TheSkySearchers

How to select your first telescope.
by Bigzmey

Google the topic and you find tons of hits. Refractor vs reflector, DOB vs SCT - plenty of strong opinions on all sides don’t make selecting the first telescope easier for newcomers. In part, this is because we as observers develop our own preferences over the time and are passionate about the hobby;...
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Nicely done. Sane, non dogmatic and user focused!

notFritzArgelander wrote: ↑Wed Jan 29, 2020 7:39 pm Nicely done. Sane, non dogmatic and user focused!

Thanks nFA! That was the intent.

Excellent analysis of the buying process - it should be very helpful for those just starting out in the hobby!

helicon wrote: ↑Wed Jan 29, 2020 9:44 pm Excellent analysis of the buying process - it should be very helpful for those just starting out in the hobby!

Thanks Michael! Did not want to follow the beaten track.

Very good

Very nice work, Andrey!

Thanks Jeff and Bryan!

Very nice work Bigz!

Excellent article. Very helpful read for the first scope buyer.

One metric I suggest is to consider your hourly pay rate. Then consider how much you can afford for a telescope. Price/Pay = Hours you should spend reading about telescopes before you buy one. That's the advice I wish that I had given myself if I had a time machine.

As for the article, it is excellent. Allow me to suggest that you "not bury the lede." You should re-arrange this so that the strongest point is first with no introduction. Also, ask the moderators to move this to a top-most level where every newbie can find it.

Don’t buy your first scope as your lifetime scope
Consider your first scope as training wheels instead. It does not need to be perfect, just decent enough. The goal is to get into observing first, gain some experience and learn what you need in the second scope. Almost any entry level telescope with exception of a few Bird-Jones design scopes should work fine as a training scope, making the choice easier and less stressful.

I really appreciate the advice now, five telescopes later. I can understand what you said. If I had read this before I bought my first telescope, most of it would have been meaningless and I would have ignored half of what I understood. And, having bought my third telescope specifically for backyard viewing, I understand now the mistakes I made. (To bring "five" and "three" into alignment, I borrowed two from the local club. There, also, were learning experiences you warned of. The one weighs 65 lbs (29.5 kg). I took it out once. It is in the garage waiting for our equipment chair to come pick it up.

Your second point is also salient:

Mount
It is almost always a better strategy to select a good quality mount and then look for the scope within your budget which would ride well on it.

I have to agree that the tripod and mount make the experience. Optics are pretty much a given. I believe that whether it is motorized or not, computerized or not, equatorial polar-aligned or not, the mount should be gear-driven. The Earth spins at 460 meters/sec (1000 miles per hour). Nothing stands still and the greater the magnification, the faster it moves across your field of view. A gear-driven mount is like flying an airplane that is trimmed for flight: you hold the yoke with your thumb and two fingers of your left hand and just move your wrist. Anything without gears is like riding a horse: you are tugging on the reins to control 1500 pounds of stupid.

Thanks Michael! I wrote this article from the perspective "I wish some one told me that when I was starting".

As for moving the article up it is for the moderators to decide.

Hello !
Very fine and convenient article ! Congrats !
May I suggest that the age of the end-user must be taken in account (e.g. I was told to tell what scope for a young boy : I ask if he will use his scope alone or with an adult [weight of the gear, adjustments or not and so on ]).
I'm getting old, so I think the age becomes important !
Arsène

Arsene37 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 01, 2020 6:37 pm Hello !
Very fine and convenient article ! Congrats !
May I suggest that the age of the end-user must be taken in account (e.g. I was told to tell what scope for a young boy : I ask if he will use his scope alone or with an adult [weight of the gear, adjustments or not and so on ]).
I'm getting old, so I think the age becomes important !
Arsène

Thanks Arsène! I believe astronomy is too complex for younger children to figure out on their on. So, in reality parents or other willing adults should by the scope based on their preferences and get involved into the hobby together with kids.

I agree Andrey. There are so many options available that it is tough enough for parents to make a choice, let alone a young child.

Nice and simple, but well-considered Andrey. To often I see, the best thing for you Mr/Ms Beginner - is a ten inch Dobson.

Now, I bought some gear from a guy who had done exactly this.

He lived in a small two bedroomed house with his Mum. The was on an estate of similar homes, all with tiny enclosed gardens. His house pointed north, and from no point in his garden could he see Polaris. He was frustrated as his mum wouldn't let him assemble the scope in the house. Instead annoyed he followed forum advice on the accessories he should buy, and spent a further £500.

