There's always the "must haves" to budget in as well, like an extra eyepiece if
necessary, a filter or three, and star atlas or guide(s) of choice.
Jim O'ConnorSouth Rim ManagerGrand Canyon Star Partygcsp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent from AOL DesktopIn a message dated 3/4/2019 9:57:35 PM US Mountain
Standard Time, bandjinpnx@xxxxxxx writes:
As a 75 year old, with a less than perfect back, I have to put my 2 cents in.
I have a 10 inch Orion GoTo for outreach events.
The base weight is about all I want to chance lifting ( about 35 Lbs) on a
regular basis.
Biggest issue is back bending to set up with the telrad.
Set up is simple and easy.
For just visual viewing
I would recommend a used ( or new) 8 inch dob.
Without the GoTo the base is light
Very reasonable price.
Simple, not much to go wrong and easy to work on/with
Reasonable aperture to see most Messier objects
Telrads are great for lots of targets.
If he loses interest he can sell it after 2 years
for 80% of what he put in
( or step up to a GoTo)
Brooks Scofield
Brooks
________________________________
From: az-observing-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <az-observing-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> on
behalf of Albert Barr <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, March 4, 2019 9:25 PM
To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [AZ-Observing] Re: Advice
Why is age even an issue? A 50 year old will have trouble lugging an 11 inch
around. I am 71, I ride a bike several times a week, swim, golf, play tennis,
do competitive pistol shooting. 70 is not old :)
Albert Barr
On Mar 4, 2019, at 9:15 PM, Kenneth Cotter <737kptan@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
There are 42 answers to this question of the perfect scope for a new to
astronomy 70 year old.
A go-to scope might possibly be too complicated for him to set up and be
successful. A small apature is not going to show him much other than the
moon and the bright planets.
How about a small dob? Lightweight. Very easy to use...point and look.
Easy to find the moon and planets. There are newer used scopes out there
for cheap. He could get a 4 1/2" or better yet if he can handle the weight
a 6".
If he sticks with it he hasn't lost anything really because the smallish
dob can be sold or handed down to a youngster starting out.
I would be happy to help him locate a good dob on the used market.
https://phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/ele/d/mesa-selling-telescope/6798466008.html
This 6" dob has been on the market for months now. He is asking $200 I bet
it could be had for $100 - $150.
https://tucson.craigslist.org/for/d/tucson-telescope/6819655282.html
$ 4 1/2" asking $100. I bet he would take less as well.
Ken C
On Mon, Mar 4, 2019 at 8:42 PM L Knauth <Knauth@xxxxxxx> wrote:
I have a friend (about age 70) who wants to buy a telescope for visual
observing and has asked me for recommendations. I have never been in the
market for small telescopes and don't know what would be best. He can
spend about $1,000. He obviously can't heft around anything too large, but
I suspect he'll lose interest fast with the limited views he could get with
small aperture refractors. I think he needs some aperture and GoTo ability
and certainly clock drive. Orion has this 8" reflector on a GoTo equatorial
mount which would probably give him good enough views to fulfill his
desires. I am a bit concerned about image quality at f 4.9 and have never
seen one of these in action. Any comments from you visual observers?
Paul Knauth
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