Peter Trinidad
member
Reged: 02/21/08
Loc: San Antonio, Texas
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GALILEO 6 INCH REFLECTOR AND KONUSMOTOR 4.5
#2357438 - 04/28/08 01:58 PM
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Hi: Does anyone out there in astronomy land know anything about the advertised Galileo 6 inch reflector that comes with a nice cherrywood base and is promoted heavily?
Also, anyone out there know about the Konusmotor 4.5 (yellow tubed) telescope? Good or bad telescopes? Are these telescopes to avoid?
Peter 
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Firewood
sage
Reged: 10/27/07
Loc: 29°7' N, 95°4' W
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Re: GALILEO 6 INCH REFLECTOR AND KONUSMOTOR 4.5
[Re: Peter Trinidad]
#2357496 - 04/28/08 02:27 PM
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Hi, Peter,
Welcome to Cloudy Nights! There are lots of friendly people here willing to help, so you've come to the right place!
I don't have any specific knowledge about the two telescopes you mentioned. I've seen Galileo 'scopes advertised before on places like HSN, and the impression that I've always gotten is that these are the typical "deparment store" type 'scopes; the optics may be ok, but they are mounted on wobbly mounts and come with poor eyepieces. I'm sure someone with more knowledge will come along and give you a much more expert opinion about these scopes.
I see you are in San Antonio. I've lived there on and off for the past 15 years or so. I do know they have a great astronomy club. If you haven't been to a meeting yet, you should. It's another good environment with people who are always willing to help out anyone new to the hobby or with questions. Here's their website: SAAA
Also, there's a store out on Bandera Rd that sells astronomy equipment. They have a pretty decent selection of telescopes and accessories. You might want to stop by there and see if they have anything in your price range. I'm sure if you wanted a small reflector, you could probably find a good quality one there. Also, they used to have a discount for members of the local astronomy club on telescope purchases. I'm not sure if they still do, but it may be worth checking out. Local Astronomy Store
Good luck and clear skies,
Jeff
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dmgriff
sage
Reged: 09/20/06
Loc: 30 degrees latitude, USA
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Re: GALILEO 6 INCH REFLECTOR AND KONUSMOTOR 4.5
[Re: Peter Trinidad]
#2357547 - 04/28/08 02:47 PM
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Welcome 
My "hearsay" is not good on the Galileo scopes. You may be well better off with a 6in or 8in dob from Orion (Synta) or Zhumell (or other GSO retailer). The eyepieces will be 4 element plossls, and an extra 2x 3element barlow will be better than the eps/barlow advertised with the Galileo. The ad I read for the Galileo says a cherrywood finish on the base. At any rate, the Synta/GSO's would be a little more in money for the 8in and little less for the 6in depending on shipping etc., but imo much, much, better quality.
The Konus scope is a short focal length richfield reflector (the last time I checked, the primary mirror was a spheroid, not parabolic, and will produce spherical aberration at more than a moderate power, I believe). The mount is a eq1 with a right ascension tracking motor. It may make a starter scope for someone to learn the basics of the sky, and the optical tube assembly could be replaced by a short focal length 80mm wide field refractor at a later date, if astronomy proves to be "a thing". Another alternative is the Orion 4.5in StarBlast reflector (parabolic mirror, better images) on an eq1 mount.
Good viewing,
Dave
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Protheus
Vaguely offended
Reged: 09/01/07
Loc: Illinois, US
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Re: GALILEO 6 INCH REFLECTOR AND KONUSMOTOR 4.5
[Re: Peter Trinidad]
#2357639 - 04/28/08 03:23 PM
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Hey Peter, welcome.
I have no experience with these particular telescopes. Be careful, though. Galileo and Konus (to some lesser extent) have a reputation for cutting more corners in their design and build quality than many of us would like.
You've picked simple designs (straight newtonian, no corrector lenses, manual mounts...); this is wise in the price range where these two sit. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that the 6" Galileo dob will give you less trouble than many other scopes. Even so, take a look at the alternatives from Celestron, Zhumell, Orion, and so on.
Chris
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Siguy
sage
Reged: 01/05/08
Loc: Massachusetts
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Re: GALILEO 6 INCH REFLECTOR AND KONUSMOTOR 4.5
[Re: Protheus]
#2357672 - 04/28/08 03:38 PM
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The Galileo Dobs are junk, just like any of their other products.
high quality alternative
The Konus telescopes are generally of poorer quality than the Synta models on the market today for only a bit more.
high quality alternative
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Protheus
Vaguely offended
Reged: 09/01/07
Loc: Illinois, US
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Re: GALILEO 6 INCH REFLECTOR AND KONUSMOTOR 4.5
[Re: Siguy]
#2357689 - 04/28/08 03:44 PM
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The Galileo Dobs are junk, just like any of their other products.
