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ScottW

By ScottW
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ScottW

ScottW

Posted
Posted

Hi all,

Complete newby here. Have wanted a telescope for years and now the funds are available I have been looking at the Meade 8" LX90.

I was just wondering if anyone could give me some advice. Is this a good choice for a complete beginner or a bit over the top? What's it like to use? Reviews on the internet are a bit sketchy, and living in a relatively built up area (Coventry, UK) I'm not sure if this would have any effect.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Scott.

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Rusty Strings

Rusty Strings

Posted
Posted

Hi Scott, welcome to SGL

As a beginner, you may not yet know the kind of objects you will want to observe the most, so a good option is to for good all rounder like an 8" dobsonian with a focal ratio of F6, these are simple to set up and use and will give good views of the moon, planets and deep sky objects like galaxies and nebula. The LX 90, whilst being a very good scope, has a focal ratio of F10 which puts it's optimum usefulness at the planetary end of things, also the goto can be a mixed blessing as it complicates setting up and if you want to learn about the sky, it does remove the "joy" of finding an object yourself.

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richbyers

richbyers

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with your budget you have a wide range of choices. as a beginner i would go for a dobsionian if you dont want to get into astrophotography as they will give you the best performance for your money, or maybe a skywatcher 200mm on an EQ mount which would give you the chance to add tracking motors later on if you do want to take photos. Also i wouldnt advise rushing into buying a scope, im sure you'l get plenty of advice on here

regards

rich

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brantuk

brantuk

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Hi Scott - welcome to the group.

EMS social group has a dark site near Jn24 of the M1 - you'd be welcome to join us at an observing session for a look at different scopes and further advice :D

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glowjet

glowjet

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Hi Scott,

A very warm welcome to SGL, invest in a pair of 10x50 binos and download the free program Stellarium to start with, it may help you to come to a better idea of what scope you would like as your knowledge increases, also read as much as possible, Turn Left at Orion is a good start and The Backyard Astronomers guide by Dickinson and Dyer, available at your public Library, enjoy the forum.

John.

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Astro_Baby

Astro_Baby

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Hi Scott and welcome from me too - I'd say the 'joy of finding things yourself' is a bit overrated myself - espcially if you have light pollution. THe supposed joy can easily be frustrating and end up putting you off. If you can afford it get a GoTo based scope.

More than anything although assess what your needs are - how big a scope in physical terms can you cope with ? That depends on stuff like do you want to/need to transport it.

Theres a lot of issues in a scope purchase and if you can get along to somewhere to have a nose through a scope it wouold sharpen up your choices.

GoTo can be a big help so dont worry about that but it does seem a contentious subject at times.

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BAZ Senior

BAZ Senior

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Posted

Hi Scott, welcome to SGL.

I would echo Brantuk, and suggest you pop down the dark site next time there's a clear night. There's generally a few of us, so you should have a look through a few scopes. I wouldsuggest a pair of binoculars as well, they are good for grab n' go in between clouds :D , and useful for a reccy!

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ScottW

ScottW

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Hi all,

Thank you for the warm welcome and your comments. As people have said, I'm not sure what I will be looking at the most until I start looking. Think I may just get a small starter scope to begin until I can find my way round. Definately want to get into astrophotography! Have downloaded the Stellarium program, which looks good. Going to have to start doing some reading up now:)

How does GoTo work, do you need to hook up a laptop?

Cheers!

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