This article is in no way meant make you feel bad nor is it intended to insult those who have Tasco (or similar) telescopes. Also, a few Tasco scopes actually come with eyepieces that are sensible for the scope!!! I even have seen some Meade 4.5" Newtonian scopes that have 2" focusers! This is actually overkill for a scope in this class, because most 2" eyepieces cost more than the entire Meade 4.5" scope. The improvements noted include 1.25" diameter eyepieces and 1.25" drawtubes. On the positive side, I have seen some Tasco scopes in the last year or so that have signs of improvement over the typical Tasco (do note that the majority of the Tasco scopes are still unchanged). Such scopes usually provide a cheaper mounting, a cheaper, smaller finderscope, and the ever present battery of worthless H20, H12.5 and SR4mm eyepieces, and worst of all, they include a 2x or 3x barlow that isn't even useful as a doorstop! Even Meade (another manufacturer of decent scopes) now markets a large number of scopes which are "consumerized" versions of their better scopes. If I see hints of Tasco quality entering into Celestron products, I will cease to recommend Celestron products.īecause of this merger, it is more difficult to recommend a Celestron telescope (we're talking entry level scopes here) over a Tasco (or similar low end scope) because the Celestron entry level scopes may in fact now be Tasco scopes! The entry level telescope market has gone in so many different directions in the last few years. In any event, I for one will now look at Celestron with a much more critical eye.
Celestron has a long history of making quality products, especially the US made scopes (which include the SCTs they are famous for). Tasco has a reputation of making near fraudulent performance claims for many of their telescopes, and Tasco scopes are for the most part among the most cheaply made scopes available. I do not know the details of this merger but it is amazing to me that a company like Celestron would want to be even remotely associated with Tasco.
For one, Tasco (a marketer of telescopes that are generally considered the bottom of the barrel) has acquired Celestron (a company that has a reputation for making some good to excellent telescopes). There have been some changes in the low end telescope market. This is actually the better way to go, the downside is that the cost of the diagonal is about $35, something that you would not have to get if quality. Orion has dropped this line of eyepieces, so the only path is to get what is known as a "hybrid diagonal" (described below) and some good quality 1.25" eyepieces. Below in this article you will see that magnification is one of the least important factors to consider when purchasing a telescope!Īlso: Previously, I had recommended Orion (as a source for good quality replacement eyepieces in the.
Tasco continues to claim preposterous maximum magnifications for many of their scopes (Tasco does this because they know that most people equate magnification with the "power" of the scope). Many of the model numbers appear to be some combination of the lens (or mirror) diameter in millimeters, the focal length, and the maximum advertised magnification. Tasco markets a huge number of telescopes with all kinds of model numbers.
Although the change to 1.25" eyepieces on some scopes is a step in the right direction, this alone is not enough to make Tasco a recommended brand (in my opinion). However, the eyepieces supplied are still of generally low quality. For example, some of them now come with 1.25" (diameter) eyepieces. Some of the Tasco models have shown signs of improvement recently. Tasco scopes continue to be marketed widely however. Tasco filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, and Celestron has been "bought back" by some of the founders of Celestron.
#Tasco telescope 9s how to#
Updated Amateur Astronomer's Notebook Tasco Telescopes: Why they are to be avoided (and how to fix them up)
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