You have some first hand experience with them, then? What kinds of problems do they have?
Chris
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Siguy
sage
Reged: 01/05/08
Loc: Massachusetts
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Re: GALILEO 6 INCH REFLECTOR AND KONUSMOTOR 4.5
[Re: Protheus]
#2357791 - 04/28/08 04:30 PM
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The Galileo Dobs are junk, just like any of their other products.
You have some first hand experience with them, then? What kinds of problems do they have?
Chris
Alright, I don't have first hand experience with them, but I have heard very few, if any positive reviews of them. The Dobs apparently suffer from stiction, but I don't really know much about them. I do know that their other scopes are the same type of over-advertised magnification, under-mounted, hardly diffraction limited scopes that are the classic department store models. Their scopes may be more usable than the typical, but for their price it's better to go with scopes guaranteed to be of good quality, especially when they can be bought for the same price (or less). Galileo scopes are very overpriced.
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Protheus
Vaguely offended
Reged: 09/01/07
Loc: Illinois, US
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Re: GALILEO 6 INCH REFLECTOR AND KONUSMOTOR 4.5
[Re: Siguy]
#2357927 - 04/28/08 05:42 PM
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The Dobs apparently suffer from stiction, but I don't really know much about them. I do know that their other scopes are the same type of over-advertised magnification, under-mounted, hardly diffraction limited scopes that are the classic department store models. Their scopes may be more usable than the typical, but for their price it's better to go with scopes guaranteed to be of good quality, especially when they can be bought for the same price (or less). Galileo scopes are very overpriced.
Well, I suppose such things can be fixed. I had hoped the dobsonian mount would be difficult enough to mess up that theirs might be ok. You're right, though, about being able to get better for the money.
Chris
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wxford
member
Reged: 02/21/06
Loc: Illinois
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Re: GALILEO 6 INCH REFLECTOR AND KONUSMOTOR 4.5
[Re: Protheus]
#2358114 - 04/28/08 07:12 PM
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I concur with others who suggest that you stay away from the Galileo scopes. These are in the dept store category, and usually sold by Sam's Club, Costco, etc. I've been around them, and the best thing about them is the cherry wood base, and it isn't all that great. One of the things that stood out in my mind is that the spider is a one-piece poured casting mounted on the very end of the tube (no adjusting it). Quality very questionable on other components as well. Unless you find one at some insanely low closeout price, stay with the major players: Orion, Zhumell, etc.
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casual observer
member
Reged: 03/06/08
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Re: GALILEO 6 INCH REFLECTOR AND KONUSMOTOR 4.5
[Re: wxford]
#2358174 - 04/28/08 07:40 PM
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My wife bought me a Galileo refractor in 2002. MHO is it was way over priced and the mount was unusable out of the box. I still use it from time to time and I like it only because the wife bought it for me. my advice is look at Orion scopes or Zhumell. Stay away from the dept. store and never buy a scope off E Bay
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RS67Man
Tinker King
Reged: 11/10/07
Loc: Spanaway, WA USA!
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Re: GALILEO 6 INCH REFLECTOR AND KONUSMOTOR 4.5
[Re: Peter Trinidad]
#2358225 - 04/28/08 08:04 PM
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Quote:
Hi: Does anyone out there in astronomy land know anything about the advertised Galileo 6 inch reflector that comes with a nice cherrywood base and is promoted heavily?
Also, anyone out there know about the Konusmotor 4.5 (yellow tubed) telescope? Good or bad telescopes? Are these telescopes to avoid?
Yes, these are to be avoided, if possible. As others have said, poor design, poor quality, spindly shaky mounts, under average optics.
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KF6YBL
member
Reged: 10/26/07
Loc: Southern California
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Re: GALILEO 6 INCH REFLECTOR AND KONUSMOTOR 4.5
[Re: RS67Man]
#2360931 - 04/29/08 11:47 PM
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I don't know about the Galileo, but I have a Konusmotor 114mm (about 4.5 inches) reflector. So far, I haven't had any trouble with it, in fact I think overall it's not bad for the money. Sure, there are better scopes out there but at least for me, I wasn't sure how far I wanted to get into this, and did know not to get one of those department store models, and the Konus seemed like a good compromise.
Hindsight is 20-20, and if I had it to do over again, I'd probably go for a 6 inch Dob. But I have the Konus, and have used it recently to see Saturn and Jupiter, and it worked just fine for me!
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coopman
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/23/06
Loc: South Louisiana
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Re: GALILEO 6 INCH REFLECTOR AND KONUSMOTOR 4.5
[Re: KF6YBL]
#2361225 - 04/30/08 05:30 AM
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I had the Konusmotor 4.5 for one evening. Bought it used on AM. I set it up and waited for dark. Observed for about an hour, then walked over to the garbage can & dropped it in. It was that good....
