Alexander Avtanski wrote in message ...
When it comes to observing variable
stars, are the charts detailed enough not only to be
used to find the star in question, but also to allow
reasonable magnitude estimation - do they generally have
enough comparison stars with plotted magnitude around?

You can also directly download individual AAVSO charts over the
internet. Go to:

http://www.aavso.org/

and enter a variable star name like "FG Sge", or go directly to the
charts page at:

http://www.aavso.org/observing/charts/

Sample charts showing stars for estimating magnitudes, in the AAVSO
"D" format, are -

For FG Sge -
http://www.aavso.org/cgi-bin/shrinkw...GE/FGSGE-D.GIF
For TZ Tau -
http://www.aavso.org/cgi-bin/shrinkw...AU/TZTAU-D.GIF

Charts are usually available in several formats (direct), reverse,
different sizes of field of view. See -

http://www.aavso.org/observing/charts/howtouse.shtml

Good hunting. - Canopus (Kurt)