Hi Dodge,
and welcome to IIS
Y
ou won't get much worth having for that budget in the way of a decent scope. All the good stuff costs a bit more than that. Like the others have said though, please resist the urge to waste any money at all on the Dickie Smiths and dept store scopes. They mostly really are, in your words, - crap !
However, you will get real value for money with a pair of BIG binoculars from the likes of Andrews (
www.andrewscom.com.au) or AOE (
www.aoe.com.au). These will give terrific binocular views of the heavens, (and two eyes are definitely better than one where this is concerned !). You will need to get a tripod stand with them though - or your arms will be aching inside 30 seconds
Let us know what you decide hey!
Cheers
