Telescope Reviews: Dob vs. GoTo - A 9 year olds decision

Hey everyone. Some of you may remember me but those that really need the info wont so this is going to be a long winded post. I am going to give you some background and tell a story but if you are a parent who knows nothing about astronomy and have a young science geek that wants a telescope I hope this will be worth your time.

About a year ago my wife hit me with "Nate want's a telescope." I said ok. Later that day my wife went to pick up a scope at Toy's R Us in thier knowledge center. I stoped her and told her to wait and let me check it out before we spend $100 on a scope to make sure it was a good one. I think it was the fact that they had a reflector and a refractor and I didn't know which was which or which was better, but anyway. So I decided to use the internet to find some resources that would tell me what kind of scope to get.

I found what I think is the best resource on the net, this forum. And if you are reading this then you have gotten as far as I had at that point. Keep reading and you'll see why I keep coming back.

Well I read all the beginners guides and learned the diference between apochromatic and achromatic and Dob and GEM but I still didn't know what was right for an 8 year old. The guys on here gave me many options but most were more than I could afford at the time. It seemed that the best option for a begginer on a budget is a 4.5" Dob. Then one of the members here made me an offer I couldn't refuse. He sent me a 4.5" Dob, some eyepieces, planisphere, book of the stars, and even a small flashlight. He paid shipping and I was to use it for a month. If I didn't like it I could send it back and only pay return shipping, if I liked it I could keep it and pay for it when I could afford it. Are these guys awesome or what?!?

I was also warned that I wopuld get hooked.

So I took our benifactor up on his offer and agreed that I would retun the favor if and when I could. I got the scope and found that I suffer from an all to common new bee desiase called CFS or can't find stuff. Apperently the cure for CFS is a trip to Barnes and Noble, a larger planisphere and countless hours learning the constilation. Only problem is that the cure to CFS has a nasty side effect called GAS or Gear Accusition Syndrome. GAS is offten characterized by appeture fevor, but this is not the only symptom. Also GAS has no cure, only a life long wallet draining treatment that is not covered under any health insurrance plan.

OK so here I am with a 4.5" Dob and some time to use them while my grandson is not here. First I used the scope with Nate, after all it was his. He couldn't use it without help. I could find planets and so could Nate, the Moon was also an easy target. But everything else eluded us. Also once I was locked onto one of the planets or the Moon Nate would have to track by hand and sometimes lost the target due to everything being ratated 135 degrees. While trying to find other objects Nate would become bored and go off into his own world or would run or skip or just try to keep his mind busy. I wished for a GoTo scope.

Don't get me wrong. The Dob would have been the ideal scope for me. I loved it. I really enjoyed sitting in the dark and the quiet and searching for DSO's. If I didn't find them it was still the most relaxing and stress free experiance anyone could ever ask for. And when I did find what I was looking for it was such a rewarding feeling. But this scope wasn't mine. So Nate wasn't happy searching, he wanted to observe.

I enjoyed this so much that my wife bought me a 12" Dob for my birthday. (She also supports my computer overclocking hobby). Anyone who wants to know if she has a sister the answer is yes. But her sister's are already married and wonder why my wife "Lets" me spend money on ME! I love my 12" Dob!

Back to Nate. He was not having so much fun. I work as a diver and when I am offshore he could not carry the scope outside by himself. My wife had to do it for him. Then the only targets he could lock onto and track was the Moon and Jupiter and Saturn while at low powers of about 91x. If I were to center it for hime he could track at higher powers but once he lost it that was it, so he couldn't use it by himself.

Also Nate likes to run outside and take a look up then go and get his scope and he wanted to look now. His scheduale doesn't include cool down time.

With Nates wanting to run out and take a quick peak and his ability to find and track the planets and the Moon I thought that I should get him a small refractor on an alt/az mount. I thought that would fit his observing style. I started looking here in the swap and shop forums and also on astromart. I soon saw a number of ETX 70 telescopes on sale for cheap. I picked up an ETX-70AT with tripod and carrying case and 2 supplied eyepieces and a 2x barlow and a modified webcam.

Now I sat Nate down and explained to him that he had one month to choose which scope to keep and which to pass on. Due to bad weather and cloudy skys it turned into 2 months. The firsrt time we used the small goto refractor I showed him how to use it and he kind of got the hang of it. Then we took the small Dob out again. Then last night Nate took the small goto refractor out again and got more used to it. At this point he started asking about the colors on the edges of bright stuff. That goes to show you that if a 9 year old complains about it, there is definately a problem with false color. Nate was so excited that he could find stuff without my help. Also the interface is natueral to him (we bought him his own computer for his 4th birthday cause he wouldn't let us on ours).

Tonight he picked the scope up by himself, set it up by himself, went through the goto set up by himself, and started observing by himself. His newest thing is galexies, he can't get enough of them and this scope finds them for him. He loves it cause there is no waiting or delay and he doesn't need to rely on anyone else.

The thing that may sway you is what Nate said to me tonight after his viewing sesion (without any prompting, just out of the blue). "Papa, we got to sell one of my telescopes right?" Yep. "Well are you gonna keep yours?" Yes Nate I am keeping mine. "Well if you are keeping yours I want to keep the new scope (the goto) and sell the old one (the 4.5" Dob). then if I want to get a good look at something I can use yours, but for just looking I can use the new scope. But if you are going to sell yours I want to keep the old one so I can get a good look."

That is the part that gets me. So the GoTo will do the work for you, and if you are an instant gratification personality then you want the goto. However if you are more patent than most the extra apeture will be more helpful than the electronics.

To be totally honest I feel that a better goto scope is needed. The focal length and apeture of the EXT-70AT are just not enough. But if you are strapped for cash and can afford only what you can afford and are faced with the choine of a goto or a dob, the small Dob is better for a mature person with patience that wants to do this to relax. However if you are the type to want instant gratification then a smaller goto would be a better fit.

I hope this helps

Maurice

BTW
I will soon have a 4.5XT and planisphere and book and eyepieces and flashlight for sale to someone in need but without the finacial means.

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How come whenever I have a 50/50 chance I am wrong 80% of the time?