80 replies to this topic

[rgk901]

To be completely honest, don’t throw away your $150.  It is not sufficient money for getting started.

 

Don’t buy anything now.  Save up until you can purchase an AstronomersWithoutBorders (AWB) telescope for $250.  That would be a great first telescope.  So be patient.  Otherwise, you seriously risk having an experience wasting time and money and which could put you off astronomy.

While you wait, you could watch Goodwill online and see if anything promising pops up, going for a very low price due to it being overlooked by chance.  I found two refractor telescopes that way.  You might find something modest for use at the Cape.

 

Meanwhile, get a book and learn your way around the sky with just your eyes.

 

CS,

 

Brian

I triple agree...save up and scour the used ads ... Just saw 5! starblasts on craiglist for $139-179 and here a 6" dob for $125 recently https://www.cloudyni...r-classic-150p/

[JohnnyBGood]

In my experience there are two kinds of telescope people: 1) the ones who are horrified at anything cheaper than $2000 because it shakes when you touch it or the image isn't perfectly sharp or there's colorful fringes on the edge of the moon and 2) the kind who are excited they can see anything at all through two broken magnifying glasses taped to a paper towel roll. Only you know what kind you are.

If you're a Type 2 person (like me) then you have a lot of options out there. You can probably find a pretty decent 70-102mm refractor on an imperfect but tolerable mount (if you have a little patience). Used scopes can be a good value but often they come missing some eyepieces or accessories, so if you buy a used one budget about $25 per eyepiece to get basic replacements. You want two or three eyepieces and a 2x Barlow. We can help you pick out what you need if you find a scope you want to buy that is missing some stuff. Sometimes you get lucky: I got my first gen ETX90 from someone who had never actually used it for $100.

There are a lot of things you can see with a small scope beyond just the moon and planets, even in fairly light polluted areas. I spent my first year observing nearly every clear night with a 76mm reflector and I saw dozens and dozens of cool things, nearly every northern hemisphere object in Turn Left at Orion. I thought all I wanted to see what the moon and planets when I got the scope but that was only because I had no idea what all there was to see. Again, that gets back to the Type 1 and Type 2 people above: some want to be blown away by stunning views, others of us are excited we're able to see some particular object at all. Only you know what type you are.

You do have to have a little patience with a small, inexpensive scope but if you're handy with tools many of the shortcomings can be remedied. I recently bought myself a Celestron StarSense 80 to try out and while the mount was pretty wobbly at first, after spending half an hour cutting up little pieces of plastic sheeting and felt pads I made a bunch of shims and stuff and now it's a whole different telescope, very smooth and solid.

Incidentally, if you can find one of those used it would make an outstanding first scope that should be within your budget.

Nothing will turn a $100 telescope into a $2000 telescope and the pricier ones cost more for a reason. Still, if the shortcomings of a cheaper scope are things you can live with then the trade-off may be very much worthwhile.

[Protheus]

 People here who recommend buying bargains on Craig's list and Amazon are knowledgeable hobbyists. See their thousands of posts here. If you do not know what you are buying -- telescopes, cars, refrigerators, whatever -- buying used is just buying someone else's problems.

 

It absolutely is.  The gamble is that the discount vs the new cost will be more than worth fixing whatever problems those are.  You can do very well that way, but it takes a certain familiarity with the equipment, such that you can recognize the problems, repair them, and get the instruments back into proper adjustment.  It may definitely not be up a newcomer's alley, especially if they're worried about buying a scope that will need collimated.

 

On the other hand, if you want to learn about the equipment, beat up, used stuff could be a perfectly good way to do so, and it can be a great bargain. 

 

I recently bought a Celestron 114mm f=900 spherical Newtonian on a really solid old equatorial mount from Goodwill for $40, shipping and all.  It turned out to need serious cleaning of the mirrors and the rack and pinion on the focuser, the latter of which was completely disassembled and re-greased.  I also put probably twenty more dollars into hardware store parts to build a new center brace for the tripod, so I'm up to sixty dollars on it.  

