Starter telescope for 8-year-old

After seeing the shiny OTAs with lots of gears and knobs, most kids don't
want binoculars. Even if you can duel with them!

"Bob Officer" wrote in message
...

A good set of binoculars.

Duel use during the day. bird and nature watching

Check out Orion at www.telescopes.com.

They have several scopes that may fill your requirements. Many have
posted that the best thing to get is binos. If you want to get a
telescope, get one! I'd stay away from the 60mm refractors. They are
often of poor quality and are difficult to use. The easiest
telescopes to use are called "Dobsonians". You can just push them
around and point them where you want without worrying about a bunch of
mechanical stuff. These are great for kids... oh and they're pretty
fabulous for bigger kids like us too!

Whatever you decide to get, spend time with your child and help
him/her learn about astronomy. You'll get a kick out of it yourself
too!

Michelle Stone
Custom Telescopes by Plettstone
http://www.plettstone.com/telescopes

(Petre Huile) wrote in message . com...
I'd like to interest an 8-year-old in astronomy and looking at the
stars. What is a good, not-too-expensive starter telescope to get? It
doesn't have to be very cheap, as I do want one that works well but is
within a reasonable price range.

Thanks,
Petre

Just in case you're interested, Mindware Online has the Orion SkyQuest XT4.5
on clearance for $139.99 plus $30 s/h. [That's the 4.5" Dob]

I'm not associated with them, and don't know how many they have left, but I
ordered one for my 13 year old son.

http://www.mindwareonline.com/mwstor...&DID=1&sku=740

Jim


"Michelle Stone" wrote in message
om...
Check out Orion at www.telescopes.com.

They have several scopes that may fill your requirements. Many have
posted that the best thing to get is binos. If you want to get a
telescope, get one! I'd stay away from the 60mm refractors. They are
often of poor quality and are difficult to use. The easiest
telescopes to use are called "Dobsonians". You can just push them
around and point them where you want without worrying about a bunch of
mechanical stuff. These are great for kids... oh and they're pretty
fabulous for bigger kids like us too!

Whatever you decide to get, spend time with your child and help
him/her learn about astronomy. You'll get a kick out of it yourself
too!

Michelle Stone
Custom Telescopes by Plettstone
http://www.plettstone.com/telescopes

(Petre Huile) wrote in message
. com...
I'd like to interest an 8-year-old in astronomy and looking at the
stars. What is a good, not-too-expensive starter telescope to get? It
doesn't have to be very cheap, as I do want one that works well but is
within a reasonable price range.

Thanks,
Petre

Phineas St. George wrote:

Howdy Krill,

I am a newbie, though 7 x 8 years old :-)

I appreciate your information about the binoculars and such;
I just went to the shopping link for the Vanguard BR-1050w and was
wondering if it has a 'spot' to mount an "L" bracket to my tripod?
...or do you hand-hold them? ...and what is a "pantograph mount"?
I checked Orion online and nothing is listed...
Same with a Google Search...no product listings or places to purchase...
Do you use a pantograph mount with your Vanguard binocs?
Where did you get it, or is it a homemade "kit" type mount?

Thank you in advance for any further info

Phineas


Hello,

I have a pair of Vanguard binoculars, although I'm not sure if they
are exactly the same model - BR-1050w. Mine are 10 x 50, so there is
a good chance we're talking about the same thing.

First, about the L-bracket mount - yes, at least mine have this
socket - this is very convenient feature.

However, I'm definitely NOT happy with my pair. It is workable, but
not very good. The problems: lousy mechanics (the eyepiece focusing
shaft is not tight and wobbles - if you push one eyepiece in, the
other goes out enough to strain your eyes achieving differential
focus); also although the collimation was good when I got it, now
it is getting progressively worse; finally, the image suffers a lot
along the edges of the field - very, very pronounced coma.

Please note that maybe mine pair is not representative of the overall
Vanguard quality.

Regards,

- Alex

Probably you're referring to a "parallelogram" mount. See some good examples
at www.virgoastro.com


"Alexander Avtanski" wrote in message
...


Phineas St. George wrote:

Howdy Krill,

I am a newbie, though 7 x 8 years old :-)

I appreciate your information about the binoculars and such;
I just went to the shopping link for the Vanguard BR-1050w and was
wondering if it has a 'spot' to mount an "L" bracket to my tripod?
...or do you hand-hold them? ...and what is a "pantograph mount"?
I checked Orion online and nothing is listed...
Same with a Google Search...no product listings or places to purchase...
Do you use a pantograph mount with your Vanguard binocs?
Where did you get it, or is it a homemade "kit" type mount?

Thank you in advance for any further info

Phineas


Hello,

I have a pair of Vanguard binoculars, although I'm not sure if they
are exactly the same model - BR-1050w. Mine are 10 x 50, so there is
a good chance we're talking about the same thing.

First, about the L-bracket mount - yes, at least mine have this
socket - this is very convenient feature.

However, I'm definitely NOT happy with my pair. It is workable, but
not very good. The problems: lousy mechanics (the eyepiece focusing
shaft is not tight and wobbles - if you push one eyepiece in, the
other goes out enough to strain your eyes achieving differential
focus); also although the collimation was good when I got it, now
it is getting progressively worse; finally, the image suffers a lot
along the edges of the field - very, very pronounced coma.

Please note that maybe mine pair is not representative of the overall
Vanguard quality.

Regards,

- Alex

I think I purchased the last one they had at 12:50pm today. They are
no longer showing availability on the website and my confirmation
shows mine to be on back order.



"Jim Hewitt" wrote in message ...
Just in case you're interested, Mindware Online has the Orion SkyQuest XT4.5
on clearance for $139.99 plus $30 s/h. [That's the 4.5" Dob]

I'm not associated with them, and don't know how many they have left, but I
ordered one for my 13 year old son.

http://www.mindwareonline.com/mwstor...&DID=1&sku=740

Jim


"Michelle Stone" wrote in message
om...
Check out Orion at www.telescopes.com.

They have several scopes that may fill your requirements. Many have
posted that the best thing to get is binos. If you want to get a
telescope, get one! I'd stay away from the 60mm refractors. They are
often of poor quality and are difficult to use. The easiest
telescopes to use are called "Dobsonians". You can just push them
around and point them where you want without worrying about a bunch of
mechanical stuff. These are great for kids... oh and they're pretty
fabulous for bigger kids like us too!

Whatever you decide to get, spend time with your child and help
him/her learn about astronomy. You'll get a kick out of it yourself
too!

Michelle Stone
Custom Telescopes by Plettstone
http://www.plettstone.com/telescopes

(Petre Huile) wrote in message
. com...
I'd like to interest an 8-year-old in astronomy and looking at the
stars. What is a good, not-too-expensive starter telescope to get? It
doesn't have to be very cheap, as I do want one that works well but is
within a reasonable price range.

Thanks,
Petre