Beginner telescope

[Clarry]

Hello people, my first glance at this forum has been a real pleasure.
For a while now I've had a beginners interest in astronomy and have been wanting to get a reasonable telescope to fulfill that interest but the prices have always scared me a bit. So I think I have decided to start at the very bottom of the pack with a budget unit and then if my interest hold out I'll consider upgrading in the future.
So with that in mind, I saw this el-cheapo telescope (http://www.aldi.com.au/au/html/offers/2867_6350.htm) coming up at ALDI next week and I'm wondering if worth getting or will it be no better than my binoculars? After seeing the equipment you people own, I know it's probably a bit of a laugh, but as I said, it's somewhere to start.
Looking at the stats & features of this unit, can you tell me if I will see anything at all through it or will it just be a waste of time but thankfully very little money?
On the same note, this telescope (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Astronomical-Telescope-350-50mm-120x-Monocular_W0QQitemZ270292716193QQcm dZViewItem?hash=item270292716193&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A1%7C39%3A1% 7C240%3A1318)from ebay, is it a better buy?
Any advise you can give is greatly appreciated.
Cheers.

[nightsky]

G'Day Clarry,
Welcome :welcome: you have come to the right place for advice.What I did
when I got interested in Astronomy I joined a Astronomy club and went to a few viewing nights which the club held and a had a look thought a few telescope, to get a idea what scope's were good value,size for $ talked to a view blokes.Depending on where in Sydney you live IIS have a viewing night up here on the Central Coast on new moon each month.Other clubs in Sydney hold viewing nights as well.If you give us a idea what your interested in ie: Planets,deep sky objects etc, the members on this form will have a better idea as to what scope you should buy.Also "Don't" buy a scope yet until you talk to members on this site or any club you may join.Thats my advice but there are more experienced people here than me.Anyway whatever you decide good luck and clear skies :)
Cheers
Arthur

[Davekyn]

Hi Clarry,
DON’T BUY IT...Maybe just my opinion, but I would say stay away from that scope. I am sure you can do much better than that! It’s just TOOOO Cheap. It’s one of the ones experienced astronomers will tell you not to touch.

Please read the following sticky...it’s is the BEST read I have seen on the internet anywere with regards to buying a beginner Telescope. Do yourself a favour and read this...you won’t be sorry!

General principles for choosing your first telescope:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/index.php?id=63,260,0,0,1,0 (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/index.php?id=63,260,0,0,1,0)

I am not sure what Binoculars you have used, but I got to tell you, that a good pair of 15X70 will probably beat that cheap scope from aldi hands down, in regards to getting started with the night sky. In fact I was so impressed with the pair I got that I bought a larger pair and now have a tripod on order for my new Binoculars. This was after I was using a 12” Dobsonian reflector...Bino’s definitely have their place along side a telescope & make an excellent choice for beginners.

As for scope...my favourite beginners one will always be a DobsonianJ You won't be sorry go down that path!

Just read the link above and you will have a much better idea as it will cover everything you need to think about as a beginner. Hope it helps.

Dave

[stephenb]

Hi Clarry, Welcome.

I would agree with Dave: Do not buy this telescope. Take the previous advice from Dave and Arthur. These types of telescopes have been traditionally called "department store telescopes". Worthless and you will be so frustrated with them they will put you off the hobby.

One option to think about is a good pair of binoculars, a tripod and a starchart and planisphere? With Summer approaching there will be lots of warm nights and bright 'binocular' objects to keep you going to months. This was you will not be overwhelmed with the night sky too much, and in a few months (also after doing a bit more research), you will have enough information on the best telescope for your needs.

[Wavytone]

DONT buy that scope.

1. start with binoculars and a planisphere.
2. go join a society and attend the open nights, usually 3rd quarter or new moon, often there are more scopes than people to look through them.

After all, why buy something you'll only use occasionally when someone else will let you use theirs ? Especially when its likely you'll get to use a really big one.

3. pick up something secondhand either here or from one of the astronomical societies - several advertise secondhand stuff for sale from members.

