Ages ago someone gave me a Bushnell Voyager 78-9675. It has sat in a box in my basement collecting dust for quite some time, so this weekend I thought I would dig it out and see if it was all in there. It is not. It is missing, at the very least, the cradle and the counterweight shaft, and various screws, and probably other bits, plus the dust cover was not really on it when I opened the box. Is there anything worthwhile I can do with this or should I call the recycler?
francopoli kleinbl00 and anyone else who has any ideas?
Edit: I'm not looking for telescope buying advice (yet). I have a crusty but serviceable Meade that I am still trying to figure out how to work and once I get that sorted, then I will refer back to purchasing advice, but will ask again because I am sure you will have updates.
I just wanted to know if this thing was useful in a non-buildable (by me) state for anything or if maybe my local observatory could repair it easily and let little kids mess with it. I mean, if it wasn't missing the counterweight shaft I could probably "engineer" it back together myself with some bits from the hardware store and give it to my cousin for his son or something.
Thanks, francopoli, but not looking to buy at the moment. Just wanting to know if this thing is destined for anything other than a scrap heap. I'll hit you guys up again for purchasing advice once I get to a point where I am comfortable using the other telescope someone gave me that actually does (mostly) work and is a Meade. I edited the original post for clarity. I do have a question, any tips on how to reprogram an old Meade Autostar when you have no idea what it wants you to point it at and the little plastic viewfinder is cracked off? LOL - I should probably fix that first. Another question (should not have clicked that link!) what's the difference between the 100mm and the 127mm Mak-Cassegrain scopes, just curious as I might, uh, give that Meade to someone and get me a shiny new something, and if the 127mm is a big difference for the extra $80 then it's worthwhile to do that. What's the benefit of the EQ3 mount over the twilight nano, as I see the 127mm comes with that option for an extra $50.
The viewfinder is gonna be pretty crucial. It's likely wanting you to point it at Polaris - what you're doing is basically "zeroing" the scope. I'm not imagining the technology has shifted too much; you can probably find a manual online with a little hunting and if not, it might be worth calling Meade or a Meade dealer. As to the rest of it I'm not going to pretend I have half as good an idea as F.
So... First off, Bushnell optics aren't great. Even for cheap binoculars they're not really the ones you want. And your Voyager isn't even a refractor - it's a tiny icky little reflector. If it were brand new, sitting there waiting for you to stare through it, you would get some marginal views of the moon, maybe three or four Galilean moons, maybe a crescent Venus... but it would be a frustrating and unrewarding process. And then there's the problem of it being missing who knows what. The used market on new-in-box never-used Bushnell is 25-30% original cost, and that there is maybe a $250 scope. So it's not worth anything from a sales standpoint. And even if you were the most avid wannabe astronomer out there, I would strongly discourage you from attempting to buttress your hobby via a crappy 4" bushnell reflector. Maaaan are those things frustrating to work with. I tried real hard to talk my sister-in-law out of burdening her daughter with one. She really wanted a scope. Within a year she'd given up on astronomy. You can now buy a bloody 90mm Meade MCT with hunt'n'peck for less than $300. If you actually wanna look through the thing, the brands you're looking for are Meade, Celestron and to a lesser extent, Orion. If you stumble across a Televue, thank them politely, take it, tuck it away out of sight and then immediately let francopoli know. He'll take the mangy garbage off your hands before it gets its cheap scummyness all over you too much.
Thanks, kb, but not looking to buy at the moment. Just wanting to know if this thing is destined for anything other than a scrap heap. I'll hit you guys up again for purchasing advice once I get to a point where I am comfortable using the other telescope someone gave me that actually does (mostly) work and is a Meade. I edited the post for clarity.