Advice on telescope purchase

"Larry" wrote:


"ChrisH" wrote in message

Looking for a used scope is a good way to go, if you later find
interest wanes you can sell it again for little financial loss. Also,
you will get a telescope you could not otherwise afford. An 8"
reflector will keep you interested for many years with what it can
show you, that is what I would aim for. The new price for such an
instrument would be around £500, and expect to pay about 2/3 that
price for a used one (depends on what extras are included).

ChrisH

UK Astro Ads: http://www.UKAstroAds.co.uk

Where should I look for a used scope? Is there a website where people
advertise, or an astronomy magazine that has them in, or should I check out
eBay?

Larry

Chris is too modest to mention it but you might try the link at the
bottom of his post

Cheers

Martin

--------------
Martin Frey
N 51 02 E 0 47
--------------

"Larry" wrote in message
...
Hi

I am interested in Astronomy, and would like to purchace a telescope - at
the moment I only have a 'toy' one, which doesn't provide very good
viewing.
Do you think that this is a good telecope:

660x maximum magnification - optimum usage up to 200x.
60mm objective diameter.
800mm focal length.
Interchangeable 1.25in eyepieces.
H25mm/28x, H12.5mm/64x and SR4mm/200x, 6x 24mm finderscope, 3.3x barlow
lens.
Full length aluminium tripod with Alt Azimuth mount.
Micro altitude control.
Precise rack and pinion focusing.
1.25in diagonal mirror.
Accessory tray.
Moon filter.
Solar projection screen.

It costs £80 from argos

(http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/st...ay?storeId=100
01&langId=-1&catalogId=1001&productId=64081)

I am on a fairly limited budget, so I am happy with the price, but do you
think it's worth it? (it is also avaliable from Amazon, but it is more
expensive and less convinent)

Thanks,

Larry


Hi Larry,

My advice FWIW is to find your local Astro Society and have a look through a
few scopes for free so you get an idea of which can do what. Then see if
you can get someone to help you look for something second hand. I recently
picked up a as a second scope a wide field 80mm refractor on a small driven
equatorial mount for £90 second hand. It would make a great beginners
telescope in my opinion. Miles better than the 60mm toy refractors and a
ready market when you want to move on.

Robin

That sounds good (cheap supermarkets can have suprisingly good deals, I got
my computer from Aldi, and its a great machine for the cost), how ofter do
they come along? My 'local' Lidl is quite far away, so I want be able to
check, do they have a website that could tell me when they're in stock?

Alternatily, I was looking at the TAL 1, listed on
http://www.astunit.com/tutorials/firstscope.htm, or maybe the motorised
version (do you think its worth the extra money). It was on Becon Hill
Telecopes as a special offer for £160, or £200 for the motorised, but the
site seems a little out of date so I'll have to contact them to check

Larry

(btw, I just want to thank all you guys for helping out a newbie)

"Jim Easterbrook" wrote in message
.uk...
Larry wrote:

I am on a fairly limited budget, so I am happy with the price, but do
you
think it's worth it? (it is also avaliable from Amazon, but it is more
expensive and less convinent)

If you can wait, then every so often the Lidl supermarket chain offers a
70mm refractor for £79. You don't get so many accessories, but they are
a bit better (e.g. you get 2 Kellner eyepieces instead of 3 lesser types
and an equatorial mount instead of an alt-az). It's still not a
brilliant scope, but it will show Saturn's rings and Jupiter's moons.

How do you feel about buying second hand? Ebay has a mix of complete
crap and good bargains. I think I've done well buying new via ebay from
dealers in the USA and Europe. UKAstroAds is another good source,
although it tends towards the high end stuff.

If you do decide to save up and spend more you'll start being faced with
choices about type of scope and mount. Ask here and you'll get more
opinions than you need. (-:
--
Jim Easterbrook http://www.easter.mersinet.co.uk/
N51.36 E0.25

"Larry" wrote in message
...
Hi

I am interested in Astronomy, and would like to purchace a telescope - at
the moment I only have a 'toy' one, which doesn't provide very good
viewing.
Do you think that this is a good telecope:

660x maximum magnification - optimum usage up to 200x.
60mm objective diameter.
800mm focal length.
Interchangeable 1.25in eyepieces.
H25mm/28x, H12.5mm/64x and SR4mm/200x, 6x 24mm finderscope, 3.3x barlow
lens.
Full length aluminium tripod with Alt Azimuth mount.
Micro altitude control.
Precise rack and pinion focusing.
1.25in diagonal mirror.
Accessory tray.
Moon filter.
Solar projection screen.

It costs £80 from argos

(http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/st...ay?storeId=100
01&langId=-1&catalogId=1001&productId=64081)

I am on a fairly limited budget, so I am happy with the price, but do you
think it's worth it? (it is also avaliable from Amazon, but it is more
expensive and less convinent)

Thanks,

Larry



For your after xmas budget i would reccomend (every one knows what coming)
a tal100. I bought one for £225 from whide screen center and i dont think
you will
get a better (new) scope for the beer vouchers.

Rob

--
________________________
http://robert.thegeakes.co.uk/
51:21N 01:02E

Larry wrote:

That sounds good (cheap supermarkets can have suprisingly good deals, I got
my computer from Aldi, and its a great machine for the cost), how ofter do
they come along? My 'local' Lidl is quite far away, so I want be able to
check, do they have a website that could tell me when they're in stock?

I don't know the periodicity - I saw the offer in January this year and
went for it. I take a look at http://www.lidl.co.uk every week to see
what's coming.
--
Jim Easterbrook http://www.easter.mersinet.co.uk/
N51.36 E0.25