[acropolite]

I agree completely with the others, particularly about meeting with others and having a look through their equipment. I'd also suggest that you have a think about how much you want to (or are prepared to) spend before making any decision.

[Clarry]

Thanks folks, I guess you've convinced me not to buy a cheap telescope. I actually did read the Beginners Guide before posting this topic. The idea of spending a night with an enthusiast club is appealing, especially as there is one quite close to me (Green Point Observatory), but I'm a chef and as such at work most nights so it makes it hard. This is why I thought a cheap scope might be my best way to experience astronomy before taking the big plunge on a $1000.00 plus unit. However I can see you're point, a poor quality piece of equipment may put me off the idea altogether. Guess I'll keep working on my options and see what transpires. Cheers.

[Davekyn]

Sorry Clarry,
The last thing I or anyone would want to do is put you off the idea. Allow me to make a suggestion that is far from a $1000.00, yet get you off to a great start.

http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-section-10.htm
90X900 Skywatcher Ahcro Refractor AZ3 Mount $299.00 including postage!

I started with a 60mm Tasco & can guarantee you will do much better with the $299.00 scope I have recommended above. I own a AZ3 Mount and can tell you it will do the job fine with that scope in regards to observing. That type of mount is going to be much better suited to a beginner and will allow you quick and easy viewing sessions.

Also as a beginner you will be more inclined to pick out the brighter objects in the sky, which will include mostly the moon/planets & Bright stars. The longer focal ratio will be great for such objects...you will easily split double stars as well (pick out stars that orbit each other...I loved doing that with my little tasco)

Although this will not be fantastic for DSO’s (Deep space) you can widen the field of view by using different eye peices. As for chromatic aberration, you would not care less as a beginner...you can use filters if its that bad, but I would not bother to begin with.

The thing is...you don’t need to spend a $1000.00 at all...so please don’t be put off. I wish I could of bought such a scope at only $299.00 especially with free postage.

If you want to focus on DSO’s then I would recommend that GS-680 8” Dobsonian:
click on (Guan Sheng (http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-content-section-10-guansheng.htm#accessories) ) to locate that scope at bottom of the page.

In fact you may very well find that not only could you go deeper, that it’s performance on planets & Lunar, more than enough...it will set you back $399.00 however you will have to get a few eyepieces. Still though, well under $1000.00

What’s the light pollution like where you live? Anyways...I just did not want to leave you high & dry...The 1st scope for $299.00 including postage would be the cheapest way out, & one I would feel comfortable recommending. In fact I may very well buy one of those for a friend of mine, beginning to show an interest in the hobby.

Hope work is going well for you...Later...
Dave J

[Clarry]

Thanks Dave, don't worry, I'm not put off. The reason I came to this forum was for the sort of informed advise that you and others have given. Both the options you have suggested sound interesting & within my budget. The Dobsonian in particular wets my appetite. Well Xmas is coming so perhaps I can convince my wife that I should buy my own present this year.
It was a clear sky tonight & my 7x50 binoculars gave me a great view of the moon & Jupiter in the western sky. Hopefully in the not too distant future & will get an even better view with one of the beasts you have outlined.

[stephenb]

Clarry, perhaps you can convince Father Christmas to pop two invaluable resources under the tree.

1. A planisphere like this one here (http://www.yorkoptical.com.au/ProductMenus/Resources/tabid/219/CategoryID/779/List/1/Level/a/ProductID/4660/Default.aspx?SortField=UnitCost%2cP roductName)
2. Atlas of the Southern Sky (http://shop.abc.net.au/browse/product.asp?productid=530365) at all good book shops

These will be an asset to you for a long time

[Clarry]

You never know Stephen, I've been a very good boy all year long. Thanks.

[GrahamL]

Those gs 8 " end of line for $399 andrews are selling are probably as cheap as where going to see for some time in this great entry sized dob.