 

It's a solid performer now, though the finder scope is not great, and it came with an eyepiece that I thought was an old Kellner, but it seems to be a Cave Orthostar.  I couldn't have purchased just the eyepiece for that money, by itself, on the used market.  As you may know, they don't come new these days.

 

Anyway, you can't get deals like that new.  Is it a foolproof way for a new astronomer to get decent equipment?  No.  Is it worth looking into, if you're good with tools and machinery?  I think so.

 

Chris

Edited by Protheus, 25 January 2023 - 01:05 PM.

[Protheus]

In my experience there are two kinds of telescope people: 1) the ones who are horrified at anything cheaper than $2000 because it shakes when you touch it or the image isn't perfectly sharp or there's colorful fringes on the edge of the moon and 2) the kind who are excited they can see anything at all through two broken magnifying glasses taped to a paper towel roll. Only you know what kind you are..

Ha.  I think there's some truth to that, though to be honest, as someone who is almost certainly the latter type of person -- I have observed Jupiter with a taped-together achromatic objective in one hand and a surplus 2-element eyepiece in the other, no paper-towel roll -- I feel like most of us will also appreciate better equipment.  As you say, it's expensive for a reason, and many times that reason is obvious.  Of course, as you keep adding money, you get diminishing returns.  I'd love a hundred thousand dollar setup, but I'd probably be very happy with a five or ten thousand dollar setup too.  The nicest instrument I have at the moment, on the other hand, is a five hundred dollar setup, and I'm also pretty happy with that.  If the best I could do was a hundred dollar setup, would I happily use that?  Absolutely, but nicer equipment is nicer.

 

Chris

Edited by Protheus, 25 January 2023 - 01:18 PM.

[Anony]

In my experience there are two kinds of telescope people: 1) the ones who are horrified at anything cheaper than $2000 because it shakes when you touch it or the image isn't perfectly sharp or there's colorful fringes on the edge of the moon and 2) the kind who are excited they can see anything at all through two broken magnifying glasses taped to a paper towel roll. Only you know what kind you are.

 

Reminds me of my brother-in-law, who has wanted a scope for a while, but has a lot of rich clients ... who has told him that it will cost several thousand at least for a scope, otherwise just get binoculars and forget about it.

 

Which is ridiculous in my opinion, but yeah, there are some who think this hobby has to cost a fortune.

 

For the OP, if he can find an inexpensive refractor used, the risks are minimal really. I mean check the glass, take a look through the thing, make sure the focuser works, but otherwise refractors shouldn't be a problem buying used, even for new people.

 

Reflectors may bit a tad riskier, but again, so long as one uses common sense, it should be fine. 

 

 

I think my non-pickiness regarding scopes relates to the scope I had as a kid ... a 3" cardboard toysrus reflector. The thing eventually collapsed upon itself due to mold/mildew/dampness (not exactly high-end). But I still liked it -- before it destroyed itself, anyway.

[Protheus]

What I said above notwithstanding, I think I should be clear that the 114mm Celestron was a thrift shop buy, and one should generally assume yard sale and thrift shop scopes to be pretty close to scrap outside of positive proof to the contrary.  Some of them can be good deals anyway, but you need to consider the potential down-side.  It's usually a different matter, on the other hand, buying used equipment from another amateur astronomer, locally, or, say, here in the classified section, or even from your local club.  You're still likely to pay much less than new, but in my experience, the equipment is most likely to arrive in perfectly decent condition.

 

Chris

[grif 678]

You may want to consider a 90ETX OTA. These are awesome on planets for their size, and are very small and manageable. You can get a good used OTA for around $100, it will have a finder and a tripod base on the bottom, If you get a vixen dovetail mounted to the bottom, you can use a variety of scopes. I can see around 4 bands on Jupiter, the cassini division on Saturn. and with the long focal length, you will get much more magnification than the other ones you mentioned. You can get great magnification with a comfortable size eyepiece, like a 15mm, which would give you around 85X, which is just getting started with the ETX. Mine will handle 200X very well.

