Christmas Present for an 11 year old

[mark7331]

Hi all,

I would like to get my nephew a scope. He's 11 years old and loves my setup but I wanted something simple that he could use on his own and would keep his interest when he can't use my gear. Any ideas would be very welcome. He doesn't know the sky very well but can recognise some constellations.

Thanks all.

Mark

[nightfisher]

as always, what sort of budget do you have in mind

[mark7331]

as always, what sort of budget do you have in mind

Good question. Ok lets say up to £200?

[noakesy]

ive got a 130 p skywatcher at £100 new only used once

[nightfisher]

there is the 150p dob at £179

then there is the startravel 102 for the same money, might be a good one for him

[noakesy]

go for the 150p bud

[brantuk]

How about one of the desktop 76mm heritage dobs from FLO £50 or if thats a bit "young" then a 130P?

Dobsonians

(first two items on page)

[russ]

I would back the 150P dob too. 11 is a good age to manage a grown up scope. Plus the eyepiece of the 150P should be at a nice height for an 11yr old.

Harry, my 12yr old is happy with my dob or his 150 on the AltAz. But lately he prefers to use the refractor on the AltAz. He's already developing the tendency to swap scopes and has picked out upgrades from Astronomy Now. He's keen to have a Celestron C6 on his AltAz.

[mark7331]

Thanks for the help guys. I think i'll go for the 150p - it's a real scope, about the right height and complexity. Cheers all.

Mark

[russ]

Will be a good choice Mark. I said that about the eyepiece height but forgot to mention Harry was quite tall for his age at 11. That said the eyepiece is still only going to be 1.3m approx from the ground when looking at the zenith, so shouldn't be a problem anyway. Besides your 11yr old could already be tall enough for a basketball team for all i know, in which case an 18" Obsession maybe the one for him, only cost you many thousands of £.

[E621Keith]

150p dob for £200 or 130p dob for £130. If you get the 130p, you will have money left over to get him a few good eyepieces and accessories. I don't know what are the 10mm and 25mm eyepieces supplied with those scopes, but I suspect they might be modified achromats.

[brianb]

I don't know what are the 10mm and 25mm eyepieces supplied with those scopes, but I suspect they might be modified achromats.

They're ****... especially when used in a fast Newtonian OTA.

Personally I'd have doubts about an 11 year old being able to handle a 6" Dob comfortably ... true a smaller scope won't show as much but one that's too clumsy to use easily probably won't show anything at all by virtue of being left in the shed. 130mm / 5 and a bit inches is plenty to show many objects reasonably well, especially if it has a reasonably long focal ratio (f/6 at least, f/8 would be better).

[russ]

They're ****... especially when used in a fast Newtonian OTA.

Personally I'd have doubts about an 11 year old being able to handle a 6" Dob comfortably ... true a smaller scope won't show as much but one that's too clumsy to use easily probably won't show anything at all by virtue of being left in the shed. 130mm / 5 and a bit inches is plenty to show many objects reasonably well, especially if it has a reasonably long focal ratio (f/6 at least, f/8 would be better).

Fortunately the 150P is a slow F8 newtonian and the 25mm performs okay in that scope. The 10mm is as Brian says.....****

But really good quality secondhand Plossl's and Ortho's are available for very little outlay (£15-£30), depending on how patiently you can wait for a good one and then how quick off the mark you are buying it.

I know what Brian is saying about the 150P perhaps not being suitable. I wouldn't have bought Harry one as his first scope for same reasons. But having seen him use my 200P dob with ease and then declared he wanted a dob himself, i wish i had bought him the 150P.

[Beulah]

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