Just got next weeks brochure today in Aldi, and I'm just passing this on. I can't seem to find any pictures of it on their website - its even ommitted actually, so it could be provisional at time of printing of the brochures.

Here are the specs:
76mm spherical mirror (F 9.2) 700mm focal length
6 X 25mm Finder
3 X 31.7mm (1.25") eyepieces - 20mm, 12.5mm, and 4mm
262X Max magnification
Full length aluminium tripod with accessory tray.
Black/dark grey colour tube, on altazimuth mount (left-right, up-down)
2 space maps and CD ROM astronomical guide
Instruction manual
Complete in smart carry case.

Price: €59.99 (€64.99 last year)

Personally, I wouldn't buy it, there isn't even a hint of a brand name. I am waiting for the 70mm refractors in Lidl (hopefully end of next month).

BUT, as far as a starting scope for a child, or even as a guide scope on a larger instrument, I wold say its a good bargain.

But I would recommend ditching the eyepieces in this one, and buying branded 1.25" eyepieces. Thats what I did with the Lidl refractor, and its a fantastic instrument.


Cheers,

Seanie.

Whooa, slow down there, a 76mm "mirror" ??

Now if that was a refractor, I'd say no problem, go for it, but I've never seen a reflector that small, anyone ever used one that size before ?
The smallest I've seen is a 4 inch (100mm), the secondary must be tiny.

Just got next weeks brochure today in Aldi, and I'm just passing this on. I can't seem to find any pictures of it on their website - its even ommitted actually, so it could be provisional at time of printing of the brochures.Seanie.

Seanie,

I wouldn't recommend this scope to anyone. Many years ago, I started off with a 76mm Tasco reflector, which sounds just like this scope (except for a few modern additions such as the CD and maps) and it really was a typical junkscope. I got rid of it after a few very disappointing months and bought an 8-inch Dob. 76mm is way too small for a reflector, especially with a crap mirror. It will put people off astronomy. 4.5 inches is the smallest reflector which should be considered.

Gordon

I had the same experience as Gordon. My wife bought me a Tasco reflector in Argos as a present years ago. It was a pretty useless scope, but I still have fond memories of looking at the Moon through it. That was all it was any good for though. Planets looked muck through it, and deep-sky objects were totally formless. At the moment it's sitting in the Physics lab in school so that the teacher can show the kids what a telescope looks like, if not what things look like through it!

I was interested enough to move on to the LX90, but many others might just be put off. I certainly wouldn't buy one for anyone.

Just in case Mrs Culleton reads this: I love you Honey and it was a great gift and I still treasure it almost as much as I treasure you! :wink:

Hhmmm... interesting, Shane and Gordon... oh, and Dave!

I got a 3" Tasco reflector from Santa many moons ago, and it still works fine. Today, minus the tripod and mount, the OTA goes well on my 8". Granted, age is going to force me to consider getting the mirror re-silvered soon.

I remember my first view of Saturn, the Orion Nebula, Jupiter's moons, and some great views of the Moon with it. I for one would not knock the 3" reflector on the head!


Seanie.

2 space maps and CD ROM astronomical guide

if it was bundled with, say, Rukl's atlas and Starry Night Pro then gimme ten!!! :wink:

John

There's a picture of it on the ALDI ad in the current edition of the RTE Guide.


Spaceboy

Hhmmm... interesting, Shane and Gordon... oh, and Dave!

I got a 3" Tasco reflector from Santa many moons ago, and it still works fine. Today, minus the tripod and mount, the OTA goes well on my 8". Granted, age is going to force me to consider getting the mirror re-silvered soon.

I remember my first view of Saturn, the Orion Nebula, Jupiter's moons, and some great views of the Moon with it. I for one would not knock the 3" reflector on the head!


Seanie.

Fair enough Seanie, the main thing is that you were happy with it.
My first scope was a 60mm eq tasco F15 refractor back in the 80s, the moon was great at the time, the planets were interesting, I remember eventually finding M13 and M57 through it, serious imagination was required.
My residing memory of this scope was when the 20mm eyepieces main glass element fell out of the eyepiece onto concrete where it chipped very badly, 4 days before the Aug17 1989 lunar eclipse, I was like a lunatic !!

I eventually had the eyepiece repaired, I rutinely have my revenge on it by using it with the 4" celestron for solar projection, as the eyeopiece is made mainly of black plastic, its covered in black melt marks and warpings. :twisted: :twisted: but it still works as the lenses are actually glass !
(if you place the sun near the edge of the field of view, you end up melting the casing !!)

