As a very young boy, about 8y.o. I had a small 60mm scope on a yoke mount with short table top legs. I found Saturn one night and was in awe of the small but obvious view of the planet with rings. I ran back inside the house and insisted my parents come outside and look through the little scope I'd set up on the table outside on the footpath. I was so proud of my 'discovery'. I am now 62 y.o. with more advanced equip, and a lifelong love of astronomy, all because of a little 60mm achro with a selection of poor eyepieces that included a 5mm unit and a 2x barlow. They may be rubbish but once upon a time, those hobby killers inspired a boy to dream .....
I should probably add this to the headnote. If you are old enough, you remember when entry level scopes were decent. Through about the late 1970s, refractors were brand-labeled Japanese products from Goto, Towa, Royal Astro, Halmar, and others. The early Tascos and Sears telescopes were decent, and even collectible today. Sometime in the 1980s, something sinister happened when they started brand-labeling useless plastic junk from China. You would have no chance of finding Saturn with the scope in the video.
I also own a similar version of the 60mm refractor that I bought with my paper route money at about age 10. It was fine for me then. Now is a different story. I still have that same telescope 40 years later and just for fun got it out last fall and took it out and used it. After watching several of Ed's videos I purchased a new diagonal and some better lenses to see if I could make it better. It helped a little. I decided to go with one of Ed's recommendations this last spring and got an Orion Observer 134 reflector. It has been a good upgrade. I have changed a couple of thing like the eyepieces and put a different finder scope on it to make it easier to use. It's been fun. Thanks Ed I always enjoy your videos.
I still own my Sears 60mm refractor. Haven't used it in years but saw Saturn and Jupiter with it and, like you, fell in love. I even enjoyed the sun projected image where i saw many sunspots.
Talk about luck! Me and my son (13), has been planning to by a telescope for a long time. There are so many out there, so we haven't bout any. We actually talked about it today. And then I stumble on you sight! I wasn't even locking for any answer, and there you were! So tomorrow we will sit and look at all your episode! Just grate! Thank you so much for taking time and explain. You really made my day!
Ed I must admit to all new sky watchers you have not steered us wrong in 2 years. For many of us joining a club or having a mentor is out of the question but your videos direct us in the right direction and allow us to learn without immediate failure. Thanks for the help!!!
Ed's perpetual recommendation for an 8-inch Dobsonian is, of course, correct. If you are thinking "8-inch good, 10-inch better," then you have never lugged a 10-inch dob out the back door and down the porch steps. And then done the opposite, very late at night. If you have the money for a 10-inch, consider getting an 8-inch plus a sweet eyepiece. Remember, weight goes by the cube of the aperture. The best scope is the one you use.
If i had the money for a 10 inch dobsonian, i would likely have the money to build an observatory dome in the garden as well, save messing around. You are right about "the one you use", my little 113 mm celestron motorised unit is the easy pull out when the clouds clear.
my first telescope was a hobby killer but i still ended up loving it with what i could see dispite all its flaws, i spent very very little on it as it was used and its left and right turn knob was barely surviving and now i have a celestron dob and meade etx
@@enriquejesu4512 i still have it, its not perfect (at all xd ) but it is super small and light, so i keep it arround just incase, i also dont really want to sell it and ruin someones first introduction to visual astronomy
@@oriananananaones first scope is special. Even if it's a cheap one. It says something about you as a person that you saw the wonder of it and went bigger instead of being discouraged. Heck, I got started with a cheap pair of binoculars that I have to this day!
Hey Ed! I'm really new to all of this and want to give thanks for all of your videos and information. I picked up the AWB dob about a month ago and it's really kicked up my passion for this stuff. I was screwing around with a trash scope for a while before doing any real research and without you I probably would have bailed entirely from the hobby. Thanks man!
And now, in praise of the junk scope! ... In the late 1960's, I bought a 40mm Tasco telescope (model 3450) for $13.07, including tax. I made 35 cents for mowing a lawn (with ten cents going back to my dad for gas and wear and tear on the lawnmower), so that represented a lot of work. I saw ads for good scopes, but those were out of reach for me. It had wobbly chromed legs about eighteen inches long, and I would lie on the concrete driveway to use it. Of course it was hard to find things and hard to keep them in view. But it gave me hundreds of hours of pleasure. I saw the rings of Saturn. I examined the nebula in Orion. I looked at Andromeda. I drew pictures of Jupiter and its four largest moons. I tracked the position of the moons over time, so I could see for myself that they revolved around Jupiter. I thought about how Galileo made his own telescope using a lead pipe and a convex lens in front with a concave lens in back. His telescope was 21 power, so I felt grateful to be able to use the same. My telescope had an eyepiece that had clicks on it to go from twenty five to fifty times magnification, five power at a time. On 50 power the chromatic aberration and coma made stars hard to look at, so I almost never went over forty power. It couldn't really be used to split double stars. But even with a wobbly piece of junk, I was able to see a tiny fraction of the beautiful universe, and repeat the wonderful experiments of Galileo.
This should be in the headnote, but if you are old enough, you remember when entry level stuff was good. Vintage Tascos are sought after today. Sometime in the 1980s they began importing useless plastic junk from China.
Great video. I usually get asked after the purchase has been made. I just try to manage their expectations. Most of the junk telescopes are pretty good for the Moon and maybe (big maybe) the Orion Nebula. If they haven't already purchased, then I recommend an 8 inch Dob (preferably used) or the Starblast 4.5" Dobsonian. Both are wonderful "forever" telescopes. I have both.
I own a "junk" 60mm/400 scope on horrible tripod. I took it to Bortle 5 and Bortle 3 areas. Honestly? It showed quite a lot. Also yes 4" or 8" are better but I don't like guys totally dismissing small refractors. With 60mm scope I could easily see Lagoon and Swan Nebulae, nice globlar clusters like M22 and M13. Even Under Botle 8 I could see nice views of butterfly cluster that wasn't really visible with binoculars. This scope isn't best but for $100 it isn't junk. You can upgrade eyepieces for $25 and get quite nice little scope.
I have craved the deep views of the night sky for decades! One day I will have my own telescope. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and getting me one step closer each day to owning my own telescope
I'll only comment that I started out with a 1972 Tasco Japan 4.5" f/8 Newtonian, on quite decent equatorial mount with a wooden-leg tripod. Although it had an .965" H20 and an H6 (I never used the Barlow), I did manage to buy a wide-field 40mm Binocular eyepiece, and a discarded Zeiss 15mm Monocentric eyepiece in this eyepiece diameter, both of which made this simpler telescope into a potent thing for a high-school student to own. The figure of the mirror was genuinely parabolic - they do not make them like they used to.
I've learned so much viewing Ed's channel. Great content, quality, production and presentation. In recent years I went for more aperture (12" Dob) but tired of moving it. So I've since moved smaller, to an 8" Dob thanks to one of Ed's posts I watched, and have a great viewing experience without the back aches. Cheers.
Such good advice! Aperture is truly king for visual astronomy. I'll never forget finding the Ring Nebula back in the '80s using the setting circles on my recently purchased Bausch & Lomb 4" SCT after performing polar alignment using the manual. That night translated into a lifetime obsession. If I hadn't found that nebula, I wonder if I would have continued on with this hobby.
Great video. I see a lot of people in beginners groups wanting to buy these all the time because they are cheap. Side-note, since you brought them up as a viable alternative: I feel binoculars are criminally underrated as observing-equipment. Really fun, light to carry and it doesn't get much easier to use.
Except, except . . . The problem is that most beginners want to look at the moon and planets first. Binoculars fail miserably here, because they don't have anywhere near enough magnification. For someone who has been in the hobby for awhile, they know what they're doing, binoculars are great. I completely agree. But not for a beginner.
@@jongroubert4203 if binoculars cant give a good view of something close, large and bright, then they're useless for things much smaller, dimmer and further away. I bought a brand new set of Nikon Binoculars which makes a cheap junk tellescope a luxury for seeing things. And Im talking an old, dusty 40 year old 30 dollar scope from goodwill. I've never looked out of a good dobsonian so I can't even begin to compare it with anything. But I can say without a doubt yhat there's good junk and bad junk. It has nothing to do with the age or the price.
As a teen, I got my start on one of those 60mm Tasco's in the 90s. I could find most Messiers with that thing! As well as enjoying lunar views, Jupiter, Saturn... But I did toss those stupid barlows, the stock eyepieces (got a nice-for-the-price-and-for-those-days Kellner) etc. But after a while (and some saving) I got a Dob and didn't look back. Now I have an astrobin profile and black hole where my wallet used to be. I wouldn't recommend that kind of scope to anyone tough.
I want to upgrade the focuser on my old Japanese Tasco 3T reflector from .965 to 1.25". Can't find anything yet. However, I've been using 1.25 eyepieces with the telescope lately but without the .965 focuser draw tube, completely removed, leaving only the body of the focuser intact on the telescope. I discovered the inside diameter to be just a little over 1.25". So I put some thin felt tape (1mm) inside around the body, acquired a 1.25" Farpoint Lumicon barrel extender, screwed the barrel unto eyepieces, and insert them into the body in and out to reach focus. It works, sorta like helical focusing.. 😁 I've been using Baader, Tele Vue, Pentax, and other eyepieces with success. Only a few didn't come to focus because it needs a little bit more of impossible inward travel. 😅 It's all fun.
Those early Tascos are good scopes and worth collecting. I don't know for sure, but check out the part#s UTEA and UTEB from Scopestuff. Those might be a more permanent solution to your .965" issue.
@@edting Thanks, Ed. I've already checked out the Scopestuff parts. The visual back on my Tasco does unscrew, but the focuser drawtube is too small for those visual backs. The diameter of the focuser drawtube (which is 32mm or 1.26 inches) is almost exactly that of the barrels on 1.25 eyepieces, so those visual backs wont fit.
Thankyou Ed for finally highlighting the junk scopes saga, or I call them trash scopes!! I've been highlighting this problem for years for calling this out, and it's about time something is got to be done about it which indeed is killing our hobby!! My trash telescope for Xmas videos have been shadow banned literally, has now I've stopped getting views from them, because I've highlighted the truth and called out the scammers that are using their powers to sell junk scopes via through FB and Amazon, and even selling dangerous astro products, again they will be out to get you for calling out their scams!!! But careful Ed Clear Skies to you and keep up the good work, WE NEED SAVE OUR HOBBY!!
Yeah, my personal issue is this - Tasco (and others) sell this stuff, the buyer can't make it work, and they come find me. Tasco sells junk and I pay the price. How is that fair?
