suggestions on what telescopes to purchase

Tachyon · Post by **Tachyon** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 10:36 am

starsinanutshell wrote:for example a my ignorant auntie bought a powerseeker 50 which cost 200bucks!i tink that a rip,isnt it?

Not at all! A Powerseeker 60 with altazimuth mount is selling at Astronomics at US$59.95 with free local shipping. That works out to S$98.90 with exchange rate of 1:1.65 (remember the credit card charges). Now, using vpost, it would cost at least S$56.82 with standard packing size (100x20x20 cm, 7 Ibs). That works out to S$155.72. Add to that the dealer's margin of 20%, the total cost would be about >S$186.90, not so far from the S$200 your aunt paid. And if the scope comes with the EQ mount, then you are way ahead as the total cost would come to >S$226.50 including dealer's margin.

The only rip-off in this case would be that the resale value for this scope is probably very low, and that for a few hundred dollars more you could get a decent APO at similar aperture!

Cheers!

starsinanutshell · Post by **starsinanutshell** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 4:19 pm

anyone knows how much does a celestron 114eq short tube cost?

Post by **weixing** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 4:24 pm

Hi,

anyone knows how much does a celestron 114eq short tube cost?

Avoid those newtonian that appear a lots shorter than the focal length... Those scope got a built-in "corrector" that make the focal length longer... I think the "normal" length version will be a better choice.

Have a nice day.

starsinanutshell · Post by **starsinanutshell** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 4:28 pm

any suggestions of a better scope roughly around 800bucks??thanks for the advice

Post by **weixing** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 4:33 pm

Hi,
If you don't mind the bulkiness, Canopus Lim is selling his Orion XT8 package at $600 only!!! That's an excellent deal!!!

Have a nice day.

Post by **VinSnr** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 4:56 pm

starsinanutshell wrote:any suggestions of a better scope roughly around 800bucks??thanks for the advice

Pay a bit more and get this :

You won't regret it

mrngbss · Post by **mrngbss** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 6:10 pm

VinSnr,

Are you selling a second hand 5i (5i right?) or are you recommending to buy a new piece for a little more than S$800?

Post by **weixing** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:57 pm

Hi,

Are you selling a second hand 5i (5i right?) or are you recommending to buy a new piece for a little more than S$800?

He is suggesting you to buy his used NexStar 5i by paying a bit more than S$800... I think his is selling at S$1170... hee hee hee

Have a nice day.

Post by **Airconvent** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 11:43 pm

The Nexstar 5i is an excellent scope for lazy beginners (like me).
And the prices Vincent sells them are crazy. I wished he had bought an N8i previously so I can buy it for a song! :-)
For goto, all you need to do is learn a few constellations so you know some of the common stars. This will help you do alignment and the rest is up to the computer. If you have cash to burn later on, add the gps module too!

Post by **HoO_Germany** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 1:35 am

starsinanutshell wrote:any suggestions of a better scope roughly around 800bucks??thanks for the advice

If you search for a planetary telescope, this one will show you these very good. It is a classical Cassegrain with an open tube, so there will be none tube-seeing problems

The price is with 580 Euro wich is = 1131,46 S$ not high, but the telescope is complete and I would give you in the price 2 more eyepieces Plossl in 32mm and 17mm.

More technical information about the telescope you can find here
http://www.hoo-germany.de/produkt.php?prd=95

Clear skys
Robert