Quick Introduction ...

[NickandRebecca]

Hi all,

We have just signed up and wanted to say a quick hello. Have been browsing the beginners' section and will be studying at length later.

We have not yet purchased a telescope - we were quite gung ho a week or so ago (nearly did the eBay thing!) but have decided far more input is necessary.

We arrived here via another site where one of your members had asked for advice re eBay Optrons telescopes - thanks to you, have reconsidered our purchase!

We have noted some group activities mentioned - as we are in the Newcastle/Central Coast area, we would be very interested in attending any upcoming events.

Look forward to meeting more of you here - and in the real world!

Rebecca and Nick (or vice versa!)

[asimov (John)]

Hello & welcome Rebecca and Nick! A wise decision to hold off on the purchase of your first telescope prior to further knowledge. I'm sure you will receive the knowledge required in this site!

[Mick (Michael)]

Hello and welcome N&R

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Hi Nick & Rebecca or Visa-Versa!

Welcome to our little corner of the Universe.
Very good idea about researching before jumping in. I won't tell you to get a Dob. Plenty of others will do that for me LOL.

Look up & Smile!

[Orion]

Hello Nick and Rebecca and welcome.
It always pays to do your homework before purchasing a telescope or anything for that matter and I am sure everyone here will do their best to steer you in the right direction.
IceInSpace holds a star party at Kulnura (when it finally stops raining) under dark skies. It is a great opportunity to meet some of us and to also learn a lot about telescopes. I am a member of the Newcastle Astronomical Society (NAS) and you both are most welcome to attend our monthly meetings at the Newcastle Uni.
http://www.nas.org.au/

[cahullian]

Hi u2 welcome to the mad house. Im also from Newcastle and have been to a few dark sky viewings at the central coast and can tell you it's well worth the hours drive.

Gazz/Irish

[dhumpie]

Hi Nick and Rebecca,

Welcome to the group. You did the right thing by joining this group. There are heaps of experience here. The best thing for you to do would be to avoid e-b** scopes altogether unless you already know heaps about scopes. The best beginner scopes IMHO are the 6"f/8 or the 8"f/6 GS dobs. And the best dealer to get them from for a saving is Andrew's Communication. But I agree with others that you should at least meet up with a few fellow ice in spacer's and test out some scopes before deciding.

Hope that helps.

Darren

[acropolite (Phil)]

Nick and Rebecca...

[fringe_dweller]

Welcome Guys! Wise move to join IIS first before buying - its a minefield out there sometimes for beginners.
Kearn

[ving (David)]

hi and welcome to the funkiest place in town!

meet mike and the others at one of the meets and try thier scopes b4 you buy
it'd be the thing to do

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

and g'day. You're sure to find the information you need here. Good move to research a bit first. Do yo have any specific ideas about what sort of things you want to do with or look at with a scope? There are a lot of choices out there and having some sort of idea of how you want to use your scope will sometimes determine what sort of scope to get.

[atalas]

Hi Nick & Rebecca to IceInSpace come along to our monthly meets and meet some of the guy's and girls . You will get to look through a lot of telescopes of different types and budgets and make your desicion easier .
Oh yes and the people and the dark skies are tops!

Louie

[frogman (Anthony Lord)]

Hello Nick and Rebecca,
There are quite a few different scopes out there and it is quite easy to get "befuddled" by it all..... I suggest you come to the next get-together here in Kulnura. Dont worry about anything we are a happy bunch.

I did a little research before i bought my Newt. (my prce range at the time)
but then wish i had saved the money and bought a "buzz click" ummm sorry a schmidt cassawhatsie.?!?

these things you dont know till you have a look through the different types of telescope.
Keep your eyes open on this site for details of the next "mission" . It should be soon after the rain stops and you dont have to swim (through the mud) to your floating scope.

Look forward to seeing the two of you at our next meet.
Anthony

ps there are NO stupid questions, only stupid answers ! feel free to pick our brains clean.

[toetoe (Peter)]

G`day Nick and G`day Rebecca,
Good on ya`s for joining up A wealth of info around here on all sorts of stuff. Now that you got your first post done just ask away.

[Daring Dave]

Welcome to the best Astro forum in OZ !

[h0ughy (David)]

Hi guys

Please contact the NAS website to get some local information, use IIS to get the greater knowledge of the more experienced AA's. Some rules do apply, hide your wallet as you start to read into articles and if you get the chance use some scope you will be bitten by the bug badly. Don't make a hasty decision as the scope you want may be a comprimase of size, portability and ease of use. Oh and of course cost.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

I am not talking about you Nick & Rebecca so don't take this personally as you are doing the right thing by investigating Scopes first, but don't ya love the way the general public go crazy and buy any telescope by the thousands when the Media reports that there is a Comet coming. Every $50 supermarket scope instantly goes up to $99 and when the event is over the market and ebay is flooded with junk scopes.

Take your time, check out the invites you have been given and enjoy the experience through a good scope, not a 'throw-away' junky scope. There is some real garbage out there.

EDIT: There is some real garbage out there. I mean garbage scopes, not garbage out there in Space LOL!

[Soldant]

Hi Nick and Rebecca, welcome to IIS! I've only just become active myself and I'm new to astronomy as well. Space is awesome, never ceases to amaze...

[iceman (Mike)]

Hi N&R, as the others have said, you just have to come along to our central coast meetup at Kulnura - the next one is on July 9th. It's only 45-60 minutes drive for you from Belmont, and you'll get to see a bunch of different scopes and try them out. Nothing works better than "try before you buy".

Stay away from those Optrons things on ebay.

Hope to see you on the 9th!

[RAJAH235]

Welcome, Nick & Rebecca. All good advise has been given above. L.