Old scopes - how to put them down or give away.

[AstroViking (Steve)]

It's sad to say but this is far more common than you think.

I gave a presentation at work once for a "Show your team mates your hobby" session. None of them could grasp just how BIG space is and how far away things are. They liked the pretty pictures, but could not wrap their heads around what astronomy / astrophotography involves - and they are happy in their ignorance.

Far too many people (especially those in the cities) have never seen the sky from a Bortle 1 or 2 location and have ZERO idea of how amazing the night sky is. They have never given thought to even looking up at the sky - preferring to see the ground under their feet. (Or the glowing phone screen in their hand.)

Which, to me, is very saddening.

V.

Originally Posted by mental4astro

...came to the realisation that the night sky itself terrified them.

[pmrid (Peter)]

In a bizarre sort of way, it is somehow comforting to know that I am not alone in this dilemma. If I count all the scopes I have had in the past 20 years or so, I am more than a little embarassed. Quite a few scopes I bought in ignorance and hope. The same with mounts, from EQ6s to Eq8s, G11 and Titans, scopes like Edge14 and on it goes. I paid a high price for my learning curve.

But the reality is that I did learn, slowly, and I now derive enormous pleasure from this hobby. Hobby does not seem the right word somehow and obsession is closer to the mark.

But as I age and slowly become less able to lug big gear around, and less able to tolerate freezing my extremeties off fir the sake of a good image, I have to confront the prospect that one day, my wife will likely find herself with a bewildering array of my equipment which she neither wants nor understands and somehow have to dispose of it. It's a grim prospect but at 77, one I can't responsibly ignore.

And this is why I am looking to dispose of some scopes - I don't want to sell scopes I don't feel are up to a fair standard. And this is why, at the end of the day, taking them to the knackers yard does not seem to me to be an indefensible course.

So thanks for this discussion guys and for the good sense shown by most posters.

[pmrid (Peter)]

Adding a post-script:
Both scopes have gone to good homes.
I am both delighted and grateful to the friends (who shall remain nameless} who have laid a claim to them and have a plan to give them a life.

[bojan]

Originally Posted by pmrid

Adding a post-script:
Both scopes have gone to good homes.
I am both delighted and grateful to the friends (who shall remain nameless} who have laid a claim to them and have a plan to give them a life.

That is excellent outcome :-)