ARE TASCO TELESCOPES GOOD FOR AMATE
Cole Pierce
|> ARE TACSO TELESCOPES GOOD FOR BEGINNERS ?
|> I'm interested in buying a tasco 4 inch refractor with 900mm
|> focal length is this telescope any good for a beginner ?
Tasco has a 4-1/2 inch REFLECTOR with a 900 mm focal length. I don't think
they market a refractor that size; it would be a pretty big and expensive
instrument, and that's just not Tasco's line of business.
I had a bad experience with a Tasco when I tried to help a friend set up his
high power refractor that he had purchased specifically to see Halley. One,
their exit pupil is quite small, making seeing and pointing very difficult.
Two, altho their claims of magnification are mathematically defensible, they
are quite useless with the small eyepieces needed to obtain them. (I guess
one and two are pretty much the same thing.)
You get what you pay for. The Tasco I mentioned above lists for $224 in a
discount catalog, and it includes an equitorial mount on a tripod with what
appears to be a slow motion control. The .965" eyepieces are also limiting.
You should get some good views with a reflector this size, esp of the moon,
Saturn's rings, Jupiter's moons, but you would quickly outgrow it. I think
a small Meade or Celestron dobsonian or a good set of large diameter (not
necessarily large magnification) binoculars would be a better choice. You'd
be surprised what you can see on a clear night with binoculars. I use small
7x35s for star hopping, and the view is terrific!
cp
William Walderman
Star Ware, which provides a detailed explanation of the considerations that
need to be taken into account in buying a telescope, particularly for begin-
ners. While I have no experience with the Tasco 4" scope you asked about,
there are a number of cheap telescopes in this category on the market that
do not live up to expectations, so you need to be very careful before you buy.
You might also pick up the December 1995 issue of Sky and Telescope (you
will need to hurry because it will be displaced on the newsstands by the
January 1996 issue in a few days). It includes a review of two good 3"
telescopes that are very reasonably priced and suited for beginners. These
have less aperture than the 4" Tasco but they may well be more serviceable.
You might also look into 6" or 8" Dobsonians from Meade or Orion. Hope this
helps. Bill Walderman
Steven A. Brunton
>ARE TACSO TELESCOPES GOOD FOR BEGINNERS ?
>I'm interested in buying a tasco 4 inch refractor with 900mm
>focal length is this telescope any good for a beginner ?
That money would be best spent with a Dobsonian from Orion or Meade.
If you must have an equatorial mount, consider Orion's 4.5".
Main differences:
1.25" focuser instead of .965"
6x30 finder instead of 5x24 (this is a bigger difference than it
appears)
2 real eyepieces instead of two eyepiece wannabe's
Price is about the same.
BTW, when I got started I bought the Tasco without proper research,
then found Orion, returned the Tasco, ordered the Orion, never looked
back.
I've since outgrown it and am ready to move up but it does the job
it's intended for and way better than the Tasco.
--
Steven A. Brunton
s...@ganet.net
Al Paglieri
: ARE TACSO TELESCOPES GOOD FOR BEGINNERS ?
: I'm interested in buying a tasco 4 inch refractor with 900mm
: focal length is this telescope any good for a beginner ?
Yes and no. I have an 11T 4.5 inch reflector, purchased used. It was a
great scope because I used it a lot. However several enhancements were
needed to make it functional. 1) Eyepieces. The oculars supplied with
the scope are very poor. Either purchase good quality .95 eyepieces or
better yet upgrade the focuser to accept 1.25" eyepieces. 2) The mount
is very very shakey. Any slight adjustment in focusing will make the
image jump around for ever. You really need a steadier mount. Although
the set up looks imperesive it is of very low quality.
If you add the cost of the upgrades to the cost of the original purchase,
it may not be economical afterall. HOWEVER, if you compare this to
the cost of a decent 6" or 8" dobsonian you may find that you will be
miles ahead with the dob.
Check out the pages of Sky & Telescope or
Astronomy magazines for the Orion and Meade ads before you make your
purchase.
--
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JAMES
rick
>Saturn's rings, Jupiter's moons, but you would quickly outgrow it. I think
>a small Meade or Celestron dobsonian or a good set of large diameter (not
>necessarily large magnification) binoculars would be a better choice. You'd
>be surprised what you can see on a clear night with binoculars. I use small
>7x35s for star hopping, and the view is terrific!
>
>cp
I've seen this advice before (and even given it), but having just written a
tome about the Tasco 11TR on another post, I have to comment. Good binoculars
are of course a good investment, but they make it awfully hard to share views
with friends and family. 6 inch and larger dobsonians can also be a lot of
fun, but they are not discounted to near the level of "department store" tasco
telescopes. When comparing list prices out of Astronomy's annual Observer's
Guide, an 11TR (or equivalent) obviously doesn't fare well, but when you can
get one for half that price or less, suddenly it becomes a much better value!
