Quote:
Originally Posted by The_bluester
My first scope experience was with a 4.5" newtonian (Same basic scope as a dob) on a german equatorial mount at 14 years old.
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Me too!
I suspect that for many of us "of a certain age" (born in the 1950s or earlier), our first magnified look at the night sky was through a pair of 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars (STILL a "must-have" investment for any stargazer!), and our first "real" telescope was a 4 1/2" f10 Newtonian on an equatorial mount (probably "Tasco" branded).
My father bought one in about 1975 or so, and it was the family telescope for the next 25 years. (And still worked perfectly, with perfectly acceptable optics, when we sold it about 15 years ago.) If I recall correctly, it cost him something like $400 back then, which would be a couple of thousand in today's money. Look at what you can get for ~ $500 - $1,000 today!