They are known by a few different names, but they are the same trash scope. So who has at one point owned one of these things?

Haha I know I have. When I was younger with an interest in astronomy, but my parents didn't know any thing about it so did what any well intentioned parent would do for christmas. Though with out it I dont know if I would have been later inspired to get a quality telescope.

I started with one of those as my first scope, as alot of us here probably have. It didn't take long for me to rid myself of that one, and move up the ladder a bit. The good thing I can say about that 114mm telescope is that it certainly turned my spark of interest into a raging fire. After returning that scope I purchased a 10" dob, and before long I added a 6" refractor, an 80mm ED refractor, a Coronado Personal Solar Telescope, and then another dob, the 8 inch. Even with what I already have, I'm still planning on adding at least two more telescopes to my arsenal. (but I'm sure I won't stop there) Sometimes I wish I would have kept that little 114mm scope, even if it wasn't the best scope to have. It would be interesting to see what I could do with it now.

I'll admit it, I did! They may be cheap, and even disappointing, and can even be discouraging at times, but they are a good learning experience and was good enough to spark my curiosity further.

 

Have A Nice ________ 

I owned one, a 60mm i think, good for 750x mag lol, RETURNED it the next day...

I had one as well,a el cheapo walmart scope many years ago that is either in the junk heap or in some junksters back yard(very doubtful lol)

I have one of those department store telescope and I have to say it is fairly good at is job.  I do hope to upgrade one day.

my 1st was a 3" gilbert reflector, anyone remember those?- 3 skinny poles for the tripod and a metal hollow tube for finder- matter of fact i found link if it posts, this is what it looked like-  http://chuck.kichline.com/Telescope/gilbert.JPG

Ahhhh my Jason Empire may it rest in peace. I must say I do not long for the feel of those pot metal knobs in my fingertips. Of course i have had a department store telescope everyone has had just one. I have also had a used telescope. And of course there will be only one of those too.

 

Long time ago and far away, I started with a 60mm refractor by Bushnell. I was a gift. Later a I got a better gift and last the 8" I use now the others I gave away. The Bushnell did do something right, I got me more interested.

you know...... for some people, if it wernt for dept. store telescopes they would have no scope at all. while you laugh and remember how primitive you were in your ignorance and youth, SOME people struggle to feed the kids and to keep a home and to pay the bills. some of us drive fords, and wear rustler jeans and at night after an unprofitable 12 hour day in some sweatshop we drag out out cheap inferior "junk" scopes and try to experience the same awe and wonder of gods creation as the noblemen do. how silly of us. marie antoinette when told that the peasants were starving because there was no bread to be found answered " then let them eat cake!"   i sometimes feel the same condescending attitude around here. dont get me wrong, everyone is very tolerant and helpful with the children, encouraging even. yet conversation  always returns to the rarified strata of the real amateur astronomer. you know what i mean, the ability to BUY your skills. scraps of glass and aluminium that  cost more than the average persons car. some that cost more than the average house. i read a lot about money spent but only a few people talk about tricks and experience and ways to get the most from your resources. sorry for the rant, i guess i am just suffering from class envy. i want you to know that some people dont buy "trash" scopes because of stupidity or ignorance. some folks just have priority and  balance in their lives.

I, too, currently own a "trash scope".  A 60mm Meade refractor.  I have always been interested in the stars and when I was asked what I wanted for Christmas last year, the only thing I asked for was a telescope.  I had never used one before and I was looking forward to it.  I had no preconceptions about the trash scope when I opened it or used it for the first time.  I spent HOURS last winter with the scope and enjoyed every freezing-ass minute of it.  I even bought thermals, long underwear and a ski mask so I could endure the cold. 

 Then I started buying books and trying to learn more about this new world to me.  I quickly learned that my prized telescope was really a piece of ***.  You know, it wasn't until I was informed that it was substandard equipment that I began to notice its shortcomings?  I then read something else as I was reading up on what telescope I should by for myself to move up.  The telescope that you will use is the one you should get.  Well, I already have one of those.

 So, for the last year I have used my 60mm trash scope and have seen wonders I never thought possible.  It really does change you to witness those wonders through your own eyes and not just a magazine photo or a TV program.  I have contemplated a lot about the things I have seen and I have changed my entire beliefs based on the knowledge I sought after looking through that trash scope.  Eventually I will move up, but there is still plenty for me to see with 60mm. 

I have owned and still own several of them.  My first "real" telescope was a 2" Edmund refractor.  It had no tripod, just a wobbly clamp to attach it to the back of a chair.  It also had no finder and only one eyepiece.  It was EXTREMELY difficult to use, but it taught me the patience necessary in astronomy.  I will never forgrt the night that I unexpectedly found Saturn.  What a thrill to see those rings with my own eyes.

When I was in college, my parents bought me a 60mm Jason refractor for Christmas.  After the 2" scope, the Jason was like having a Rolls Royce.  It had a stable equatorial mount and tripod, three eyepieces, a decent finder and, the thing that helped the most with finding things, slow motion controls.  That was the only scope that I had for many years.  It took many years to run out of things to see with it.  I now have a 16" Newtonian, but I will never get rid of my Jason.  That was the telescope that helped me grow into the hobby.  I still get it out occasionally.

