I take a bit of a different view on "junk" scopes.
For us who have experience and know what is decent in quality, we won't even look sideways at these instruments.
However, I would dare say that for the majority of people, this is all the scope they would actually need. You can make all your lists of crappy scopes you want, but rightly or wrongly these actually do fill a niche.
The purchasing officer of a big retailer is not interested in astro like we are (I'm not talking astro retailers here). The vast majority of these folks unfortunately are totally ignorant of what makes a quality instrument. ALL they know is sales and that is their only motivating factor - selling bucket loads of product. If anything, these people know human nature better than we here on this forum because they are selling not only what most people will buy, but the very reason as to why - price. And our own astro insight can go take a hike. They may have a few decent scopes on offer too, but there is no actual knowledge that goes into these stock decisions by the purchasing officer - they just go by what range is put to them by a distributor and choose just a few "big and complex looking" scopes for their store. While on the topic, you think there is any real knowledge into what Curious Planet offers scope wise, or that any of their their staff know what an SCT is?
EVERYONE starts out in astro from ZERO. Unfortunately, most people have such a poor understanding of what the Universe looks like through a scope. So, not withstanding what quality of scope they look through, they EXPECT to see the Universe through ANY scope just like a Hubble image. The image advertising spin ALL scope brands push out does not help. Heck, even at outreach events where ALL you will find a good quality scopes, so many people are totally
underwhelmed by what they, even through a 20" dob. A "quality" scope will not change things for them. There are thousands upon thousands of SCT's and decent dobs out there, yet the fraction of these scopes see any star light beyond half a dozen times. What good was getting a good quality instrument then?
Many people would do some research into what makes a good scope. Unfortunately for most people they see the price tag on scopes across the quality spectrum and that is as far as their research goes and opt for the plastic-fantastic. Others despite their best of intentions, do their "reading" but ultimately it really is all just gobbledygook because they cannot relate to the info and don't have anyone with knowledge to guide them, so they end up buying cheap. They just cannot relate.
Another person who has a strong desire to look up at the night sky may only be able to afford a plastic-fantastic. They would love to get a better instrument, but no chance because of financial pressures. Damn if that plastic-fantastic would not be treated like it was made of gold, and after all the best scope is the one that is used. Yet how many good quality scopes just end up in a garage after a couple of uses...
A parent who sees in their child a glimmer of curiosity in astro, science and learning, wants to push along this interest, but full well knows that this curiosity can be fickle. They get a cheapy scope in the
hope that it will capture their kids imagination. And the rate of that fish biting is always very small, and it will not matter the quality of the scope. Not in the slightest.
And the last point - astronomy is all rocket-science... Most people look at ANY equatorial mount, be it an EQ1 or AZEQ6, and they are absolutely terrified by it! I have seen teachers with 30 years experience who have seen all manner of things (including science teachers!
) be totally terrified by the 114 Newt on an EQ1 mount the school has! I mean seriously terrified by it even though they have connections with amateur astronomers (me in this instance). The scope is really nothing more than a decoration that can do nothing more than to "inspire" students as no one will put it to use. I saw that scope over some two years in a school and in the end asked about it as I noticed it just wasn't being used. The teachers told me they were all scared of it! I offered to make a dobby mount for it as I said it is a much easier scope to use. They accepted, and I even conducted an outreach event for that school and that little new dob was also one of the scopes used on the night. To my great disappointment that little dob didn't get used either - now the teachers found the night sky too intimidating
In the end those same teachers asked me to take it and give it to someone who would put it to use.
All too often at outreach I see people approach my dobs, SCT and Mak with great scepticism, mistrust and sometimes even FEAR that these are actually scopes. They can only relate to a telescope as being only what a pirate uses, and that what professional astronomers use is nothing short of "star trek". Many of these people will only ever buy a plastic-fantastic because it is all they can relate to. Very few will stick with astro to progress any further with it, regardless of how good a quality instrument they do buy.
I started when I was 13 with a 2" Tasco refractor that had a table top mount, and really poor eyepieces (I didn't know that then). I cut my teeth with it! I modified it like all heck, putting it on a photo tripod, modifying the tripod to improve its stability, learned to star hop, learned about averted vision. Damned if it also showed me an oh-so-faint tail on Halley's Comet from to roof of my home in Surry Hills in Sydney, and "discovered" Saturn by chance!
It was all my mum and dad could afford. I still have that little scope too
. Yet I know of so many 8" dobs that are rotting away in damp garages... I would have killed to have one of those suckers when I was 15!
Alex.