@@allancopland1768 sorry, I should have emphasized. They may be average but looks really nice. But if I do salivate it would be over an AP or an Intes.
My first real scope! Found it 20 years ago at a garage sale for $80. Although I had the Meade 4420 variant complete with the rickety wooden mount and a beautiful Meade 20mm eyepiece. It taught me a lot. I quickly put it on an Orion Astroview mount with tracking motor, installed a new focuser and bought some nicer eyepieces with the 9mm becoming my favorite. (Anything Over 100x doesn't work well at my location ) Saw Mars for the very first time with this! I am deep into the hobby now but have hung on to this one for sentimental reasons. It still works great!
Ed I went through a crazy buying phase a couple of years back when I was buying up used and battered old 'scopes! I refurbished them all except one ( 5 in total refurb'd ) and sold on the refurb'd ones last year because I was struggling for space in my small flat! The one I haven't refurb'd is still here, it's an old Celestron Nexstar. The electronics are shot, and the Tripod has a broken leg. I do plan to refurb' and keep the Nexstar to use for visual Astro whilst my Astrophotography gear is running gathering up those photons! Awesome content as always, thank you Ed! Wes, Liverpool, England.
I'm still going through a crazy buying phase. Not only do I have about 8 scopes, maks, fracs and reflectors but I also collect spotting scopes and binoculars. I don't just buy anything and everything. I really have to like the look of what I acquire. Call me mad but paid about £90 for a new and never used Sky-Watcher ST80, basic to look at first but now sports upgraded dual speed focuser, red Askar dovetail bar, William Optics tube rings, Baader prism diagonal, Baader Hyperion zoom EP, William Optics RDF, laser pointer bracket with a golden yellow laser and an Orion illuminated RACI 9x50 finder scope. Several hundred £ later and it now looks awesome. Guess I am just a scope freak. £165 on a Evostar ED80 from eBay, couldn't resist and only paid £30 for a heritage 130p all be it with a cracked primary but I just wanted the dob base which now displays my Skymaster Pro ED 20x80 Binoculars. Incidentally the heritage 130p OTA wasn't a total bust as managed to get a replacement mirror for just £25 on another auction, £55 in all and looks rather good on the Porta ii 😂 Rich from 🏴
@@thisissparta3965 Oh wow you really do like to buy astro gear my friend! I'm actually still in my crazy buying phase but I'm mostly buying EP's, Barlows, LP/NB Filters, basically an ancillary spending spree! LOL. Hey as I say to my partner "Some blokes like gambling, some like drinking, but I like my Astro hobby!" LOL
@@wesleydonnelly2141 yeah, you are better buying astro gear than drinking or gambling. At least it holds some value if you need to sell it later. Unlike drinking which I did a lot of in my youth and enjoyed it then inevitably that investment usually ends up down the toilet or up again a wall 🤣. Have a few EP's now, Aero ED 35 and 40, Panaview 32 and 38, Nirvana 7, All the Extra Flats, a couple of the SW planetary, Hyperion 8-24 Zoom and a SV planetary zoom. I have yet to dip my toe into the holy grails of TeleVues but dare say that will happen. All money in the bank as far as I am concerned as I reckon when I get really old I will slim my collection right down and thus collect the cash from sale 👍
That was my first scope, bought half-price “for the kids”. I modified the heck out of it. Shortened the tube, made a motorized focuser for it (with ASCOM driver), carved a Bahtinov mask for it, turned it into a spotlight, bought motors for it and converted the controller to RA autoguide (both ST4 style and ASCOM pulseguiding), put webcams, DSLR and CCD on it. The mirror is still at the back of my sock drawer. This thing will teach you how to overcome its limitations!
