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I pulled my telescope out of storage the other day and set it up. The family and I had a great time with it. It is a relatively cheap telescope with a hand held controller and it tracks objects once you align it to a couple of stars.
When I was a kid, it was challenging to be interested with out the computer guidance, so I'd like to make it easier for them to stay interested. Being a number of years old, I think it is standing on its last leg as the controller is acting flaky and the motors seem to get lost when turning to an object. So I'm asking the nerds out there: who makes a decent telescope today? Where should I shop for one? I'd like something with similar features that I have now. Computer guidance and tracking is the must-have. Perhaps GPS. I would like to spend less than $600, but I'm open to more expensive options.
(Score: 2, Informative) by nitehawk214 on Tuesday April 28 2015, @02:11PM
Speaking as someone who does own a GOTO scope, I bought it because when I was starting out and really did not know how to find stuff well. It really depends on how dark your site is. From my house, I still need GOTO as there are not enough naked=eye stars visible to easily star-hop.
However, for a decent GOTO scope, you are probably looking more at the $1000 price range for Celestron, Meade and Orion to get something good.
If you are in a nicely dark location (or have one that is a quick drive away), I would suggest not getting GOTO at all, as this means you can spend more on the scope itself instead of spending it all on the electronics of the mount. It takes some practice but once you learn where the constellations are, it isn't really that hard.
If you have a big enough vehicle, I suggest getting a Dobsonian. Much bigger aperture for the price. Skywatcher makes some very reasonably prices ones. They are a bit bulkier but the tradeoff is that
On the other hand, OPT [optcorp.com] is having a sale on Celestron Nexstar scopes. I wouldnt get the 4" or 5" ones, but for a bit more money they are wonderful. I have an EdgeHD 8" and it is easily my favorite scope of my collection. Great collecting power, nice flat field, small enough to fit in my little car. :)
Also, no matter what scope you get, get a Telrad [company7.com] or other reflex sight. Those things are easy to use and will help you learn the sky better. The Telrad looks horrible, but is the easiest to use. A Star Finder [amazon.com] will act as a nice cheat-sheet to remember which constellation you are pointing at. Also, there are plenty of phone apps that give a nice "guided tour" of the sky.
Another idea, is to get a decent pair of binoculars to start out with, you can get some surprisingly nice ones for under $50. Even experienced and advanced observers break out the binocs to scan things. They really look wonderful at a dark site. Also since they are easy to grab-and-go, you will use them more often. When I am driving to the countryside for whatever reason, I always through my Nikon 10x50s into the car to take a peek if the night clears up. Someone once told me, "Your best telescope is the one you USE."
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh