Decent beginner's telescope in the £60-100 range?

I'm moving into a new flat soon and that flat has a big balcony
overlooking the river. Consequently, I'll have a really good view of
the sky with no obstructions. I'm looking for a telescope but I don't
know the first thing about them so I have no idea what to buy. I just
want a decent beginner telescope -- preferably something in the
£60-£100 range (and from within the UK). After briefly searching
around the web, I found some "Celestron Powerseeker" telescopes at
Argos:

Celestron Powerseeker 660 Refractor http://tinyurl.com/7etph
Celestron Powerseeker 525 Reflector http://tinyurl.com/be6o5

And something on ebay:

ASTRO 76 / 700mm REFLECTOR http://tinyurl.com/at8qj


Are any of these decent? If not, can you point me toward specific
telescopes? I found a similar thread from 2003, but the
recommendations were pretty vague in the beginning and it quickly
turned into a very technical discussion.

If it matters, I'll be in London, but not all that close to the main
part of the city, so light pollution will be present but shouldn't be
too horrible.

bluecalx wrote:

I'm looking for a telescope but I don't
know the first thing about them so I have no idea what to buy. I just
want a decent beginner telescope -- preferably something in the
£60-£100 range (and from within the UK). After briefly searching
around the web, I found some "Celestron Powerseeker" telescopes at
Argos:

Celestron Powerseeker 660 Refractor http://tinyurl.com/7etph
Celestron Powerseeker 525 Reflector http://tinyurl.com/be6o5
ASTRO 76 / 700mm REFLECTOR http://tinyurl.com/at8qj
Are any of these decent? If not, can you point me toward specific
telescopes?

{ I am a complete amateur when stargazing, thus am in a position like
you, and do not want to pay much for a scope that will be used 6 times a
year}
None of the above will be very good.
They will be too small for anything but the brightest objects, but at
less than £100, you will not get great quality.
Have a look at this one:
http://www.telescopehouse.co.uk/page...4A77AD49B49FAA
47AC1EFDA010&thelang=001lngdef
or:
http://tinyurl.com/dglnj

I got one of these 6 months ago(for £130 - doh!), and am pleased with
it, but because it isnt used enough, I want to sell it.I'm looking for
£60 inc.post.
It is dead easy to use, just set up the tripod and point/focus
it.Saturns rings and Jupiters bands are clearly visible.
I would recommend getting a refractor scope, as the reflector scopes can
be a real pain to set-up.
You have got to think about storage as well - mine doesnt bother me, but
the missus is always complaining as it sits in one corner of the living
room.
If you are limited for room, then a Meade ETX scope would be good, as
they are so compact, but the cheapest I've seen them is £170 for the
short ETX70.
HTH
Alan.

--
To reply by e-mail, change the ' + ' to 'plus'.
http://www.dvatc.co.uk - Off-road cycling in the North Midlands.

660 MAGNIFICATIONS? And it's a CELESTRON so it must be TRUE! I'm
throwing my 6" refractor away and getting one of those! I can't use
more than 150 magnifications on the planets most of the time. Hang on
a MO! MY 6" refractor is a CELESTRON too! So why can't I get 1320
magnifications then? Let's see.... all I need is a 0.9mm eyepiece and
I'm well away! I'll see if Herschel Optics of Slough stocks them. ;-)

A poor sense of humour and false advertising are the roots of all evil.

Will somebody please tell me why one can't buy a cheap, simple, altaz
mounted 3" refractor? The world is awash with equatorially mounted
garbage with all the crappy, useless, shiny-dangly bits. But you can't
buy a simple, high quality, 75mm astro refractor on a simple wooden
tripod and fork for under a 100 quid? Wot's that all about then?

Chris.B

On 24 Jul 2005 02:22:00 -0700, "Chris.B" wrote:

660 MAGNIFICATIONS? And it's a CELESTRON so it must be TRUE! I'm
throwing my 6" refractor away and getting one of those! I can't use
more than 150 magnifications on the planets most of the time. Hang on
a MO! MY 6" refractor is a CELESTRON too! So why can't I get 1320
magnifications then? Let's see.... all I need is a 0.9mm eyepiece and
I'm well away! I'll see if Herschel Optics of Slough stocks them. ;-)

A poor sense of humour and false advertising are the roots of all evil.

Will somebody please tell me why one can't buy a cheap, simple, altaz
mounted 3" refractor? The world is awash with equatorially mounted
garbage with all the crappy, useless, shiny-dangly bits. But you can't
buy a simple, high quality, 75mm astro refractor on a simple wooden
tripod and fork for under a 100 quid? Wot's that all about then?

Chris.B

yeah i saw the 660x magnification.. My 8inch cant get near that

"bluecalx" wrote in message
news
I'm moving into a new flat soon and that flat has a big balcony
overlooking the river. Consequently, I'll have a really good view of
the sky with no obstructions. I'm looking for a telescope but I don't
know the first thing about them so I have no idea what to buy. I just
want a decent beginner telescope -- preferably something in the
£60-£100 range (and from within the UK). After briefly searching
around the web, I found some "Celestron Powerseeker" telescopes at
Argos:

Celestron Powerseeker 660 Refractor http://tinyurl.com/7etph
Celestron Powerseeker 525 Reflector http://tinyurl.com/be6o5

And something on ebay:

ASTRO 76 / 700mm REFLECTOR http://tinyurl.com/at8qj


Are any of these decent? If not, can you point me toward specific
telescopes? I found a similar thread from 2003, but the
recommendations were pretty vague in the beginning and it quickly
turned into a very technical discussion.

If it matters, I'll be in London, but not all that close to the main
part of the city, so light pollution will be present but shouldn't be
too horrible.

You might want to look at some nice big binoculars, from somewhere like
Strathspey and get yourself a tripod for them.

Martin

I'd strongly suggest that you save your money, take a look at the SkyWatcher
StarTravel 80 (with EQ1 mount) It costs about £160, and should make a good
beginner scope. I'm about to order one tomorrow, as a travel scope, quick
setup scope and as a guide scope for my LX-90 (see my other post from
tonight)

The scopes from argos look like they'll be a real disappointment.


--
Regards

Colin Dawson
www.cjdawson.com

"Martin" wrote in message
...

"bluecalx" wrote in message
news
I'm moving into a new flat soon and that flat has a big balcony
overlooking the river. Consequently, I'll have a really good view of
the sky with no obstructions. I'm looking for a telescope but I don't
know the first thing about them so I have no idea what to buy. I just
want a decent beginner telescope -- preferably something in the
£60-£100 range (and from within the UK). After briefly searching
around the web, I found some "Celestron Powerseeker" telescopes at
Argos:

Celestron Powerseeker 660 Refractor http://tinyurl.com/7etph
Celestron Powerseeker 525 Reflector http://tinyurl.com/be6o5

And something on ebay:

ASTRO 76 / 700mm REFLECTOR http://tinyurl.com/at8qj


Are any of these decent? If not, can you point me toward specific
telescopes? I found a similar thread from 2003, but the
recommendations were pretty vague in the beginning and it quickly
turned into a very technical discussion.

If it matters, I'll be in London, but not all that close to the main
part of the city, so light pollution will be present but shouldn't be
too horrible.

You might want to look at some nice big binoculars, from somewhere like
Strathspey and get yourself a tripod for them.

Martin

Hi Colin

You can get the ST80 as OTA only (with eyepieces etc still) for £119 at
http://www.warehouseexpress.co.uk/

I've always had promt service from them.

Regards


Chris



"Colin Dawson" wrote in message
. uk...
I'd strongly suggest that you save your money, take a look at the
SkyWatcher StarTravel 80 (with EQ1 mount) It costs about £160, and
should make a good beginner scope. I'm about to order one tomorrow, as a
travel scope, quick setup scope and as a guide scope for my LX-90 (see my
other post from tonight)

The scopes from argos look like they'll be a real disappointment.


--
Regards

Colin Dawson
www.cjdawson.com

"Martin" wrote in message
...

"bluecalx" wrote in message
news
I'm moving into a new flat soon and that flat has a big balcony
overlooking the river. Consequently, I'll have a really good view of
the sky with no obstructions. I'm looking for a telescope but I don't
know the first thing about them so I have no idea what to buy. I just
want a decent beginner telescope -- preferably something in the
£60-£100 range (and from within the UK). After briefly searching
around the web, I found some "Celestron Powerseeker" telescopes at
Argos:

Celestron Powerseeker 660 Refractor http://tinyurl.com/7etph
Celestron Powerseeker 525 Reflector http://tinyurl.com/be6o5

And something on ebay:

ASTRO 76 / 700mm REFLECTOR http://tinyurl.com/at8qj


Are any of these decent? If not, can you point me toward specific
telescopes? I found a similar thread from 2003, but the
recommendations were pretty vague in the beginning and it quickly
turned into a very technical discussion.

If it matters, I'll be in London, but not all that close to the main
part of the city, so light pollution will be present but shouldn't be
too horrible.

You might want to look at some nice big binoculars, from somewhere like
Strathspey and get yourself a tripod for them.

Martin

I think I would be saving a little more and going for the Evostar
series. Longer focus, less false colour and claimed better quality
should provide better images on the planets and Moon. Note the very
reasonable claims for maximum magnification and detailed descriptions.
Do we have any owners who can give us some feedback on the image
quality of the Evostars versus the shorter focus models?

Chris.B

Originally Posted by bluecalx

I'm moving into a new flat soon and that flat has a big balcony
overlooking the river. Consequently, I'll have a really good view of
the sky with no obstructions. I'm looking for a telescope but I don't
know the first thing about them so I have no idea what to buy. I just
want a decent beginner telescope -- preferably something in the
£60-£100 range (and from within the UK). .....
If it matters, I'll be in London, but not all that close to the main
part of the city, so light pollution will be present but shouldn't be
too horrible.

If you can go along to a local astro soc/club viewing night and get some idea what can be seen with various scopes. Generally avoid household catalogue telescopes.

Nytecam