My first scope was ....

[paul]

A 60mm F25-ish home brew refractor. Back in the seventies I was a 13yr old in Germany watching The Sky at Night on British Forces television. Patrick explained the basics of refracting telescopes and it all seemed simple enough. So I trotted down to the local optician and in very poor german asked for a lens with the longest focal length they had. I bought a 60mm uncut lens (the fashion was big glasses back then), focal length was around 1.5 meters . As it happens postal tubes came in 1 meter lengths and different diameters. I got two with the second one smaller to be the draw tube. I wrapped and glued string around the smaller tube until I had about 20cm in length and layered up to fit the larger one snuggly. I taped the 60mm lens at the front and put my microscope eyepiece in the end cap of the second tube. I estimate the eyepiece to have a 1-2cm focal length. 

 

Lashing this all together and balancing it on books at the window sill; I saw  Moon craters but even better I saw the rings of Saturn.  Sadly this was a precarious set up so I could never share what I saw. But noting my interest my parents bought me the classic 60mm store telescope that had a stirrup mount and proper tripod and things were the right way up. (400x magnification and all the CA you could want!!!)

 

For one reason or another it took another 30yrs to get back into this hobby for about 3yrs then work changed direction and got in the way. Its taken a pandemic to give me the freedom to get me really serious about learning the skills.

 

What was your first?

[gabs]

Hi,

 

my first ( and only one ! ) is a Meade ETX80 refractor. Nice scope but not so easy to align for a beginner...but I am doing better every time I use it.

 

I liked the idea to have a scope to carry with me when I am in Italy to visit my parents.

Where they live the sky is absolutely stunning with Bortle 3.

 

I am now 40 and in the last 2 years I am studying and researching as much as I can.

 

I hope my Meade would be the first of others .

I have to say that being here on this forum it helps me a lot to learn new things everyday.

 

Gabriele

[Norm]

In the early 1950s as a kid growing up and showing interest in astronomy I recall my parents getting me a 3-inch f/11 (spherical primary mirror) Space K-Satellite for my birthday.  It was a metallic green metal tube Newtonian on a three-legged metal tripod altazimuth mount. I think it was around $30 USD or slightly less.  I remember the Kellner eyepiece that came with it was machined aluminum and less than .965-inches in diameter...at least it was on their 3-inch f/11 reflectors anyway.  Apparently Space K made their own eyepieces.  From what I remember....in the Kellner eyepiece FOV, the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus looked pretty good. (that was basically all I was interested in looking at through my new telescope in my early astronomy days). By the time the early 60s rolled around...I had progressed to the point of making my own Newtonian telescope, mirror grinding, figuring and polishing thanks to Edmund Optics....🙂 >

 

http://www.philharrington.net/spacek.jpg

 

http://www.philharrington.net/edm56.jpg

 

Norm

Saipan & Guam in the Northern Mariana Islands

Edited June 6, 2021 by Norm
Possibly better choice.

[Vicki]

My first scope was rather lame back in 2016. It was a teeny, rickety, Celestron Powerseeker 40AZ but it gave me MY first views of the moon and it couldn't be more wonderful. That was what had me wanting more so for that, I am thankful 🙂

[AstronomyUkraine]

I bought my first scope in 2006, it was a Meade ETX 70. A great little scope for visual astronomy, but I sold it after 18 months and bought a Newtonian from Orion Optics (UK), which I still have to this day.

[gabs]

hi, 

 

I am wondering why did you sell your ETX70? 

have you found any issue to align the scope ? I think that is the main issue with a Go To scope.

Edited March 10, 2021 by gabs

[AstronomyUkraine]

4 hours ago, gabs said:

hi, 

 

I am wondering why did you sell your ETX70? 

have you found any issue to align the scope ? I think that is the main issue with a Go To scope.

I sold my ETX to go into astro imaging. The ETX 70 was not an imaging scope. Aligning the scope doing a 3 star align was quite straight forward. I don't do star alignment now, I use platesolve to align my targets, after polar alignment using Sharpcap.

[gabs]

I understand now! Yes I agree is not brilliant for imaging but very good for visual.
I am still doing a one or two star align , sometimes it takes a lot of time but I guess it’s for my lack of experience and some day I am luckier than other! 
tbh I have no clue what a platesolve is 🙂 

[AstronomyUkraine]

36 minutes ago, gabs said:

I understand now! Yes I agree is not brilliant for imaging but very good for visual.
I am still doing a one or two star align , sometimes it takes a lot of time but I guess it’s for my lack of experience and some day I am luckier than other! 
tbh I have no clue what a platesolve is 🙂 

Get to know the names of the bright stars in the night sky, it will be easier to align with bright stars. Download Stellarium and check which stars are available to you.

