[Wavytone]

Hi Richard,

I’d suggest a Skywatcher 6”maksutov OTA for this - for a 6” cool down isn’t the monster some seem to think. For a mount that is both Altaz and GOTO, the SkyWatcher All View will take that scope quite nicely - but buy the mount from BHPhoto.com as it will be a lot cheaper than locally.

This particular mount has several nice aspects for a beginner:
- easy altaz setup and use, yet with a simple alignment it will track the stars;
- GOTO functionality,
- you can unclamp it and slew it manually anywhere, then reclamp and it will result tracking without losing the alignment;
- it can be battery powered or from a larger battery under;
- the handset has a tour function of the pretty bright things, useful when the chief financial officer wants a look.

And your budget will cover this with enough left over for:

- a box or two, to store the delicate parts in (go to Bunnings),
- a set of three eyepieces - for an f/15 scope like this with a 1.25" adapter: 8, 14 and 25-30mm will be fine,
- a battery (say 9 amp-hour for this mount, buy from BatteryWorld.com.au)
- a red LED torch,
- a copy of Sky Safari 5 for your mobile phone/iPad.