A few of us IceInSpace people get together every new moon at Cambroon Observatory at Kenilworth.
The next one is this coming weekend, Saturday the 3rd of May.
It really would be worth your while to come along. We could help you sort out your barlow problem as well as give you some pointers on finder some nice deep sky objects. I'm pretty sure that there will be a few other new members turning up this weekend.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ead.php?t=8808