I bought the Bresser Galaxia in the 90th and had it for nearly 30 years. It was exactly this tube with a solid ring and a small finder with plastic lenses 😃.3 month ago I gave it away for free to a happy new owner (including all the screws)🙂. Great view into the past, thanks Ed 😃
Great video, Ed! My wife brought over a similar scope made by Orion Optics in England when we got married, but it ended up sitting in our closet for about a decade until my love for astronomy reignited. She never quite got the hang of the equatorial mount system, which ended up being a dealbreaker for her. Once I figured it out, I upgraded to a Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro mount and attached the scope using a shorter Losmandy plate to avoid tipping (those Vixen plates can be a bit narrow and prone to accidents). The one thing I haven’t managed to upgrade yet is the plastic focuser-it’s pretty horrendous to use! But as you mentioned, the scope is still fantastic for lunar observations.
The concept of an equatorial mount is rooted, as you would immediately know, in mathematics. Not saying your wife would naturally not be able to deal with the ambiguities and arcana of GEMs because I suffer from a deficit in mathematical reasoning as well...not saying it's a female thing. But it's a confounding mount that compels understanding and frequent handling to keep on top of it. So, I hope you have spent some time mollifying your missus and maybe helping her to get it at last. It might make her feel a lot better once the light bulb goes on.
Your point about these so-called beginner scopes being more suited to experienced amateurs who have the knowledge to overcome their limitations is well made. Personally I feel the same way about GOTO scopes: they are more useful to amateurs who have an observing programme of some kind, be it variable stars, supernova patrolling or just imaging deep-sky objects. They want to slew to the object and waste as little time as possible on finding it. A newcomer to astronomy who just wants to look at things should put in the time to locate them. That way each object is an achievement and will mean a lot more than if an automated device finds it for them. Is that an old-fashioned viewpoint?
I remember my first views of Jupiter and Saturn through my first telescope. When you peer into the eyepiece and realise what you are looking at it is so much more rewarding than keying in a command and knowing what you're slewing to. My first scope was a Skyhawk 114 on equatorial mount with manual controls. Didn't even know then about polar alignment and just used the polar altitude adjustment to get the scope pointing at the things 😂
In my neck of the woods, decent observing nights in a year can sometimes be counted on one hand, so I use all of the nanny electronics to get me where I need to look ASAP ;)
@@marcgravel2382 I'm in the UK, so I sympathise! Mind you, I do mostly lunar and planetary imaging, and I can usually find my targets without needing GOTO.
As a more advanced type as you mentioned towards the end, I've had fun with quite a few of these over the years. I try to get them for under $50, fix what's broken and double my investment or more. Last one I had on an EQ mount was labeled as a Tasco Luminova, $10 turned into $100 pretty quickly. But, it would need a CG-4 at minimum to be stable, and I'd rather run my AT102ED than one of these reflectors on it. If you really want a 114mm f/8, go find an XT4.5. I have one, my son has claimed it, he's 10 and that's ideal. It's on a riser pod I made to bring the focuser to the same height as a standard 8" Dob, so adults can look through it too.
so you got yourself a tasco made in japan? i still use mine from 79 and surprisingly if you can find eyepieces you can bump the magnification up to questionable numbers for bright objects and see some incredible detail for its diameter
History note - this beast is a Tasco Japan originally, and the primary mirror is parabolic for the early ones. The pictures in the catalog are of those. A really nice telescope, excellent for a beginner getting into astronomy. Contrast is usually pretty good for these. Scope Wizard's box of mounts are recognizably Tasco's, by their chrome axis-locks, and their beautiful RA gears - using one of those is recommended to you, they are an upgrade !
i have the tasco made in japan bought around 79' still use it mine came with a wood eq mount and every thing is metal i honestly feel the scope is to heavy for the mount and maybe just needs a little tweek here and there but i may have just got used to it
I’ve had this scope, in its Tasco by Vixen guise, since my father bought it in 1971. The old Vixens are amazing, no problem with soft focus at high power. It’s been competitive with a friends 100 ED refractor on Saturn. The mount is definitely the weak spot, eventually I upgraded that.. but now I just have the mirror, waiting for a new tube for a third life, because it’s such a good old mirror..
