Basically it is a 76mm with focal length of 350mm and comes with 1.25" accessories. I saw this same item advertised in the german Meade site for 79 Euros. Any comments on this for a real beginners scope, or any experience with this? It doesn't look like the mirror cell has collimation adjustments which might be a minus.
-John
P.S. Looking for a basic scope for relatives. Last one I gave them came back - apparently the equatorial was too complicated.
No, I wouldn't write it off too quickly.
The photo in the catalogue indicates it is an Australian Geographic brand scope.
So I would put it in the same category as the tabletop dobs from the leading brands, but at half the price.
But it is only 76mm aperture, remember.
Probably great for the moon, and some brighter large Clusters.
Quote:
Last one I gave them came back - apparently the equatorial was too complicated.
You gave them an Eq mounted scope?
John, what were you thinking?
This one may be a little too far the other way.
Unless the relatives included a youngster.
I agree with Allan. Good enough for low power, rich wide field viewing.
These little scopes also make for fantastic BIG finder scopes! I've got the Celestron FirstScope as a big finder on my 17.5". They are surprisingly good as wide field scopes.
But keep in mind the mirrors will be spherical not parabolic so not good for high power stuff.
Might pick one or two up for myself . Thanks for the heads up on it!
I saw those in the catalog. It would be ok I guess.
I recently bought a pair of 10-30x 50mm zoom binos from the Australia Post Shop for $50.
At least you can use them for bird watching too.
At $49.99 you could buy two and use them as bookends! I purchased a Celestron FirstScope a few years ago - not to use, but to put on my bookshelf beside a couple of small antique refractors.
However, Alexander, your idea of using the 76mm Dob as a finder scope is not a bad one. They are unremarkable as main scopes, particularly with the supplied eyepieces. I put a good quality Celestron 26mm Plossl in mine to improve the view as a wide-field scope.
I guess you need to assess whether your relatives are really interested in astronomy, John. If they were, then even an EQ mount shouldn't phase them too much. A Dob is certainly more user-friendly for the casual observers, but a 76mm one ...? Nahhh! Better off buying 50mm binoculars.
Yes, what was I thinking - actually the scope I gave them originally was a Tasco tabletop newtonian, also 76mm, but was able to work as either equatorial or alt-az. I have attached a couple of photos.
Also, yes - a small child was involved, I expected that it would be a good opportunity for them to learn together with the scope. They were originally wanting something like this Aldi one, but I thought that my one would be more versatile. Unfortunately I left it set up as equatorial, and they forgot how to convert it. My one has the smaller 0.965" eyepieces, so this Aldi one is better in that respect.
I think I will go ahead to get one today and wrap it up quickly.
-John
P.S. First photo is alt-az, second is equatorial - neat, isn't it.
P.S. Another note, this one was a good grab-n-go scope and even viewed a mercury transit with it at my workplace one day.
Last edited by John0z; 15-12-2012 at 02:05 PM.
Reason: Second P.S.
I went and grabbed one, at $50 it was worth it at least if a bag them on IIS I will be able to say I have tried it.
May end up doing an Alex making it into a finder on the dob!!
I went out to the local Aldi, and picked one up. I checked the contents first, an envelope with instructions (fairly basic) but has some example views of what could be seen (might need to check how accurate it is), a CD, warranty statement (3 years). A box containing the two cased eyepieces, one with the moon filter, then a plastic 2x barlow. The focuser is plastic, not unusual for this price. The main mirror appears to have no collimation adjustment - could be a good future project in the making.
Anyway, it is all wrapped up in Christmas paper and ready to go under a tree.
I got a 4 inch tabletop still on special for only $99 + $30 shipping. It's fully collimatable and has a glass mirror. It even has a red dot finder! That's plastic, as is the focusser, but that's okay. And it came with a plastic barlow (I'll be binning it) and a couple of eyepieces. Performs well! Jupiter looks fabulous through it- red bands clearly visible. The base has the black laminate on it so it's nice and smooth- works so much better than my 10" dob.
