Larry Stedman wrote in message ...

In any event, what's the best $100 that YOU ever spent on this hobby?

Hm, I dunno.

The best $25 I ever spent was on a red flashlight; astronomy's nearly
impossible without one.

The best $4 I ever spent was on an eye patch. I use mine all the time,
on my observing eye when I want to protect it from light and on the other
eye when I'm looking through the eyepiece. Avoids untold fatigue, and
allows me (within reason) to go into a lit room without losing my dark
adaptation -- in one eye, anyway.

I've bought four red flashlights and four eyepatches, strategically
scattered in home, car, and observing kit so that I'm sure never
to be without one.

That digital voice recorder that I finally broke down and bought was
a pretty good $100 investment. Much smaller, lighter, and easier to
use than the tape recorder I had been using before to take notes.
Sure beats the hell out of pencil and paper. Now, if I could only
learn to sketch without looking at what I'm doing ...

Most of my books and atlases cost well under $100, and they're all
great investments. Best value for money are probably a planisphere
and Deep Map 600.

My planetarium programs both cost under $100 back when I started
buying them; upgrades have raised the total over that by now.
But I can't imagine life without them now. Talk about good
value for your money!

On the eyepiece front, there are plenty of candidates, but I would
have to say the Barlow's the winner.

A nebula filter costs just about $100. It's a pretty specialized
tool, but when it works, it works really well.

My three-legged folding camping stool and my various lounge chairs
all cost petty cash, and they all make a vast difference to the
observing experience.

Baader solar film I got free because somebody had a spare scrap,
else that would be right up there among cost-effective purchases.

Actually, most of my really treasured purchases have been under
$100. The major exceptions are my telescopes and a few of my
eyepieces.

- Tony Flanders