S.A.A Telescope Questionnaire - beta 1

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"Starlord" wrote in message
news
Hay Bill, only trouble is that I didn't start this whole thing at all.

Nahhh! We KNOW you're guilty!

We just have no idea what you're guilty OF yet... But never fear. Ve haf
our vays!

Are you familiar with the term scapegoat? Well, that's what FAQ-keepers
become when they don't behave according to the Orwellian Dictum...

Starlord wrote:
Hay Bill, only trouble is that I didn't start this whole thing at all.

OK, as the person who started all this, I think we should refocus our
efforts a bit.

My original suggestion was to get a feeling for the person's
requirements, if and what equipment he owns already and from where he
will be observing.

We certainly don't want to scare him off with jargon or technical
questions. His answers to the questionnaire should help us to give him
advice, in the right direction.

It will be great if we can keep it to 10 questions max and personally I
think the questions should at least cover the following criteria :

1. what does he hope to see with it? Good views of planets or faint
objects like galaxies & nebula? If he doesn't have a clue, he should do
some reading first and then come back to ask us again.

2. does he own any other equipment - binoculars, other telescopes, etc.

3. from where will he observe? We want to know if light pollution will
be a problem or not.

4. his abilities in handling and transporting the telescope will
determine the maximum size and weight of the OTA and mount.

5. does he mind tweaking the telescope from time to time (like
collimation, which requires a bit of explanation) & the extra effort
required with EQ mount setup vs that of a Dob mount.

6. does he want an automatic telescope (GOTO) are is he willing to look
for the objects the hard way.

7. etc., etc.



--
25° 45' S
28° 12' E

Jan Owen wrote:
If it's a questionnaire for the purpose of helping someone
chose a scope, it should be VERY short and to the point. [snip]

Right, hence my three-question approach. Find out how much they want to spend,
where they're going to observe and what they want to observe.

Most first-time telescope shoppers don't have the foundational knowledge
required to answer long, detailed questionaires. And frankly, I think a lot of
folks would find it intimidating. They know they want a telescope. They're
probably planning to use it at home or a local park. Maybe they've got a
specific interest, but more likely, they want something they can use to look at
everything.

Getting advice on how to shop for a telescope should be a fun, relaxed
experience. The best approach is to keep the questions to a minimum and the
advice basic. Respond with information that will help the person decide which
telescope will best fit their needs and interests:

Aperture (how much light the telescope collects) determines what kind of views
you'll get. Be prepared to spend around $500 for a decent scope, some eyepieces
and charts to help you find stuff. You'll be chosing between three basic
designs, reflectors, refractors and compounds. Each design has strengths and
weaknesses relative to the others.

Reflectors provide the best "bang for the buck," the most aperture per dollar
spent, but require more regular maintenance to ensure continued good views.
Refractors provide the best views per inch of aperture and require minimal
maintenance, but are also the most expensive per inch of aperture. Compound
designs--telescopes using both lenses and mirrors--are the most versatile, and
fall between reflectors and refractors in price. Beware of the cheap scopes
produced by Tasco and Bushnell. Many of their products use plastic optics and
wobbly mounts. If the main selling point is "500X magnification!" that's a
telltale sign of a cheap scope to be avoided at all costs.

From here, let the newcomer respond. They'll probably have more questions. GoTo
may come up, at which point I try to point out the relative plusses and
minuses.

Computerized drives can be a lot of fun, particularly if you enjoy high tech
gear. They can also be helpful in getting the most out of limited observing
time. But be aware that you need to have some basic familiarity with the stars
and constellations to do the initial alignment required for the GoTo system to
work. Also, GoTo does nothing to improve the view in the eyepiece. If your
budget is limited, the trade-off for GoTo is reduced aperture.

The worst thing to do is respond immediately with a specific suggestion.
Recommending a telescope without taking into consideration the interests and
needs of the person can easily lead to poor advice. The 6- or 8-inch Dobsonian
is a good choice for many first-time scope owners, but not for all.