@@edting I totally agree with you 100% what amazes me the most is that there is alot of top Astro channels out here on RUclips, that they simply do not call this issue out neither, which I feel the more we push this issue out, the more community will listen to us, Hence the reason why I feel that these top channels do not show their true self or passion into this hobby, There are only a few channels I subscribe if creators were more honest to their viewers. I have been watching your video content very closely for quite a few months now, and after you made this video, I have now finally subscribed to your channel, because finally someone else has already seen the onslaught on the recent decline of interest into Astronomy, which is now slowly fading away!! The only reason why these companies are back tracking and are trying to find you is that you have alot more subs and views than my channel alone, and it scares them completely that a top Astro channel remained to true to the hobby and not recieving sponsorships for baised reviews!! Now the battle has begun, with my channel they just simply ignored me and place shadow bans on my channel, but with your subs and views they cannot control you!!! Thanks again Ed with the true passion you just showed me, Now MP ASTRO is in full support to your channel!! Wish you clear skies Ed.
Quite a few years ago I had a Tasco 114mm reflector. Didn't pay much for it but I did get some Celestron eye pieces. I actually got some really nice images of the moon and it allowed me to show my daughters Jupiter (red spot and red belts) and Saturn, the rings were easily visible. I am now in the market to get a much, much better scope. I've heard alot about the Dobsonians but I must admit that I really like an equatorial mount.
Thing with Dobsonians is, you have to be fairly agile to use them. Finding is particularly difficult. A sturdily mounted equatorial would be my choice.
I used a Dob for a while. I found it cumbersome and in storage they take up a lost of space. After making one myself and figuring up the cost I also figured out they are way over priced also with exception of the table top designs. Setup time of an equatorial may take a little longer but you will appreciate the steady, sturdy design with smooth track. Personally, today, I use an old iOptron Cube Goto (ALTZ) because it can be pack so small with my Orion Apex 127mm. I like that I can pack them in my backpack, hike to the top of Table Rock mountain and just relax and watch the stars. The Apex OTA Mak is a bit heavy for its size though. People love their Dobs. I think the man was great for what he did for astronomy, but I am no fan of the mount.
@@Mot-o1e Hey I'm still in the zero-tech era. With a backyard site you can set up an equatorial mount, level it with a spirit level, set your latitude (no need, you've already clamped it), swivel the RA axis to point to celestial North (which you know by eye), and you are good to go. All in daylight! You still need good finding, which I've arranged by having both a 6x30 in-line finder and a 9x50 right-angle one. The only tech I've found useful for visual observing is a right ascension electric drive.
+1 for the 8" DOB. I've had it for a year now and it is just perfect and so universal once properly equipped. For something more travel friendly I've actually gotten a cheap 100mm spotting scope for about 170$. Works pretty good.
I am 26 now, had an 8 inch dob for about 6 years now. I absolutely love it. Wanting to upgrade to a 12 in the future, but with good eyepieces and a nice dark night the 8 inch gives you some incredible views! I have only ever been to a sky level 4 and even there the 8 inch is an absolute beast.
Thank you very much for your straightforward, easy to understand reviews on what not to buy. I was given a 60mm Tasco refractor exactly the same as you showed in the video when I was about 10 years old and thought it was great but what did I know? I haven’t used it for probably 4o years or so and recently started looking around for a new one within my budget of around $400. After watching your video I never realised how crap the one I had was. I now have a better idea of what not to buy.
Thanks Ed for the beginner primer! My first astronomy scope is a 4 inch Newtonian that does OK with local objects, but fails on many other jobs. But it was an impulse buy at a garage sale. But my 10X binocs do a lot of fun viewing! I am in the process of building an 8 inch Dobsonian, and I am trying to make a camera adapter to record my observations. WOW! Looking at the sun??!!?? I use a cardboard pinhole camera to get a look at the sun for any solar views. It is one thing I tell others to never use glasses or such for looking at the sun, and the pinhole with a one inch hole works very well for projecting the image on a paper screen.
A one inch hole sounds rather large. In 1999 I made a pinhole camera from a shoebox. The pinhole was the smallest that would let enough light through. The image was projected on the other end of the box. I used it to view the Aug 1999 solar eclipse, which was about 98% total in south-east England. It showed it well, an unforgettable experience. I've used projection from a 3 inch refractor to see sunspots and even Venus transits. I think that's safe but to be done with awareness of the risks.
@@pwmiles56 I am making a 2 foot square sheet of cardboard with a one inch hole in the center. The cardboard as a sun screen to provide a shadow on a standard sheet of paper, and the image of the sun from the hole is on the sheet of paper. This allows for many people to look at the image without having to risk looking at the sun directly. This allows for people to see sun spots, or eclipses of the sun. When I use it, I put the sheet of paper on the ground, and hold the cardboard at the correct distance to focus the image of the sun on the paper. If I remember, you need about 4 feet of distance from the sheet of paper to get a good image of the sun.
@@jeffreyyoung4104That's great, do continue to experiment (safely of course). I just tried your design and I did get a slightly fuzzy circular image. However, the resolution of the image will be the aperture divided by the distance, in radians. I.e. 1/48 radians or about 1.2 degrees. Whereas, the Sun itself is only 0.5 degrees across. It might show a hint of an eclipse, but it certainly couldn't show sunspots. Generally you need to have the image formed in the deepest possible shade. The shoebox design can do this, as I say it showed the eclipse, though the image would have been quite small (EDIT about 0.1 inch at a 1 foot distance.).
For binoculars in the city, I would say either 15x50 or a 12x50 with wide field eyepieces. The stars show up better as the sky background is darker. My 15x50 binos are a $10 thrift store find, they’re an old Carl Zeiss Jena Pentekar, they lack modern multi coatings, but they work for narrow eyes and don’t have oversized eyepiece barrels like a lot of modern binos. 7x50 and 10x50 sizes are lacking in a city, but I may use them for more general familiarizing of an area of sky. Telescope finders, a 3.5x21 with a 15x50 would be a good combo, or substitute the 3.5x finder for a red dot finder. The 3.5x21 finder can be made using a 7x50 eyepiece and an 8x21 bino objective lens. Think I found my next project now.😁😁😁
I paid $199 Canadian for a scope just like that Tasco in the early 80's. In 2023, I made it into a useful scope by changing the objective, the mount, the focuser, the eyepieces, and the finder, and sawing off the tube from f12 to f6.7. It's pretty good now.
LOL! I actually HAVE 2 OF THOSE!!! And believe it or not, the Sun filter actually worked!!! Back in 2005, the Sun was pumping out spots and I tried it out and it actually showed spots on the filter. I got a real chuckle out of those scopes. They're in the basement now, safely tucked away where they can do no harm. A curiosity more than anything else now. With good EP's and a decent diagonal, it's actually not that bad on the Moon and large stars, BTW. That just cracked me up when I saw that. Who knew? I thought they were dead and gone except in my basement! Keep up the great work, Ed. And keep spreading the Gospel, my man!
My first telescope was a Celestron star hopper 8”dobsonian. What a great choice it was. About $600 at the time. Learned how to find objects by their placement near other stars, etc. Buying the tasco will help the budding astronomers be so frustrated that they lose interest. Great content here.
About the wood homemade rings; beautiful but bulky and complex to make. All my cheap 60’s came with vixen style dovetails that I removed and relocated on a simple homemade cradle. The scope attaches to the cradle with a hose clamp padded by felt. By tightening the hose clamp just so I can both rotate the tube and slide the cradle to balance it. Of course my longest scope is a 60/500 f8.3 that is only 22 inches long with the focus racked in and diagonal attached. I would mention that the focuser on the StarBlast is a reprehensible piece of all plastic trash. I picked up a StarBlast 113 EQ from an ad on OfferUp. Set aside the EQ-1 and made up a mini dob base for it. Kind of fixed the wobbly drawtube on the focuser with some blue painters tape, a lot more solid now anyway. Nice little scope by the way.
Hi, Ed. Turns out my telescope checks all of the red flags. Of course, I got the telescope for Xmas in 1969, when I was 13 years old and long before you had started your RUclips channel. 😂 I did manage to get the equatorial mount and the add-on clock drive, so I was able to see Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, & the moon. Thanks for all of your videos. I really enjoy them.
Hi Ted, For less than 100€, i got a Bresser junior 70/900 and the télescope and the kind of altaz-eq mount are both quite surprinsingly decent if not good. Get better plossl oculars and off you go.
Hello Ed and thank you for this video. I found it to be very informative and helpful. I was gifted a " junk scope " as an 8th birthday present many years ago and I completely agree that the mounts made it difficult and frustrating to use. The only positive I ever really had was that it helped to spark my curiosity to see more of the universe. If I may suggest, can you make a video showing how to care for and maintain equipment if you haven't already? This is something that I know many beginners struggle with.
I got a Bushnell 4.5" Northstar (goto) several years ago. The goto has died, but collimating (was it ever done?), upgrading mount, and upgrading eyepiece made a significant difference. Doesn't hold a candle to my 8" Newton, but it's much easier to haul around.
With the AstoHopper u can stick it on your c.p. to all most any thing. Say goodbye to StarScence plates and push to go to and setting circles. Levels bubbles and on n on.😄😄😄
My first scope was a so-called "Japanese Refractor", a 3-inch f16, sold to me by the estimable Dudley Fuller of Farringdon Road, London, circa 1987, price £500 (about $1000 at the time). Actually it was pretty good, an ideal introduction. All I have left of it is the wooden carrying-case, which is now propping up my garden fence. It did take 24.5mm Japanese eyepieces, including Huygenians and Kellners, which seemed to work just fine. Maybe I knew no better, or maybe focal length heals all sins. So my beef is, how low-end but still respectable scopes are heading to lower f numbers, probably at the expense of visual observing.
@edting what about the Red Tasco branded Vixen Jones-Bird desgin,the 125mm Vixen 8V,(I just picked one up on Craigslist last week for $30 on a Vixen polaris mount) I would love to see a video about the hidden Japanese gems from the 80's & 90's masquerading as Celestrons,Tasco,Cometrons etc... great videos!
@@edting , I had picked up an old eq mount that was for a 60mm refractor from the 50’s or 60’s that looks like the vintage Tasco, it is beefier than the eq 2 class mounts. It had a broken clasp, so I added four screws to allow it to accept vixen style dove tails. The mount can support a Meade 395 90mm refractor. Now if Tasco scopes would come with this mount today, there would be less problems.
Always love the reviews; made me pick up my first Orion 8X Dobsonian a short while back. Do a review on the Vaonis Vespera telescope (which is more of a camera than a telescope). THANKS !
Hello, my first telescope was a travelscope 70 from Celestron, and it got me hooked. I still have it today and sometimes take it with me camping. yes the mount is worthless.
