Telesceince scope

[stardad]

I bought one of these at Xmas for my daughter. It was an impulse buy to replace her National geographic one she got the Christmas before.

We set it up and to be honest you can not see anything through the scope what so ever. There seems to be a fault. You can see through he wrong way to the ground at it seems OK but when you put an eye piece on it simply comes up black.

In the end I gave up with it as we could moon observe with the N.G one even though it was a small image.

Now we have the celestron the telesceince is just cluttering up the place. Is it any use for anything or do I just take it down the tip?

Seems a waste but with no receipt or packaging I cant take it back to where I bought it.

[AlexB]

I bought a cheapy one from Toys R Us, I'm ashamed to say, as it boasted 'abilities' and thought it would be cool to have a cheap small scope for that quick look at Jupiter or Saturn etc.

It was total garbage (as I suspected) on a number of counts:

a) The eyepieces delivered with the scope made it impossible to focus on anything, I tried on daytime terrestrial targets!

It's alt-az mount was really stiff so moving the scope to new positions or even to adjust meant having to push the scope way past the target so it would bounce (using the materials natural elasticity) back to the position you want, which as you may appreciate, would mean lots of failed attempts.

c) Stability was also an issue, just breathing next to it made it move!! Well just about anyway.

It begs belief how companies can produce this stuff, market it as being able to perform when it just plain can't!

If you've got a receipt, try and take it back as it is not fit for purpose! The only thing I would suggest is, if when placing an eyepiece in everything goes black, perhaps check there are no end caps in the end of the eyepiece, and obviously with the smaller eyepieces you need to be pretty much perfectly aligned (with these cheaper bits of kit) in order to see anything at all.

What eyepieces were supplied?

[swamp thing]

Think I would just bin it. They're just toys and not even good toys.

Their ought to be a law that stops them marketing that sort of rubbish as a telescope.

Regards Steve

[stardad]

It came with a 4mm, 10mm and 20mm, a 3x barlow and an erecting eye piece. When you look through any of the Ep's the picture is blurred its only when you add the EP's to the scope that it goes black.

This ones mount is the opposite. Its so loose I've had to put pliers to the wing nut to keep it still.

I did check so see that I hadn't left a lens cap was on but if you do the colour goes to blue! I guessed that a mirror was out of line or it had been dropped before we got it. My daughter was do depressed with her Christmas present.

Oh well, in the bin it goes. The Celestron so makes up for this mistake even though its too big for the children's bedroom.

[AlexB]

That sounds really bad and .... wingnuts?!?!?!

Where did you get it from? You could try calling the manager and saying this was a Christmas present and blah blah disappointed kids etc etc.

May I ask what diameter it was (and I'm assuming it was a Newtonian?)

[stardad]

That sounds really bad and .... wingnuts?!?!?!

Where did you get it from? You could try calling the manager and saying this was a Christmas present and blah blah disappointed kids etc etc.

May I ask what diameter it was (and I'm assuming it was a Newtonian?)

Tesco I'm ashamed of admitting!

Its a 70mm refractor scope.

How Cool Is This Telescience Telescope - Tesco.Direct

Shall I get my coat now?

[geoff_k]

The conventional advice is not to buy from anyone other than a reputable dealer. I did warn somebody off from buying a Jessops telescope which was a similar price.

At least you didn't pay too much for it (and you got clubcard points)

[stardad]

At least you didn't pay too much for it (and you got clubcard points)

True, just with hind sight ............

[ronin]

If it is a 70mm refractor there has to be something that is wrong in the set up or use of it.

Looking through an eyepiece will not give an image of anything, it is designed and intended to be used in a scope.

As to everything being black I suspect that the eyepieces are simply way off of the focal plane of the front lens. It may be that the lens and eyepiece are completely out of collimation but that is not the first suspect I would have.

With there being an erecting eyepiece I would suspect the mismatch of focal planes. Look at it this way you could build a refractor with 2 small lens and a toilet roll tube.

[stardad]

With there being an erecting eyepiece I would suspect the mismatch of focal planes. Look at it this way you could build a refractor with 2 small lens and a toilet roll tube.