In fact, I just bought another 60mm Jason last week for $25 at a flea market and gave it to my sister, who was visiting here from Montana.  We spent several clear nights trying it out and she just loves it.  It has all the basic features that make it reasonably easy for a beginner: decent optics, stable tripod, decent finder and slow motion controls.  I am sure that she will have many enjoyable evenings exploring the sky with that scope.

I admit that there are some "department store" telescopes that are really poor quality, but there are others that are quite good and allow a beginner to experience some of the wonders of the night sky.

Best wishes,

 Rick

 

I, too, found Saturn one cold winter night by accident.  I am convinced that it was that find that truly solidified my interest in Astronomy.  I was so in awe of it, I took my digital camera and held it with my hands over the eyepiece and took a picture.  (This was before I had studied anything about astrophotography) That first snap took a picture that, when enlarged, was clear enough to show the rings of Saturn.  I tried for HOURS night after night to reproduce that photograph and had absolutely no success.  I tried to photograph the moon and Jupiter and never did get another picture with the clarity of that very first snap. 

I have two of them and still use them almost as often as the 12"er and the Mak.

Al

i owned an old Montgomery Wards 60 mm about 30+ years ago which went the way of the dinosaur after i built a 10" dob quite a few years back.  it served it's purpose and got me started.

cheers,

jim 

Well!!!!!..........I got my stuff from a TOY STORE!!!!!!..........Im not kidding!

sorry to any one offended i meant the poll as something amusing for other people to share there experences with one of these scopes. It was all i had for 6 years. i was amazed by the views of the moon, and jupeter, but what really caught my attion was the lunar eclipse i watched through it. It wasn't until some views with larger telescops at public outreach type things that really made me want to get a larger scope. Ill never forget the first view of the moon through an 8" telescope.

I didn't intend to make this poll anything of ethics or offence. The term trash scope is just a mere nickname, and i tryed to refrence it in a comical way for people to look back at there days with one of these things. I could probably ramble on, but i have to go now.

Not offended at all!....I got my AR5 & SN8 both from a toy store in Redlands Ca. and am proud of the fact!......When someone asks where I bought my equipment I tell them "At a toy store!" Then I lol!......................................................................................Dave

Well things have changed since I got my first telescope at the age of, well you don't need to know that, but it was in 1966. My father bought it for me for Christmas. It was a 60mm Sears refractor and it got me started in a life long love of Astronomy. Compared to the cheap plastic tripods I see today, it had a reasonably steady tripod made of wood, an accessory tray, and and Alt/Az mount with a slow motion control that helped one keep the object in view. The finder was little more than a toy at 6x24 but did the job, but the best part was the achromatic lens which was actually pretty darn good. The eyepieces were not bad being Kellner in design and not Ramsden, but I am fortunate in not being blind in that I actually used that extremely dangerous "Solar Filter" that screwed into the ocular. It had a good Moon Filter though. After about two years my father picked up an equatorial mount at a garage sale and we cleaned it and mounted my 60mm on it. It had no motor drive but the slow motion controls made viewing a pleasure. Sure the images were small, but they were clear and I had years of enjoyment using my little 60mm. Using my paper boy income I bought better eyepieces and used an adapter for the 1/4 size since the old eyepieces were .965. I also bought a better finder as well. I always wanted to grind my own mirror but never got around to it. Later on with adulthood and a larger income I graduated to an 8" Newtonian, a 4" Meade refractor, a C-90, and now a C-6.  I gave that old scope away to a young lad who loved it.

The "trash" moniker attached to some of these things sold today I think is rather more deserved than then. My chief gripe being the flimsy mounts that can detract from the joy of viewing. Generally I think most of these starter scopes come with Kellner or better eyepieces, not the old Huygens and Ramsdens that most of you would cringe at, and nicer finders and "goodies". A 60 mm refractor  is still a great way to get in on this journey and to those of you pining away wishing for something bigger as aperature fever mounts, well remember, you can see just about everything that larger scopes see its only going to be smaller. Sounds like those little refractors have an audience today and will have for awhile yet.

Thanks for the thread. Brought back some nice memories.

 hahaha...the question should read "who HASN'T owned a department store telescope". Heck, I've had 2 of them. You would have thought I would have learned after the first one.....

In all truthfulness, the original one I owned was my brother's that my parents gave him for Christmas (1979 I think). I got hold of it after he sort of got out of astronomy. Truth be told it was a Sears brand 50mm F/12 refractor with a sun projector screen on it. I have since threw the scope out.  While attaching a finderscope I had to drill through the scope to mount it. It was thick metal for such a small scope. I had to force the drill onto (like a dummy) and ended up putting my whole body weight on the tube and it dented pretty badly. I also broke a collar inside that controlled the inside diameter size (affected the focal ratio I guess). After that the views were never quite as nice. Just smudgy and crappy looking. Truth is, it gave decent views up to 150x. That's what started me into this field. The mount killed it though. Absolutly the cheapest piece of junk. It was a MIRACLE to finally find Saturn or Jupiter in that thing at 100x.

I guess that's why I have so much patience with a non motorized scope with an LPI attached...