You can have fun with cheap junk scopes but you have to know what you're doing and understand the limits. My first lunar astrophotography was with a 2MP digital point and shoot camera through a department store refractor and they're still hanging on my wall for sentimental reasons. You can make out craters but of course they're not super sharp and these days you can get a superzoom camera that would do better. Buying the junk scopes full price is a bad idea but sometimes you can pick them up VERY cheap second hand- $20-$50. You can hold up a phone or use an adapter to take low quality astro images of the moon and planets or of double stars. But yeah the beginner is better off dodging them and going with binocs. A few years ago the "Galileoscope" made the rounds with no mount at all and was sold quite cheaply new. If it's your first exposure to a magnified moon it might be something you can use to learn about the origins of the telescope and have an evening's fun.
i bought that exact tasco for the kids. it was a learning experience i'm glad we had. it taught us the hard way what works what doesnt. once we figured it out it suprisingly wasnt terrible. then i got a long tube reflector on a german equatorial mount. fantastic except my hole in the trees was right where you have to do the "meridian flip" if you know you know!!! then i bought that starblast you showed. that has been used more than the others comined 3x! quick easy you are looking in under a minute!! no it wont track but add a webcam and keep the mount free you can easily trac manually!
My wonderful Mum got me a telescope from her catalogue when I was a kid. I had a standard tripod and was plastic. It actually put my off the hobby for many years, but we did very much enjoy looking at sunspots with the included solar filter, and occasionally having a look at the moon, but as soon as I used a Newtonian and saw Saturn, I knew it was time to come back to this when I was older and had money (was about 13 at the time). People think I'm being an equipment snob, so it's worn very thin when friends messaging me around early december asking what to get to get little Johnny started with 'star gazing' I suggest a star map app and binoculars if their budget is sub £100
Hi Mr. Ting, thanks for all the informative videos! I was on an estate sale site today and one of these Tasco models (675 power!), already has 16 bids on it :(
Another nice video. One of these days I'd like to see Ed review a couple of inexpensive, but probably okay-ish scopes for beginners. I'm thinking of something like the Sky Scanner 100mm at $130 or Orion Observer 114mm at $150. Both are parabolic. Options for when a $200 starblast is a bit too much for some.
Ha! None of the Sky Scanners escape my wrath. See my review of the refractor (admittedly the worst of the bunch) on Scopereviews. I mention the other two models as well.
@@edting Hmm... can't seem to find your skyscanner 100mm (tabletop reflector) review on your site. I know a decent number of folks over at cloudy nights like it (for what it is). Maybe you were referring to the Orion trio of small scopes, including the old Goscope. I found that review. Although I think you got a lemon there, as I have that same scope and can crank magnification quite high... 150x on the Moon, and had it at Saturn at 100x the other night. 35x on Jupiter and you were having issues makes me think you got a dud.
I have an Orion Skyview Pro 8 inch Reflector on a Skyview Pro equatorial mount and tripod with a True Trac dual axis motor drive and I absolutely love it. It's a great all around rig with an 8 inch parabolic primary mirror, 2 inch Crayford focuser, 1000 mm focal length and an f-ratio of 4.9, it's a light bucket. I wouldn't use anything other than an eq mount. I also have a dual finder scope mount for my 9x40 scope and my red dot finder. I also have a really nice polar alignment scope. I think for the money this is a lot of bang for your buck. Really easy to collimate, I don't use a laser collimator, collimation cap and a bright star! It's just too bad that Orion discontinued this model but I was fortunate enough to purchase a second brand new motor drive just in case the one on my mount fails, but so far so good it still works great, tracks absolutely perfect. I use a cmos color camera for the solar system and a Canon EOS M10 mirrorless camera for deep sky.
Really helpful information. I’m an absolute newbie and have just purchased a Celestron 6se however starting to regret it even before using it due to the feedback I’ve only just noticed re the tripod / mount!! Fingers crossed it’s ok.
Hi. In my opinion. Based on my scopes I’ve acquired and use. I have a celestron 80x400. Celestron 70x700 astromaster , Galileo 80x900 reflector. Tasco 60x800. And a 1950s Lafayette 60x800. And I have access to a good c8 . My most used scope is the little celestron 80x400 travel scope. It’s bright being a f/5. It’s light although you must replace the tripod. Even a goodwill camera tripod is better.. the Lafayette is the best visuals of the moon as the Japanese optics are fantastic . If no tracker the c8 is hard to use but the best I’ve used if your not out and about and not at home Bit large to carry around .. in my opinion the celestron travel 80mm is the best cheep beginner / first scope. Some of my best astrophotography was done with that scope and a simple eq mount.
The Tasco 60 mm refractor was my very first telescope back in 1970. Ed is right. It was an awful telescope but there was one good thing about it. It was just good enough to start me on a life long love of astronomy. Now I have Celestron 6se.
I totally agree with everything in your video, but not everything is as it might seem. Around 1983 when I was 24 I bought my first telescope. A Tasco from a department store for $35, about half the size as the one in your video. The first object I observed was Mars. All the news networks were reporting Mars was at one of its closest oppositions. Not only was I excited, but all my friends were impressed. The second object was Jupiter. I could see the two main equatorial belts. Although I now own a 10" Newtonian on a German equatorial mount, those views with my little Tasco are still cherished memories and the beginning of over two decades of a passionate love for observational and practical astronomy.
I've never been able to afford what I want, but I have an Orion Skyscanner 100mm. I added a couple of better eyepieces and a solar filter. I was very popular during the solar eclipse since out of over 100 people viewing, I had one of two scopes. I have had a bunch of fun looking at planets, galaxies and nebulas. Years ago another red flag I read was that good scopes come in plain boxes, not fancy packaging.
I enjoyed your video on “junk scopes “. Thought it was very informative and useful information. However I was surprised that you didn’t comment on observing planets. When I was 13 years old in 1962 I received a 2.4 inch refractor telescope which started a lifelong interest in astronomy. With this small, cheap scope I was able to observe the craters on the moon and all the planets except Pluto. Identified the moons of Jupiter and saw rings of Saturn, several comets and planetary nebulae.
One additional comment: Even reputable companies market cheap scopes that can be hobby killers. It seems they sell enough to make some good profit, but at the expense of people that would love to get into the hobby but can't afford better equipment. Oddly, these companies are killing future business too! By discouraging future customers, they hurt themselves more than they know.
I still have my first scope; the critereon 4000 4” SCT - a scope with legendary craptastic status - but thankfully it was one shipped with a corrector on it
My darling cousin recently came to me wanting to get into stargazing beyond looking up at the sky and had a favor to ask - if I had a telescope and if she could borrow it ;D I don't have a telescope but I've puttered around enough videos & RUclipsrs to know a little so I promised to look into it and indulge her. But knowing how much I don't know, I wanted to actually do some research so I don't end up with something difficult or useless and, thank goodness RUclips provided you as a totally random recommendation! I've watched the video from start to finish and have bookmarked this thing - you're going to save me a LOT of trouble and have given me a starting point! Thank you, sir!
I have a Meade ETX 125EC from around 1999 cost (a big fight with the wife). worked really well, but when I took it out of the box I missed the instructions not to rotate it a certain way and broke a stop. this did not really effect the use of the scope just an annoyance. I really liked it and it worked great, I got an electric focus control because focusing it was difficult manually. the focus control has plastic gears in it and was barely able to work before it stripped. about 10 years after I got it the internal drive in one of the forks broke on it's flimsy plastic mount, no abuse just was tracking and fell off. I contacted meade and they told me to pound sand there are no option for parts or repair for out of warranty equipment. the shortness of the scope made it difficult to look through the eyepiece without the right angle adapter, but with the right angle adapter everything was reversed left to right. I have adapters to add cameras for casual viewing of the moon etc, but with tracking broken it's pointless. so now I have a $900 spotting scope.
I know Tasco is not known for highest grade. But I have a Tasco 6 inch reflector form the sixties or early seventies that is really quite nice. Beautiful wood cases for the tube/ tripod & the mount. Robust wood tripod & a fine mount with plenty of mass. ( NO PLASTIC anywhere) I've had no desire to replace it in 40 years of use. Other than maybe something better suited for picture taking.
Subscribed. We now live in a very rural, very dark part of the country. I think I want an observatory shed with scope set up full time. Those cast iron balance weights get tiresome.
I still use my binoculars. Quite helpful in a city situation as the binos can see what I can't. Helps to find my target. I also have a local astronomy club that is extremely helpful and has telescopes members can borrow. Helped me figure out what I wanted and more importantly, what I didn't want.
Thank you for this. I learned this many years ago with a Tasco similar to to the one you use here. About the only good thing it was for was looking at the moon. I'm very happy with my CPC 1100 & Nexstar 8SE.
Usually when a beginner says " I have this telescope but I cant see anything through it" it because they are not dark adapted and are not holding the exit pupil is the #1 thing. the next list of other problem are the ones you mentioned, I love my red 1984 60x 800mm tasco 49tr (MIJ) its awesome, although I did upgrade to 1.25" diagonal because the drawtube OD is exactly 1.25" so the celestron prism attaches with a hose clamp right on the end after I remove the threaded .965 visual ring, great razor sharp optics, no C.A. visually not even on Vega, near perfect star test, I still use it all the time, and I will never part with it until I leave this world, bought it at JC Penny's before Haley came in 86' for $120.
Ed, you are dead wrong! 😂 My Nikon 80mm f/15 uses only .965” eyepieces (I haven’t found a need to convert it yet), and it’s a really good scope. And my Vixen Pulsar 102 comes with a very solid yoke mount for its lllloooonnnnnggggg tube. Take it all back before I give this video a thumbs down!!! 😊 Don’t consider the fact that these scopes were made decades ago, and are as rare as hens teeth! 😅 Seriously, other than my two listed exceptions, you are correct, as always. And I will forever love my Vixen ED81s, it’s a keeper ❤
I seem to be one of the “guys” you made this video for 😅. I have bought countless telescopes over the years trying to view anything other than the moon. Thank you for the pointers on what to look out for and I will view your recommendations on future scopes. All I really want is something easy to set up and use but all I end up with is a lot of frustrating and mosquito bites
I just purchased a reflective telescope. It's a celestron tabletop national parks foundation. It came with 2 eye pieces. A 20mm, and a 10mm. Both are 1.25 diameter and have a K 10mm or K 20mm. It has a 300mm focal length 76mm diameter aperture. I also got guide to the stars planispere,and a book called starfinder by Carole Scott and Giles Sparrow. I hope I didn't go terribly wrong especially with the scope. The scope only weights 5lbs and size is good for me. I'm disabled and can't carry much weight and I'm able sit at my outdoor table and look through the scope. I haven't been able to really test it out yet it's been much too cloudy and overcast. Ar first I thought I really messed up and got junk, but realized I couldn't see any star's with the naked eye either. I don't think a telescope is going to work very well without a clear view. I'm mostly interested in looking at the moon and learning how to operate a telescope. Then I will start looking into getting something like the Orion 8 inch scope. Did I go off rails and buy total junk or do you think this is useful enough for getting started
Big fan of you Ed. Thanks so much for sharing all this knowledge and experience with us. I recently purchased a refractor, AstroFi 90 and I find this thing great and nice to play with and start learning about the night sky. Not sure what you think about this scope but I love it.