I have the Vixen C4.5 Japanese made version that I found used for $40. It is an amazingly sharp instrument and has become one of my "forever" scopes. It sits on a Polaris mount that is rock steady.
They use to make 6" F/8 newts on equatorial mounts. The high focal ratios allowed for flatter fields, use of simpler eyepiece, and smaller secondary mirrors that improved contrast. Thnx L
My wife got me one of these, tagged with the Rokinon label. Once someone took 15 minutes to correct me on everything I was doing wrong, I got a lot of enjoyment out of it. I just passed the ota on to a young boy, his dad is going to make a little dob base for it.
I found a similar looking bushnell branded 114 for $20 a while back. The alt az mount was absolutely horrendous. Even though it rekindled looking at the night sky, I'd recommend staying away from that one too.
Hi Ed, Which of these do you like? They were offered on the heavier Equ mounts. The mounts were often used fully retracted so these rigs were stable and a pleasure to use at higher mags. Celestron C4.5 Celestron C114HD Orion 4.5 Skyview Deluxe Thnx L
Find a long 114/4.5 OTA on a flimsy mount, collimate it and verify good optics, get/make an adapter and put it on a Polaris, CG4, Orion Skyview Deluxe, or an early/heavy AstroView mount. They make for compact rigs that are a pleasure to use at higher mags. Then put a shorter and lighter refractor/reflector on that flimsy mount. L
My first telescope was a similar one, Bresser Pluto/s on an Astro1 (similar to this one, but I think it uses the same motor) mount, it's a 114/500mm telescope! These 114/900 telescopes are also pretty cool imho, they just need a better mount than an EQ1/Astro1 mount.
These scopes can be surprisingly good! Celestron paired up with Vixen in the 80s and sold this scope on a Super Polaris mount - that is a really good combo. I have a Meade 114mm f/8 that I bought NOS on their old clearance center website - it had terrible astigmantism from the secondary. I replaced that and an amazing scope emerged! Here's video made with that scope. You can see from the details that the scope is very, very well corrected. ruclips.net/video/qPw-2stFJhE/видео.html
I won't say it "lives on" as the Powerseeker 114. This at least has a Eq-2 type mount. While it is not much, the Eq-"1" type mount the Powerseeker 114 has is significantly weaker. If the Eq-2 can be called barely works, The Eq-1 with a long tube 114mm Newt simply doesn't work at all.
They, (Celestron) still sell the same reflector, or at least with the same specs. It is available and currently in stock at B&H for $195. Same wobbly EQ-1 and tripod, but renamed. So, not ‘First Scope’, Think it is called ‘Power Seeker’ now. Or, just buy the optics from China, about $30, and 3D print a much better dob mounted version for about the same price.
Hi Ed, have you ever come across the very early Celestron C-4.5 Newtonian made by Vixen? They came on the Vixen Polaris mount that runs circles around these newer China made crap. It's too bad they went the "cheap" route for an otherwise decent aperture "beginners" scope. I have two of them here I need to restore one of these days. One mount has the optional dual-axis drives with the chain driven JMI DEC motor and controller sold as a set. The other is just manual with no motors. 3 Vane spider and metal focuser which is great!
I notice that you often say in your reviews of scopes that it's seldom the scope that's the problem, but often the mount. In your beginner series you also mentioned that you would at some point tell us more about mounts and eyepieces -- the latter of which you made a dedicated video about. When can we expect a dedicated video on mounts and the pitfalls to avoid with them?
Thanks for the video, Do you have any videos or plan on doing any or maybe could recommend a video about how to clean a telescope. I have a Mead 10 inch SC that I purchased in the mid 80s and it looks horrible when I shine a light into it. I've heard you mention about cleaning the mirror on another video and was just wondering.
