Choices

[PsycoSS (Glenn)]

Hi there,

Being a 1st time purchaser, i am looking at the SAXON F1149EQ Newtonian Reflector Telescope w/ Tripod. It has the following description....

• (1x) SAXON F1149EQ Telescope
• (1x) 5x24 Finderscope
• (3x) Quality Super 1.25" eyepieces (4mm, 10mm & 25mm)
• (1x) Strong Aluminium tripod and accessory tray
• (1x) Bonus: 1.5X Erecting Eyepiece
• (1x) Set of Tools
• (1x) Instructions/Assembly Manual
• (1x) Colour printed Moon & Solar System Chart
• (1x) Astronomical CD-ROM

Information about Reflector Telescopes
Newtonian reflector telescopes are a popular choice for astronomical use because they have the lowest cost per inch of aperture. Observation of faint deep sky objects, such as nebulae and galaxies, can be achieved at a relatively reasonable cost.


Some of its special features include:

• Bonus: 1.5X Erecting Eyepiece(Valued at $45.00) for terrestial viewing
• EQ1 German Equatorial Mount with large mount head for greater stability and tracking precision
• Long focal length allows for good viewing at both high and low powers with different eyepieces

Specifications

• Aperture: 114mm
• Focal length: 900mm (f/8)
• Coating: 4.5" aluminised and overcoated mirrors
• Tube material: Aluminium
• EQ1 German Equatorial Mount
• Smooth rack and pinion focuser
• Weight: 16Kg

Is this a decent telescope for a 1st timer like me, who has 5 kids that want to "star gaze"?


Or maybe this one.....Celestron 127mm Telescope






Thanks

Confused.

[dannat (Daniel)]

Glenn, I don't think many here would recomend such a scope, most will recommend a dobsonian mounted reflector - much easier to push around for first timers - the quality of the mirror & accessories is usually good - you might look at a 6" or 8" Dob (not too many 6" around, but if you are keen you could place a wanted Ad for either in the classifieds here.)

You could visit one of the Bris retailers to see a couple of scopes in action, if you go to the links section on this site there is a list of retailers - sirius optics is one in QLD.

Secondhand I think is a good way to go - there are a few SE qld'ers here - you can always get them to show you how it all works when you pick it up, as well as saving a few bucks

[PsycoSS (Glenn)]

Cheers Dan, but what is the cause for not purchasing the ones i mentioned?

I am looking to place it on my deck and not move it. My price range is around the $300 mark. I am confused with your terminology of "dob" and 6" and 8".

I basically want to see the planets as close as possible, the moon and stars, and what ever else lurksout there. Are there lots of differences i should be looking for?

Again,

Thanks

[Kevnool (Kev)]

I have a 114mm Newt and its just plain rubbish so now its a lounge room statue for my 1st scope.
The Dobs come mounted on wooden rocker box, There bigger, better ,more sturdier, and most of all a better investment .
Just pay a few more dollars and you,ll be glad you did in the long run..........gotta run Cheers Kev.

[PsycoSS (Glenn)]

Ok, so the ones i looked at seem to be crap....

So what about a Celestron Star Hopper 6" Dobsonian Dob Telescope for $459, brand new?

Will this do what i have asked earlier?

Thanks....even more confused now..

[renormalised (Carl)]

"Dob" just means Dobsonian....it refers to the type of mount the telescope sits on. It was originally designed by a guy named John Dobson, in the US, many years ago. 6" and 8" just mean 6 and 8 inch...the size of the main mirrors of the scopes. A 6" scope will see stars down to about 12-12.6 magnitude, which means it can see objects upto 275 times dimmer than you can see them with your own eyes. A scope of that size will give you plenty to look at...all the planets (not Pluto though...too dim), every star you can see and then some, pretty much all the objects in the catalogues like the NGC and IC catalogues (that's nebulae, star clusters, galaxies etc). You can see a lot with a 6" scope, but the bigger the mirror your scope has, the more objects you'll be able to see and the brighter any object will appear. You'll also see more detail in any given object because a larger mirror gathers more light and has a higher resolving (seeing) power than a smaller scope.

So, in light of this, a 6" scope is good...an 8" is even better

What you really need to consider is how much money are you willing to spend. Then it's a case of getting the biggest scope you can afford. With some of the trimmings, of course, like eyepieces, barlow lenses etc.

Hope that has helped

[GrahamL]

Lots of scopes out there to consider isn't there ... theres some good posts
stickied at the top of this forum you should have a read of .

The small reflectors your looking at in your first post up there do a job I guess in that hopefully they get people interested in astronomy .. but in corner of the lounge room is where they mostly finish up.

The 6 " and 8 " newt (type of telescope ) on a dobsonian mount the guys mention are a huge step up for not much more and are very easy and intuitive for kids to use .. I have had first time users (kids especially)pushing my scope around and finding objects easily in a couple of minutes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newtonian_telescope

dob mount
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dobsonian_telescope


An 8 " for sale here across town from you and free delivery is worth a look


http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=40160

cheers graham

[rmcpb (Rob)]

You have had some really great advice. I have both an 8" and a 13" dob and you will see the 8" used most times and its great. I have had it for years now and love it. Easy to use, easy setup, short cooling time, great views, simple, simple, simple. My kids have driven it for years, the youngest since he was six.

Have a serious look at the one in the previous post.

Cheers

[dannat (Daniel)]

there is an 8" dob in bris in the for sale section - unfortunately with our dollar fall of late telescope stuff, being a small market has gone up quite a bit

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

The equatorial mount can be very confusing to use. It can turn you right off Astronomy. Maybe down the track, if you really get into the hobby, then consider one.
A Dobsonian mount is very intuitive to use, just push and pull to where you want it to point. My kids used to use mine all the time with out any trouble at all. You'll all enjoy the views to be seen through a 6" Dob.
I bought my scope through www.andrewscom.com.au, and they delivered it up here to Kilcoy for around $70.

[Crackers (Craig)]

As a fellow noobie, I came to these guys for advice and ended up getting convinced that a dob was the way to go and guess what - they were absolutely spot on!

It arrived, took 15 minutes to assemble and in about 2 minutes after it got dark enough (and allowing the scope to cool) I had found the Orion nebula and was on my way. Dobs really are that good and that easy. Sure, there's tweaking to be done to make the experience better (collimation and all that), but there's no end of people here willing to help out with that too.

I was staggered at the amount that you can see with them and how easy it was to find the things you want to look at. Trust the advice - you won't go wrong.

Good luck. Craig