My 1st Gets Picked On The 114LCM,But It Has Family Members Now,I Love The Optics When Up On The Eqm35Pro,But Happy To Say,Nothing I Own Is Classified…Junk😂😂😂Thank You Ed For Another Informing Video,God Bless and Clear Skies🙏🏻❤️⭐️🔭🌏
Ed, highest power I've ever used was on a friends 20" dob. We used a telextender and a high power eyepiece for over 1000 power. What did we need that much power for you ask? We were looking at the central star of the Ring Nebula.
We get people come to our club all the time with Junk Scopes. "My Husband/Wife bought me this for xmas/bithday. Can you help me set it up?" We try to help, but really, usually, we end up telling them to throw it away and buy a Dob. When they see how cheaply you can get a 6 or 8 inch Dob second hand, they are quite amazed. On phone holders. A father and son turned up to the club week before last. They've been playing with their 6" Dob for a couple of years now and using their phones on cheap Ebay holders to photograph the moon and planets. I and other members of our club were very impressed with the results they were getting!
I started my star gazing hobby in 64' with a Tasco telescope. I have since unscrewed the objective and use it as a paper weight. One question - for a travel scope (100mm max ) which telescopes are better than 3.5 " Questar. Remember it has a built-in eq. mount.
I got my start a few years ago with my walmart spotting scope on a tripod. A 3x40 scope I paid $40 for. The moon took up the entire lens & was amazing. I was able to hold my smartphone camera over the eypiece, & with much patience I got photos of the Orion Nebula & even Jupiter with 4 moons. I have since bought a 12" dobsonian
Ed, I’ve found your videos to be concise, practical guideposts to my astronomy purchasing and viewing. However, there’s an elephant in the room. That EM-200 mount in the foreground is begging for a review, and I’d love to hear your take on it. Thanks for all you’ve done for my education.
You replaced the mount, the eyepiece, the finder, the plossl...and it was still garbage. Not a good sign at all. Wow, the hell you put yourself through to help out the amateur/beginning astronomer is amazing. Thank you!
Thanks Ed, great tutorial. Last year I bought an Explore Scientific 80 mm FirstLight scope on sale for $139 (usually $199). I was looking for something light and inexpensive as I am old enough to not enjoy hauling around bigger scopes. I have had a lot of fun with it. The optics seem to be quite good to me. Still, I will direct newbies to your advice.
I'm a photographer and not an astronomer, but all of this makes perfect sense. It's all about getting the basics right. If the telescope construction and optics are sub-standard it can't possibly work. Thank you for this accessible and thoughtful piece!
Ed, this message can't be preached enough. However, I did fall for the start-up Dwarf II scope and am having a blast with it. Dwarf is still working out a few bugs but updates come frequently. I wanted something with a wider field of view than my f10 14" Meade. It's light and portable.
@@edting Yes, the community has mixed opinions. I think my 500 bucks was well spent considering that the only other scope I have is a permanently mounted monster in a dome. I live in the woods which restricts my field of view.
Great video, The first telescope I owned was the infamous power seeker 127 as I went for the biggest I could afford at the time and spent the whole summer fighting with it. The worst beginner telescope
Everything you said makes a scope junk is what I looked for in the past ,lol. Thanks for clearing things up.I just bought one for 130$ with all the junk and moon and sun filters , I should have found your video first.
I got the Meade-branded version of that scope (bought in the 90s, before the "power craze"). With the 25mm it was quite good on bright objects. The 12.5 gives a field of view almost exactly matching the full moon, which is quite fun. The mount is horrible though!
Your latitude. What direction North, Northeast, East, Southeast, South, Southwest, West, Northwest are you looking? Is the eyepiece directly above so that you have to look straight down through the eyepiece, which side (east or west) are you standing and looking downwards to look through the eyepiece, on which side are you looking upwards to look through the eyepiece, are you under the telescope and what's your alignment with it to look straight up through the eyepiece? Finally, does the optics reverse the image? With all that, I'm guessing that there's an app or paper showing an L with an arrow showing the orientation to compare with the star chart book.
Hi Ed! I have a 1962 Swift 831. My observation with it, along with google searches, says this is a very good quality scope. In fact, it was made by Takahashi. It uses 0.965” eyepieces. Despite very narrow field of views, they are very sharp and high contrast. Additionally, my understanding is that decades ago 0.965” was the European standard. Is this an exception to the “0.965” eyepieces are junk” admonishment, or does that really only apply to buying new scopes, with vintage scopes being a different beast? I also had an Atco with these eyepieces that was complete junk for astronomy, so know where you are coming from. Thanks! ETA: my swift eyepieces are also Huygens, and it has a 2x Barlow that is also quite good.
Those Swifts were wonderful! And yes, if you are old enough you remember when entry level scopes were good. Starting in the 1980s something sinister happened when the industry started importing cheap plastic junk from China.
Really interesting and useful for me as a new comer. I was amazed to hear how big the Andromeda galaxy is in relation to the moon - 8 times!! It would be good to hear more about relative sizes of similar objects.
Thank you Ed for another very informative video. I have always looked at these scopes with suspicion given the very low price point. Your comments on eyepieces are particularly useful because any beginner scope will be supplied with eyepieces and we never know what is good or what is garbage. Do you have a video explaining what a plossl (?) and other eyepiece designs are and what you recommend?
How well what eyepiece fits depends on focal ratio and focal length of particular telescope. Focal ratios of 8"/10" Dobsons require far more from eyepieces to have sharp image to edges compared to various Cassegrains, or long focal ratio refractors. Also cliche 25mm Plössls are bad for ~1200mm focal length telescopes lacking proper wide view to fit in wide showpiece clusters like Pleiades. That's why GSO built Dobsons coming with 2" 30mm eyepiece are far better choises than Syntas etc. (besides GSO giving proper ergonomics RACI finder instead of neck pain finder)
My wife and I bought a cheap(er) Celestron Omni 102AZ at Costco because we decided to get back into it. Decent views of the moon, Saturn, and Jupiter with different eyepieces than it came with. Most annoying part is the focuser really. That said, currently drooling over an 8” and 12” used Dob, any might pull the trigger on a used 12” Zhumell for $400 or so.
I got my first telescope from a mail order catalogue. I didn't know what it was, only that it could magnify over 600x! And the picture on the box - WOW! I was sold! It turned out to be a Meade Saturn 114mm f8 reflector. It came with all the junk of the day, had a tiny .965" focuser and a very shaky wooden(!) mount. The 5x24 "finder" was so badly stopped down, it was useless. But even with all those limitations, I managed to stumble across a weird star once, it had rings! 30 years on, I can still remember that WOW feeling when I realised that it was Saturn. I have been hooked ever since that day! :D
This is the best treatise on the Christmas Trash Scope ever! I will be spreading the word using the 'talking points' Ed shares here. BTW we often go to over 300 power on deep sky objects. But we do it on a 28" F.4.1 Dobsonian mounted Newtonian with a Kennedy mirror. It will work with a 8mm Explore Scientific or a 9mm TV Ethos. Targets like The Dumbbell Nebula cry out for it!
Hello Sir, very informative video series! I stay in apartment in Mumbai. At present im using 15X70 celestron bino ; planning to buy a telescope which would be easy to assembly as well as easy to disassemble once celestial viewing is done. I cant keep tele continuously mounted on tripod due to space constrain in flat; post viewing will have to place the main unit and tripod in cupboard . Im bit sceptical with sturdiness of reflector telescope though they are cost effective and have zero chromatic aberrations. Kindly guide me with type of telescope i should go for. Thanks.
I have an old 8" Meade on their standard pedestal equatorial mount. I have used it for the past 35 years. Outstanding scope! Edit: I have had to get the primary and secondary mirrors re-aluminized more than once, and several of the spider's legs have had to be replaced. I lived for a long time in the salty Tidewater region of Virginia.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
A friend of mine said it best: If Ed Ting were to explain how paperclips worked, it would still be an interesting watch. Keep it up!
Uh, wow - thanks for that!
That is a perfect description of Ed's style😂
@@edting Take eyedrops to dilate your pupils. Or, DMT - I've been told.
5 million magnification!!!!
Even james webb telescope is not able to capture objects at that magnification 😂
@@SaneGuyFr ... it might be able to with the 1000X Barlow that came with my department store scope ;)
1000000000x magnification is required, anything less is amateur grade! 😂
I'm ordering a 1bilion x for my 50 mm Bushnell Skychief that's in the shed on its wobbly tripod. Hope it can get here fast.
@@ftumschk You can see the big bang with it 😂
As a very young boy, about 8y.o. I had a small 60mm scope on a yoke mount with short table top legs. I found Saturn one night and was in awe of the small but obvious view of the planet with rings. I ran back inside the house and insisted my parents come outside and look through the little scope I'd set up on the table outside on the footpath. I was so proud of my 'discovery'. I am now 62 y.o. with more advanced equip, and a lifelong love of astronomy, all because of a little 60mm achro with a selection of poor eyepieces that included a 5mm unit and a 2x barlow. They may be rubbish but once upon a time, those hobby killers inspired a boy to dream .....
I should probably add this to the headnote. If you are old enough, you remember when entry level scopes were decent. Through about the late 1970s, refractors were brand-labeled Japanese products from Goto, Towa, Royal Astro, Halmar, and others. The early Tascos and Sears telescopes were decent, and even collectible today. Sometime in the 1980s, something sinister happened when they started brand-labeling useless plastic junk from China. You would have no chance of finding Saturn with the scope in the video.
I made the same statement as you did with almost the same words in my comment.
@@edtingI didn't know that.
I also own a similar version of the 60mm refractor that I bought with my paper route money at about age 10. It was fine for me then. Now is a different story. I still have that same telescope 40 years later and just for fun got it out last fall and took it out and used it. After watching several of Ed's videos I purchased a new diagonal and some better lenses to see if I could make it better. It helped a little. I decided to go with one of Ed's recommendations this last spring and got an Orion Observer 134 reflector. It has been a good upgrade. I have changed a couple of thing like the eyepieces and put a different finder scope on it to make it easier to use. It's been fun. Thanks Ed I always enjoy your videos.
