Paul Drinkwater wrote:
I'm looking to buy my lad a telescope for his 17th birthday. Budget at
£200 max.

See:
http://www.astunit.com/tutorials/firstscope.htm
http://www.astunit.com/tutorials/evaluating.htm

Of the ones in the sub £200 category, the least optically suitable for
lunar/planetary is the ST 80, although good ones can be OK if stopped
down a bit (the lens cap has an aperture for this) and used with a
decent eyepiece. I'd not be too keen on the mount for the 130M -- not
good at high mag with a scope of that size.

There's a TAL going on eBay at the moment; currently £41 -- if you can
pick that up for £100 or less it would be a real bargain:
http://tinyurl.com/4xxu6
Ends in an hour or so.

Alternatively, UK AstroAds for 2nd hand:
http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~chrish/aa-aug24.htm
The following are good VFM:
#9390
#9346 (I've dealt with John before -- good bloke!) (Yes, it is £15 over
your budget...)


HTH


--
Best,
Stephen
http://www.astunit.com