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I thought photography was pricey, but astronomy is even more so.

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I know for me my issue has been my scope. I kind of made the mistake of wanting too much apature and got a huge 10" dob.

While it pull in fantastic views, it's just too big for me to practically use it as much as I want.

Hopefully when I get rid of it and get a smaller scope I'll be more inclined to go out and do more.

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I think this is one of the biggest mistakes beginners make: They read that "aperture rules" and get the biggest scope they can afford, not realizing that set-up can be time-consuming; pretty soon the scope collects dust. Sell that 10" dob and get a C8 or even an 80--100mm refractor. Or keep the dob and use it on those occasions when you DO feel up to setting it up, and use the small scope the rest of the time.

Bill

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There are several "biggest mistakes" beginners make: Getting a scope that is too big, getting a scope that is too small, getting a scope that is too complicated, getting a scope that is too simple...

This is why I encourage people looking for their first scope to find a way to see one in person.... reasonable expectations... Of course most of us learned the hard way.... trial and error.

Jon

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I admit that if I am the only observer at my public site, I'm a little nervous at first. But then I get involved with observing and forget about the time. There's always another object on my list.

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I think this is one of the biggest mistakes beginners make: They read that "aperture rules" and get the biggest scope they can afford ...

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Having been an avid amateur radio enthusiast for almost as long as I've been into amateur astronomy (my early teens ... 35 years), I can attest that this general sentiment applies to all hobbies.

In ham radio, you can buy a brand-new radio today that will get you "around the world" for far less than $1,000. Or you can go the elitist route and shell out the big bucks for a radio with all the latest bells and whistles, digital filtering to the hilt, LCD screens with spectrum displays, etc. The sky is almost the limit; there are two top-end radios out there that are going for $12,000 right now. And yes, somehow people are buying them.

Having been divorced AND lost my cushy government job that was paying three times what I'm making now, I was forced to throttle way back in all of my hobbies. Five years ago I owned a radio that cost me more than $3,000 (and that's just the radio -- the astronomical equivalent of an OTA). There was lots more to purchase with that, and I had it all -- studio microphone in "floating" bracket (looked like Rush Limbaugh's studio mike), an entirely separate VHF/UHF setup, nice antennas for each band, etc. My whole station was worth in the neighborhood of $6,000.

Last February I finally had enough money saved up to make an entry into the hobby again. $910 for a decent low-end radio (but still full of enough features that you could use it for a lifetime), accessory power supply, and a makeshift wire loop antenna for my apartment balcony. My first contact was with a station on St. Helena Island in the South Atlantic, some 5,100 miles "as the crow flies." All for about a sixth of the price of my former station.

Astronomy, photography, cars, computers ... to name a few that just jumped to mind ... it's all the same. It's being honest about what you really need vs. what you can afford vs. what you dream about. Exercise some self-control, don't lust after what the other guy has, and explore the capabilities of what you have. "To thine own self be true," as old Bill used to say.

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Astronomy, photography, cars, computers ... to name a few that just jumped to mind ... it's all the same. It's being honest about what you really need vs. what you can afford vs. what you dream about. Exercise some self-control, don't lust after what the other guy has, and explore the capabilities of what you have.

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