If I was making a family decision and facing a choice of an 11TR or Celestron
Pro 10x50's for about the same price, I'd go for the 11TR and start saving for
better eyepieces, finder, star atlas, etc. I wouldn't get one mail order,
however... and I'd want to buy from a store with a liberal return policy!
Clear Skies,
-Rick Steiner <fste...@msmail2.hac.com>
JIM MEADOWS
JA>ARE TACSO TELESCOPES GOOD FOR BEGINNERS ?
JA>I'm interested in buying a tasco 4 inch refractor with 900mm
JA>focal length is this telescope any good for a beginner ?
James,
Many amateur astronomers bad-mouth such telescopes for good reasons.
Tasco is typical of the department store telescopes that come with
cheap, wobbly mounts that make it virtually impossible to find objects
and even harder to track them once you find them. They provide cheap
non-standard plastic eyepieces that are like looking through muddy
water. They boast incredibly high power that is actually completely
useless because at that magnification the objects are blurry in so small
a telescope. So the general advice is STAY AWAY.
I don't know the characteristics of the particular 4-inch refractor
you're considering, so I can't say if these considerations apply.
However, I am recommending a Tasco 4-1/2" reflector for beginners this
year. It's the Tasco #911TR 4-1/2" reflector telescope that comes with
a sturdy equatorial mount on a tripod.
With a 500 mm focal length it works out to be an f/4.4 RFT, comparable
to the Edmund Astroscan. But whereas the Astroscan costs $300, this one
is just $189. It does not give you top-of-the-line quality. For
example, its two eyepieces (25x and 125x) are the non-standard .965"
type, and the 3x plastic barlow is virtually useless. But the low power
eyepiece gave a great view inside the store and the 5x finder gives a
clear, wide field with crosshairs. Overall I think you can't beat this
one in the under $200 category.
People who have used the Tasco 4-1/2" say it's a great starter telescope
and they continue to use it as a quick "spur-of-the-moment" setup even
after they've moved on to bigger scopes.
Joshua O'Brien
J> focal length is this telescope any good for a beginner ?
If you are just begining, I would NOT suggest Tasco. In fact, IO would NEVER
suggest Tasco outside of a gift for a eight year old. If you're just
begining, buy a 2.4" to 4" Meade. I started out withe a 2.4" (The size of the
aperiture is what I'm refering to) Meade, and I love it. Albeit, you're not
going to see any color on any of the planet, or in Nebula's (Hell, without a
12 inch, you're not gonna see color in a nebula). But I was able to pick out
4 distinct moons around jupiter, and watching them run around back and forth
for an hour or so was truely a fun experience. :) All I saw was a large
white dot with little tiny almost non-existancent dots floating back and
forth, but I was still awe-struck.
Quite frankly, Tasco is a very poor quility telescope. I would bet even
Gallilo would agree with that. <GRIN> Meade is probably the best out there.
Although Orion and Celestron are very decent scopes as well. :) If you have
the hundred fifty to two hundred bucks, for the 2.4" Meade. Or if ya got
more, get a better one. If you only have one-hundred or so now, SAVE IT!
Save for awhile and get a scope that is decent. :)
* SPITFIRE v3.5
Sidney Lee
wrote:
>tome about the Tasco 11TR on another post, I have to comment. Good binoculars
>are of course a good investment, but they make it awfully hard to share views
>with friends and family. 6 inch and larger dobsonians can also be a lot of
I'm curious as to why you would say this about binoculars? I show
lots of people things through my binoculars at star parties and
other public sessions. They are mounted on a common photographers
tripod and stay pointed where I put them ;-) Great for helping
people find stuff as they can "see where they are pointed" easily
as well. I would always advise anyone contemplating binoculars
for astronomy to put them on a tripod or other firm mount of some
sort. Not only does it allow you to share the views but it keeps
them rock solid, you don't get the "shakes" trying to steady
them, and you can consult reference material while using them.
-- Regards --
sid...@cadvision.com (Sid Lee)
domonkos
jim.m...@the-matrix.com says...
>
>
>People who have used the Tasco 4-1/2" say it's a great starter telescope
>and they continue to use it as a quick "spur-of-the-moment" setup even
>after they've moved on to bigger scopes.
>
I own an 11TR besides a Celestar 8. I've recently had the mirrors
re-coated (scope is 10+ years old) and the results were outstanding.
The high power (4mm) eyepiece is worthless but the 20mm and a Meade
.965 40mm MA work great. Meade and Celestron sell upgrade eyepieces
(Celestron has .965 Plossls available) that make these scope very
worthy.
After getting my Celestar 8 I decided to keep my Tasco for the quick
setup situations where I'll view only for a short time.
Andy