I bought an Orion Illuminated RACI of him at an advantageous price.

I was there for an hour with him chatting about my scopes, general astronomy. At the end of the conversation I asked him about his scope, he explained it was a 10 inch SkyQuest Orion Dobson. He knew all the details and still seemed enthused. How long have you had it I asked, ’Oh, just over six months’ was the reply. Still, I stated ’You must have seen so nice views with a scope like that?’.

Ah, he replied ’I've never looked through it...’

I wish to add that this didn't happen in this forum, but on a quite a well known one.

Greenman wrote: ↑Sun Nov 08, 2020 3:51 pm Nice and simple, but well-considered Andrey. To often I see, the best thing for you Mr/Ms Beginner - is a ten inch Dobson.

Now, I bought some gear from a guy who had done exactly this.

He lived in a small two bedroomed house with his Mum. The was on an estate of similar homes, all with tiny enclosed gardens. His house pointed north, and from no point in his garden could he see Polaris. He was frustrated as his mum wouldn't let him assemble the scope in the house. Instead annoyed he followed forum advice on the accessories he should buy, and spent a further £500.

I bought an Orion Illuminated RACI of him at an advantageous price.

I was there for an hour with him chatting about my scopes, general astronomy. At the end of the conversation I asked him about his scope, he explained it was a 10 inch SkyQuest Orion Dobson. He knew all the details and still seemed enthused. How long have you had it I asked, ’Oh, just over six months’ was the reply. Still, I stated ’You must have seen so nice views with a scope like that?’.

Ah, he replied ’I've never looked through it...’

I wish to add that this didn't happen in this forum, but on a quite a well known one.

Thanks Tony! I had my share of "buy 8" DOB and ES82 EPs or else!" This is a good choice but one of many. I am glad that on this forum people enjoy scopes of all shapes and sizes.

Why would beginners have to start with something inferior? In AP that is how people waste a ton of money. It is best to not spend anything on beginner gear but start big right away if you can and if you did your homework. And BTW if you want to do AP spend no time or money on visual because it is a waste of time and will teach you nothing useful.

If you want to do AP and are serious about it, don't get an AVX but a CEM60 or Losmandy then buy as much aperture as it can carry and as you can afford. After going through 2 Apos (OK one was a free door prize worth $2500), a RC, a Mak Newt, I finally concluded that alI need is a big 12" Newt with CC and my Mak Newt. If I had done my homework this is how I should have started.

So it depends very much on the person, there is no single pathway that all should follow.

SkyHiker wrote: ↑Mon Nov 09, 2020 5:16 am
If you want to do AP and are serious about it, don't get an AVX but a CEM60 or Losmandy then buy as much aperture as it can carry and as you can afford. After going through 2 Apos (OK one was a free door prize worth $2500), a RC, a Mak Newt, I finally concluded that alI need is a big 12" Newt with CC and my Mak Newt.

Hi, Henk, I get your drift, but a couple of caveats; few people come into astronomy knowing exactly what they was to do. Even fewer come in ready to splash the cash (or be allowed to) to the extent such a set up would require. Finally, how serious you are is a subjective term, I could be extremely serious, just limited by funding or even location.

SkyHiker wrote: ↑Mon Nov 09, 2020 5:16 am Why would beginners have to start with something inferior? In AP that is how people waste a ton of money. It is best to not spend anything on beginner gear but start big right away if you can and if you did your homework. And BTW if you want to do AP spend no time or money on visual because it is a waste of time and will teach you nothing useful.

If you want to do AP and are serious about it, don't get an AVX but a CEM60 or Losmandy then buy as much aperture as it can carry and as you can afford. After going through 2 Apos (OK one was a free door prize worth $2500), a RC, a Mak Newt, I finally concluded that alI need is a big 12" Newt with CC and my Mak Newt. If I had done my homework this is how I should have started.

So it depends very much on the person, there is no single pathway that all should follow.

Yes, Henk, but would idea of buying 12" Newt even cross your mind when you started? And if you did home work researching on forums etc., how many would point you to 12" Newt as a starter EP scope? Before you master the skill, gain experience and figure out what you want, dumping big $$ on equipment will almost never pay off.

I would say a 4" refractor or an 8" Dob would be Ok to start out with. With young children probably a refractor in this size range would be best.