Is this a good beginners telescope?

[apophisadair13]

AstroMaster 114EQ - 31042

http://www.telescope.com.au/Home/tabid/247/CategoryID/1313/List/0/Level/a/ProductID/2619/Default.aspx?SortField=Free3,UnitCo st

Thanks for your help!

[leon]

Hi Robert although I don't have and don't use a Reflecting scope, but for a first scope one with limited experience the one you are looking at seems fairly reasonable .

I like the Equatorial Mounts, as well but favour Refractors, and in your case the Orion ED 80, would also be a good first scope.

But the choice is yours, and it all depends on what you want to do with your scope in the future.

I'm sure some other more experienced will come to your aid shortly.

Leon

[mental4astro]

Hi Robert, :welcome: to IIS, mate.

The 114mm reflector in all its configurations has been the beginners work-horse for many, many years. Unfortunately, most beginners never progress very far because of both awkardness in using an equatorial mount for first-timers, and the typically poor quality of these mounts.

Regardless of your choice of scope, reflector or refractor, I would suggest mounting the scope preferrably on an alt-azimuth mount, which is the simple up-and-down an swing-around movement. I feel this style of mount makes for a scope that will be used more often.

Unless you intend to undertake astrophotography, I would steer away from inferior quality small equatorial mounts. And if photography is your thing, there are better scopes for this purpose than this model scope. Typically these mirrors are spherical in shape, rather than parabolic, which creates focusing problems, espcially if the f/ratio of the scope is f/6 or faster.

Leons recommendation of refractor is excellent. I would suggest a 6" or 8" dobsonian mounted reflector. Might cost a little more, but I guarantee it WILL be used more than this equatorial set-up. Bintel, York Optical and Andrews Communications offer these refractor and reflectors. If you can, see if you can get to their store's if you can to check them out.

Mental.

[GrahamL]

No it isn't Robert .. welcome to iis btw :)

The guys have it pretty well covered above with regard to this scope
The mount looks a little sturdier than some of the cheapo e bay scopes you see , but its got a few other things going on there that would make you steer clear of it imo.

The scope itself has an f9 focal length which would normally have a
much longer tube and need a beefier mount to support it, within the optical train this one has another lens which allows the tube length to be halved, you can now put it on a smaller tripod and offer it at quite a reasonable price.

Reflecting telescopes do need adjusting optically from time to time
while it isn't difficult as such, that addition of that extra lens I mentioned above , from all accounts makes this simple task very difficult/ bordering on impossible in these short tube scopes.

The 8 " dob mentioned above is a great scope you could keep for a lifetime and be happy with it , also should you want to get into photography it can easily be fitted to a decent mount.

I would suggest you have a talk to the guys at bintel in melbourne they are always very helpfull I've found .

best of luck
graham

[garyp]

Hi Robert,
I can't add much more than what's said only to say when I started out I looked at different scopes, one of them the same as the 114 on EQ mount (just a different brand name) and an 8" (200mm) reflector on a dobsonian mount. I ended up getting the 8". Why? Because the amount of aperture of the 8" gives me good views of deep space objects. the 114 just wouldn't have given me such good detail. down the track I can put it on a different mount if I want to do astrophotography. I have never regretted my decision and use it all the time. I will never tire of the views it gives. but it did cost a little more.


That's my story. Hope it helps

Cheers

Gary:)

[Lismore Bloke]

I would agree with Graham and the other guys. EQ mounts need more time to set up - the polar axis needs to be aligned with the south celestial pole. The EQ mount's movements can be awkward for beginners and some of the cheaper EQ mounts are not of the best quality. A Dobsonian is much easier to operate and the larger mirror (say 8") will provide brighter views, particularly of deep sky objects. It is also fairly manageable and quick to set up, and can be transported to a dark sky site fairly easily. You really need something that is simple and easy to operate - it will be used much more often than a design that is more fiddly to set up. And, as Graham said, the tube can be remounted on a decent EQ mount later on, such as an EQ6, for photography if that is where your interests lie.

