TASCO 40-114675 for Begginners!!!!!!

[CoombellKid]

chunkylad, and others

I disagree, the poor performing optics and overall quality of these scopes
(mount included) can be very frustating to a beginer and can turn them
away from the hobby all together. There are better options out there than
these things. You'd get better optics for the same money buying a pair of
bino's. If you think these things have good optics then you probably
wouldn't know what was good if it hit you in the nose. It is NOT a scope I
would recommend to anyone, The reviews you posted in a link earlier dont
carry any weight and are mostly from people who are first time buyers of
any scope period and wouldn't know better.

Take my advice as I gave the original poster and pose the same question
on this group.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/telescopes/

Where you will find a more informed evaluation of these scopes and who's
members contain some of the top reviewers in the amateur community.
They are in reality nothing more than just department store trash.

Now that might hurt your feelings a little bit, but it is the plain truth.
And I do not wish to get into an argument over it either, it simply isn't
worth it.

regards,CS

[Valmir]

would you be able to see the Horsehead and Crab nebula's through this scope with no extensions?

[chunkylad (David)]

Originally Posted by sandyinspace

Hey Guys,
I am a novice and am getting a tasco 40-114675 from one of my frineds. Looking for some information...if somebody can help
1) Is it good for beginners?
2) What all should I look when I get this one (I mean parts/accessories/manual/cd ) as this is a used one
3) My friend is saying last year he paid around $800 usd for this , now the market price is $129 usd is it true?

Any help is appriciated..
Thanks in advance

To CS:

This is a quote from Sandyinspace's original question. The advice given was that by you was that an 8" dob would be a much better option. No argument from me whatsoever. However, as per the above quote, it seemed that SIS was set to purchase this 'scope for $129, and advice was sought as to it's suitability.

As I stated, I started with a similar kit, for similar money, and soon upgraded to a 12" GS dob. But, it did its job and got me started in this hobby.
A 114mm reflector for $129 USD unsuitable as a beginner's 'scope? - Maybe. An 8" dob for $299AUD? - much better. No argument. BUT, this was not the question! Nor was there a request for other options mentioned in the original post. Granted, the best advice would have been to steer clear of such an instrument in the first place and buy a dob (as per your own post), but again, this was not what was asked of our forum.

BTW, I do think I have a clue when I view through "good" optics, despite your opinion.
I don't wish to enter into any further debate either.

Cheers

[Jarrod]

Originally Posted by Valmir

would you be able to see the Horsehead and Crab nebula's through this scope with no extensions?

crab nebula perhaps. if the skies are nice and dark, and the moon is out of the way.

horsehead? no way. very large telescope required. apparently with the right filters and pitch black sky my 250mm would just barely make it visable.

unfortunatly i dont have the dark skies or filters needed to test that idea.

J

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

Welcome to IIS Sandy,
I spent the first year and a half of this hobby observing through 7x35mm bino's and a 60mm wobbletronic refractor with plastic lenses, plastic focuser and plastic eyepieces.
Far from putting me off, it fed my desire to progress further and go for more aperture.
There's heaps of good stuff up there to see through a small scope.
The star charts that come with Astronomy 2008 are perfect for the beginner/novice. Carefully remove them and then laminate them to save them from the dew.
I hope you enjoy your new hobby.

[CoombellKid]

Originally Posted by chunkylad

BUT, this was not the question! Nor was there a request for other options mentioned in the original post.

I beg to differ

Originally Posted by sandyinspace

Any help is appriciated..
Thanks in advance

kinda says it all

regards,CS

[CoombellKid]

Originally Posted by jjjnettie

Welcome to IIS Sandy,
I spent the first year and a half of this hobby observing through 7x35mm bino's and a 60mm wobbletronic refractor with plastic lenses, plastic focuser and plastic eyepieces.
Far from putting me off, it fed my desire to progress further and go for more aperture.
There's heaps of good stuff up there to see through a small scope.
The star charts that come with Astronomy 2008 are perfect for the beginner/novice. Carefully remove them and then laminate them to save them from the dew.
I hope you enjoy your new hobby.

I had the same thing 60mm tasco on a wobbly mount, it was a right pain
in the @$$. Still I was out with it every night I could for a good 6 months
before buying the 8". But looking back and knowing the options I could
have gone. I wouldn't take that path again.

regards,CS

[Valmir]

Would a scope with a focal length of 1900mm make the horsehead nebula visible?.

[Jarrod]

Originally Posted by Valmir

Would a scope with a focal length of 1900mm make the horsehead nebula visible?.

what you can see depends mostly on the aperture (size of the main mirror/lens, which for your telescope is 114mm) of a telescope.

a bigger main mirror/lens is the most important feature of a scope when you want to see dim objects.

a bigger mirror means more surface area, more surface area means more light can be collected, and with more light dimmer objects can be seen.

thats why the size of a scope is ALWAYS measured by the size of the main mirror: it tells you more about what a scope can see then any other number.

i noticed you're asking about the meade ETX scope's, so i assume that thats the scope you're referring too. in that case then no, the ETX's are way too small to see the horsehead.

sure, they have long focal lengths, but what matters is aperture. the largest ETX only has a 125mm wide main mirror, which is far too small to see the horsehead. to get even a glimpse of the horsehead you need a far bigger scope.

Jarrod

[Valmir]

like an RCX400

[Jarrod]

Originally Posted by Valmir

like an RCX400

lol , you're not doing what i was doing when i first started out? (drooling over pictures of it, and thinking "one day...")

yeah, certianly the 20" RCX400. 500mm main mirror!!!! (25mm per inch)

although i dont know whats going on with them now... there has been some issues regarding the RCX scopes. but i think we should stick to scopes us average people can afford.

you don't need to spend $70,000+ to get a nice sized scope. for the amount you would pay for the ETX you could get a 300mm dobsonian telescope with an onboard computer to guide you. if you were really into looking for dim objects i think you'd be best to go for a dobsonian. the ETX125 isnt much bigger then your current tasco scope, the main differance is higher quality, a computerised mount, and portability.

Jarrod

[Stephen65]

The Horsehead is a dark nebula, to see it against the surrounding very faint nebulosity you need a large scope (generally at least 250mm) with excellent optics and baffling, the right filter, an excellent eyepiece and a night of very good transparency at a dark site. I've detected it with my 250mm but only seen it clearly in a friend's larger dob.

Back on topic, if your friend paid US$800 for this then either he was well and truly ripped off or he is not as good a friend as you think!

If it were the case that you only had US$129 to spend with no prospect of ever saving more and so that it was either this telescope or nothing then go for it, the scope has very serious limitations but its better than nothing. But a much better option would be to save a little more as a few people have suggested and get a 6 or 8" dob.