Is this a good price?

[Michael]

Hi y'all,
I have been given the opportunity to upgrade my sons telescope as he has proven that he is very keen on astronomy. The telescope we have been offered is a York Explorer N114. It is a reflector with a 114mm arpeture and is on equitorial mounts. The asking price is $150 AU. Is this a good price for this scope and is this a good scope for a beginner? I have attached a pic.
Thnx for any help.
Mic

[janoskiss]

Welcome Michael!

The EQ mount might be a bit frustrating for a beginner (and maybe for an experienced astronomer too because the cheap ones tend to be shaky at high powers). You also need to know what condition the coatings on the mirror are. Some dust or few marks don't matter, but if the scope is old the coatings might have faded away. If you can relatively easily see through the primary looking at it from the back, then the mirrors will need to be recoated.

If you'd be willing to spend a bit more, you can get a lot more scope per dollar buying a new 6" Dobsonian for $300, or an 8" Dobsonian for $400-500. These are also very sturdy and easy to use.

[[1ponders]]

:welcome: Michael.

The lower end equatorial mounts can get frustrating. They can be improved, but not by much. You haven't said how old your son is. I would say if he is 12 or under he may well find this mount frustrating and loose interest. Especially at times when the eyepiece is pointing down and the tube rings have to be loosened and the tube rotated. A good EQ mount can bring years of enjoyment, a poor quality one days of frustration before you put it into the cupboard an hardly use it again. If you are sure an EQ mount is the way to go then look for a second hand, well maintained EQ3 as a minimum for that particular scope.

Steve's advice about a 6" or 8" Dobsonian is great advice. Easy to use, plonk it down anywhere and in any direction and your ready to go. Eyepiece is always at the right spot, though you might have to crouch down occassionally. If a kid is old enough to look through the eyepiece then they are old enough to use a Dobsonian. You never know he might have it long enough to pass it onto his son :thumbsup:

[RB]

Welcome Michael,

It's so important to keep your son interested in the hobby, like Paul and Steve said.
When I was young I had a really hard time using a scope like this and was put off. It wasn't until years later that I came back to astronomy.

When it was time to buy my 8 yr old daughter a scope, I decided to go with a dob style scope for the reasons that Paul outlined.
Now it's her favourite and uses it all the time with ease.

Hope this helps.

[Michael]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I guess I should let you all know that my son is 13 and is being homeschooled as he has been recognised as a "gifted"(to use a label i suppose) student and the education system was having trouble keeping him interested. He now studies genetics and has a profound interest in quantum physics at the moment. I'm not saying that he is or will excel in these areas, but, I was hoping it would give you an understanding of his level as a 13yo boy.
Cheers

[mickoking]

I think that 'scope will be fine for your kid providing the mirror is in good nick. The price is good too.

BTW where in Perth do you live?

Mick.

[rogerg]

I started off with a York SkyRover N114 - the model up from the scope you have there. The difference was in general quality, not size.

I am very glad I started with it rather than a DOB for many reasons including:
- it looks like a telescope more than a DOB does, which matterred to me.
- it forced me to learn RA & DEC and associated aspects like how to find objects by RA & DEC, why RA & DEC are used, etc.
- it forced me to get a good understanding of the rotation of the sky, and all sorts of associated aspects.
- as shakey as it was it enabled me to easily follow an object by just moving in RA
- it allowed me to get started in astro photography, and, believe it or not many of my wide field photo's are taken from the SkyRover telescope, piggyback. They're professional quality, still selling them. BUT yours is not a SkyRover it's an Explorer so I woud not expect you to get much in this regard. Also I had patients and tinkerred with it a little.
- the understanding I learned from it provided a great foundation for future purchases of equatorial & wedge mounted scopes.

Having said all that, most people seem to recommend DOB's as a start scope, so surely the majority can't be wrong.

Also, when I started I was ... er.. thinking... umm, about 19. I'm not sure what it would have been like as a 13 year old, but it sounds like your son is smarter at 13 than I was at 19 :)

Roger.

[rogerg]

Oops. I should have answerred the original question!

I would expect included in that price is at least one, probably 2 eyepieces. These telescopes always came with a 26mm and 10mm eyepieces, so those should be included. $150 for that package sounds OK to me.

But as others have said, check the optics are in reasonable condition and that you can see a distant tree through it no problems, the mount moves OK, etc.

Roger.

[Michael]

Cheers, thnx heaps for that.

Mic

[Michael]

I'm in Rivervale.