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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: 4, Interesting) by VLM on Tuesday April 28 2015, @12:36PM
I pulled my telescope out of storage the other day
Post-transition to China production Meade ETX? Just guessing based on your description. I have one of those. I like the portability. The scope you haul out and use works much better than the theoretically better one that sits in the closet because its too big and heavy to bother hauling out.
I've noticed there really isn't anything new in the last two decades or so in scopes.
I would like to see something done with high precision accelerometers. Also cell phone grade magnetometers. The development cycles for scopes are worse than cars, like 10-20 years, so it'll be awhile before this gets much traction.
(Score: 2) by chewbacon on Tuesday April 28 2015, @04:54PM
It is a Celestron Nexstar GT. Parts are difficult to find now. Very entry level at $150ish, but I could find plenty of things to look at. Since I'm planning on replacing it, I figured an upgrade would, again, spark and keep the family's interest in it.