Can this mismatch of focal planes be corrected easily?

[Doug]

Hi

Sounds like it is not fit for purpose and you should ask for you money back

as should you all do the same when something is wrong

you should take a leaf , for the guy and gals from the USA they don't except rubbish

and they get there money back:icon_salut:

Doug

Essex

[geoff_k]

I agree. Send it back. I suspect the optical quality if that is the right term to use in this case is poor.

I once saw something like this on a telescope sold of all people by the Science Museum. It was a disgrace.

There have to be compromises and not always good ones for a telescope as cheap as this. Quite often they baffle the eyepieces so that they are not really 10mm or whatever to try and cut down on the false colour. Outrageous claims are made about magnification and what you are supposed to be able to see through them. The mounts and tripods are wobbly and unusable.

Sadly they are guaranteed to put people off astronomy for life.

Geoff

[JamesM]

Just had a look at this Tesco scope and it says it has been discontinued - I wonder why?

[tonyh66]

you might actually be in luck buying it from tescos, you might not need the receipt. If you bought it from tesco direct, the purchase should be in your order history. If you bought it from a shop, they can tell you if and when you bought it, they generally store up all your purchase information if you use your clubcard. Its how they throw random vouchers at you every time you shop there. I would call customer services and give it a go.

[AlexB]

I would get a screenshot of the website with it's price then contact Tescos citing it is not fit for purpose and you should get the value of the item as quoted on the website. As it is discontinued, I'd move very fast though.

[Steep]

It looks very much like my first scope. Try aiming it at a bright reasonably distant non moving object like a street lamp with the 20mm eyepiece in and move it around until you can see the glow of the light. Then try focusing on it and see whether it comes into sharp focus for you.

[Parus major]

I'd take it back to Tesco and kick up a fuss, then attempt to get the manager to order you the Celestron FirstScope with a discount for your trouble.

[stardad]

Rang Tesco today and spoke to customer services locally. I explained the situation and was told 'we cant give you a refund as its 2 month's old and you don't have a receipt.'

I managed to get the head office Customer services number from them and rang. I was told that they couldn't give me a refund as they didn't deal with refunds only the local shop. When I said it wasn't fit for purpose they made a note and gave me a reference number for quality control of products. They may be in touch about the product so they can give there buyer feedback on items bought.

I didn't get very far did I.

[Parus major]

Ring again and tell them you bought it as a birthday present for a child, make no reference to having rang before and use phrases like "as you can imagine" and "as you'll understand" while telling this tragic tale of child dissapointment. Point out that it isn't actually damaged, just not working and that you don't want a refund but a direct replacement product but not one the same. The fact that you're getting the wallet out for extra profits will help.

Maybe also claim it was bought sooner.

[pbyrne]

It's a disgrace that they can get away with selling these cheap toys. To those of us with some experience we know that they are rubbish, but they snare the unsuspecting with images of the Orion Nebula or M31 or M45 and boast powers of x525, from a 60mm scope.

I was in a Dublin toy shop a couple of years back and noticed a National Geographic scope with these boasts. The scope was probably rubbish, and most likely plastic. I sent an e-mail to National Geographic and asked how they can put their fine name to a product that is going to ruin some child's chance to observe the wonders of the universe. They thanked me for the email and nothing else. They are still for sale, along with microscopes that bear their name, I know nothing about microscopes, but I would imagine they are rubbish also.

I cancelled my National Geographic subscription.

Unfortunately more and more people are going to get caught this way and an initial excitement will vanish, taking with it another inquisitive mind.

[brantuk]

I'd take it back to the shop and ask to see the manager in a loud voice. I'd make a lot of fuss and tell them I wasn't impressed by the shoddy goods that are not fit for purpose and worse still the useless service. I'd play on the fact it was a Xmas present for a young child - maybe have the kid with me and demand the manager to apologise to them.

If they refused a refund I'd just dump it on the counter and tell them to bin it - making sure I'd attracted a good crowd round me by that time lol