The older ones, made in the USA, will rival the views of a Questar of the same size, which now costs in the thousands.

[Ionthesky]

If you dont mind saying, whereabouts in upstate N.Y. are you?

 

Regards, 

Dave

[Supernova74]

Well believe it or not and on such a low budget of only $150 a good place to find a bargain would be on Facebook market place and I’ve purchased many scopes in the past for very little money.one of the typical scenarios which occurs is amateur Astronomy items have been passed down or even inherited and most people just want to get rid as it’s only taking up space.

[jwnrw59]

FWIW the Celestron Omni 102AZ is still available on-line at Costco in Canada, although sadly, not at Costco.com (US). With the strength of the USD, perhaps order one from the .ca website to deliver to the US? 

[RobertMaples]

FWIW the Celestron Omni 102AZ is still available on-line at Costco in Canada, although sadly, not at Costco.com (US). With the strength of the USD, perhaps order one from the .ca website to deliver to the US? 

They never had that one online in the U.S., it was in store only, so may still be available in some stores.

[RobertMaples]

..

I recently bought a Celestron 114mm f=900 spherical Newtonian on a really solid old equatorial mount from Goodwill for $40, shipping and all.  It turned out to need serious cleaning of the mirrors and the rack and pinion on the focuser, the latter of which was completely disassembled and re-greased.  I also put probably twenty more dollars into hardware store parts to build a new center brace for the tripod, so I'm up to sixty dollars on it.  

...

It's hard to go wrong with a cheap 114/900 scope - even if the mirrors are trashed, they can be replaced for about $30.

[RobertMaples]

...

$190 will get you a Starsense 80mm  (Costco).

 

https://www.costco.c....100837207.html

 

And it is probably not such a great scope, but I also see a Celestron 90AZ F/7.3 for $130 at Costco as well. I own an Inspire 90Az (F/10) (similar mount) and I find the mount usable, but not great. So... if you go that route, I expect it'd be 50/50 as to you wanting to return it. But, Costco is great with returns, so not really a risk besides your time.

 

https://www.costco.c....100788143.html

 

The 102AZ at Costco would be a better deal, but not sure if they carry them anymore. They'd be in-store only.

I have mixed feelings about StarSense LT80 as a first or only scope.  The optics are excellent, the eyepieces are good and the Smartphone app is in my opinion a joy to use; however, the mount is the worst mount I've had out of the over half dozen that I've owned.

[Dave Mitsky]

I agree that increasing your budget a bit and getting something like the 5.3" f/5 AWB OneSky Reflector might be a good plan.

 

https://skyandtelesc...kyReflector.pdf

 

In the meantime, if you have a binocular, start observing with it.  While not the right tool for planetary observing, a lot can be seen using a binocular.

 

While it doesn't deal with purchasing a telescope directly, you may find some of the information on astronomy, amateur astronomy, and observing presented in my post (#22) at https://www.cloudyni...mers/?p=5184287 useful.  There are sections on various books, observing guides, star-hopping, stellar atlases, planispheres, planetarium programs, astronomy apps, deep-sky object observing, lists of worthwhile celestial objects to observe, binocular astronomy, urban astronomy, and other related topics.

[MBS]

To Dave,

Just outside Rochester.  Lots of cloudy skies lately. 

[NeroStar]

IMO, if you've got a $150 budget, save a bit more and get to about $250.  For whatever reasons, it seems like that little jump above $200 moves you from the bottom tier toys to a hobby grade scope.  The AWB Onesky, for example, comes with a decent tabletop mount (as tabletop mounts go) but you can later upgrade to a good mount/tripod.  Its got enough resolving capability to keep you busy for awhile and the optics are really good.