I still own my Sears 60mm refractor. Haven't used it in years but saw Saturn and Jupiter with it and, like you, fell in love. I even enjoyed the sun projected image where i saw many sunspots.
Talk about luck! Me and my son (13), has been planning to by a telescope for a long time. There are so many out there, so we haven't bout any. We actually talked about it today. And then I stumble on you sight! I wasn't even locking for any answer, and there you were! So tomorrow we will sit and look at all your episode! Just grate! Thank you so much for taking time and explain. You really made my day!
Ed I must admit to all new sky watchers you have not steered us wrong in 2 years. For many of us joining a club or having a mentor is out of the question but your videos direct us in the right direction and allow us to learn without immediate failure. Thanks for the help!!!
Out of the question to join a local astronomy club?? Why??
@@mrtambourineman6107 The closest one is half a state away.
Ed's perpetual recommendation for an 8-inch Dobsonian is, of course, correct. If you are thinking "8-inch good, 10-inch better," then you have never lugged a 10-inch dob out the back door and down the porch steps. And then done the opposite, very late at night. If you have the money for a 10-inch, consider getting an 8-inch plus a sweet eyepiece. Remember, weight goes by the cube of the aperture.
The best scope is the one you use.
Eight inch is a definate sweet spot.
@@freeman10000 I like the six better. Fits in the sedan.
If i had the money for a 10 inch dobsonian, i would likely have the money to build an observatory dome in the garden as well, save messing around. You are right about "the one you use", my little 113 mm celestron motorised unit is the easy pull out when the clouds clear.
my first telescope was a hobby killer but i still ended up loving it with
what i could see dispite all its flaws, i spent very very little on it as it was used and its left and right turn knob was barely surviving and now i have a celestron dob and meade etx
Do you still have your first telescope or did you sell it?
@@enriquejesu4512 i still have it, its not perfect (at all xd ) but it is super small and light, so i keep it arround just incase, i also dont really want to sell it and ruin someones first introduction to visual astronomy
@@oriananananaones first scope is special. Even if it's a cheap one. It says something about you as a person that you saw the wonder of it and went bigger instead of being discouraged.
Heck, I got started with a cheap pair of binoculars that I have to this day!
Hey Ed! I'm really new to all of this and want to give thanks for all of your videos and information. I picked up the AWB dob about a month ago and it's really kicked up my passion for this stuff. I was screwing around with a trash scope for a while before doing any real research and without you I probably would have bailed entirely from the hobby.
Thanks man!
And now, in praise of the junk scope! ... In the late 1960's, I bought a 40mm Tasco telescope (model 3450) for $13.07, including tax. I made 35 cents for mowing a lawn (with ten cents going back to my dad for gas and wear and tear on the lawnmower), so that represented a lot of work. I saw ads for good scopes, but those were out of reach for me. It had wobbly chromed legs about eighteen inches long, and I would lie on the concrete driveway to use it. Of course it was hard to find things and hard to keep them in view. But it gave me hundreds of hours of pleasure. I saw the rings of Saturn. I examined the nebula in Orion. I looked at Andromeda. I drew pictures of Jupiter and its four largest moons. I tracked the position of the moons over time, so I could see for myself that they revolved around Jupiter. I thought about how Galileo made his own telescope using a lead pipe and a convex lens in front with a concave lens in back. His telescope was 21 power, so I felt grateful to be able to use the same. My telescope had an eyepiece that had clicks on it to go from twenty five to fifty times magnification, five power at a time. On 50 power the chromatic aberration and coma made stars hard to look at, so I almost never went over forty power. It couldn't really be used to split double stars. But even with a wobbly piece of junk, I was able to see a tiny fraction of the beautiful universe, and repeat the wonderful experiments of Galileo.
This should be in the headnote, but if you are old enough, you remember when entry level stuff was good. Vintage Tascos are sought after today. Sometime in the 1980s they began importing useless plastic junk from China.
Great video. I usually get asked after the purchase has been made. I just try to manage their expectations. Most of the junk telescopes are pretty good for the Moon and maybe (big maybe) the Orion Nebula. If they haven't already purchased, then I recommend an 8 inch Dob (preferably used) or the Starblast 4.5" Dobsonian. Both are wonderful "forever" telescopes. I have both.
Agree abouth the Moon and junk scopes.
I own a "junk" 60mm/400 scope on horrible tripod. I took it to Bortle 5 and Bortle 3 areas. Honestly? It showed quite a lot. Also yes 4" or 8" are better but I don't like guys totally dismissing small refractors. With 60mm scope I could easily see Lagoon and Swan Nebulae, nice globlar clusters like M22 and M13. Even Under Botle 8 I could see nice views of butterfly cluster that wasn't really visible with binoculars.
This scope isn't best but for $100 it isn't junk. You can upgrade eyepieces for $25 and get quite nice little scope.
I have craved the deep views of the night sky for decades! One day I will have my own telescope. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and getting me one step closer each day to owning my own telescope
He will answer Dobson 6/8 inches
I'll only comment that I started out with a 1972 Tasco Japan 4.5" f/8 Newtonian, on quite decent equatorial mount with a wooden-leg tripod. Although it had an .965" H20 and an H6 (I never used the Barlow), I did manage to buy a wide-field 40mm Binocular eyepiece, and a discarded Zeiss 15mm Monocentric eyepiece in this eyepiece diameter, both of which made this simpler telescope into a potent thing for a high-school student to own. The figure of the mirror was genuinely parabolic - they do not make them like they used to.
I've learned so much viewing Ed's channel. Great content, quality, production and presentation. In recent years I went for more aperture (12" Dob) but tired of moving it. So I've since moved smaller, to an 8" Dob thanks to one of Ed's posts I watched, and have a great viewing experience without the back aches. Cheers.
Such good advice! Aperture is truly king for visual astronomy. I'll never forget finding the Ring Nebula back in the '80s using the setting circles on my recently purchased Bausch & Lomb 4" SCT after performing polar alignment using the manual. That night translated into a lifetime obsession. If I hadn't found that nebula, I wonder if I would have continued on with this hobby.
aperture and good optics :) Ive seen scopes with decent size apertures but god awful optics
Great video. I see a lot of people in beginners groups wanting to buy these all the time because they are cheap.
Side-note, since you brought them up as a viable alternative: I feel binoculars are criminally underrated as observing-equipment. Really fun, light to carry and it doesn't get much easier to use.
Except, except . . .
The problem is that most beginners want to look at the moon and planets first. Binoculars fail miserably here, because they don't have anywhere near enough magnification.
For someone who has been in the hobby for awhile, they know what they're doing, binoculars are great. I completely agree. But not for a beginner.
@@jongroubert4203 if binoculars cant give a good view of something close, large and bright, then they're useless for things much smaller, dimmer and further away. I bought a brand new set of Nikon Binoculars which makes a cheap junk tellescope a luxury for seeing things. And Im talking an old, dusty 40 year old 30 dollar scope from goodwill. I've never looked out of a good dobsonian so I can't even begin to compare it with anything. But I can say without a doubt yhat there's good junk and bad junk. It has nothing to do with the age or the price.
As a teen, I got my start on one of those 60mm Tasco's in the 90s. I could find most Messiers with that thing! As well as enjoying lunar views, Jupiter, Saturn... But I did toss those stupid barlows, the stock eyepieces (got a nice-for-the-price-and-for-those-days Kellner) etc. But after a while (and some saving) I got a Dob and didn't look back. Now I have an astrobin profile and black hole where my wallet used to be.
I wouldn't recommend that kind of scope to anyone tough.
I want to upgrade the focuser on my old Japanese Tasco 3T reflector from .965 to 1.25". Can't find anything yet. However, I've been using 1.25 eyepieces with the telescope lately but without the .965 focuser draw tube, completely removed, leaving only the body of the focuser intact on the telescope. I discovered the inside diameter to be just a little over 1.25". So I put some thin felt tape (1mm) inside around the body, acquired a 1.25" Farpoint Lumicon barrel extender, screwed the barrel unto eyepieces, and insert them into the body in and out to reach focus. It works, sorta like helical focusing.. 😁 I've been using Baader, Tele Vue, Pentax, and other eyepieces with success. Only a few didn't come to focus because it needs a little bit more of impossible inward travel. 😅 It's all fun.
Those early Tascos are good scopes and worth collecting. I don't know for sure, but check out the part#s UTEA and UTEB from Scopestuff. Those might be a more permanent solution to your .965" issue.
@@edting Thanks, Ed. I've already checked out the Scopestuff parts. The visual back on my Tasco does unscrew, but the focuser drawtube is too small for those visual backs. The diameter of the focuser drawtube (which is 32mm or 1.26 inches) is almost exactly that of the barrels on 1.25 eyepieces, so those visual backs wont fit.
Thankyou Ed for finally highlighting the junk scopes saga, or I call them trash scopes!! I've been highlighting this problem for years for calling this out, and it's about time something is got to be done about it which indeed is killing our hobby!! My trash telescope for Xmas videos have been shadow banned literally, has now I've stopped getting views from them, because I've highlighted the truth and called out the scammers that are using their powers to sell junk scopes via through FB and Amazon, and even selling dangerous astro products, again they will be out to get you for calling out their scams!!! But careful Ed Clear Skies to you and keep up the good work, WE NEED SAVE OUR HOBBY!!
Yeah, my personal issue is this - Tasco (and others) sell this stuff, the buyer can't make it work, and they come find me. Tasco sells junk and I pay the price. How is that fair?
@@edting I totally agree with you 100% what amazes me the most is that there is alot of top Astro channels out here on RUclips, that they simply do not call this issue out neither, which I feel the more we push this issue out, the more community will listen to us, Hence the reason why I feel that these top channels do not show their true self or passion into this hobby, There are only a few channels I subscribe if creators were more honest to their viewers. I have been watching your video content very closely for quite a few months now, and after you made this video, I have now finally subscribed to your channel, because finally someone else has already seen the onslaught on the recent decline of interest into Astronomy, which is now slowly fading away!! The only reason why these companies are back tracking and are trying to find you is that you have alot more subs and views than my channel alone, and it scares them completely that a top Astro channel remained to true to the hobby and not recieving sponsorships for baised reviews!! Now the battle has begun, with my channel they just simply ignored me and place shadow bans on my channel, but with your subs and views they cannot control you!!! Thanks again Ed with the true passion you just showed me, Now MP ASTRO is in full support to your channel!! Wish you clear skies Ed.
Quite a few years ago I had a Tasco 114mm reflector. Didn't pay much for it but I did get some Celestron eye pieces. I actually got some really nice images of the moon and it allowed me to show my daughters Jupiter (red spot and red belts) and Saturn, the rings were easily visible.
