I cant answer any of your questions regarding optical astronomy...
but i can point you towards radio astronomy...The concept with radio astronomy is to recieve a radio wave and (damm too early in the morning to think).. turn it into a signal that can be displayed on your pc..you dont necassarily need to use a pc but being able to record and log what is going on is a huge advantage...
the easiest star to watch and get readings from is the sun...you can do that every day..no late nights..
The static you hear on a radio between signals, is basically what you are looking for(but at different frequencies of course)..
here is a link that will show you how simple a radio telescope can be...from here you could get as elaborate as your pockets allow...
http://my.integritynet.com.au/purdic...-telescope.htm