Greg and all; Been there, done that, with the baby Nexstar.=20 This is a good deal, and the Baader bracket is very cool, but be aware = that this series offers mediocre tracking at anything above low power, say = 50x+. What is bizarre about mine is it tracks OK in some sectors of the sky = (near the zenith it is great!) and terrible in others (45 alt, 135 az, for example). Tracking errors are as high as 3 minutes per minute in some = areas. GOTO performance can be good, but set-up is finicky and careful = alignment is a must. I use an illuminated reticle ep for this. You also need to know whether these scopes come with the upgraded = handpad; you can send the old one back and Celestron will replace it n/c, but you = pay shipping (of course). What's more, the 114GT has a bigger, beefier arm than the 60/80 GT = model, so it might be *a little* more stable, but light, small OTAs are the rule = here. Of course I know of some fool who put a 120mm f8 refractor on a Nexstar = 60 mount using a Baader bracket and it actually worked, but the mount = twanged in the lightest breeze. I think if you breathed on the thing it would = start to oscillate. Oh yeah, and if you crash the mount a replacement motor runs $50, and = you pay shipping. The 114GT has a built-in barlow to minimize coma. The fl is ~900mm, I = think. So it is not really a widefield scope, like the 80GT. Regardless of the hype, I think this scope would be somewhat of a = challenge for a beginner of any age. But for someone looking to put a quality ota = like a TV Pronto on a GOTO mount, this might be just the ticket . . . But = realize it is not going to point/track like its bigger Nexstar bretheren.=20 Just my $0.02, discounted to 0.015 for the readers of az observing. Matt -- See message header for info on list archives or unsubscribing, and please send personal replies to the author, not the list.