[gabs]

Thanks

Yep already done it I am doing much better now and it’s getting better anytime I use the scope.

With  Betelgeuse and Capella it’s easier now.

[AstronomyUkraine]

29 minutes ago, gabs said:

Thanks

Yep already done it I am doing much better now and it’s getting better anytime I use the scope.

With  Betelgeuse and Capella it’s easier now.

Good polar alignment will also make star alignment easier.

[Padraic M]

My first scope was a Celestron Astromaster 130EQ Newt with the rickety tripod and the plastic eyepieces but it was love at first sight of Jupiter's moons and Saturn's rings! It lasted me for 12 months but I fairly quickly got tired of its weaknesses and went down the 'replace' route rather than trying to modify. 

 

Never regretted buying it but it doesn't see much action now.

[Carastro]

My first scope was a £60 ASDA buy!!!

 

Used it once and found the manual AZ mount was hopeless.  But was stunned with views of the Moon when I could actually manage to get it positioned in the eyepeice.   Took it back and got a refund so not sure this quite counts as a first scope.

 

I then bought a Celestron Powerseeker 114 a Newtonian on an EQ1 mount.  Brilliant views, but found it really difficult to find things and keep them in FOV as the hand controls slipped.   But I guess this was my first proper telescope and it gave me a taste of what was up there and what NOT TO GET next time.  i.e. I bought a motorised GOTO scope the next time.

 

[Norm]

On 3/11/2021 at 4:15 AM, gabs said:

Thanks

Yep already done it I am doing much better now and it’s getting better anytime I use the scope.

With  Betelgeuse and Capella it’s easier now.

 

Hello Gabs....

 

It's been my ATM experience to have built a couple of GOTO Bino instruments over the past several years, both of which incorporates the use of a small Bubble Level.  The following Celestron link has some helpful tips on the subject...🙂

 

https://www.celestron.com/blogs/knowledgebase/how-do-i-improve-my-telescopes-goto-performance

 

Norm

Saipan & Guam in the Northern Mariana Islands

 

 

 

Edited June 6, 2021 by Norm
Possibly better choice.

[gabs]

Thanks Norm much appreciate your comments and link!

 

 

[paulgrover68]

My first scope was given to me - it was no name plastic tube with a 60mm objective. I suspect it was 60's toy scope. It had flimsy tripod that could be made more flimsy with addition of a extension bar to bring it up to usuable height. I think I managed to get it pointed at The Moon and that was about it.}

I would spend ours enviously looking at the Tasco scops in the Freeman's catalogue... they had finder scopes!

[Norm]

20 hours ago, gabs said:

Thanks Norm much appreciate your comments and link!

 

 

 

Thanks gabs....🙂

 

Norm

Saipan & Guam in the Northern Mariana Islands

[Philip R]

My first 'scope was a Tasco 4ETE...

 

It was a birthday present from my father and step-mother when I was in my mid-teens.

 

It was 40mm refractor @ 40x magnification with magnesium flouride [MgF2] coatings. I could see the equatorial belts & Galilean moons of Jupiter,  just about view the rings of Saturn & Titan, and good for sunspot projection, as well as 'basic' Lunar observing.

 

As it only came supplied with a table-top tripod, my late-grandfather and I made an improvement with some galvanised conduit/trunking tubing to fit the spindly legs and chain for the leg spreader and then became a floor-standing tripod.

 

One time, I had an accident with it and damaged the dew-shield. I found a local reseller of Tasco equipment and ordered a replacement. When I collected it and asked how much it was, the store manager said: "Tasco have a ten year guarantee against defects, [accidental damage], etc." - I had the  'scope for seven years at the time and served me for another six years after.

 

Edited March 18, 2021 by Philip R

[Carbon Brush]

First scope? 1960s do I count the 1" (yes 1") refractor on table top tripod and wing nut locking that I borrowed from my brother? Then early 70s I moved on to a Prinz 60mm refractor. It had a zoom eyepiece and another table top tripod. Recenlty I hacksawed off a bit of the OTA and fitted a cheap adapter to use 1.25" eyepieces. Actually it is now a half decent scope. Then in the 80s a 2nd hand Prinz 70mm F10 refractor. It came with EQ mount, wooden tripod and a collection of eyepieces. A Fullerscopes 6x30 finder. All in a big wooden box. I still have it all. The tripod was rigid enough to hold a scope this size. The eyepieces were low quality .965 types. Probably best recycled into salt/pepper pots. In recent years I modded the focusser to take 1.25" eyepeices and concluded the objective glass is actually good.

Despite 3 scopes that showed me virtually nothing, in 2003 I ordered an Orion Optics 8" newt on EQ5. Views at at last!  So really I consider the OO newt as my first scope. The others were more experiences in learning what to avoid, rather than something to look through.