Tania Park Newbie

[gel]

im looking forword to this fridays meet so i might have a sneak at whats available ,im also wondering also what might be the range of telescopes i might chance upon,as a newbie im going to be influenced(or under) by your goodselves.i think im after a 8 inch/10 inch dob and maybe it could be the Skyquest XT Intelescope Dob w\Computerised Object Locator from Astro Optical $1175 + 299 W\ C.O.L-maybe just a straight up 8 inch Dob?
Confusion rains, hopefuly not on Friday.

[davidpretorius]

welcome, you will be fine.

don't know an astronomer yet that doesn't mind talking about there scope and helping noobies!

it should hopefully come down to:
1. is it easy to handle / carry
2. do you want to do deep space (non planetary) imaging
3. do you want to navigate yourself or get the scope to do it
4. do you have a budget in mind

Have lots of fun!

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

Hi Tania,
Welcome to the group. It's a nice place to hang out.
Jeanette

[acropolite (Phil)]

Welcome Gel, A GS dob would be better value, they probably come out of the same factory anyway. For $1199+299 you could get a 12 inch dob and some extras. When it comes to dobs, budget aside, the bigger the better, within whatever transport constraints you have. Seeing you're in Sydney it would be worth a visit to Bintel and Andrews communications.

[iceman (Mike)]

im looking forword to this fridays meet

Which meet, gel?

[gel]

the meet is on feb 3rd at 8pm as shown on astronomy onlines web site ,it seems like weeks away dammit!

[33South (Chris)]

Dont forget MyAstroShop at Brookie.

www.myastroshop.com.au

Tell Steve (VideoGuy) IIS sent you.


Chris (Ex Mona Vale)

[norm]

Hi,
I was considering the Orion XT10 with the computerised Object locator myself at one stage but was advised that the 'dsc' is more oriented for Northern hemisphere celestial objects and will only point to a few things below the equator in the south - something that should be confirmed before purchasing.

FWIW, the price for a Orion XT10 + their proprietary object locator was equilavent to a Bintel 10" GSO premium with argonarvis and from that imo is a better way to go.

The Orions don't come with crayford focusers either.

Just my 2 cents worth.

[iceman (Mike)]

Hi Gel.

Great advice from Norm there, don't rush into a telescope purchase just yet.

Wait until you've had a look through some telescopes at a local meet - the price from Astro Optical seems pretty expensive to me.

I had a look at the astronomy online site and saw the meet on the 3rd february, that's about 2.5 weeks away. Is that part of the Northern Beaches Astronomical Society? A member (Phillip) from that society joined up yesterday.

Have you thought about coming to IISAC? It's only 9 days away and there'll be over 70 people there with loads of different telescopes that you can look through, and it will give you a really good idea of what you get for your money, what you'll be able to see for your money, and what type of telescope is best for you (size, weight, portability, aperture etc).

It'll only take you about 3.5 hours from Sydney and you can come for 1 night, or all 3!

Let me know if you have any questions.

Good luck with your decision, but as I said, don't rush into it - ask plenty of questions and read some of the other threads especially in this beginners forum, as there's been a lot of questions asked (and advice given) lately that will be relevant for you.

[iceman (Mike)]

I can also second Chris' suggestion about MyAstroShop. A great guy with a passion for astronomy. He'll definitely look after you.

[gel]

hey people id love to go to the "Camp" but im a Busboy, so getting thier is a no go,ill just have to rely on what people bring to tania park for a guide.thats life ,and it goes on and on and on