Lidl have a refractor telescope on sale on monday the 8th. www.lidl.ie/ie/index.nsf/pages/c.o.oow.20031208.p.Telescope

Before you all shout thats its another junkscope check out the reviews

www.easter.mersinet.co.uk/astro/skylux.html

to read the pages in German copy and past the address into babelfish.altavista.com/

Unfortunately it does not mention the aperature size so it is hard to judge and the language (especially the bolded bit about magnification) just screams TASCO and junk scope BUT if memory serves Lidel had a similar scope a few years back and even the Esteemed Terry Mosley was singing its priases and 70 quid is very little money anyhow so it could be worth the risk!

Bart B.

Technical data:
- Focal Length: 700mm
- Objective diameter: 70mm
Accessories:
- Eyepiece 20mm+4mm (35x + 175x)
- View-finder scope 6 x 30
- Star diagonal prism
- Aluminium tripod
- Equatorial mount
- Astronomy software and Star Navigator on CD

from the `further information` link

Cheers,
~Al

could be worth it for the mount alone if you've already got a decent short-tube refractor!

what the blazes is a specular refraction camera though??? :?

certainly could turn the scope itself into a dedicated white-light solar telescope too. Hmmm . . .

John Flannery,
SDAS

My views on these telescopes on another posting today
www.irishastronomy.org/boards/viewtopic.php?t=353
These comments relate to an earlier very good deal that Lidl had
Charles

The worse that could happen is that it gets used as a finderscope (yes, at f/10). :wink:

Anthony.

Well since I have absolutely no need for a scope like this I went out an bought one at lunchtime.

Looks good, easy to put together seems sturdy enough and the scope will fit on the LXD55 mount. Though too cloudy to put it to the test. They eyepieces look a little flimsy, though mabye I'm just used to the luxury of £99 eyepiece deals!

One curious thing... the software. Its actually from Meade and "May only be purchased with a Meade Instruments Product"... Nothing else to give clues to the scopes origin though.

Cheers,
~Al

Just a silly question from a beginner, is it possible to purchase additional eyepieces for this telescope, are eyepieces standard. :?:

Just a silly question from a beginner, is it possible to purchase additional eyepieces for this telescope, are eyepieces standard. :?:

Eyepieces come in two main sizes, 1.25" and 2". The most common size is 1.25". The Lidl telescope is 1.25" eyepiece size. So yes, the Lidl telescope will take any 1.25" eyepiece. :wink:

There's a smaller size as well, 0.925" (I think) - Don't worry about this one, it's mostly found on dept. store scopes.

Does Lidl count as a dept. store?

John.

The two eyepieces you get are actually fairly ok, though the 4mm one is a bit tedious to use. Managed to get the shadow on the rings of saturn last night with it though. just.

Someone mentioned that the celestron eyepiece/filter deal is being sold separately, if so that would make an ideal accessory pack for this scope.

Its sucks a bit at deep sky though, Orion nebula was only visible with averted vision last night (thoough there was an almost full moon to contend with), perhaps I'm just too used to a 10" mirror

Cheers,
~Al

Where in Ireland can you buy the celestron eyepiece/filter :?:

Where in Ireland can you buy the celestron eyepiece/filter :?:

Just so you know, you're not limited to just Celestron eyepieces for this scope. There are other eyepieces that are also excellent quality (Meade for example)

Try Andromeda Optics for a start: www.andromedaoptics.com Jimmy/Wally should be able to sort you out.

As far as I know, the celestron eyepiece kit (deal) is only available mail order from a limited selection of US suppliers, and it's quite difficult to get hold of! (This is the kit that you can only buy when you buy a Celestron scope at the same time, but some dealers are also offering it on its own)

John.

Sorry didnt mean to imply that Celestron were the only eyepieces. The ones I was using last night were the $99 Meade offer ones, Super Plossls (not that I know what a regular plossl is mind you!)

Astronomy and Space Ltd. are the Celestron dealers here who will be more than happy to seel you eyepieces. However I thought I should do a quick price comparison, p&p not included:

Celestron SMA eyepiece 25mm (1.25")
A&S : € 61.58
D.Hinds: EUR 34.25

Celestron NexStar Plössl Eyepieces 17mm (1.25")
A&S : € 93.33
D.Hinds : EUR 55.67

Eyepieces (well, all bits of glass for astronomy!) can be expensive, but the ones that come with the scope give magnification of 35X and 175X, thats enough for wide field views at 35x and planetary detail at 175x. So you may decide you don't need more. Perhaps a 2x barlow or a filter set might be a better first purchase? Others here can probably advise better on eyepieces.

Even with the set I have from meade I find I only use about half of them.

Cheers,
~Al

Eyepieces (well, all bits of glass for astronomy!) can be expensive, but the ones that come with the scope give magnification of 35X and 175X, thats enough for wide field views at 35x and planetary detail at 175x. So you may decide you don't need more. Perhaps a 2x barlow or a filter set might be a better first purchase? Others here can probably advise better on eyepieces.

I'm not an eyepiece expert, but for a 70mm f/10 refractor I reckon;

10mm plossl = 70x (140x with barlow)
32mm plossl = 22x (44x with barlow)

So, two eyepieces and a barlow and you'll have 22x, 44x, 70x, and 140x magnification with good eye relief. With the 20mm that comes with it (to give 35x) you'd have a good range with these 3 eyepieces (from 22X to 140X)

Not too sure about the 4mm kellner that comes with the scope - Al said it was 'tedious'. But if you had the 10mm eyepiece and 2x barlow, that'd give you 140x, is more comfortable to use, and is just at the max recommended magnification for that aperture (175x would be pushing the optics on a 70mm achromatic)

Generally, a low power wide-field (32mm or 40mm), medium power (20mm), and high-medium (10mm) would be the recommended basic eyepieces. Add a barlow to that and double your fun. :wink:

John.

P.S. Pegasus, in case you're wondering about the terminology/calculations. The magnification given by any eyepiece is worked out like this: Magnification = Telescope focal length / Eyepiece focal length. The focal length of the Lidl is 700mm (70mm X f10). Eyepieces are normally quoted by their focal length (e.g. 32mm plossl means a 32mm focal length plossl type eyepiece)

So, stick a 32mm plossl in that lidl scope, and you'll get 700/32 = 22X magnification.

Other terms: 'Eye relief', how far from the eyepiece you have to hold your eye. At higher magnifications you might find your eyelashes brushing against the lens, that's 'poor' eye relief.

'Barlow': An additional lens/tube that is put into the telescope and you can insert the eyepiece into this. A barlow normally doubles the magnification. So, if you put that 32mm eyepiece into a barlow, you'll get 22 x 2 = 44X magnification.

Maximum magnification: Forget '800X magnification!!!!' :roll: , the max realistic magnification is about 2X the aperture. So for the lidl scope it's 2 X 70 = 140X

Wide-field: With the higher focal length eyepieces (32mm upwards) you get to see more of the sky, useful for nebula and ohter faint objects, but also useful for finding your way around. You try star-hopping to saturn at 140X and you'll know what I mean.

Does anyone know of any Lidl shops that still stock these 'scopes?

I went to Lucan a while back, but they just had the kiddie 'scopes - they had run out of these ones.

Thanks.