Bonce's own personal thread. Vol III (The 'Nice to see you' years).

Maybe those that are available for £69.99 might be worth the money at Aldi?

I know it is 20 quid dearer but just a thought.

boltonbonce wrote:

Bwfc1958 wrote:Right Boncey, I need an opinion. My lad wants a telescope for Christmas and looking at them, I don't know what is a decent spec and what isn't. I don't want to pay a fortune as it's his first one and he might have no interest in it by the new year but on the other hand I don't want something that struggles to see past the end of the street. I've seen this one on amazon but I've seen it in smyths today as well for £49.99. Is it any good for a first telescope? Your opinion would be appreciated, you too breaders, what d'ya reckon?

http://www.smythstoys.com/uk/en-gb/toys/creativity-music-partyware/c-552/microscopes-telescopes/p-8758/525x-refractor-telescope/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kontiki-525x-Refractor-Telescope/dp/B00PYKNIR8

To be honest 58,I think you'd be wasting your money. Any refractor less than a 3 inch,or a relector less than a 6 inch would be pretty useless.
My advice would be to start how I started,with a decent pair of binoculars. A pair of 7x50 bins will show you a lot more than the 2 telescopes you've been looking at. And you'll have the added bonus that if,after a few chilly nights looking at the night sky,he gets bored with it,you still have a nice pair of bins to use at sporting events,birdwatching,or just for use on holidays. Astronomical telescopes show an inverted image,so are of no use for anything but astronomy.
These are great quality,I have a pair myself,and a lot better value for money than those telescopes. Will last you a lifetime. Nearly 80 quid but well worth it. Hope I've been of some help.

http://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/review/binoculars/opticron-vega-ii.  

Since your post last night I've been checking out some binoculars and reviews in various places on t'Internet and I honestly didn't know you could use them for astronomy. I thought that they were mainly for birdwatching and looking through bedroom windows when women are getting undressed.  Anyway I think a nice set of bins would probably be better suited as he can take them out with him and get more use out of them doing other stuff and I can use them as well like you said. As far as I can tell, the ones in the link you posted were discontinued in 2011 but I've seen some pretty good ones elsewhere as well. Cheers Boncey, very helpful. 

Cheers 58. There are plenty of options when it comes to binoculars. And they're a lot lighter than they used to be.
I use mine for bird watching.
That's what I tell the cops anyway.

These are quality and a bargain at the price.
But take your time and shop around.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Olympus-8-40-DPSI-Binocular/dp/B0001M3612/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1448627985&sr=8-2&keywords=binoculars

All joking apart now for a sec, I fully agree with everything Boncey's said.

There's a lot of faffing about involved with setting a telescope up (the internal workings need to be acclimatised for about an hour and it can be a chilly and frankly boring business), so I'd definitely go with Boncey's suggestion regarding the bins.

And to be honest, there's not a great deal to see round our neck of the woods because of all the light pollution.

You need to take it somewhere in the middle of nowhere with no background lighting to be able to see pretty much anything other than the moon and a couple of the planets.

If your lad really takes to it though, drop me a PM and I'll happily lend you my telescope for him to have a try with before you shell out for one of your own.

It's stuck there in the spare room gathering dust at the moment because I'm getting far too old for lugging it out and spending half the night freezing my teds off.

Mrs B's parents live just round the corner from you so it'd be easy for me to drop it off when we're popping up to see them.

Just let me know, mate.

Light pollution is a nightmare. I used to live quite near to where 58 lives and it pissed me off no end.

But that's a nice gesture Bread. Too expensive to buy these things without testing them.

Shame it's a reflector,but he'd probably live it down in time.

You couldn't just say something nice and leave it there, could you.....? 

And again, all joking apart, I'm taking my lead from you -  I'd rather one of the next generation gets the bug by using my telescope than it just sit there not being used.

(Unless of course it's secretly his Dad who wants to play.......  )

Breadman wrote:You couldn't just say something nice and leave it there, could you.....? 

And again, all joking apart, I'm taking my lead from you -  I'd rather one of the next generation gets the bug by using my telescope than it just sit there not being used.

(Unless of course it's secretly his Dad who wants to play.......  )

I won't lie. I would definitely get my fair share of use from it. Cheers for the offer bread, if he takes to it like I hope he will I might just take you up on that offer, very generous. All the advice from you both is very much appreciated. Without it I probably would have gone and bought that telescope and ended up regretting it. I'll let you know how I get on.

Dave, I know your post above isn't aimed at me but what a really nice gesture for 58 to lend him your telescope to see if his kid enjoys it! 

You are a top bloke and always enjoy reading your posts.

I like to think it's the lad. I'm glad he's going for bins though.

I'll say one thing for the reflector,they're easier to move about. 

The beauty of the night sky is that it's free. Get away from those bloody lights and it's a glorious sight.

boltonbonce wrote:These are quality and a bargain at the price.
But take your time and shop around.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Olympus-8-40-DPSI-Binocular/dp/B0001M3612/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1448627985&sr=8-2&keywords=binoculars

These are roughly the price I was hoping to pay Boncey, but most of the reviews seem to be centred around birdwatching.  Are these powerful enough for the astronomy side of things as that is my number one priority at the minute. Everything else I can use them for is just a bonus.

Stop it now, ladies - I'm filling up.

If you think what I'm offering is a nice gesture you should hear what Bonce did.

He donated his telescope to a local youth group so they could build a mini observatory and get into Astronomy.

Now that, is a nice gesture.

That really is a fantastic thing to do Boncey and really deserves a  

Bumchums bigging each other up. Nat may well go off on one if she clocks this.

As for the 8x40 bins 58,they would be fine for astronomy,although I've always found 7x50 are best of all.
Don't go for anything too powerful,or you'll need a tripod to keep the image steady. 7x50 or 8x40 are just about right. If your lad gets the bug,he can go on to a decent telescope later on.

boltonbonce wrote:Bumchums bigging each other up. Nat may well go off on one if she clocks this.

As for the 8x40 bins 58,they would be fine for astronomy,although I've always found 7x50 are best of all.
Don't go for anything too powerful,or you'll need a tripod to keep the image steady. 7x50 or 8x40 are just about right. If your lad gets the bug,he can go on to a decent telescope later on.

Cheers mate, I'll bear it in mind when I'm shopping about.

BRUCIE ALERT.
Does anyone remember this? I don't. Must have been one of his few flops.

Quite a gesture.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-34978249

Feel a whole lot better for watching this. Merry Christmas.

You seeking a quiet place away from the madness and mayhem and bellends?

y2johnny wrote:You seeking a quiet place away from the madness and mayhem and bellends?

Just reminding myself that there is a kinder,gentler world out there,if you care to look for it.