Atlas of the southern night ..sky was given to me by a relative last year
and I think its a great publication .. theres a lot of books on the shelf in most bookstores on astronomy.. but while offering a great intro to the night sky they don't go much further than the absoulute basics ..this book is very well thought out ..
(cept for the constellation headers being in red ):lol:
It covers all the basics and drops some fairly accessable and differant DSO into the mix .

[boundless]

I can't believe you guys are telling us newbies that a pair of binoculars is better than the Aldi telescope. I think you are playing us for fools.

[erick]

Hi boundless. Are you missing a " ;) " on your post or are you serious?

[boundless]

Of course I am serious. Please explain how a pair of binoculars could do a better job than a telescope??!!

[dannat]

a cheap telescope will have a crap mount, which makes it near impossible to centre on the object you want...the finder will help you"find" very little. he ep's will not resolve objects correctly and the little eye relief will make viewing uncomfortbale. :mad2:

after some 45 mins of frustration:sadeyes:, you will throw the whole scope in the bin & wished you had spent a relaxing 44 mins gazing up at the wonders of the cosmos with the easy on the eyes binoculars... you will be pleased with the objects you managed to find & will be wanting more.:thumbsup:

[boundless]

Hi

What binoculars would I need in order to see something good? What magnification and cost would I be looking at?

Cheers

[erick]

OK, happy to. I have seen and played with one or two telescopes like these. For this price, many aspects of it have to be cheap and of low functionality. Usually the mounts are not very stable. The scope might sit steady when stationary (and no breeze), but if one tries to move it to track the moving stars (as the earth rotates), it's hard to keep the object of interest in the field of view. The focusser mechanisms are also routinely of a quality where the draw tube wobbles excessively making it difficult to focus on an object. Then if one touches the eyepiece with the eye while viewing, the focusser moves.

The eyepieces are usually made with plastic lenses so aberations, reflections, light loss are usually geat. The edge of the field may be very distorted and quite distracting to the observer.

For someone who is not experienced looking at the sky, a telescope can prove difficult. Firstly, the view will be inverted in some way compared with what one sees by eye. So it can be difficult recognising what is seen through the eyepiece in order to find the desired target. If the telescope is this cheap, the finderscope provided is usually almost unusable - difficult to see much through it and difficult to align with the view through the eyepiece.

I would suggest that one needs to spend around $400 on a telescope before one will be happier using that, than using a moderate quality astronomical binoculars worth around $120.

Still, perhaps someone will buy one of these Aldi scopes for us and give us a review?

What one gets with even moderate level astronomical binoculars is:- the use of two eyes which can be more comfortable for eyes and brain; capturing light through two apertures; the sky is the same orientation through the eyepieces as it is to the eye; good glass lenses and prisms; good multicoatings which increase light transmission and reduce reflections; good internal baffles and/or non-reflective paint reducing reflections. It is probably best to add a reasonable tripod ($100) to get the best use for stargazing. Also, they are readily used for terrestrial viewing as well.

What you do lose is magnification - but for most beginner objects, lower magnification is OK. Also looking higher in the sky is difficult, other than lying back and hand-holding the binoculars. If someone is serious, my experience is that they quickly progress to a quality entry level telescope, but, interestingly, they keep their binoculars and continue to use them.

There are a few thoughts from me. Others will have views as well and I'm sure we'll hear them.

Cheers
Eric :)

[erick]

OK, I was slow typing my epistle!

Have a search around this site:-

www.aoe.com.au

I suggest that you read their articles.

Many of us like their AOE12x60s for $109. You would need to add a tripod mount - the metal one for $19 is best. Then a Velbon tripod from a camera store (look for a cheap place and buy one for around $100-120). After that, maybe a stool to sit on, plus a Planisphere, plus copy of the latest Australian Sky and Telescope, plus redlight torch. And you are well under way. :)

[dannat]

i would say 10x50 binoculars are a good size, they show a good deal and are comfortable for short looks without tripod.

two choices now - buy chinese or european/japan

chinese option - cost $100 or less.. two suppliers are aoe.com.au & andrewscom.com.au

europe/japan - quality & quality control superior.. but comes at a cost... now looking from $200-400

i went the chinese option and am happy with them.

one last thing - if you have old eyes you want to consider the exit pupil, which is the size of glass in mm divided by magnification ie 50/10 = 5mm exit pupil. younger people can tolerate larger pupil distances

With the binos you will want a skychart or planisphere. for monthly star chart i use skymaps.com & download sth hemisphere chart - it also gives a list of naked eye/bino objects to pickout

[erick]

ps. Look in this thread about a book called "Heavens Above". Well worth it for someone scanning the sky with binoculars and starting from knowledge level zero like I did.

