[KG8]

Good choice of hobby Sitt, your going to have a lot of fun

I almost bought the LX200R too, sitt, but then I saw one side by side with the German equatorial mounts at an astronomy society meet and decided against them. The German mounts had a bit more versatility to them I thought. Having said that, a Meade goto is a much easier scope to setup, especially for a beginner. The only way to sure is you get to an astro meet, there you can see different scopes at work and make a value judgment. You don't want to get a month and $5k down the track and realize you really wanted something else. That is just too depressing. I wouldn't visit telescope shops with your credit cards in pocket either! Everything is just too irresistible.