Hello, I enjoyed your review and I recently ordered my very first scope, the Apertura AD8 dobsonian, as I hear it is the best beginner scope on the market since Orion went out of business and the XT8 is no longer sold new. Would you ever consider reviewing it? I am also interested in astrophotography as well (I know you said before its probably not the best idea to jump into it) and I've been doing a lot of research into it but I don't have the funds for a $3,000-$10,000+ astrophotography rig. I know you weren't exactly the biggest fan of the ZWO Seestar S50, but I have heard good things about the upcoming DwarfLab Dwarf III and that it is pretty good at taking pictures for a good price point ($500) and it has AI technology so it would be interesting to see how that would come to change the way that more modern computerized scopes compete with larger and more expensive rigs. Do you have any plans to review it as well when it releases? Thank you very much for your videos and insight, you have really helped me and given me alot of information in this hobby and helped grow my interest. Your style and presentation is very organized, informative, and very easy to follow and not over the top. I would also like to see an updated telescope collection video and a video on the telescopes you have made if you would like to do that as I am interested in building one of my own eventually. Thank you.
9:05 but that was on your mount wasnt it? I only have the mount the Orion observer 114 came with and even though i tuned the sloo out i dont see how someone is going to get one of these with the wobbly mount and actually see anything like Jupiter.
If Celestron had applied the PowerSeeker name to their Maksutov-Cassegrain line it would have been more appropriate and have a better reputation to date
How about a state of the collection 2025 edition? Would also like to see you redo “best beginner telescopes.” With Orion going under, it would be helpful to have your take on what to steer folks to that is currently being produced - unlike the ST80 and the XT8. I used to share your video with newbies, but have stopped because I don’t think it helps to steer folks to buy stuff they can’t actually find on the shelves or get from High Point.
Im very new to this, i have a Newtonian Telescope on a Dobsonian base i bought second hand. Everything seems in good order, however stars look blurry and stigmatised. I have attempted to collomate my telescope multiple times and according to the multiple RUclips videos I've watched I've done it correctly but stars still look the same. Can anyone recommend somewhere i can find detailed instructions, either written or video where it explains 'everything' with setting up a scope from scratch? All the media ive found so far skip steps i feel im missing.
These things are very hard to diagnose through email. Is there an astronomy club near you? It sounds like whatever is wrong is likely something simple.
@@edting Thanks Ed, unfortunately there is no club near me. I was hoping someone knew of some good resources i could read or watch to educate myself on how a Newtonian telescope could be setup and adjusted. I feel im close but im new to this hobby so i dont know what i dont know yet. But ill continue to look for someone near me who could help. Regards.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
It’s always a good day when a Ed Ting video arrives.
I'm subscribed to quite a few astro channels but always look forward to the next Ed Ting's. Those Meade's and the Tak behind him are sumptuous.
Don't drool over Meade. Some are very average.
@@allancopland1768 sorry, I should have emphasized. They may be average but looks really nice. But if I do salivate it would be over an AP or an Intes.
Serious and funny at the same time…. Always a real pleasure to listen to you! Happy new year and all the best.
My first real scope! Found it 20 years ago at a garage sale for $80. Although I had the Meade 4420 variant complete with the rickety wooden mount and a beautiful Meade 20mm eyepiece. It taught me a lot. I quickly put it on an Orion Astroview mount with tracking motor, installed a new focuser and bought some nicer eyepieces with the 9mm becoming my favorite. (Anything Over 100x doesn't work well at my location ) Saw Mars for the very first time with this! I am deep into the hobby now but have hung on to this one for sentimental reasons. It still works great!
Ed I went through a crazy buying phase a couple of years back when I was buying up used and battered old 'scopes! I refurbished them all except one ( 5 in total refurb'd ) and sold on the refurb'd ones last year because I was struggling for space in my small flat! The one I haven't refurb'd is still here, it's an old Celestron Nexstar. The electronics are shot, and the Tripod has a broken leg. I do plan to refurb' and keep the Nexstar to use for visual Astro whilst my Astrophotography gear is running gathering up those photons!