[Gargoyle_Steve]

You could not do better than to take to heart everything that Eric has written, great response Eric! :thumbsup:

The advice being given above is being offered freely by those who have seen and done all of these things - ie used binoculars, telescopes ("cheap" ones and more "quality" ones) and is being given so that you do not make mistakes in buying something that you will soon regret having spent yoru hard earned dollars on.

For my own opinion - I personally own 2 telscopes & 3 pairs of binoculars, so I have viewing instruments that range from 32 mm aperture through to 302mm - each of these has it's own strengths and weaknesses.

Personally I don't think you can get a useful (new) telescope for much less than $400, and again it isn't so much about the telescope it's ALL ABOUT HOW STURDY THE MOUNT IS. Increase the magnification you want to view at, increase the sturdiness of mount required.

For my money (yes, this IS exactly how I spent my money) you can't beat a Dobsonian mounted reflector (hereafter called a "dob") as best for quality, aperture and sturdiness for the dollars spent. Check out the 150mm (6") and 200 mm (8") aperture models here ($369 & $399 respectively), these are excellent and there are literally scores if not hundreds of happy owners of this brand here in Ice In Space. I have owned both a 10" and 12" from this same manufacturer:

http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-section-10.htm
(scroll down about 1/3 of the way)


Binoculars - also a boon to modern astronomy - keep in mind that anything above 10 magnification (that's the 10 x nn bit in the description) will be pretty much unusable due to image wobble if you are trying to just hand hold them. 7 x 50's (50 mm aperture each side) or 10 x 50's are pretty common. For anything larger in magnification, or for simply heavy bino's (my 20 x 80's weigh in at 2.4 kg) you need to consider some sort of monopod, tripod, or other bino-suitable mount.

Try these guys for excellent binos:

http://www.aoe.com.au/astronomical.html
They sell other models of bino's but these are the ones that are recommended for astro use.
(ie do NOT use any with the "ruby / red" front lens coating, in astronomy you WANT to keep the red light, not reflect it away)

Andrews Communications, as mentioned above for dob's, also sell bino's, many are thge same model as sold by AOE.
http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-section-11.htm

Hope you find this useful!

[boundless]

I'm looking for a great pair of binoculas for my Dad as a Christmas present. He loves going to the horse racing and also cricket where he wants to see the players up close and also doesn't mind people spotting.

I need a pair that he can pick out players/spectators from one side of a large sporting ground (e.g. MCG) to the other.

Any suggestions of the magnification needed?

Cheers

[erick]

Boundless, please email the guys at AOE (www.aoe.com.au) and ask them.

I think that the required magnification may be 15 times or more, which is above easy hand-held binoculars, but maybe I'm being pessimistic.

I've seen pictures of horse-racing (you know movies etc.) where people in the posh boxes seem to be using 7x or 8x binoculars - but the race callers are using 15x or 20x which are firmly fixed on mounts.

Let us know what you find out.
Eric

[Clarry]

As I had today off I decided to head over to Andrews Communication in Greystanes to have a look at the scopes on offer. The chap there was great. He spent some time showing me the various scopes on display, how to use them & so on. Unfortunately he didn't have Guan Sheng GS-680 in store for me to see but after hearing what he & you people on this forum said about it I decided to buy. So tomorrow it will be delivered with a green filter for the moon & a Collimator. I can't wait. I have to say the 8"ers are much bigger and more impressive than I imagined.
To think a few days ago I was considering wasteing $80 on an Aldi telescope and here I am now, about to take delivery of something that I'm sure will give me many hundreds of hours of pleasure as well as a better knowledge of my galaxy.
Thank you folks.:)

[erick]

:thumbsup: Clayton. We await your first light report. And there are a lot of folk to answer more questions and show you what to do and how to do.

