Telescope Info

[Chris85]

Unsure if this is the right spot for this, but....
I'v recently been offered a second-hand telescope package but currently can't find any info regarding the brand online. The seller tells me its 80mm x 500mm F-5 "Scanner GS180 Refracting Telescope", sitting on what looks like an EQ2 and was bought between 6-10yrs ago from Binocular and Telescope Service Centre, which seems to have been folded into Bintel now.
Any info regarding performance, further specs eg apo/achro or anything I should be wary of would be much appreciated!!
Thanks :D
Chris

[brian nordstrom]

;) I would not know the brand but it sounds like the generic 80mm scopes out there by the 1000's made by Synta in China , great little wide field scopes , not to hot on high power lunar/planetary views , ok if you dont crank the magnification past 70x max . :thumbsup: .
Oh yea at 80mm dia and 500mm focal length so its a f/6.25 .
500mm divided by 80mm = 6.25 , so its a f/6.25 not f/5 .
hope this helps , any chance of a photo ?
Brian.

[Screwdriverone]

Hi Chris,

A quick google search turned up what I think is the same scope being offered on gumtree here http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/coburg/other-stuff-for-sale/refracting-telescope/342468305

for $375 (paid $900).

Either way it doesnt look very good, cheap, generic, rack and pinion focuser, not a recognisable brand and all over a very ordinary "department store" type scope. Even if it was from Bintel, and may have been a GSO rebrand, I havent heard too many users raving on about how good the GSO refractors are or were....last reference to that I can find is from 2000 on Cloudy Nights and therefore quite an old scope approaching 12 years or so.

I doubt it was "assembled" by any reputable shop, as these can be put together quite simply at home.

Its tripod wouldnt be much good for anything as it seems like you said, a bit of an EQ2 knock off with a polar scope fitted. ( I have an EQ2 so I know what they are capable of, which isnt much apart from visual and they are pretty wobbly).

If it was originally purchased for $900, then they got done....for $375 I would still avoid it like the proverbial.

My advice is: Dont buy it. More trouble than its worth, the finder is a dinky 6x30 which wouldnt see much and there are no photos of the objective (the MOST important part of a refractor) so you cant tell if its an APO or ACHRO as this SHOULD be listed on the lens element. Also, you cant see if its damaged or in poor condition.

There are PLENTY of better scopes out there such as a Dobsonian in the 8"/200mm range for around that money second hand or even around $450-$500 new that would smash this cheapie in terms of aperture, performance, reliability and ease of use.

Save the cash (or even if its free, I wouldnt take it) and save say $500 for a nice, simple easy to use Skywatcher or Bintel GSO 200mm Dobsonian which WOULD actually make Saturn appear close (but not so close as you could reach out and touch it, like the moon......)

Sorry to be a downer, but really, your money is better spent elsewhere on a quality scope.

If you are looking for something to get you started, try posting a budgetary "What can I get for $xxx dollars" post on the forum and see all the good advice you will get here.

If it IS your first scope, then check out a thread I put together here for just this purpose, to help beginners understand how much things cost, what to get and all the "bits and pieces" you may need to get you started. The thread is here (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=74670), its got pictures and everything! ;) (the prices are a little out of date, but the products are still valid choices)

Cheers

Chris

[arifmshaikh]

From the specs and gumtree ad, it looks like Guan Seng or GSO. You can find more info on http://www.gs-telescope.com/

I had similar mount which i was using with 8" reflector comfortably.

[Blue Skies]

The owner, Roger Davis (who is on here as such I think but rarely visits, but you could give him pm I'm sure), used to purchase from Guang sheng (GSO) and Synta, but stretching my memory its probably a GSO. Quality has come a long way since those days, but the optics wouldn't be all that bad. Might make a good guide scope for someone... Roger wasn't one for flogging poor quality goods so I feel the more relevant info would be how its been treated over the years since the sale rather than the origin of the scope itself.

Roger did go to work for Bintel in Melbourne for a number of years, but I ran into him in 2011 in Napier, NZ, of all places, at the annual RASNZ conference being held there that year, and he told me he was moving to Sydney to restart a telescope restoration business, which is his real passion. Hope you're having the time of your life, my friend. :thumbsup:

[Chris85]

Thanks Brian, yeah I had a feeling it would be a synta job. I was mostly interested in the mount as I'm keen to learn the ins and outs of a gem, the scope being an added bonus (and future guide scope I'm sure ;-) ).

And good work Chris, that's the add that I got the offer from. The seller emailed my scans of the booklet and it said it was written up by Roger Davis, who I understand use to manage bintel. So I don't doubt his claims regarding that it was put together by someone who knew their stuff. Also cheers for the advice but I already own a 8" dob, purchased after extensive trawling though this very site :-D however I'll most definitely try the classifieds for some more goodies!

Thanks everyone
Chris

[Screwdriverone]

Sorry, I may have been a little harsh when comparing this to a department store type scope and what was paid for it originally. But my alarms went off with regards to "unknown" type scopes as I myself went almost down that path (and struggled with my 5" catadioptric newt on the EQ2) and didnt want someone else inheriting that sort of problem on a fairly obscure scope.

Seems you have been there and done that, with regards to a dob etc, good to hear. GSO make some good stuff, but I have on the other hand seem some shocking examples of mirror deterioration and refractor issues, so dont hold them too high in the quality stakes.

That said, the issues I had with my first Skywatcher werent all that pleasant, but these seem to have been a blip, as I love my 8" newt on the HEQ5.....

Anyhow, Im shutting up now...:)

Cheers

Chris

[brian nordstrom]

:thumbsup: Good advise Chris, and you did the right thing asking here chris85 .
As Chris says there are lots of disgruntled x-amateure astronomers out there that either got given a :mad2: "Departement store Telescope " or wasted there money buying one , I know as my darling at the time got me one and the only saving grace for me was that I am a constant tinkerer ;) and made the mount usable ( it was horreddous as it was ) and I was a member of the Whakatane Astro Society and had the use of their loan scopes , 150mm f/8 dobbos .
You can imagine thats its no secret the dept store scope got used very infrequently .( I did not have the heart to tell Mandy the gift was not good quality mechanically , but the optics were very good , typical ! ) :).
Make your oun choice Chris , and if it was me I would grab it as a grab and go scope , to use when you cant be bothered dragging out a 10-12 inch dob .
My 5c worth .;) .
Oh yea if its the Gumtree scope its not an EQ2 mount its slightly bigger and stronger , lots like the EQ3 mounts in size as I have a friend with a Saxon 150mm Mak and it holds it ok for visual .
Brian.