I am now in the market to get a much, much better scope.
I've heard alot about the Dobsonians but I must admit that I really like an equatorial mount.
Thing with Dobsonians is, you have to be fairly agile to use them. Finding is particularly difficult. A sturdily mounted equatorial would be my choice.
I used a Dob for a while. I found it cumbersome and in storage they take up a lost of space. After making one myself and figuring up the cost I also figured out they are way over priced also with exception of the table top designs. Setup time of an equatorial may take a little longer but you will appreciate the steady, sturdy design with smooth track. Personally, today, I use an old iOptron Cube Goto (ALTZ) because it can be pack so small with my Orion Apex 127mm. I like that I can pack them in my backpack, hike to the top of Table Rock mountain and just relax and watch the stars. The Apex OTA Mak is a bit heavy for its size though.
People love their Dobs. I think the man was great for what he did for astronomy, but I am no fan of the mount.
@@Mot-o1e Hey I'm still in the zero-tech era. With a backyard site you can set up an equatorial mount, level it with a spirit level, set your latitude (no need, you've already clamped it), swivel the RA axis to point to celestial North (which you know by eye), and you are good to go. All in daylight! You still need good finding, which I've arranged by having both a 6x30 in-line finder and a 9x50 right-angle one. The only tech I've found useful for visual observing is a right ascension electric drive.
I have both dobs and equatorials. Give me the equatorial any day!
+1 for the 8" DOB. I've had it for a year now and it is just perfect and so universal once properly equipped. For something more travel friendly I've actually gotten a cheap 100mm spotting scope for about 170$. Works pretty good.
I am 26 now, had an 8 inch dob for about 6 years now. I absolutely love it. Wanting to upgrade to a 12 in the future, but with good eyepieces and a nice dark night the 8 inch gives you some incredible views! I have only ever been to a sky level 4 and even there the 8 inch is an absolute beast.
Thank you very much for your straightforward, easy to understand reviews on what not to buy. I was given a 60mm Tasco refractor exactly the same as you showed in the video when I was about 10 years old and thought it was great but what did I know? I haven’t used it for probably 4o years or so and recently started looking around for a new one within my budget of around $400. After watching your video I never realised how crap the one I had was. I now have a better idea of what not to buy.
Thanks Ed for the beginner primer!
My first astronomy scope is a 4 inch Newtonian that does OK with local objects, but fails on many other jobs. But it was an impulse buy at a garage sale.
But my 10X binocs do a lot of fun viewing!
I am in the process of building an 8 inch Dobsonian, and I am trying to make a camera adapter to record my observations.
WOW! Looking at the sun??!!?? I use a cardboard pinhole camera to get a look at the sun for any solar views. It is one thing I tell others to never use glasses or such for looking at the sun, and the pinhole with a one inch hole works very well for projecting the image on a paper screen.
A one inch hole sounds rather large. In 1999 I made a pinhole camera from a shoebox. The pinhole was the smallest that would let enough light through. The image was projected on the other end of the box. I used it to view the Aug 1999 solar eclipse, which was about 98% total in south-east England. It showed it well, an unforgettable experience.
I've used projection from a 3 inch refractor to see sunspots and even Venus transits. I think that's safe but to be done with awareness of the risks.
@@pwmiles56 I am making a 2 foot square sheet of cardboard with a one inch hole in the center. The cardboard as a sun screen to provide a shadow on a standard sheet of paper, and the image of the sun from the hole is on the sheet of paper. This allows for many people to look at the image without having to risk looking at the sun directly.
This allows for people to see sun spots, or eclipses of the sun.
When I use it, I put the sheet of paper on the ground, and hold the cardboard at the correct distance to focus the image of the sun on the paper. If I remember, you need about 4 feet of distance from the sheet of paper to get a good image of the sun.
@@jeffreyyoung4104That's great, do continue to experiment (safely of course). I just tried your design and I did get a slightly fuzzy circular image. However, the resolution of the image will be the aperture divided by the distance, in radians. I.e. 1/48 radians or about 1.2 degrees. Whereas, the Sun itself is only 0.5 degrees across. It might show a hint of an eclipse, but it certainly couldn't show sunspots.
Generally you need to have the image formed in the deepest possible shade. The shoebox design can do this, as I say it showed the eclipse, though the image would have been quite small (EDIT about 0.1 inch at a 1 foot distance.).
For binoculars in the city, I would say either 15x50 or a 12x50 with wide field eyepieces. The stars show up better as the sky background is darker. My 15x50 binos are a $10 thrift store find, they’re an old Carl Zeiss Jena Pentekar, they lack modern multi coatings, but they work for narrow eyes and don’t have oversized eyepiece barrels like a lot of modern binos. 7x50 and 10x50 sizes are lacking in a city, but I may use them for more general familiarizing of an area of sky. Telescope finders, a 3.5x21 with a 15x50 would be a good combo, or substitute the 3.5x finder for a red dot finder. The 3.5x21 finder can be made using a 7x50 eyepiece and an 8x21 bino objective lens. Think I found my next project now.😁😁😁
Hi Ed great video! I can't believe they have a solar projection with them plastic eyepieces? Looks like a melt down too me! Clear skys!!!
I paid $199 Canadian for a scope just like that Tasco in the early 80's. In 2023, I made it into a useful scope by changing the objective, the mount, the focuser, the eyepieces, and the finder, and sawing off the tube from f12 to f6.7. It's pretty good now.
So, you saved part of the plastic tube and replaced everything else? 😉
@@beenaplumber8379 Oh no! I saved part of the ALUMINUM tube and replaced everything else 😁
LOL! I actually HAVE 2 OF THOSE!!! And believe it or not, the Sun filter actually worked!!! Back in 2005, the Sun was pumping out spots and I tried it out and it actually showed spots on the filter. I got a real chuckle out of those scopes. They're in the basement now, safely tucked away where they can do no harm. A curiosity more than anything else now. With good EP's and a decent diagonal, it's actually not that bad on the Moon and large stars, BTW. That just cracked me up when I saw that. Who knew? I thought they were dead and gone except in my basement! Keep up the great work, Ed. And keep spreading the Gospel, my man!
My first telescope was a Celestron star hopper 8”dobsonian. What a great choice it was. About $600 at the time. Learned how to find objects by their placement near other stars, etc.
Buying the tasco will help the budding astronomers be so frustrated that they lose interest.
Great content here.
About the wood homemade rings; beautiful but bulky and complex to make. All my cheap 60’s came with vixen style dovetails that I removed and relocated on a simple homemade cradle. The scope attaches to the cradle with a hose clamp padded by felt. By tightening the hose clamp just so I can both rotate the tube and slide the cradle to balance it. Of course my longest scope is a 60/500 f8.3 that is only 22 inches long with the focus racked in and diagonal attached.
I would mention that the focuser on the StarBlast is a reprehensible piece of all plastic trash. I picked up a StarBlast 113 EQ from an ad on OfferUp. Set aside the EQ-1 and made up a mini dob base for it. Kind of fixed the wobbly drawtube on the focuser with some blue painters tape, a lot more solid now anyway. Nice little scope by the way.
Hi, Ed. Turns out my telescope checks all of the red flags. Of course, I got the telescope for Xmas in 1969, when I was 13 years old and long before you had started your RUclips channel. 😂
I did manage to get the equatorial mount and the add-on clock drive, so I was able to see Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, & the moon.
Thanks for all of your videos. I really enjoy them.
Same here. 49$ from Sears with equatorial mount
@@davidblessing5981 yes, from the Sears Christmas catalog. 👍
The 1971 Sears Christmas catalog has it for 49.99. Wow froze to death in December when I got it. That’s about $280 bucks today
Hi Ted,
For less than 100€, i got a Bresser junior 70/900 and the télescope and the kind of altaz-eq mount are both quite surprinsingly decent if not good. Get better plossl oculars and off you go.
Hello Ed and thank you for this video. I found it to be very informative and helpful. I was gifted a " junk scope " as an 8th birthday present many years ago and I completely agree that the mounts made it difficult and frustrating to use. The only positive I ever really had was that it helped to spark my curiosity to see more of the universe. If I may suggest, can you make a video showing how to care for and maintain equipment if you haven't already? This is something that I know many beginners struggle with.
I got a Bushnell 4.5" Northstar (goto) several years ago. The goto has died, but collimating (was it ever done?), upgrading mount, and upgrading eyepiece made a significant difference. Doesn't hold a candle to my 8" Newton, but it's much easier to haul around.
With the AstoHopper u can stick it on your c.p. to all most any thing. Say goodbye to StarScence plates and push to go to and setting circles. Levels bubbles and on n on.😄😄😄
My first scope was a so-called "Japanese Refractor", a 3-inch f16, sold to me by the estimable Dudley Fuller of Farringdon Road, London, circa 1987, price £500 (about $1000 at the time). Actually it was pretty good, an ideal introduction. All I have left of it is the wooden carrying-case, which is now propping up my garden fence. It did take 24.5mm Japanese eyepieces, including Huygenians and Kellners, which seemed to work just fine. Maybe I knew no better, or maybe focal length heals all sins.
So my beef is, how low-end but still respectable scopes are heading to lower f numbers, probably at the expense of visual observing.
Those older Japanese refractors are actually pretty good. Even the early branded Tascos are good scopes and collectible today.
@edting what about the Red Tasco branded Vixen Jones-Bird desgin,the 125mm Vixen 8V,(I just picked one up on Craigslist last week for $30 on a Vixen polaris mount) I would love to see a video about the hidden Japanese gems from the 80's & 90's masquerading as Celestrons,Tasco,Cometrons etc... great videos!
@@edting , I had picked up an old eq mount that was for a 60mm refractor from the 50’s or 60’s that looks like the vintage Tasco, it is beefier than the eq 2 class mounts. It had a broken clasp, so I added four screws to allow it to accept vixen style dove tails. The mount can support a Meade 395 90mm refractor. Now if Tasco scopes would come with this mount today, there would be less problems.
Always love the reviews; made me pick up my first Orion 8X Dobsonian a short while back.
Do a review on the Vaonis Vespera telescope (which is more of a camera than a telescope). THANKS !
Hello, my first telescope was a travelscope 70 from Celestron, and it got me hooked. I still have it today and sometimes take it with me camping. yes the mount is worthless.
