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Hello every body i'm about to purchase my first telescope and have about £400 to spend give or take, just wondering what people would advise as for the last 2 weeks ive been reading lots of stuff online and just seem to get more confused .Storage space is not an isue and the whole family are interested .

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Hi gooze, welcome to the forum, firstly, what type of scope do you have in mind? ie Dobsonian, were you get a good size so can potentially observe more targets but have to follow the sky manually, for your budget something like the Meade Lightbridge

http://firstlightoptics.com/products.php?cat=36

if you want to try a GO TO also within your budget is

http://firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=slt127&cat=150

both of these scopes you may have looked at already so apologies if you have, as for your choice it really does depend on how you want to observe and what you hope to see

Alan

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Hello,

as goto isnt a requirement or imaging then i would say a dob sounds ideal and value for money/size makes me suggest a 200mm 8" skywatcher dob mounted reflector. the only downside i can see is if you have to share the eyepiece (as i do often with my daughter) then you will need to chase the object around for them.

If you are looking for a mounted scope, a 130p or 130pm is a popular starter scope. but with your budget i would skip those and go for a 150p on eq3-2 or eq5. this will allow you to fit tracking motors for about £90 if you want to later

both cost around 260 with some cash left over for a collimator/telrad?/eyepieces

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Thanks the confusion is slowly being removed, I was looking at a dob and also a sky watcher explorer 200p but there doesnt seem to be any shops nearby where I can go and have a look speaking to someone on the phone is fine but its not the same as being able to see something inthe flesh.I live on the Essex Suffolk border between Colchester And Ipswich anybody know of any nearby stockists ?.

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It does help to see these things in the flesh. There is Telescope House in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, which is still quite a drive. And there's the Widescreen Centre in London. Or how about Warehouse Express in Norwich? Not sure of anything closer.

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The Explorer 200P with the EQ5 mount does have an advantage if the whole family are involved. It will track the object, keeping it firmly in the eyepiece and you can lock each axis once the object is found. This means things won't be drifting out before the next person gets to the eyepiece. And also, the telescope isn't accidentally moved. These are frustrating issues, especially if you have taken ages finding something and then it's accidentally lost. Just a consideration.

Personally i would take the dob over the EQ because i hate using an EQ mount. :icon_eek:

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I have to agree with Bish and Russ above about the 200P on the EQ5. Although I use the scope most of the time I do have frequent visits from friends and neighbours and their kids who want to see the planets, moon or some DSO's. Once I have the target in the EP I just tell them to move the RA adjuster to keep the object in the centre of the FOV or if I have bothered to fit the motor drive then they do not need to touch anything.

I have not used a Dob but appreciate how simple they are to use and how much cheaper they are for how much aperture you get.

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Hi, I'm using a SW 200P, but on the manual mount. I love the alignment scope that is built in to the mount! Also, try the London Camera Exchange in Colchester on Eld Lane. Long shot, but they might be able to offer something to look at.

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Buying from a good, specialized astronomy supplier is worth a lot.

One place to look at and through telescopes is an astronomical society. Google the Federation of Astronomical Societies to find your local ones. They are very widespread throughout the UK.

Olly

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