Awesome content as always, thank you Ed!
Wes, Liverpool, England.
I'm still going through a crazy buying phase. Not only do I have about 8 scopes, maks, fracs and reflectors but I also collect spotting scopes and binoculars. I don't just buy anything and everything. I really have to like the look of what I acquire. Call me mad but paid about £90 for a new and never used Sky-Watcher ST80, basic to look at first but now sports upgraded dual speed focuser, red Askar dovetail bar, William Optics tube rings, Baader prism diagonal, Baader Hyperion zoom EP, William Optics RDF, laser pointer bracket with a golden yellow laser and an Orion illuminated RACI 9x50 finder scope. Several hundred £ later and it now looks awesome. Guess I am just a scope freak. £165 on a Evostar ED80 from eBay, couldn't resist and only paid £30 for a heritage 130p all be it with a cracked primary but I just wanted the dob base which now displays my Skymaster Pro ED 20x80 Binoculars. Incidentally the heritage 130p OTA wasn't a total bust as managed to get a replacement mirror for just £25 on another auction, £55 in all and looks rather good on the Porta ii 😂 Rich from 🏴
@@thisissparta3965 Oh wow you really do like to buy astro gear my friend! I'm actually still in my crazy buying phase but I'm mostly buying EP's, Barlows, LP/NB Filters, basically an ancillary spending spree! LOL. Hey as I say to my partner "Some blokes like gambling, some like drinking, but I like my Astro hobby!" LOL
@@wesleydonnelly2141 yeah, you are better buying astro gear than drinking or gambling. At least it holds some value if you need to sell it later. Unlike drinking which I did a lot of in my youth and enjoyed it then inevitably that investment usually ends up down the toilet or up again a wall 🤣. Have a few EP's now, Aero ED 35 and 40, Panaview 32 and 38, Nirvana 7, All the Extra Flats, a couple of the SW planetary, Hyperion 8-24 Zoom and a SV planetary zoom. I have yet to dip my toe into the holy grails of TeleVues but dare say that will happen. All money in the bank as far as I am concerned as I reckon when I get really old I will slim my collection right down and thus collect the cash from sale 👍
That was my first scope, bought half-price “for the kids”. I modified the heck out of it. Shortened the tube, made a motorized focuser for it (with ASCOM driver), carved a Bahtinov mask for it, turned it into a spotlight, bought motors for it and converted the controller to RA autoguide (both ST4 style and ASCOM pulseguiding), put webcams, DSLR and CCD on it. The mirror is still at the back of my sock drawer.
This thing will teach you how to overcome its limitations!
I bought the Bresser Galaxia in the 90th and had it for nearly 30 years. It was exactly this tube with a solid ring and a small finder with plastic lenses 😃.3 month ago I gave it away for free to a happy new owner (including all the screws)🙂. Great view into the past, thanks Ed 😃
Great video, Ed! My wife brought over a similar scope made by Orion Optics in England when we got married, but it ended up sitting in our closet for about a decade until my love for astronomy reignited. She never quite got the hang of the equatorial mount system, which ended up being a dealbreaker for her. Once I figured it out, I upgraded to a Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro mount and attached the scope using a shorter Losmandy plate to avoid tipping (those Vixen plates can be a bit narrow and prone to accidents). The one thing I haven’t managed to upgrade yet is the plastic focuser-it’s pretty horrendous to use! But as you mentioned, the scope is still fantastic for lunar observations.
The concept of an equatorial mount is rooted, as you would immediately know, in mathematics. Not saying your wife would naturally not be able to deal with the ambiguities and arcana of GEMs because I suffer from a deficit in mathematical reasoning as well...not saying it's a female thing. But it's a confounding mount that compels understanding and frequent handling to keep on top of it. So, I hope you have spent some time mollifying your missus and maybe helping her to get it at last. It might make her feel a lot better once the light bulb goes on.