[stattonb]

i have brought many scopes from andrews and i would recommend if u are just startin in this hobby to invest in a 8" scope from them

[Ian Robinson]

Well , why not a good sized pair of binoculars to start off .

Up to 20x80s can be hand held - I have a pair and I hand hold them , usually and they give stunning views of night time objects . If you decide astronomy isn't for you , you've got a nice pair of field binos for spying on the harbour, the beach and ....

If you want to view the planets and take a really good look at the moon .... no option but a telescope .... a dob up to about 10" diameter would be the go (just beware of coma - the bugbear of newtonian based reflectors - distorts the image away from the centre of the field of view - particularly noticeable with low power eyepieces (wide apparent field of view). A nice sized dob would be the best way to go as a started - more bang for you $ compared with SCTs, Makcasses , and very much better value for money than a refractor (especially APOs).

Bigger the light collecting objective - the better the resolution (detail) and the fainter the objects (magnitude) you can see.

Dob's or newts bigger than 10" a bit of an effort to move about , and no longer are all that easily portable - especially if you will be taking it places in the car to get dark unpolluted skies.

If you buy a dob - consider as one of your first accessories a coma corrector lens and an upgrade to a low profile 2" crayford focusor - rack and pinions focusors and helical focusors are bad news.

I'd suggest you hold off on buying a scope with a gem, it'll make things complicated and may turn you off unless you are technically ready for it (ie want to photograph stuff).

Another option is to bypass buying a telescope initially if you are mostly interested in deep space and comets and star fields etc (wide angle stuff) , already have a nice camera and some zooms or telephoto lenses and to simply buy modest but solid equatorial mount with at least dual axis drives) and bung the camera on the GEM and start taking shortish exposures - maybe a minute or two with fast film or a highish digital camera ASA speed setting (800 ?). You'd need a LPF if the yard is in an area that is light polluted.
You can progress to guided imaging easy enough pretty quickly and cheaply later as you chase those fainter objects or move to lenses with longer focal lengths (100mm , 200mm , 300mm ....etc). Ypu'd be amazed what you can record in a minute or two on film or digitally (and if the tracking is good enough images can be stacked and processed to show truely incredible images once you learn the tricks).

[rayman888]

Can I confirm that these telescopes are the Guan Sheng 6" and 8" dob?

Is that brand better than Skywatcher or Celestron in terms of quality, both of the OTA, glass used, EPs and mount construction when comparing equatorial mounted reflector (5" and above) rather than dob? Or would you suggest another brand? ATM I have a 127mm Celestron short tube reflector which I'm thinking of returning.

Thanks.

[ausastronomer]

These cheap department store telescopes (Aldi, Dick Smith, Big W, K Mart, Australian Geographic, plus many others) are commonly referred to as XTT's. Xmas Trash Telescopes.

They are completely useless for anything other than using as a weight source to anchor your boat.

1)The finderscope mounting brackets are terrible and never retain alignment with the main scope.

2)The finderscope itself is useless and almost impossible to locate any target in.

3)If you do happen to find a target in the finderscope its alignment will have moved and the target will not be in the field of view of the main scope.

4)If you do get lucky and find a target in the main scope the mounts are so flimsy, when you accidently bump the leg of the tripod the target will have moved 3 universes from the field of view, never to be found again.

5)About the only thing you will ever find in one of these scopes is the moon and bright planets.

6)The supplied eyepieces are of abyssmal quality and suitable to throw into the lake.

7)The optical quality of the main scope is horrid and even with high quality eyepieces the views will be poor.

Save your money.

Buy a "decent" pair of binoculars (8x 42's, 10x42's or 10x50's), or an 8" dobsonian reflector, as already indicated. Importantly, buy it from somewhere that specialises in selling optical equipment and astronomical telescopes.

