Tasco Galaxsee Telescope 675x4 1/2" Long Tube Reflector Telescope with EQ Mount

Rating:
Summary: Great telescope..bad information
Review: I recently bought this telescope on the night of a full moon,I liked the ease of putting it together.The telescope came with instructions on how to put it together however there was no guide what so ever for using the telescope.I had a terrible time getting to a Tasco web page to order a users guide or assessaries.The internet site said that they would be up and running in early 2001,however at the time of my writing this it is Sept.2001.The full moon was amazing through the telescope,I was able to see indivisual craters.Gave it 3 stars because of lack of a users guide and internet help site.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Choice!
Review: This is the first telescope I've actually owned, so I can't compare the quality to anything other than itself, but I don't think I could come close to the quality of this telescope anywhere else at this price! Even at it's lowest power(20 mm), I could see a white region on the planet Mars (polar ice caps). Although the image was very blurry, I blame this more on the angle at which I had to view the planet through the atmosphere. I have yet to test the telescope to my own personal expectations, the rings around Saturn, but I have a good idea that I will be able to see them at least faintly. The only disappointment is the lack of directions for using the dials to locate objects in the sky. THERE ARE NO DIRECTIONS FOR USING THIS TELESCOPE, only directions to assemble the tripod. I figured it out not knowing anything about telescopes, but it is easiest to just point it out there and start looking! I highly recommend PLANETARIUM for the palm pilot to use as a reference guide. .... Also, since this telescope is so powerful, you will constantly need to be adjusting to follow the object with the rotation of the Earth; it's really easy to do with the extended knobs. This tripod is able to take a motor mount, but I heard those cost almost as much as the telescope itself. ....Enjoy...