You can have fun with cheap junk scopes but you have to know what you're doing and understand the limits. My first lunar astrophotography was with a 2MP digital point and shoot camera through a department store refractor and they're still hanging on my wall for sentimental reasons. You can make out craters but of course they're not super sharp and these days you can get a superzoom camera that would do better. Buying the junk scopes full price is a bad idea but sometimes you can pick them up VERY cheap second hand- $20-$50. You can hold up a phone or use an adapter to take low quality astro images of the moon and planets or of double stars. But yeah the beginner is better off dodging them and going with binocs. A few years ago the "Galileoscope" made the rounds with no mount at all and was sold quite cheaply new. If it's your first exposure to a magnified moon it might be something you can use to learn about the origins of the telescope and have an evening's fun.
i bought that exact tasco for the kids. it was a learning experience i'm glad we had. it taught us the hard way what works what doesnt. once we figured it out it suprisingly wasnt terrible. then i got a long tube reflector on a german equatorial mount. fantastic except my hole in the trees was right where you have to do the "meridian flip" if you know you know!!! then i bought that starblast you showed. that has been used more than the others comined 3x! quick easy you are looking in under a minute!! no it wont track but add a webcam and keep the mount free you can easily trac manually!
My wonderful Mum got me a telescope from her catalogue when I was a kid. I had a standard tripod and was plastic. It actually put my off the hobby for many years, but we did very much enjoy looking at sunspots with the included solar filter, and occasionally having a look at the moon, but as soon as I used a Newtonian and saw Saturn, I knew it was time to come back to this when I was older and had money (was about 13 at the time). People think I'm being an equipment snob, so it's worn very thin when friends messaging me around early december asking what to get to get little Johnny started with 'star gazing' I suggest a star map app and binoculars if their budget is sub £100
4:39 my homemade refractor is only good for a theoretical 262x and that as going by the aperture X2 rule so I'd probly go with 150 max.
Excellent advice. I have been doing Amateur Astronomy for 40 years and this advice spot on.
Hi Mr. Ting, thanks for all the informative videos! I was on an estate sale site today and one of these Tasco models (675 power!), already has 16 bids on it :(
Another nice video. One of these days I'd like to see Ed review a couple of inexpensive, but probably okay-ish scopes for beginners. I'm thinking of something like the Sky Scanner 100mm at $130 or Orion Observer 114mm at $150. Both are parabolic. Options for when a $200 starblast is a bit too much for some.
Ha! None of the Sky Scanners escape my wrath. See my review of the refractor (admittedly the worst of the bunch) on Scopereviews. I mention the other two models as well.
@@edting Hmm... can't seem to find your skyscanner 100mm (tabletop reflector) review on your site. I know a decent number of folks over at cloudy nights like it (for what it is).
Maybe you were referring to the Orion trio of small scopes, including the old Goscope. I found that review. Although I think you got a lemon there, as I have that same scope and can crank magnification quite high... 150x on the Moon, and had it at Saturn at 100x the other night. 35x on Jupiter and you were having issues makes me think you got a dud.
Ed. Bought the *EddieScope(TM)* and it don’t zoom none
I have an Orion Skyview Pro 8 inch Reflector on a Skyview Pro equatorial mount and tripod with a True Trac dual axis motor drive and I absolutely love it. It's a great all around rig with an 8 inch parabolic primary mirror, 2 inch Crayford focuser, 1000 mm focal length and an f-ratio of 4.9, it's a light bucket. I wouldn't use anything other than an eq mount. I also have a dual finder scope mount for my 9x40 scope and my red dot finder. I also have a really nice polar alignment scope. I think for the money this is a lot of bang for your buck. Really easy to collimate, I don't use a laser collimator, collimation cap and a bright star! It's just too bad that Orion discontinued this model but I was fortunate enough to purchase a second brand new motor drive just in case the one on my mount fails, but so far so good it still works great, tracks absolutely perfect. I use a cmos color camera for the solar system and a Canon EOS M10 mirrorless camera for deep sky.
Really helpful information. I’m an absolute newbie and have just purchased a Celestron 6se however starting to regret it even before using it due to the feedback I’ve only just noticed re the tripod / mount!! Fingers crossed it’s ok.
Hi. In my opinion. Based on my scopes I’ve acquired and use. I have a celestron 80x400. Celestron 70x700 astromaster , Galileo 80x900 reflector. Tasco 60x800. And a 1950s Lafayette 60x800. And I have access to a good c8 . My most used scope is the little celestron 80x400 travel scope. It’s bright being a f/5. It’s light although you must replace the tripod. Even a goodwill camera tripod is better.. the Lafayette is the best visuals of the moon as the Japanese optics are fantastic . If no tracker the c8 is hard to use but the best I’ve used if your not out and about and not at home Bit large to carry around .. in my opinion the celestron travel 80mm is the best cheep beginner / first scope. Some of my best astrophotography was done with that scope and a simple eq mount.
i had a break from astronomy and i just came back and you dont even know how much i miss hearing your voice !!
Excellent. Thank you. This must have been painful to do, but essential.
The Tasco 60 mm refractor was my very first telescope back in 1970. Ed is right. It was an awful telescope but there was one good thing about it. It was just good enough to start me on a life long love of astronomy. Now I have Celestron 6se.
I totally agree with everything in your video, but not everything is as it might seem. Around 1983 when I was 24 I bought my first telescope. A Tasco from a department store for $35, about half the size as the one in your video. The first object I observed was Mars. All the news networks were reporting Mars was at one of its closest oppositions. Not only was I excited, but all my friends were impressed. The second object was Jupiter. I could see the two main equatorial belts. Although I now own a 10" Newtonian on a German equatorial mount, those views with my little Tasco are still cherished memories and the beginning of over two decades of a passionate love for observational and practical astronomy.
I've never been able to afford what I want, but I have an Orion Skyscanner 100mm. I added a couple of better eyepieces and a solar filter. I was very popular during the solar eclipse since out of over 100 people viewing, I had one of two scopes. I have had a bunch of fun looking at planets, galaxies and nebulas. Years ago another red flag I read was that good scopes come in plain boxes, not fancy packaging.
Really like these informative, practical and honest videos, Ed.
I enjoyed your video on “junk scopes “. Thought it was very informative and useful information. However I was surprised that you didn’t comment on observing planets. When I was 13 years old in 1962 I received a 2.4 inch refractor telescope which started a lifelong interest in astronomy. With this small, cheap scope I was able to observe the craters on the moon and all the planets except Pluto. Identified the moons of Jupiter and saw rings of Saturn, several comets and planetary nebulae.
One additional comment: Even reputable companies market cheap scopes that can be hobby killers. It seems they sell enough to make some good profit, but at the expense of people that would love to get into the hobby but can't afford better equipment. Oddly, these companies are killing future business too! By discouraging future customers, they hurt themselves more than they know.
I still have my first scope; the critereon 4000 4” SCT - a scope with legendary craptastic status - but thankfully it was one shipped with a corrector on it
Yeah, those Criterions were "legendary"...
@@edting I should find and scan, but I made some decent B&W 35mm captures of Comet Halley with a Pentax K1000 piggybacked off this unit.
My darling cousin recently came to me wanting to get into stargazing beyond looking up at the sky and had a favor to ask - if I had a telescope and if she could borrow it ;D I don't have a telescope but I've puttered around enough videos & RUclipsrs to know a little so I promised to look into it and indulge her. But knowing how much I don't know, I wanted to actually do some research so I don't end up with something difficult or useless and, thank goodness RUclips provided you as a totally random recommendation! I've watched the video from start to finish and have bookmarked this thing - you're going to save me a LOT of trouble and have given me a starting point! Thank you, sir!
I have a Meade ETX 125EC from around 1999 cost (a big fight with the wife). worked really well, but when I took it out of the box I missed the instructions not to rotate it a certain way and broke a stop. this did not really effect the use of the scope just an annoyance. I really liked it and it worked great, I got an electric focus control because focusing it was difficult manually. the focus control has plastic gears in it and was barely able to work before it stripped. about 10 years after I got it the internal drive in one of the forks broke on it's flimsy plastic mount, no abuse just was tracking and fell off. I contacted meade and they told me to pound sand there are no option for parts or repair for out of warranty equipment. the shortness of the scope made it difficult to look through the eyepiece without the right angle adapter, but with the right angle adapter everything was reversed left to right. I have adapters to add cameras for casual viewing of the moon etc, but with tracking broken it's pointless. so now I have a $900 spotting scope.
I know Tasco is not known for highest grade. But I have a Tasco 6 inch reflector form the sixties or early seventies that is really quite nice. Beautiful wood cases for the tube/ tripod & the mount. Robust wood tripod & a fine mount with plenty of mass. ( NO PLASTIC anywhere)
I've had no desire to replace it in 40 years of use. Other than maybe something better suited for picture taking.
Subscribed. We now live in a very rural, very dark part of the country. I think I want an observatory shed with scope set up full time. Those cast iron balance weights get tiresome.
Those early Japan-branded Tascos are worth collecting.
I still use my binoculars. Quite helpful in a city situation as the binos can see what I can't. Helps to find my target. I also have a local astronomy club that is extremely helpful and has telescopes members can borrow. Helped me figure out what I wanted and more importantly, what I didn't want.
I understand the reasons for a Dob, I had the 4.5 starblast but I simply couldn't align the mirrors when the went out of alignment.
Thank you for that. You brought back many memories of my childhood trying to look at stars through a cheap Christmas gift.
Thank you for this. I learned this many years ago with a Tasco similar to to the one you use here. About the only good thing it was for was looking at the moon. I'm very happy with my CPC 1100 & Nexstar 8SE.
Usually when a beginner says " I have this telescope but I cant see anything through it" it because they are not dark adapted and are not holding the exit pupil is the #1 thing. the next list of other problem are the ones you mentioned, I love my red 1984 60x 800mm tasco 49tr (MIJ) its awesome, although I did upgrade to 1.25" diagonal because the drawtube OD is exactly 1.25" so the celestron prism attaches with a hose clamp right on the end after I remove the threaded .965 visual ring, great razor sharp optics, no C.A. visually not even on Vega, near perfect star test, I still use it all the time, and I will never part with it until I leave this world, bought it at JC Penny's before Haley came in 86' for $120.
I much appreciate you explaining the various aspects of telescopes. Thank you.
Ed, you are dead wrong! 😂 My Nikon 80mm f/15 uses only .965” eyepieces (I haven’t found a need to convert it yet), and it’s a really good scope. And my Vixen Pulsar 102 comes with a very solid yoke mount for its lllloooonnnnnggggg tube. Take it all back before I give this video a thumbs down!!! 😊 Don’t consider the fact that these scopes were made decades ago, and are as rare as hens teeth! 😅
Seriously, other than my two listed exceptions, you are correct, as always. And I will forever love my Vixen ED81s, it’s a keeper ❤
Those early Japanese refractors were pretty good, even with the .965" eyepieces. Goto, Royal Astro, Halmar, early Tascos, etc are collectible today.
A must watch video for absolute beginners (dreamers) like me.