[el_draco]

Heres another 2 cents worth.

If you have a budget of only a couple of hundred dollars and are a real beginner, don't buy a telescope at all. Get yourself a decent set of binoculars, a good star atlas and spend some time learning about the night sky.

Binoculars can show a lot, and can be used for other activities as well. If you want to play with a few diferent telescopes, join an astonomy club and other people will give you the opportunity to test the water before you buy a more substantial instrument.

Small steps, less distance to fall.

Rom

[montewilson]

30 years of amateur astronomy tells me Rom is correct. We lose heaps of enthusiastic newbies because they don't take good advice and get frustrated with Astronomy when in reality they are frustrated with their dept store equipment. Binos - YES but more importantly go to a club meet even in a city location that will change your outlook instantly and point you in the right direction. Good Luck.

[Omaroo]

With all respect to those calling this a "department store scope", it is in fact a Celestron AstroMaster, and not a bad unit in all reality.

http://www.celestron.com/c3/product.php?CatID=62&ProdID=428

A mate of mine bought one of these scopes a while back, and as a total beginner, found that it was quite good - as long as someone experienced set it up for him first. Even rough polar alignment was difficult for him to master at first, but after a couple of goes with a north-corrected compass and an inclinometer I had him setting it up by himself well enough to observe objects for several minutes at a time - certainly well enough for a quick look around the sky.

The only nasty part of the scope was the "StarPointer" red-dot finder. Red dots, which I normally really like, are usually easy to use. This particular one is a right-royal PITA. It just doesn't work - so it needs to be replaced with a more common unit.

Other than that, the mount is a tarted-up EQ3 and quite solid for the weight of the scope.

It's a philisophical question for you now - equatorial or AltAz....

[Iceaxe]

Robert,
Here is my two cents. Like you, I'm fairly new to astronomy.

Join a astronomy club. The info you'll pick up is mind blowing, there is more to astronomy that looking in telescopes, stuff like :- Spectrograph ect
The wealth of knowledge and experience of the members is great. Some club have loan telescopes (that's how I learnt dods mount was easy, and my friend's equatorial mount frustrating).

Binos or telescope it pays to deal with an Optical shop (most of them are astronomers their advice very helpful), as apposed to a non optical (dept type) stores who sell camping equipment ect as well as optical stuff.

If you get a dobsonian you need to think :-
Collapsible or Truss type - easy to transport ect.
Solid Tube - can be mounted on an equatorial goto type mount.

For me 10" dobsonian, mid next year EQ6 Pro mount (by then I would have leant enough from the club to understand it, & not get frustrated), by the end of next year astrophotography.

as Rom said "Small steps, less distance to fall."

Hope I was some help.

Joe ;)

[multiweb]

Looks alright Rob. I started with one like this, next one up actually (130mm). I'm still using the same to date to image :) For that price you can' tgo wrong if it's Celestron optics. Bino's are a good idea too to start with. Have fun. :thumbsup:

[apophisadair13]

Thanks for all the advise... i decided to buy a telescope and i bought this one

http://www.astronomyalive.com.au/reflecting-telescopes/dobsonian-mount-telescope/saxon-dob-6-152mm-reflecting-telescope-system.html

Saxon Dob 6 - 152mm Reflecting telescope system

Its actually for my dads xmas. i was wondering what other things i will need to get him so he can set it up and start using it asap.

Any tips on setting up, or anything you can think of?

Thanks again

[erick]

Robert, he (and you) should enjoy using that scope. I suggest you get a copy of the book Astronomy 2010 and a large planisphere. Look at the local Astronomy sites to get them.

Beyond that, a stool might be useful to sit on while observing. Also a red light torch so you can see what you are doing (eg. changing eyepieces) without using white light to ruin your night vision. Astronomy shops sell various ones, but check your local supermarket. Everyready (and I think some others now) make headlights with a red light and some white lights. They are useful.