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Lord of the flange

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Lord of the flange

Lord of the flange

Posted
Posted

Hi there,

Been looking into getting a scope. For those dipping their toes into a new fad, the dilemma is spending enough to get something decent enough to see things of interest, but not spending too until you know enough about it.

The consensus seems to be that a reflector, possibly with a Dobsonian mount gives best value for money at the entry level. Whilst some form of goto mount might make things more accessible, I sort of quite fancy the challenge in finding things for myself.

Also, I suppose I don't want to be tempted into buying cheap rubbish that appears to be high spec. Can anyone offer any advice on this, or any other matters. - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/8-NEWTONIAN-REFLECTOR-TELESCOPE_W0QQitemZ330028761811QQihZ014QQcategoryZ3636QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Thanks in advance

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GordonCopestake

GordonCopestake

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an 8" dob is a good telescope for beginning with and as you are buying second hand should you not wish to pursue the hobby you can always sell it and not make too much of a loss. I doubt you will go wrong with the scope you have choosen, but a dob is much easier to use.

PS, am i the only one who is slightly offended by your username?

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Lord of the flange

Lord of the flange

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an 8" dob is a good telescope for beginning with and as you are buying second hand

Thanks for the reply.

I don't think the item is second hand (and I know it's not a Dobsonian) I assume the guy's got cheap source, but I can't deduce the manufacturer to find out if it's a good make.

With regards to the user name, no need to be offended; it's the name of my dog.

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geppetto

geppetto

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HI

Welcome to the forum :wink:

I would be very cautious about that scope.

There's no way of knowing how good or bad the optics are as there doesn't seem to

be a maker mentioned anywhere. Given its an F4, the mirror quality is more demanding.

Might be better to stick with a known brand either new or second hand.

Whats your budget?

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Kenny_10_Bellys

Kenny_10_Bellys

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Personally I never use e-bay, for all you know the thing is made of papier-mache with optics by Mattel. Knock up your budget a little and you stand an excellent chance of getting a good quality named scope from Astro Buy/Sell or forums like this one. At least then there's a good chance people can give you opinions based on experience and ownership, not just a couple of pictures. I just scored an Orion ED80 and driven EQ5 mount for £275 this way, so I may be biased. :wink:

As for the username, I have a certain affection for flange myself. My friend had a cat called flange, and one time I made a Star Trek style ship model he talked me into naming it the USS Flange. I posted pictures of it on some Trek sites and it went down well with the Brits, and the Americans didn't even comment on the name.

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The Warthog

The Warthog

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I had the same thoughts as geppetto and Kenny. £200 for an 8" reflector on a good solid mount is almost too good to be true, and therefore it probably isn't. Consider than an 8" Skywatcher on an HEQ5 mount is upwards of £500, and be afraid that you may get what you have paid for.

A good pair of 10x50 binoculars and a good guide to the stars will keep you interested while you decide on what kind of scope to get. You would do well to check out the Astronomy Buy and Sell pages. I bought both my scopes on the Canadian version of that website, and they are excellent values. I have also bought many of my eyepieces used.

Stick around and pay attention to the discussions here. Don't be in a hurry to make up your mind about a scope. If you can, go to an astronomy club's meetings, and talk to the members, and go to some public viewing nights, if there are any available. I would also suggest you divide your budget to spend a little more on eyepieces, and a little less on the scope. Put cheap eyepieces in an expensive scope, and you get a cheap view.

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Greg

Greg

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Personally I never use e-bay, for all you know the thing is made of papier-mache with optics by Mattel. Knock up your budget a little and you stand an excellent chance of getting a good quality named scope from Astro Buy/Sell or forums like this one. At least then there's a good chance people can give you opinions based on experience and ownership, not just a couple of pictures. I just scored an Orion ED80 and driven EQ5 mount for £275 this way, so I may be biased.

:thumbup:

As for the scope question.....I would be sceptical of e-bay...certainly for the scope and mount combination as for accesories then that may be a different matter.

What would be the total ammount that you are willing to spend...? The absolute maximum?

What will you be hunting the night sky for?

Are you interested in just observing or will you be dabbling with the imaging bug?

Do you live in a dark sky site?

Do you need portability? Lugging a Dobsonian down 3 flights of stairs looses it's apeal after the 3rd time!

Just give us an idea and we'll help you spend your money!

Greg

PS... Welcome to the forum.

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The Warthog

The Warthog

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As for the username, I have a certain affection for flange myself. My friend had a cat called flange, and one time I made a Star Trek style ship model he talked me into naming it the USS Flange. I posted pictures of it on some Trek sites and it went down well with the Brits, and the Americans didn't even comment on the name.

Whatever Flange may stand for in Britain, it has no currency as far as I know on this side o't pond.

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GordonCopestake

GordonCopestake

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For the non-squimish i would recommend the urban dictionary, however i hesitate to do so when associated with the word "flange"

Given the definition i would hope others can see my discomfort with the username "Lord of flange" however perhaps i'm the only one and it obviously doesn't seem to be a problem to others.

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The Warthog

The Warthog

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For the non-squimish i would recommend the urban dictionary, however i hesitate to do so when associated with the word "flange"

Given the definition i would hope others can see my discomfort with the username "Lord of flange" however perhaps i'm the only one and it obviously doesn't seem to be a problem to others.

Gotcha! My firewall wouldn't let me into the urban dictionary, but I needed to go no further than the google search page.... It is not a term in North American slang that I have ever heard.

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Lord of the flange

Lord of the flange

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What would be the total ammount that you are willing to spend...? The absolute maximum?

What will you be hunting the night sky for?

Are you interested in just observing or will you be dabbling with the imaging bug?

Do you live in a dark sky site?

Do you need portability? Lugging a Dobsonian down 3 flights of stairs looses it's apeal after the 3rd time!

£250

Not sure

near the edge of a small town

noty bothered about imaging

Portability preferred but not essential

Cheers.

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GazOC

GazOC

Posted
Posted

What would be the total ammount that you are willing to spend...? The absolute maximum?

What will you be hunting the night sky for?

Are you interested in just observing or will you be dabbling with the imaging bug?

Do you live in a dark sky site?

Do you need portability? Lugging a Dobsonian down 3 flights of stairs looses it's apeal after the 3rd time!

£250

Not sure

near the edge of a small town

noty bothered about imaging

Portability preferred but not essential

Cheers.

£250 and not interested in imaging? A 8" Dob would be hard to beat for that sort of money.

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