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comment by kleinbl00
kleinbl00  ·  2040 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: What to do with a telescope that is missing parts?

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.





Dala  ·  2040 days ago  ·  link  ·  

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.