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I too am a youngster at 64 , but my youngest daughter’s “father in law” after watching my Astro journey since 2017 , has decided to buy a telescope at 73 years of age.
I steered him towards a SW 8” Goto Dob which is manageable and fairly easy to use , or at least it is for me.
After a few night sessions with me ( together with written laminated procedures) over the last 5 months, he’s making progress.
Unfortunately he’s not mechanically, practically or scientifically minded at all and has trouble remembering things but he’s getting there.
He’s able to set up outside near his garage , complete settings in Synscan , operate the scope in easy tracking mode and manually drive the scope up to a bright star and focus it.
Next hurdle is a 2 Star alignment
At 73 with no experience at all , he’s doing ok
We bought a 70kg collapsible parcel trolly from Bunnings and he just has to wheel the scope from the garage to his observing spot 5 m away. I’m 70kg wringing wet but he’s only 55kg wringing wet and can manage moving the scope easily.
These smaller 8” and 10” SW Goto Dobs are great , I’ve had a 12” since 2018.
See how the next month or so goes , but know you what he’s like a kid with a new toy , never stops sending messages or ringing me up about how wonderful it to observe the Universe. A happy ( old ) Chappy
Martin
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