I spread a mat on the grass sit on it to observe tho as I find it a bit harder with the table as I'm constantly adjusting my seating position as I move the scope higher in the sky.
I love using this scope when I'm fighting with sucker holes so is great for a quick session.
I got a 4 inch tabletop still on special for only $99 + $30 shipping. It's fully collimatable and has a glass mirror. It even has a red dot finder! That's plastic, as is the focusser, but that's okay. And it came with a plastic barlow (I'll be binning it) and a couple of eyepieces. Performs well! Jupiter looks fabulous through it- red bands clearly visible. The base has the black laminate on it so it's nice and smooth- works so much better than my 10" dob.
I spread a mat on the grass sit on it to observe tho as I find it a bit harder with the table as I'm constantly adjusting my seating position as I move the scope higher in the sky.
I love using this scope when I'm fighting with sucker holes so is great for a quick session.
i bought one of those little kson scopes for my boy suzy and they work a treat he zapps around the sky.. iv'e even picked out a few galaxies with it...
i bought one of those little kson scopes for my boy suzy and they work a treat he zapps around the sky.. iv'e even picked out a few galaxies with it...
Hi Mozzie,
I remembered you saying once that you got one of these, so my decision was an easy one, as I knew you were happy with yours.
I haven't used it on galaxies yet- which ones are visible thru it? Would love to have a go!
I nabbed one at our local Aldi yesterday. These are my first impressions:
The mount is simple but usable, azimuth friction is adjusted via a nut underneath the base, the altitude friction via a knob (which moves the scope in altitude when adjusted). There are setting circles on both axes.
The OTA is a metal tube with plastic fittings at both ends, the focuser is an all-plastic rack and pinion 1.25" focuser. It wobbles somewhat and isn't suitable for heavier loads, but probably adequate for the scope's intended purpose.
I took the bottom fitting off in the hope of finding a way for primary collimation. There isn't one without modification. The mirror itself is made from glass and 11mm thick. That was a nice surprise. I took the opportunity to give the primary a quick wash (it was rather dusty) and mark its centre.
The secondary mirror is held in place by a single vane (a threaded rod). Its position can be shifted towards or away from the focuser, by loosening a nut and screwing the mirror holder in or out a few turns. The secondary mirror can be collimated in the familiar way via three screws.
My sample was completely out of collimation. The secondary mirror was nowhere near underneath the focuser, it was way too much forward. The centre screw of the mirror holder was long enough to let the mirror be moved into the correct position, however the collimation screws are too short and don't reach the mirror anymore once there. I added a spacer ring between mirror holder and mirror to overcome this problem. Alternatively, one could try to find longer screws.
After things looked about right in the sight tube and a laser dot hit the centre of the primary a couple of hours had passed. Once the clouds part a star test will show whether or not the lack of primary collimation is going to be an issue.
The scope also comes with two eyepieces of the cheapest kind, marked SR6mm and H20mm. They come in the most annoyingly difficult to open plastic cases. Also included is a moon filter (blueish). Finally there is a brief manual, a tiny planisphere and a software CDROM.
Overall, and pending actual testing under the sky, this package seems to be fair value, especially compared to other "beginner scopes". While mine was useless (due to severe collimation issues) out of the box a little tweaking seemed to pull matters into the target range. I'm actually looking forward to first light.
Great info. Yes, the one I got - the mirror also looked dusty, but I had no real time to do anything about it. My niece came over yesterday and was delighted to receive her early Christmas present. They were going overseas for Christmas hence the early opening. After my brother's family comes back, they will have some time to play with it, and since it is very portable, it would be easy to bring it over for me to look at if they encounter any problems.
Now, I need to give some thought to making a 3" mirror cell to suit either this scope or the other Tasco that I have, which appears to have a primary mirror misalignment.
-John
P.S. My niece mentioned there is no finder scope - the Tasco had one, however with the 20mm low power eyepiece, the scope ends up at 18x so maybe that is why there is no finder scope.