Cheers,
John B

[Ian Robinson]

Think you'll find the mass produced small scopers (dobs , scts and achros and apos) are pretty much of a muchness quality wize and put side by side with compeditor scopes same size and type are pretty much indistinquishable optically - it's the mounts (rockers and bases, and tube hardware where the biggest differences will be) where the biggest differences are to be found - buying a brandname is not a guarantee of better quality - plenty of big brand small scopes are lemons.. The bigger companies take advantage of the fact that most beginners do not know what to expect and know bugger all about telescopes when that buy these telescopes.

I would suggest that it may be well worth your trouble to join a club first and get along to viewing nights (this way you can :
1) talk with experienced amateurs
2) get to look through a range of scopes
3) maybe befriend someone who will come with you and help you select the right scope for you rather than being led astray by a salesperson who is interested in quick sale.
4) visit the shops a few times without your wollet or credit card and give the scopes you are considering a thorough examination and ask LOTS of questions (if you aren't sure or don't know something - ASK the staff.
and
5) read reviews of scopes under consideration.
6) NEVER EVER BUY ON IMPULSE. (plenty of people have bought scopes on an impulse and regretted their choice at their leisure).

Problem with mass produced scopes is that compromises are made with the figure ( you are probably looking at not much better than 1/4 wave ??? precision - takes a lot of effort and time to get the optics to premium quality figures = $ , and cheaper materials are used in the tube , the rocker box and base , and some even try to pass off cheap and nasty focusors).

In my opinion it pays to source the components of your desired telescope (and build your own OTA and dob mount) .... you'll wind up the perfect telescope for you rather than a compromise that you may be dissatisfied with.
Plenty of places who supply top quality primary and secondary mirrors, mirror cells (made of metal with multiple points of flotation) , spiders and secondary holders, and focusors.
The tune can be made from a range of materials (I originally used formatube for my 10" newt ( after a few years of exposure to damp nights and being used" it became pretty daggy looking ) - and am now moving to a PVC stormwater pipe 316mm OD which is pretty rigid and most importantly moisture proof , and if you are handy with carpentry tools you can make a first class dob mount from marine grade ply that will look great and will be an object of pride for many years.

[ausastronomer]

All good advice



Whilst that is generally true of cheaper mass produced scopes the optical quality of the GSO dobs is outstanding, particularly considering the price. The optics are pretty reasonable irrespective of price. I have used countless GSO dobs and have seen several with outstanding optics and most have been good to very good. I haven't seen one GSO dob that had bad optics. I have seen several that needed some slight tuning optically and mechanically, which any experienced club person would be happy to assist with.



Whilst this is good advice for an experienced observer, it isn't necessarily appropriate for someone buying their first telescope. The $399 8" GSO dob will give outstanding performance relative to its price and will keep any beginner happy for at least a year to 18 months, probably longer. At that time the person can either upgrade or build their own and sell the GSO scope at a small loss only. It is pointless a beginner who may only last a few weeks or months in the hobby spending a lot of money and even more time in a scope that they will never recoup their costs on, particularly if they only last 5 minutes in the hobby. Darkplagues' beautiful custom built 16" truss dob with Suchting mirror, which he offered for sale for $2,750 despite the Suchting 16" mirror costing $3,500 alone; is testament to this. What a deal, a Moonlite focuser and a complete Obsession clone for $-750 back in the bank.

You only build them if you know for certain, you're gonna keep them. That doesn't apply to a beginner buying their first scope !

Cheers,
John B

[rayman888]

I presume GSO stands for Guan Sheng optics, No?

Is the 8" GSO dob (A$399) better than their GS-500 6" f/5 150mm x 750mm reflector on SV1 equatorial mount with tripod at A$499 (from Andrews)? Having used an equatorial mount and looking at the pictured dob mount, I suspect I would prefer the EQ mount better. It seems to track better. I did use a celestron alt./az. mount (on their 50mm refractor at $58!) and find it very frustrating to point at a celestrial object, very jerky. Am I correct in that assumption about the eq mount? Does the dob mount track just as well, or indeed does it track at all? Note that I don't have a dob, so haven't used one yet. I need to make a decision whether to return my purchase soon.