The only other eyepiece supplied was a 4mm piece of crap, it was so small that one of my friends commented that you''d need the eyes of a smurf to look through it ,

Then I borrowed the clubs 12" dob in 1991. and that was the end of that.

Dave wrote:

My first scope was a 60mm eq tasco F15 refractor back in the 80s, the moon was great at the time, the planets were interesting, I remember eventually finding M13 and M57 through it, serious imagination was required.

Dave,

It's quite amazing the number of us who started off with small Tasco telescopes. While I don't have fond memories of the views through mine (other than the Moon, which in reality looks good through any telescope), it did bring me back into astronomy after a couple of decades of observing abstinence since my teens. I had a little refractor then, which I wish I'd kept.

Seanie appears to have a landed a good 'un with his 3" reflector but most are very poor, on shaky mounts and supplied with one acceptable eyepiece (usually a cheap 20mm Kellner), two unusable higher power eyepieces eyepieces (usually Ramsden or Huygenian) and a plastic Barlow. Virtually all small reflectors up to 4.5" have spherical mirrors but I'm hearing very good things from experienced amateurs about Orion's 4.5" StarBlast, which is providing excellent views for its size, the reason being it has a parabolic mirror, and it comes with two Orion Explorer eyepieces.

Gordon

It's quite amazing the number of us who started off with small Tasco telescopes.

Amazing doesnt describe it, I remember looking at Saturn through it for the first time and then looking at the voyager 2 image of Saturn on the box, I was not amused!

It's quite amazing the number of us who started off with small Tasco telescopes.

Amazing doesnt describe it, I remember looking at Saturn through it for the first time and then looking at the voyager 2 image of Saturn on the box, I was not amused!

Dave,

I think Voyager 2 may have had a slight advantage over your wee Tasco!

Santa brought me a 60mm Tasco refractor a couple of years ago (bless him, he meant well!) and even though I would not class it as a quality instrument, I too got my first views of other worlds with it. My first live views of the rings of Saturn, the moons of Jupiter and close views of the surface of the moon were all seen through it. In truth, it was what got me started down the astronomy route! Nowadays I stick to my 10 x 50 binos and rarely (never if I'm honest!) use it. However, I'm still grateful that it gave me the interest to look up to the skys!

I still have the 60mm tasco, in fact I use the eq mount and tripod for the 4" celestron,
I just remembered that my first scope was actually a 30x30 collapsable scope on a tiny tripod, whose name escapes me, I got it when I was 6.

A few years later I concluded that the inside of the lens was dirty, I couldn't get the lens off, so what did I do ??
Out came the hacksaw and I cut off the lens, gave it a good clean and duct-taped it back on, hows that for DIY.

Try that on the 12" and see what happens! :wink:

Dave,
I thnk you have just tainted your reputation! God knows what else this guy has done to his other scopes!

Remember he said he took apart the wormgear box to clean the gears??? and I think that was on his 8" Meade?

Dave,
I thnk you have just tainted your reputation! God knows what else this guy has done to his other scopes!

Remember he said he took apart the wormgear box to clean the gears??? and I think that was on his 8" Meade?

haha I was only 9 when I did that. The gear box still works, that was on a 12" Meade, it was badly siezed.
I've made verious repairs to those horrible network/telephone connectors and cables on a number of scopes.
I also repaired an electronic board of a LX90 when the owner inadvertantly attached it to a car battery with the polarity reversed !!
Only last week I took apart the focuser on the LX, and made some slight mods to the Peterson focuser upgrade, now i can feel the tension of the mirror cell spring, as smooth as ice !

And after all that... remind me NOT to ask you to void any of my warranties!

:twisted:



Seanie.

I wouldn't touch someones elses scope if was in warrenty,
but I'd rather help out those in the club who cant use their
scope because they blew the hell out of it, damaged it or
dont know how to use it.

you learn by doing.... :wink:

blew the hell out of it

Dave, what exactly do members of Shannonside do with their telescopes?

blew the hell out of it

Dave, what exactly do members of Shannonside do with their telescopes?

Getting polarity wrong is a pretty simple thing to do with a car battery, try it sometime :wink: :wink:

Anyway, top end this off topic banter,
Are Lidl re-releaseing the 70 mm refractor they had before in the next few weeks ??

Are Lidl re-releaseing the 70 mm refractor they had before in the next few weeks ??

They should be. I bought mine on December 5th last year, and they are usually within a week of the previous years date.

Send them an email perhaps and find out?

Seanie.