Your point about these so-called beginner scopes being more suited to experienced amateurs who have the knowledge to overcome their limitations is well made. Personally I feel the same way about GOTO scopes: they are more useful to amateurs who have an observing programme of some kind, be it variable stars, supernova patrolling or just imaging deep-sky objects. They want to slew to the object and waste as little time as possible on finding it. A newcomer to astronomy who just wants to look at things should put in the time to locate them. That way each object is an achievement and will mean a lot more than if an automated device finds it for them. Is that an old-fashioned viewpoint?
I remember my first views of Jupiter and Saturn through my first telescope. When you peer into the eyepiece and realise what you are looking at it is so much more rewarding than keying in a command and knowing what you're slewing to. My first scope was a Skyhawk 114 on equatorial mount with manual controls. Didn't even know then about polar alignment and just used the polar altitude adjustment to get the scope pointing at the things 😂
In my neck of the woods, decent observing nights in a year can sometimes be counted on one hand, so I use all of the nanny electronics to get me where I need to look ASAP ;)
@@marcgravel2382 I'm in the UK, so I sympathise! Mind you, I do mostly lunar and planetary imaging, and I can usually find my targets without needing GOTO.
Happy New Year. Good to see a new video
As a more advanced type as you mentioned towards the end, I've had fun with quite a few of these over the years. I try to get them for under $50, fix what's broken and double my investment or more. Last one I had on an EQ mount was labeled as a Tasco Luminova, $10 turned into $100 pretty quickly.
But, it would need a CG-4 at minimum to be stable, and I'd rather run my AT102ED than one of these reflectors on it.
If you really want a 114mm f/8, go find an XT4.5. I have one, my son has claimed it, he's 10 and that's ideal. It's on a riser pod I made to bring the focuser to the same height as a standard 8" Dob, so adults can look through it too.
Right now, January '25, is a great month for us backyard astronomers! A lot going on with the planets! 👍
so you got yourself a tasco made in japan? i still use mine from 79 and surprisingly if you can find eyepieces you can bump the magnification up to questionable numbers for bright objects and see some incredible detail for its diameter
Welcome back Ed. I hope you had a good break.
History note - this beast is a Tasco Japan originally, and the primary mirror is parabolic for the early ones. The pictures in the catalog are of those. A really nice telescope, excellent for a beginner getting into astronomy. Contrast is usually pretty good for these. Scope Wizard's box of mounts are recognizably Tasco's, by their chrome axis-locks, and their beautiful RA gears - using one of those is recommended to you, they are an upgrade !
i have the tasco made in japan bought around 79' still use it mine came with a wood eq mount and every thing is metal i honestly feel the scope is to heavy for the mount and maybe just needs a little tweek here and there but i may have just got used to it
I’ve had this scope, in its Tasco by Vixen guise, since my father bought it in 1971. The old Vixens are amazing, no problem with soft focus at high power. It’s been competitive with a friends 100 ED refractor on Saturn. The mount is definitely the weak spot, eventually I upgraded that.. but now I just have the mirror, waiting for a new tube for a third life, because it’s such a good old mirror..
Thank you Ed. Always very interesting
Happy new year, Ed!
I have the Vixen C4.5 Japanese made version that I found used for $40. It is an amazingly sharp instrument and has become one of my "forever" scopes. It sits on a Polaris mount that is rock steady.
Happy new year! 🎉 Thanks Ed!
a few years ago, i made a mini dob mount for a similar scope i got for free.
it works VERY well
Thank you very much, Ed! It's always a pleasure to watch your videos. Perhaps you could do a review of the old TAL stuff!?
Would like to hear Ed's take on the 200K Klevtsov Cassegrain 👍
They use to make 6" F/8 newts on equatorial mounts. The high focal ratios allowed for flatter fields, use of simpler eyepiece, and smaller secondary mirrors that improved contrast.
