Hey Guys,
I am a novice and am getting a tasco 40-114675 from one of my frineds. Looking for some information...if somebody can help
1) Is it good for beginners?
2) What all should I look when I get this one (I mean parts/accessories/manual/cd ) as this is a used one
3) My friend is saying last year he paid around $800 usd for this , now the market price is $129 usd is it true?
is it the model with GOTO? I think i have seen it new for between $500-600, have not used one but tasco scopes don't have a great reputation, neither do 114mm reflectors
Hey Guys,
I am a novice and am getting a tasco 40-114675 from one of my frineds. Looking for some information...if somebody can help
1) Is it good for beginners?
2) What all should I look when I get this one (I mean parts/accessories/manual/cd ) as this is a used one
3) My friend is saying last year he paid around $800 usd for this , now the market price is $129 usd is it true?
Any help is appriciated..
Thanks in advance
1) No I wouldn't recommend this telescope, you would be better off saving
some more dollars and going for 6" or 8" dob. You will find certain things like
the wobbly mount/tripod a frastrating to use. Actually you do better buying
a pair bino's for that price.
2) Read answer to Q 1
3) How well do you kinow this friend??? I think he is conning you.
Sandyinspace, I’ve had a 114mm Tasco for a few years now and reckon it’s a great little scope. The portability is key – leave it set up in your house and you can carry it in and out with one hand, whenever you want. Cool-down is quick with the small mirror. There’s a review on this forum for a very similar Tasco model:
The eyepieces that came with it were not that good, so I lashed out on reasonably decent eyepieces (21mm & 8mm Celestron X-Cel), but cheap Plossls would be perfectly adequate.
I use almost exclusively about 50x magnification (actually just under with 21mm EP in my scope, at 900mm focal length), only going up on bright stuff like planets and the moon, and the odd DSO that will handle higher mags at this aperture (eg Dumbbell Nebula). The views at low power are awesome if you’ve got reasonably dark skies - bright pinpoint stars against a black background.
People say you won't see much in these scopes, but it's not true. With lots of practice, you can see all sorts of faint fuzzies, but high magnification is not really an option because you run out of light. In time, you will be able to see detail on Jupiter including clear shadow transits, Cassini Division on Saturn, etc. Of course, faint fuzzies and planetary detail simply weren't there the first time I used the scope, LOL.
The other thing with these beginner's scopes with EQ mounts is that they are excellent training for later on, if you decide to get into imaging. They teach you the apparent movements of the stars, and the mechanics of locating or following celestial objects. All good grounding! So enjoy!
Just a quick note regarding the dollar value of this 'scope. I have seen it on the 'net for around $129.oo
It wouldn't be worth much more than that. Having said that, at $129 it seems to represent good value, bearing in mind its limited capabilities. I think Rob summed it up well in the previous post.
$129.00 i got one for my birthday and it cost around $300 it was not really worth it i cant see anything through that scope the only thing i can see decently thought it is Saturn its crap at seeing deep space objects like nebula.
i agree with what Rob_K said in the above post, i have the 114375 model and have had some great viewing sessions with it, including nebula's. With a decent eyepiece and a decent barlo, you will have a ball with these little Telescopes.
plz tell me what the nebula's you can see I've been looking for ages and all i get are dots and i know what they are there just to fare away.
i'm assuming you have some star charts of some description.
if not, you really need to get some. perhaps buy a nice star atlas from a book store, or borrow one from a library, or maybe download a free night sky simulating program like this: http://www.stellarium.org/
theres plenty up there to see, even with the very smallest telescopes. i started out with my dads tasco 76mm newtonian, and it showed me plenty of amazing things.
to start with, the orion nebula (M42) and eta carina nebula (NGC 3372) will be great to view through your scope.
its kind of hard to just scan the sky expecting to see something, because a) you don't now what you're looking for, and b) you dont know where to look.
plz tell me what the nebula's you can see I've been looking for ages and all i get are dots and i know what they are there just to fare away.
Hi Valmir - you should be able to see the bright nebulae like Orion & Eta Carinae quite well. I've attached some approximate eyepiece views of these that I get through a 114mm Tasco. These are at low magnification (say around x50) and I've guessed the scale a bit. But of course in the actual views the stars are more numerous, brighter and pinpoint. In the first one (Orion) the photo is 'burnt out' (white) in the centre - the eyepiece view will be four tiny, close, bright 'diamonds' in the centre. Dark skies are very helpful.
Also one of a brighter galaxy, and one of Saturn at high magnification (guessed, about x200?). With planets, to go this high in these scopes you need really good seeing, otherwise it's just a dim blob that won't focus. Better sticking to low mags most of the time - very tiny but bright.
If you don't get similar views, it might be a focus or collimation problem.
Good luck!
Cheers -
Last edited by Rob_K; 27-01-2008 at 01:25 PM.
Reason: extra info
$129.00 i got one for my birthday and it cost around $300 it was not really worth it i cant see anything through that scope the only thing i can see decently thought it is Saturn its crap at seeing deep space objects like nebula.
If your 114mm reflector is well collimated, you will be able to see some great sights, even with mediocre eyepieces. The first time I saw Omega Centauri through my 114mm Newt, I was dumbfounded. It was amazing! It was when I tried to obtain a larger image-scale through the eyepiece that the limitations of this aperture became obvious.
Aperture limitations notwithstanding, the 114mm was a great introductory tool for globular and open star clusters, and some of the brighter nebulae, as well as views of both Saturn, Jupiter and of course, Luna.
to Ice In Space
