hi, could you guys give me some advice plz

[Raju]

hi, ill start off by saying- I SEEN SATURN!!!! i satyed awake until 4AM. thats a big thing for m- always wanted to see it-

anyway i am after a new telescope, im probily getting an 8 inch. upgrading from my celestron 114mm telescope.

What i wanted to ask you inteligent people is that,

- is The name Meade a good brand for telescopes?

- is it better than skywatcher?

im on a low budget but i have seen second hand telescopes , such as gumtree and ebay. i found a good meade one.

what would you suggest to look out for when buying second hand telescopes? give me some tips please!!

thank you

clear skies

[rowan46]

cogratulations on saturn, he always puts on a show, an 8"scope will be a good uprade fraom 114mm, Is meade a good brand? yes.They have been respected manufacturers for many years. Better than skywatcher? its hard to say as its not exactly like with like. sywatcher are a budget brand producing quality instruments, meade produce quality instruments at a higher price. if you can get a 2nd user meade 8" at a good price you will have a decent scope but thats equally true of skywatcher and celestron as they don't make a bad 8" scope. when buying 2nd user you want one fairly clean ( a sign that its been looked after) you want the owner to know what he's talking about astronomers (look after their gear) most importantly no chips, cracks in the mirror no rust in the mount. a little dust in the mirror is fine but not globs of dirt or mould, if the scope has electrics he should show it working. all this boils down to 2 things research find out what a fair price 2nd hand is (astro buy and sell) and sgl have classifieds 2nd point see the scope don;t just take the vendors word for it. if its too much trouble for the vendor to show it. walk away cos it will be too much trouble for you to own it. sometimes the scope will have defects an honest owner will tell you if it has any defects and if they significantly affect its performance, ask for an estimate an astronomer will have some idea of a repair cost you should check this out. in short buying a scope is like buying a car. you must research so that you know the price is fair and you must see it so that you don't buy a lemon. good luck with your search Raju. but can I suggest you are very careful about ebay and gumtree most astronomers sell on uk asro buy and sell or sgl before they sell on ebay. If you are determined to buy 2nd hand why don't you wait a month put 50 posts up and that opens up the for sale section here you are as likely to get a bargain on these pages as ebay and the people in this site are astronomers so you are less likely to be ripped off