So I got a mate in Melbourne........

[moggi1964]

...who has a girlfriend who is in to Astronomy.

He was over in the States visiting me and we talked about him buying her a scope for an upcoming birthday.

Now, the prices over here are much less than the prices in his (your) part of the world and so I was going to make a couple of suggestions to him as possible purchases but I figure he may need to go used on them.

The scopes I had in mind were:

Celestron 6SE
Orion XT8i

The thought behind these being the fully automated choice or the larger aperture, push to with guidance, choice.

He wants to spend less then $1000 AUS and he would need to get a couple of eyepieces for sure (I could mail him a couple too).

He is running a business in Sydney but will be moving to Melbourne again in the summer so he can visit shops in either place.

What is your advice? Other than on here, are there any other places to pick up used equipment (I am steering him clear of ebay AUS as he has no knowledge of what is good/scam).

Sorry it's such a long post but I wanted to fill you in on as much as I can.

As far as her observing habits...! He has no clue and doesn't want to ask for fear of giving away the surprise.

I suggested taking her to a star party and seeing what she liked the most.

Thanks for any direction you can provide.

Morris

[that_guy]

shhh! She might be a member!!

[mental4astro]

IMO, get the largest apature your mate can, rather than go-to. Andrews Communications has the GSO (Guan Sheng Optical) 10" dobsonian for $750, and the 12" for $899. They are located in Sydney:

http://andrewscom.com.au/site-section-10.htm

I'd also suggest to let the girlfriend get the eyepieces herself. This way she can customise the scope to her liking.

[moggi1964]

Hadn't thought of that! Bugger; I hope not :)

[moggi1964]

Thanks for the direction on that one, I will send him over there. He works in Greenacre.

There seem to be a handful of shops in Victoria; do any stand out as particularly good?

Thanks.

[iceman]

There's Bintel (http://www.bintelshop.com.au) - they're one of the best and have shops in Sydney and Melbourne.

[moggi1964]

Cheers!

I just fired an email off to him giving him links to the Mornington Peninsula club (just a short drive from his home in Vic) and the recommended shops.

I also insisted he take her to a viewing night at the club and she what type of scope she gravitates to.

So we are off to a good start. Thanks to the folks here for helping out. I will keep you abreast of what is happening.

Cheers!

M

[AdrianF]

That could be a danger I always gravitate to the most expensive scopes in the shop:D

Adrian

[JethroB76]

:lol: $1000 might only end up getting an eyepiece:lol:

[stephenb]

Seriously, I have found that the guys at BinTel will not try to sell you the most expensive gear just to get a sale. They'll sell you a scope to suit your needs. I have had them actually dissuade me from buying more expensive gear infavour of less expensive.

[moggi1964]

Fortunately she only likes to spend big money on diamonds :)

Hopefully after a visit to a public viewing they can get together at Bintel and it sounds like they will be well advised.

Thanks everyone.

I'll let you know the outcome.