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Old 10-11-2008, 06:59 PM
Miaplacidus's Avatar
Miaplacidus (Brian)
He used to cut the grass.

Miaplacidus is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Hobart
Posts: 1,235
Hi,

There are some unique individuals out there who will attest that they got such a buzz out of making their first telescope out of two lenses, a ruler, and some plastacine that this was the only reason they persevered with the hobby. Some of them will claim that had they not "built it themselves," of if they had bought a stably-mounted half-decent telescope right at the start, or if they hadn't suffered numerous frustrations to begin with, then they would never have persisted, nor would they have developed such a life-long passion.

This is self-deception, pure and simple. They underestimate their own innate and peculiarly resiliant enthusiasm. Most people don't have this. I know I don't. (My first telescope — the equivalent of an Aldi special — deflated my enthusiasm so badly I lost all interest in the hobby for more years than I care to admit to. Sigh...) But who knows? Maybe you're different.

But if you're not, then you should be aware that the pathway of least frustration and maximum ease is to buy a dobsonian. (That is, after the binoculars).

Think about it. The heaviest part of a refracting telescope might be 8 feet off the ground. The heaviest part of a dobsonian telescope might be as low 8 inches off the ground. Which do you think is going to be the most stable and least wobbly?
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