Regards,

Bill Ferris
"Cosmic Voyage: The Online Resource for Amateur Astronomers"
URL: http://www.cosmic-voyage.net
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Email: Remove "ic" from .comic above to respond

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To reply, remove the "z" if one appears in my address
"Bill Ferris" wrote in message
...
Jan Owen wrote:
If it's a questionnaire for the purpose of helping someone
chose a scope, it should be VERY short and to the point. [snip]

Right, hence my three-question approach. Find out how much they want to
spend,
where they're going to observe and what they want to observe.

Most first-time telescope shoppers don't have the foundational knowledge
required to answer long, detailed questionaires. And frankly, I think a
lot of
folks would find it intimidating. They know they want a telescope.
They're
probably planning to use it at home or a local park. Maybe they've got a
specific interest, but more likely, they want something they can use to
look at
everything.

Getting advice on how to shop for a telescope should be a fun, relaxed
experience. The best approach is to keep the questions to a minimum and
the
advice basic. Respond with information that will help the person decide
which
telescope will best fit their needs and interests:

Aperture (how much light the telescope collects) determines what kind of
views
you'll get. Be prepared to spend around $500 for a decent scope, some
eyepieces
and charts to help you find stuff. You'll be chosing between three basic
designs, reflectors, refractors and compounds. Each design has strengths
and
weaknesses relative to the others.

Reflectors provide the best "bang for the buck," the most aperture per
dollar
spent, but require more regular maintenance to ensure continued good
views.
Refractors provide the best views per inch of aperture and require
minimal
maintenance, but are also the most expensive per inch of aperture.
Compound
designs--telescopes using both lenses and mirrors--are the most
versatile, and
fall between reflectors and refractors in price. Beware of the cheap
scopes
produced by Tasco and Bushnell. Many of their products use plastic
optics and
wobbly mounts. If the main selling point is "500X magnification!" that's
a
telltale sign of a cheap scope to be avoided at all costs.

From here, let the newcomer respond. They'll probably have more
questions. GoTo
may come up, at which point I try to point out the relative plusses and
minuses.

Computerized drives can be a lot of fun, particularly if you enjoy high
tech
gear. They can also be helpful in getting the most out of limited
observing
time. But be aware that you need to have some basic familiarity with the
stars
and constellations to do the initial alignment required for the GoTo
system to
work. Also, GoTo does nothing to improve the view in the eyepiece. If
your
budget is limited, the trade-off for GoTo is reduced aperture.

The worst thing to do is respond immediately with a specific suggestion.
Recommending a telescope without taking into consideration the interests
and
needs of the person can easily lead to poor advice. The 6- or 8-inch
Dobsonian
is a good choice for many first-time scope owners, but not for all.

Regards,

Bill Ferris

Yep! Agreed. I'm with you all the way!

In message iMxlb.72524$vj2.7139@fed1read06, Jan Owen
writes
After reading a bunch of the responses to this thread, I can only conclude
that it's purpose is to:

Force the respondent to prove he or she is worthy of a new scope.
Make sure the person has the "right" reasons for wanting to buy a scope.

I think that is a bit unfair. Getting people to consider size and weight
carefully before jumping in and buying mail order something that they
cannot even lift safely let alone put on a tripod seems reasonable to
me.

A 12" SCT doesn't sound that bad on paper until you try lifting one.

"How dark are your local skies?" and "how far would you need to travel
to reach a dark sky site?" are also reasonable questions. No point a guy
with a tiny Smart car living in a city apartment owning a 20" dob for
instance.

One question I think should actually be in the scope FAQ but isn't :

Are there any local astronomical societies with observatories or unused
donated telescopes that would be available for loan ?

I don't know what it is like in the US but over here there is a shortage
of keen observers. Several societies I know have loan kit that is
unused.

And it is much easier to decide what sort of scope you want once you
have had a chance to play around with a few to see what you like.

Regards,
--
Martin Brown