Hi, Star hopping is the way you had to do it before computers! Like black
and white TV before Color and Stick Shift before Automatic transmission!
Every professional telescope in the world is now motorized and GOTO.
Even the department store cheapie scopes are GOTO. Why do you want to spend
most of your time searching and trying to figure out which way is up?
In reality you learn much more about the sky with a GOTO system than you can
ever learn with a chart in one hand, a flashlight in another hand and your
brain trying to remember which way is left and right or up and down.
With a $2000 budget you can get a very nice MODERN scope with a built in
computer that can tell you everything you want to know about any object in
the heavens. You can point anywhere and it will tell you all about the
object in your field of view. You can request any object and it will take
you there. You can ask it to take you on a tour of the most interesting
objects currently in view. It is great and you can see many more objects
that you ever can in a night of push and pull. When ever I am viewing near
push-pullers they are constantly running over and asking be to slew to an
object they are having trouble finding. Then they can look at the angle of
my OTA to see where to point their tube. Someone with a green lazer is
really popular because then the P-P people can see it point right to the
object of their search.
I know this will bring out all the dobbers and push-pullers to rebut what I
have said. Most can't understand how to use the new equipment so pretend
they are happy. I know that once you have learned the old ways you hate to
change to something new. That is why young kids adopt and learn new
technology very easily while the old timers prefer to stick with what they
learned when they were young. Some of us old timers, yes, I am 70 years
old, do like to adopt new methods and technology. I have 5 or 6 scopes and
they are all GOTO systems. Some by Meade and some by Celestron. A Celestron
Advanced Series scope would be well within your budget and a very satisfying
setup to use.
I have a Meade LX200GPS which is at the top end of your budget but is
pleasure to use. Some will tell you there are all sorts of problems with
the new fangled stuff but I think they probably have trouble with anything
new. I have had many GOTO systems for several years and have never had a
problem or failure with any of them.
I am not here to talk you into doing anything my way, only to give you an
alternative to think about. It won't be long before star hopping will be
something you read about in the history books. You don't want to be stuck
with expensive obsolete equipment!
Good Luck and stand back for the barrage!
"callisto" wrote in message
ups.com...
I want to buy a telescope, which I will use for star hopping to find
DSOs. I plan to use about 60x or less to find my object then change
eyepieces or use a Barlow to see more detail.

My budget for this (including accessories such as dew shields and
tripods) is $2000.

Are there reflectors or refractors or other types of scopes that
correct the image so you can follow stars exactly as they are shown in
an atlas? Or are there atlases that show stars inverted or with a
mirror image that corresponds to what you see in the eyepiece?

Can prisms or additional lenses be placed in the light path to give a
right reading image? (If Jupiter had JUPITER written on its face, I do
not want to see RETIPUJ when looking at it!).

Also, are there websites (or books) that describe this type of thing.
If so, please list several.

Thanks