesn't have to be that way; no surrender.  A sloppy draw-tube within its run is inexcusable(!), for the images will suffer, whether by eye or camera.  Some manufacturers have been paying more attention to the focussers of their entry-level fare in recent years, but that's not enough.  Then there's the simple desire, and right, to get one's money's worth.  

[Mandy D]

13 hours ago, Damo1965 said:

I knew SGL was my people when I saw this thread - the OP has vanished, but raised a question worthy of discussion. So discussion ensues. 

I just hope that they pop back and see the replies.

Just for the record, and in case the OP does return, I would have gone down the 114 to150mm tabletop Dob route as a first scope.

As a new member, he might not be aware of the need to follow the thread. No-one has addressed their replies to @steaven1325. This was not his only post, so he may not have disappeared!

[Mr Spock]

To answer one question - from his user profile -
Last visited
September 10

[Zermelo]

1 hour ago, Mandy D said:

As a new member, he might not be aware of the need to follow the thread

I've always thought that there should be a forum setting, defaulted to "follow all threads that I start".

[Mandy D]

27 minutes ago, Zermelo said:

I've always thought that there should be a forum setting, defaulted to "follow all threads that I start".

Suggest it, here:

https://stargazerslounge.com/forum/50-forum-suggestions-bugs-errors-and-foibles/

Also, suggest making it the default setting. Admin are very receptive and have acted fast on my suggestions.

[PeterC65]

30 minutes ago, Zermelo said:

I've always thought that there should be a forum setting, defaulted to "follow all threads that I start".

You can set up to do this already under 'Notification Settings', 'Followed Content'. You can choose to follow posts that you start and / or posts that you contribute to. I have these both set so that I have to deliberately unfollow a post with which I've been involved.

 

 

[Zermelo]

12 minutes ago, PeterC65 said:

You can set up to do this already under 'Notification Settings', 'Followed Content'. You can choose to follow posts that you start and / or posts that you contribute to. I have these both set so that I have to deliberately unfollow a post with which I've been involved.

 

 

Yes, I think I do too, I'll need to check. But I meant that it should be the default setting, perhaps just for threads started, because new members may not realize.

[Alan64]

12 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

To answer one question - from his user profile -
Last visited
September 10

There were four replies on the 10th, so those got read by the OP perhaps.

[YogSothoth]

Looks like he posted the same question here  https://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=66772 

[Alan64]

Ah, I didn't notice this at first...

[Alan64]

The OP here in 2024 may be using that exact same wording for themselves, then to sit back and read the replies, like this one; a bit bizarre.

Edited Saturday at 22:07 by Alan64