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1_old_dog
sage
Reged: 09/07/07
Loc: Smoky Mnts
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Re: GALILEO 6 INCH REFLECTOR AND KONUSMOTOR 4.5
[Re: coopman]
#2361376 - 04/30/08 08:40 AM
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Hi
First of all, if you are a beginner and you aren't sure about whether you will stick to it or whatever, look for an astro club in your area. Don't be intimidated with the expensive equipment you will see at these meetings. Everybody has to start out with something, and that usually means affordability.
I don't have first hand knowledge of the Galileo, so I won't respond with heresay, but I can comment on the Konus.
My next door neighbor has a Konusmotor 4.5. He bought it for his sons after they looked through our scopes over the winter. He didn't know if the boys would stick with it, so price was his main criteria with quality coming in second. The tripod needs to be strengthened or changed but it worked as is.
I looked through it last nite and I was not dissappointed, sure, it could have been better, but the views were just fine for what it is, an inexpensive beginner scope.
I'll agree with the folks here about the quality, it could be much better but as a beginner scope I thinks its just fine. We could see Saturn and the Orion Nebula (M42) using my sons eyepieces, which are not the best (Meade) but they are better than what came with his scope. The scope tracked nicely with a minor tweak now and then.
So Ya I'd say if you don't know if you're going to stick with it and you don't want to invest a ton of cash, I'd say go for the Konusmotor.
my 2 cents
OD
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stefanj
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/15/07
Loc: Western New York State
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Re: GALILEO 6 INCH REFLECTOR AND KONUSMOTOR 4.5
[Re: coopman]
#2361392 - 04/30/08 08:47 AM
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Money spent on quality is NOT money Wasted. And honestly you can jump into a Zhumell 8" dob for under $400 ($349 last time I checked). The nice thing is the Zhumells come with some VERY useable Eye Pieces, a funcional (after alignment and slight modification) laser collimator, cooling fan, nice sturdy dob base, a first rate finderscope, a first rate focuser. a very functional moon filter. Well You get the idea.
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KF6YBL
member
Reged: 10/26/07
Loc: Southern California
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Re: GALILEO 6 INCH REFLECTOR AND KONUSMOTOR 4.5
[Re: coopman]
#2361598 - 04/30/08 10:31 AM
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One man's trash is another man's treasure! Where is that garbage can? 
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werewolf6977
Lord High Smasher
Reged: 12/15/03
Loc: Hanover, Ohio
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Re: GALILEO 6 INCH REFLECTOR AND KONUSMOTOR 4.5
[Re: KF6YBL]
#2361782 - 04/30/08 11:33 AM
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I'd leave the Galileo, and the Konusmotor alone myself. There are several Dobs out there, (Zhumell, Orion, Celestron) that far outstrip them in performance, and quality.
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werewolf6977
Lord High Smasher
Reged: 12/15/03
Loc: Hanover, Ohio
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Re: GALILEO 6 INCH REFLECTOR AND KONUSMOTOR 4.5
[Re: werewolf6977]
#2361785 - 04/30/08 11:34 AM
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Hey!! We've all been rude and forgetful here!! WELCOME TO CN!!
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Protheus
Vaguely offended
Reged: 09/01/07
Loc: Illinois, US
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Re: GALILEO 6 INCH REFLECTOR AND KONUSMOTOR 4.5
[Re: werewolf6977]
#2361853 - 04/30/08 12:02 PM
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Hey!! We've all been rude and forgetful here!! WELCOME TO CN!!
Not all of us. 
Chris
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Gunner
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/20/06
Loc: Bellville,Texas
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Re: GALILEO 6 INCH REFLECTOR AND KONUSMOTOR 4.5
[Re: Peter Trinidad]
#2362141 - 04/30/08 02:10 PM
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Welcome to CN always good to have another Texan in the group.
I would highly recommend to stay away from the Galileo scopes, I bought a 4.5" reflector from HSN in 2003 I think , it arrived, I set it up and the next day I boxed it up and sent it back, reasons are:
# 1 mount extremely wobbily, the wind that night was blowing around 10 mph and the scope shook like a leaf.
# 2 couldn't reach decent focus, reasons either collimation was extremely bad or just bad optics.
# 3 Overall construction just seemed less than desirable, focuser seemed to be made of cheaper material than any of the more decent common mass produced scopes available. The mount which seemed to be decently built but as I stated earlier wobbled, maybe could have been usable with a little work to get it stiffened a bit, maybe a better tripod.
The Konus scopes I have no experience with.
Allen
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