Much appreciated, thanks
👋🏽👋🏽👋🏽
I seem to be one of the “guys” you made this video for 😅. I have bought countless telescopes over the years trying to view anything other than the moon. Thank you for the pointers on what to look out for and I will view your recommendations on future scopes. All I really want is something easy to set up and use but all I end up with is a lot of frustrating and mosquito bites
Cool and no nonsens as always - thank you Ed
I just purchased a reflective telescope. It's a celestron tabletop national parks foundation. It came with 2 eye pieces. A 20mm, and a 10mm. Both are 1.25 diameter and have a K 10mm or K 20mm. It has a 300mm focal length 76mm diameter aperture. I also got guide to the stars planispere,and a book called starfinder by Carole Scott and Giles Sparrow. I hope I didn't go terribly wrong especially with the scope. The scope only weights 5lbs and size is good for me. I'm disabled and can't carry much weight and I'm able sit at my outdoor table and look through the scope. I haven't been able to really test it out yet it's been much too cloudy and overcast. Ar first I thought I really messed up and got junk, but realized I couldn't see any star's with the naked eye either. I don't think a telescope is going to work very well without a clear view. I'm mostly interested in looking at the moon and learning how to operate a telescope. Then I will start looking into getting something like the Orion 8 inch scope. Did I go off rails and buy total junk or do you think this is useful enough for getting started
Big fan of you Ed. Thanks so much for sharing all this knowledge and experience with us. I recently purchased a refractor, AstroFi 90 and I find this thing great and nice to play with and start learning about the night sky. Not sure what you think about this scope but I love it.
Do you plan on making a video on the new Smart Scopes like. Dwarf2, SeeStar, and Vespera? Thanks
I do not recommend Uninstaller or Stellina products. I am trying to get my hands on a Dwarf and the SeeStar for review.
@@edting Thanks. Looking forward to it.
My 1st Gets Picked On The 114LCM,But It Has Family Members Now,I Love The Optics When Up On The Eqm35Pro,But Happy To Say,Nothing I Own Is Classified…Junk😂😂😂Thank You Ed For Another Informing Video,God Bless and Clear Skies🙏🏻❤️⭐️🔭🌏
Ed, highest power I've ever used was on a friends 20" dob. We used a telextender and a high power eyepiece for over 1000 power. What did we need that much power for you ask? We were looking at the central star of the Ring Nebula.
We get people come to our club all the time with Junk Scopes. "My Husband/Wife bought me this for xmas/bithday. Can you help me set it up?" We try to help, but really, usually, we end up telling them to throw it away and buy a Dob. When they see how cheaply you can get a 6 or 8 inch Dob second hand, they are quite amazed.
On phone holders. A father and son turned up to the club week before last. They've been playing with their 6" Dob for a couple of years now and using their phones on cheap Ebay holders to photograph the moon and planets. I and other members of our club were very impressed with the results they were getting!
I started my star gazing hobby in 64' with a Tasco telescope. I have since unscrewed the objective and use it as a paper weight. One question - for a travel scope (100mm max ) which telescopes are better than 3.5 " Questar. Remember it has a built-in eq. mount.
I got my start a few years ago with my walmart spotting scope on a tripod. A 3x40 scope I paid $40 for. The moon took up the entire lens & was amazing. I was able to hold my smartphone camera over the eypiece, & with much patience I got photos of the Orion Nebula & even Jupiter with 4 moons.
I have since bought a 12" dobsonian
Ed, I’ve found your videos to be concise, practical guideposts to my astronomy purchasing and viewing. However, there’s an elephant in the room. That EM-200 mount in the foreground is begging for a review, and I’d love to hear your take on it. Thanks for all you’ve done for my education.
You replaced the mount, the eyepiece, the finder, the plossl...and it was still garbage. Not a good sign at all. Wow, the hell you put yourself through to help out the amateur/beginning astronomer is amazing. Thank you!
Thanks Ed, great tutorial. Last year I bought an Explore Scientific 80 mm FirstLight scope on sale for $139 (usually $199). I was looking for something light and inexpensive as I am old enough to not enjoy hauling around bigger scopes. I have had a lot of fun with it. The optics seem to be quite good to me. Still, I will direct newbies to your advice.
I'm a photographer and not an astronomer, but all of this makes perfect sense. It's all about getting the basics right. If the telescope construction and optics are sub-standard it can't possibly work. Thank you for this accessible and thoughtful piece!
Same here. I’m drawn to the demands astronomy puts on lenses. This Ed guy is one of the best I’ve seen.
Thanks Ed, wish you were around in the early 1960’s when I got my 60mm refractor from Sears here in MA. Maybe that’s why I’m a biochemist !!!
Ed, this message can't be preached enough. However, I did fall for the start-up Dwarf II scope and am having a blast with it. Dwarf is still working out a few bugs but updates come frequently. I wanted something with a wider field of view than my f10 14" Meade. It's light and portable.
There are a couple of Dwarfs in our club. I'd characterize the reaction as "mixed". I'd like to get my hands on one.
@@edting
Yes, the community has mixed opinions. I think my 500 bucks was well spent considering that the only other scope I have is a permanently mounted monster in a dome. I live in the woods which restricts my field of view.
Great video, The first telescope I owned was the infamous power seeker 127 as I went for the biggest I could afford at the time and spent the whole summer fighting with it. The worst beginner telescope
Ed sir
Thank you for the beautiful guidance
Always thankful for your good warnings as it has helped me personally
Everything you said makes a scope junk is what I looked for in the past ,lol. Thanks for clearing things up.I just bought one for 130$ with all the junk and moon and sun filters , I should have found your video first.
I got the Meade-branded version of that scope (bought in the 90s, before the "power craze"). With the 25mm it was quite good on bright objects. The 12.5 gives a field of view almost exactly matching the full moon, which is quite fun. The mount is horrible though!
Your latitude. What direction North, Northeast, East, Southeast, South, Southwest, West, Northwest are you looking? Is the eyepiece directly above so that you have to look straight down through the eyepiece, which side (east or west) are you standing and looking downwards to look through the eyepiece, on which side are you looking upwards to look through the eyepiece, are you under the telescope and what's your alignment with it to look straight up through the eyepiece?
Finally, does the optics reverse the image?
With all that, I'm guessing that there's an app or paper showing an L with an arrow showing the orientation to compare with the star chart book.
Hi Ed! I have a 1962 Swift 831. My observation with it, along with google searches, says this is a very good quality scope. In fact, it was made by Takahashi. It uses 0.965” eyepieces. Despite very narrow field of views, they are very sharp and high contrast. Additionally, my understanding is that decades ago 0.965” was the European standard. Is this an exception to the “0.965” eyepieces are junk” admonishment, or does that really only apply to buying new scopes, with vintage scopes being a different beast? I also had an Atco with these eyepieces that was complete junk for astronomy, so know where you are coming from. Thanks!
ETA: my swift eyepieces are also Huygens, and it has a 2x Barlow that is also quite good.
Those Swifts were wonderful! And yes, if you are old enough you remember when entry level scopes were good. Starting in the 1980s something sinister happened when the industry started importing cheap plastic junk from China.
Really interesting and useful for me as a new comer. I was amazed to hear how big the Andromeda galaxy is in relation to the moon - 8 times!! It would be good to hear more about relative sizes of similar objects.
Thank you Ed for another very informative video. I have always looked at these scopes with suspicion given the very low price point. Your comments on eyepieces are particularly useful because any beginner scope will be supplied with eyepieces and we never know what is good or what is garbage. Do you have a video explaining what a plossl (?) and other eyepiece designs are and what you recommend?
How well what eyepiece fits depends on focal ratio and focal length of particular telescope.
Focal ratios of 8"/10" Dobsons require far more from eyepieces to have sharp image to edges compared to various Cassegrains, or long focal ratio refractors.
Also cliche 25mm Plössls are bad for ~1200mm focal length telescopes lacking proper wide view to fit in wide showpiece clusters like Pleiades. That's why GSO built Dobsons coming with 2" 30mm eyepiece are far better choises than Syntas etc. (besides GSO giving proper ergonomics RACI finder instead of neck pain finder)
Thanks. Always wonder Why the mounts were so crappy. As you explain it because they are!!!
As Ed would say. The Best scope is the one you will use the most.
My wife and I bought a cheap(er) Celestron Omni 102AZ at Costco because we decided to get back into it. Decent views of the moon, Saturn, and Jupiter with different eyepieces than it came with. Most annoying part is the focuser really.
That said, currently drooling over an 8” and 12” used Dob, any might pull the trigger on a used 12” Zhumell for $400 or so.
I bought a highly recommended reflector made by a major manufacturer and was surprised to find it doesn't come with a focus knob :(
I got my first telescope from a mail order catalogue. I didn't know what it was, only that it could magnify over 600x! And the picture on the box - WOW! I was sold! It turned out to be a Meade Saturn 114mm f8 reflector. It came with all the junk of the day, had a tiny .965" focuser and a very shaky wooden(!) mount. The 5x24 "finder" was so badly stopped down, it was useless. But even with all those limitations, I managed to stumble across a weird star once, it had rings! 30 years on, I can still remember that WOW feeling when I realised that it was Saturn. I have been hooked ever since that day! :D
Mr Ting. I'd like to request a review of the Uninstaller EV line of scopes. Love your channel. Keep looking up
Very good video. Thank you for making it. I have to admit that up until now I do enjoy my binoculars alot.
This is the best treatise on the Christmas Trash Scope ever! I will be spreading the word using the 'talking points' Ed shares here.
BTW we often go to over 300 power on deep sky objects. But we do it on a 28" F.4.1 Dobsonian mounted Newtonian with a Kennedy mirror. It will work with a 8mm Explore Scientific or a 9mm TV Ethos. Targets like The Dumbbell Nebula cry out for it!
Hello Sir, very informative video series!
I stay in apartment in Mumbai. At present im using 15X70 celestron bino ; planning to buy a telescope which would be easy to assembly as well as easy to disassemble once celestial viewing is done. I cant keep tele continuously mounted on tripod due to space constrain in flat; post viewing will have to place the main unit and tripod in cupboard . Im bit sceptical with sturdiness of reflector telescope though they are cost effective and have zero chromatic aberrations. Kindly guide me with type of telescope i should go for.
Thanks.
I have an old 8" Meade on their standard pedestal equatorial mount. I have used it for the past 35 years. Outstanding scope!
Edit: I have had to get the primary and secondary mirrors re-aluminized more than once, and several of the spider's legs have had to be replaced. I lived for a long time in the salty Tidewater region of Virginia.
I have two of those! I have two Meade #826 reflectors, both picked up in pawn/thrift shops.