Mark's right on passing on the Galileo. And the loaner scopes are a good idea if you want to start working with a real scope.
Every now and then Frys has a special on binoculars, usually at the Sunnyvale and SJ one across from the Merc - last time I was in the Sunnyvale Frys, they had Celestron 7x50 binoculars under $40 and excellent quality - lightweight and widefield. It allows a 7mm exit pupil on the eye, which is the max you can take, so it works perfectly.
I really like binoculars for just looking around at my favorite open clusters.
Lynne.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: sf-bay-tac-bounces@No-Spam [mailto:sf-bay-tac-bounces@No-Spam]On
> Behalf Of John R Pierce
> Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2003 11:33 AM
> To: The Astronomy Connection
> Subject: Re: [TAC] Galileo telescope.
>
>
> Gavin wrote:
>
> > Hi All,
> >
> > So I am a newbie getting into astromony, i've read the FAQ on start-up
> > telescopes and all that. Unfortunately im on a very limited
> budget. I was
> > wondering what you all think about the Galileo 1000mmmx118mm reflector
> > telescope. HSN has a good deal on it to make it affordable via payments.
> > $200 for that telescope, would it be a decent starter
> telescope? Payments
> > are just $50 a month, which makes it affordable to me. =D
>
> Those 4.5" (118mm) reflectors are generally of such poor quality as it
> be nearly useless. Double that sentiment for anything sold through mass
> market channels such as a department store or HSN.
>
> Orion Telescopes here in the SF Bay Area sells a decent little 4.5"
> Newton on an EQ mount for $150 (special at the moment)
> http://www.telescope.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=38
1&itemType=PRODUCT
Frankly, I think you'd be better off with a pair of decent full sized
7x50 binoculars...
save your $50/month for a few months, and get a 'dobson' reflector of
6-8" when you can afford it...
http://www.telescope.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=14854&itemType=PRODUCT
http://www.telescope.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=14855&itemType=PRODUCT