[phillean]

Thanks Mike, Rob and Steve

My children are in the 10 to 16 years size range and $450 to 550 is about my price limit.

I Had thought of using a tripod mounted scope but I can see after more reading why the Dobsonian 8" is better for beginners - large light gathering, easy to align and access - don't have to be up at the height of the tripod.

Fortunately the community oval near us has concrete cricket pitch in the middle, a nice flat location for setting up a scope and a reasonable distance from lights - the trees in our yard block the sky and the oval is a little higher up above most nearby street lights.

It will be a while before I purchase so I have time to look around. So far the Bintel/Guan Sheng seems to be very popular and in my price range. Are there others I should consider ? I notice that AOE has the Saxon range, any comments on these?

phil