Thnx
L
My wife got me one of these, tagged with the Rokinon label. Once someone took 15 minutes to correct me on everything I was doing wrong, I got a lot of enjoyment out of it. I just passed the ota on to a young boy, his dad is going to make a little dob base for it.
Happy New year Ed love watching your videos going to get my first telescope soon been saving for a while!
I found a similar looking bushnell branded 114 for $20 a while back. The alt az mount was absolutely horrendous. Even though it rekindled looking at the night sky, I'd recommend staying away from that one too.
Nice repair and review.
Happy New Year!
I wonder if we will eventually see something from the upcomming meade/orion liquidation auction.
I'm as much in the dark on that as you are!
Apparently, I'm not allowed to post links. But the auction starts today and goes to the 9th
Hi Ed,
Which of these do you like?
They were offered on the heavier Equ mounts. The mounts were often used fully retracted so these rigs were stable and a pleasure to use at higher mags.
Celestron C4.5
Celestron C114HD
Orion 4.5 Skyview Deluxe
Thnx
L
Find a long 114/4.5 OTA on a flimsy mount, collimate it and verify good optics, get/make an adapter and put it on a Polaris, CG4, Orion Skyview Deluxe, or an early/heavy AstroView mount.
They make for compact rigs that are a pleasure to use at higher mags.
Then put a shorter and lighter refractor/reflector on that flimsy mount.
L
My first telescope was a similar one, Bresser Pluto/s on an Astro1 (similar to this one, but I think it uses the same motor) mount, it's a 114/500mm telescope! These 114/900 telescopes are also pretty cool imho, they just need a better mount than an EQ1/Astro1 mount.
Thanks Ed!
A half decent beginner scope so long as you can buy one at the right price with all parts present. Better than a lot of the modern plastic crap.
🤣 modern plastic crap. Hit the nail right on the head 👍
These scopes can be surprisingly good! Celestron paired up with Vixen in the 80s and sold this scope on a Super Polaris mount - that is a really good combo. I have a Meade 114mm f/8 that I bought NOS on their old clearance center website - it had terrible astigmantism from the secondary. I replaced that and an amazing scope emerged! Here's video made with that scope. You can see from the details that the scope is very, very well corrected. ruclips.net/video/qPw-2stFJhE/видео.html
I won't say it "lives on" as the Powerseeker 114.
This at least has a Eq-2 type mount. While it is not much, the Eq-"1" type mount the Powerseeker 114 has is significantly weaker. If the Eq-2 can be called barely works, The Eq-1 with a long tube 114mm Newt simply doesn't work at all.
They, (Celestron) still sell the same reflector, or at least with the same specs. It is available and currently in stock at B&H for $195.
Same wobbly EQ-1 and tripod, but renamed. So, not ‘First Scope’, Think it is called ‘Power Seeker’ now.
Or, just buy the optics from China, about $30, and 3D print a much better dob mounted version for about the same price.
Hi Ed, have you ever come across the very early Celestron C-4.5 Newtonian made by Vixen? They came on the Vixen Polaris mount that runs circles around these newer China made crap. It's too bad they went the "cheap" route for an otherwise decent aperture "beginners" scope. I have two of them here I need to restore one of these days. One mount has the optional dual-axis drives with the chain driven JMI DEC motor and controller sold as a set. The other is just manual with no motors. 3 Vane spider and metal focuser which is great!
Is Ed the GOAT of amateur telescope reviews? If not, who is??
He is certainly the most interesting to watch. Of that there is no doubt.
I had the bresser equivalent in the 80s
I notice that you often say in your reviews of scopes that it's seldom the scope that's the problem, but often the mount. In your beginner series you also mentioned that you would at some point tell us more about mounts and eyepieces -- the latter of which you made a dedicated video about. When can we expect a dedicated video on mounts and the pitfalls to avoid with them?