Sorry, if I come across as a noob 'cos I'm indeed a noob here! LOL.

BTW, are those new collapsible dobs by Skywatcher any good. They have an 8" 200mm x 1200mm for A$599, $200 more than the GSO 8" dob!

[dannat]

ray, the dob mount is essentially alt/az which you need to push/pull etc to move the scope. It does not track unless you buy an add-on which is expensive (ot more than scope itself). that said set up time is basically putting on the ground.
An eq mount has controls whereby you turn the knob to keep the object viewed in view, but in order to do this you need to spends some time getting the mount aligned to the south celesstial pole in the sky.this initially takes some time but gets quicker with practice

[ausastronomer]

Hi,

Yes GSO stands for Guan Sheng Optics. It is the scope sold by Andrews Communications, BINTEL etc.

You cannot compare a cheap flimsy alt/az mount to a dob mount. There is absolutely no comparison between the two, except they both have horizontal and vertical axes, as the direction in which the scope moves. The dob mount is infinitely easier to set up. It is easier to locate and aim to an object, and subsequently to steer the telescope. They are simplicity itself. They also make it very easy to hand track objects, which is quite difficult with the Celestron alt/az mount you are referring to.

Unfortunately a decent equatorial mount costs a lot of money. Over $1,000 plus for a decent chinese made one. $3,000 plus for a high quality US or Japanese made one. With the cheaper equatorial mounts which are packaged with the cheaper scopes, the mount quality is very poor and the mount is generally inadequate to properly carry the weight load of the telescope that's put on it. This makes them unstable and wobble for long periods every time you touch the scope to focus etc. It subsequently can put the object out of the FOV. In addition the 8"/F6 dob will show you infinitely more optically than the 6"/F5 telescope could ever hope to do. With the 8" dob package you have about $350 going into the scope and optics and about $50 into the mount. The mount is cheap because they can be mass produced on CNC machines from chipboard laminate and they are very simple, with minimal moving parts. With the 6"/F5 SV1 package you have about $200 going into the scope and optics and about $300 going into a very inadequte equatorial mount. A cheap poor quality equatorial mount is a lesson in frustration. Particularly when the scope is undermounted. That's what you get with a 6"/F5 newt on an SV1 mount. You would also find it infinitely more difficult to point any equatorial mount directly to a target (unless it has goto), than you will with any dob mount.

Having used both types of scope over many years, I would be buying the 8" dob in a flash.

Cheers,
John B

[shelltree]

I can definitely vouch for this book, it is absolutely amazing! So very simple to read, written like a conversation with a fellow observer with helpful and easy diagrams of constellations and directions to particular objects. Written up in order of constellation so you can look for a huge range of things in the one constellation. Even directions (with diagrams) to find the South Celestial Pole etc.

I'm still a newbie and found this book very easy to use and it helped me find a heap of things I had never thought to look for before! I'd also suggest covering it with clear plastic covering as the front page isn't very glossy and will be affected by the dew! :D

[Suzy]

Well done Clayton! :clap:
Looking forward to your first light report. ;)
Oh and I nearly forgot, :welcome: to our forum.
You did well- you consulted the advice of people in the know and bought on good judgement. You will be very happy with your purchase, trust me. ;)

Once you get your scope and are ready for your first light, try out these gems - they are often suggested for people just starting out as they are so spectacular, and let's face it, when we get our first scope, we want to be hit the awesomeness right on that very first night don't we?! :D

This list is courtesy of Rob H which I pulled out and quoted from another thread...

[Mliss]

:lol: that is so true!!

I'm an Andrews fan too, I've been on the phone to them a few times and they're never in a hurry, even with the little questions...not to mention they really know their stuff.

:welcome: Clayton, you'll love it here!