[Daniel Jackson]

To Dave,

Just outside Rochester.  Lots of cloudy skies lately. 

 

OK, I guess that qualifies as upstate.  

 

I'm just south of Westerlo (small getaway from the NYC burbs).  Probably better skies, but lately it's all pretty bad.  

[Anony]

To Dave,

Just outside Rochester.  Lots of cloudy skies lately. 

I see your facebook marketplace has an 8" dob, celestron starhopper + eyepieces for $300... offer him $150, plead poverty, and hope for the best?

 

Also see:

 

$100 starblast, but it may be a bit too far for you ... also older ad.

Edited by Anony, 26 January 2023 - 05:51 PM.

[Ionthesky]

OK, MBS.  Wish I could help you first-hand, but that's a little out of my neighborhood.  (sorry!)

 

I forget if this has been mentioned (don't have time to scan back through the whole thread), but check your local library.  Many clubs (and individuals) provide loaner scopes to libraries as a form of community outreach.  These are usually mini-dobs, and might need collimation, but that's a great skill to learn, anyway.

 

As far as local clubs go, even if they aren't hosting any star parties, they may still be holding meetings.  Get to a meeting and introduce yourself.  You might just meet somebody with a scope to loan you (or to sell you at a reasonable cost).

 

It's also possible that another CN member in your area will see this thread and be able to help.  

 

Regards,

Dave

[CarolinaBanker]

If you can’t save up more I’m thinking this is probably as good as it’ll get under $150, https://www.telescop...ts?keyword=ST80

 

The difference with this versus the ST80 OTA is the lens is coated as opposed to multi coated and the focuser. 

[Protheus]

It's hard to go wrong with a cheap 114/900 scope - even if the mirrors are trashed, they can be replaced for about $30.

Yes, and it's hard to get a bad deal where one of those old, wooden tripods are involved as well.  Even if only the legs are ok -- and the legs are ok -- you're going to have the beginning of a very stable mount.  4.5" is also not huge, but decent aperture. There's little not to like in such an arrangement.

 

Chris

[Tony Flanders]

To Dave,

Just outside Rochester.  Lots of cloudy skies lately. 

Even in a good year Rochester tends to be cloudy all winter. Lake-effect weather.

[Jaguar_08]

I'm new to this hobby too, i got the Skywatcher Heritage 130p and it's really cool. I got it for around 200€ and i've been able to see Jupiter, Saturn (you can see the rings), Mars, the Orion Nebula, the Moon...

I got it a few months ago and, for now, it didn't need collimation.

Hope my reply helped you

Clear skies 

[NeroStar]

Even in a good year Rochester tends to be cloudy all winter. Lake-effect weather.

You aren't kidding there.  I spent 90 days as network security contractor for a Rochester firm from January to April a few years ago, and brought a small scope with me.  Seemed like we had two clear nights that entire Winter. I was living in Seattle at the time, and the seeing weather is pretty crappy there all year-round, so I was fortunately already accustomed to disappointment. - If you can call that 'fortunate.'  

[Wardword]

Hi all...New to this forum and to the world of astronomy.  I am looking for some guidance in choosing my first telescope.  Since joining this forum I have read and researched to the point that i now suffer from analysis paralysis.  My needs are pretty simple: must be portable, mostly interested in moon and planets (especially Saturn's rings) but would also like to explore a little, and it must be less than $150. I am open to used equipment but am afraid I wouldn't know a telescope in good shape from one in bad shape.  And finally, the thought of collimation is intimidating.

 

All that being said, two telescopes I am seriously considering are:

          Orion SkyScanner 100mm (based on reviews by aeajr)

          ExploraPro 70mm Maksutov (based on reviews by Jim Riffle)

 

Thanks for any help or additional recommendations.  Ideally, I would get that 6" or 8" dob but that is out of the question for now.

Want an APO Petzval for around 150$ ?, try what I did here.

https://www.cloudyni...-eaa-apo-build/