Great video! How do you comment Meade/Orion/Coronado buncrupcy?
Its very interesting how they managed to have it in such bad shape, i dont even know how one would do thqt unintentionally.
Sir do review the explore scientific 150/750 eq3 varient
I just cannibalized the mount for parts and made a dob out of the one I found.. the optics are actually pretty decent.
Thanks for the video, Do you have any videos or plan on doing any or maybe could recommend a video about how to clean a telescope. I have a Mead 10 inch SC that I purchased in the mid 80s and it looks horrible when I shine a light into it. I've heard you mention about cleaning the mirror on another video and was just wondering.
Hello, I enjoyed your review and I recently ordered my very first scope, the Apertura AD8 dobsonian, as I hear it is the best beginner scope on the market since Orion went out of business and the XT8 is no longer sold new. Would you ever consider reviewing it? I am also interested in astrophotography as well (I know you said before its probably not the best idea to jump into it) and I've been doing a lot of research into it but I don't have the funds for a $3,000-$10,000+ astrophotography rig. I know you weren't exactly the biggest fan of the ZWO Seestar S50, but I have heard good things about the upcoming DwarfLab Dwarf III and that it is pretty good at taking pictures for a good price point ($500) and it has AI technology so it would be interesting to see how that would come to change the way that more modern computerized scopes compete with larger and more expensive rigs. Do you have any plans to review it as well when it releases? Thank you very much for your videos and insight, you have really helped me and given me alot of information in this hobby and helped grow my interest. Your style and presentation is very organized, informative, and very easy to follow and not over the top. I would also like to see an updated telescope collection video and a video on the telescopes you have made if you would like to do that as I am interested in building one of my own eventually. Thank you.
9:05 but that was on your mount wasnt it? I only have the mount the Orion observer 114 came with and even though i tuned the sloo out i dont see how someone is going to get one of these with the wobbly mount and actually see anything like Jupiter.
I have just spotted an Orion 8 pro on a eq mount listed near me. Is this telescope as bad as people seem to say?
If Celestron had applied the PowerSeeker name to their Maksutov-Cassegrain line it would have been more appropriate and have a better reputation to date
How about a state of the collection 2025 edition?
Would also like to see you redo “best beginner telescopes.” With Orion going under, it would be helpful to have your take on what to steer folks to that is currently being produced - unlike the ST80 and the XT8. I used to share your video with newbies, but have stopped because I don’t think it helps to steer folks to buy stuff they can’t actually find on the shelves or get from High Point.
Un buen teléscopio para iniciación
Anyone have a video they’d recommend for fixing the gears not meshing?
I thought he was going to give away that Takahashi Starbase 80 sitting behind him. He even made a video about giving it away.
This is an old video. I shot it back in Feb 2024. You can tell because I had more hair back then.
@@edting Ah! Now I understand. Thanks for clarifying 🙂
Im very new to this, i have a Newtonian Telescope on a Dobsonian base i bought second hand. Everything seems in good order, however stars look blurry and stigmatised. I have attempted to collomate my telescope multiple times and according to the multiple RUclips videos I've watched I've done it correctly but stars still look the same. Can anyone recommend somewhere i can find detailed instructions, either written or video where it explains 'everything' with setting up a scope from scratch? All the media ive found so far skip steps i feel im missing.
These things are very hard to diagnose through email. Is there an astronomy club near you? It sounds like whatever is wrong is likely something simple.
@@edting Thanks Ed, unfortunately there is no club near me. I was hoping someone knew of some good resources i could read or watch to educate myself on how a Newtonian telescope could be setup and adjusted. I feel im close but im new to this hobby so i dont know what i dont know yet. But ill continue to look for someone near me who could help.
Regards.
great info thank you so much i hope to see more videos in the future
Just be thankful we don't deal with the stuff they had 250 years ago...
First (scope)
Second
In other words, don't waste time or money for stuff to be donated or used in a public place.