Used Telescopes: How To Buy Your First One And Fix It Like New!

Don't buy a new telescope! In this video, I'll show you how to buy a used or broken telescope and fix it up. I'm here to show you how to score a cheap used telescope and fix it up like new! In this video, I'll give you expert tips on what to look for when buying a used telescope, as well as show you how to refurbish and repair any broken parts. And by the way, regarding the finished telescope, it's been great on the Moon and the Orion Nebula. It didn't work well on Venus and I haven't had a chance to try the other planets.
#used #telescope #repair
/// AMAZON AFFILIATE LINKS (Note: I earn a small commission from these links) ///
Gskyer 90mm by 600mm telescope: amzn.to/3KTLl5X
The Best Smartphone Adapter Money Can Buy: amzn.to/3MYYnBF
Best book for new astronomers: "Turn Left At Orion": amzn.to/3PDxLo4
A 5" Cabinet Handle for your hoops: amzn.to/3LgE3uA
Best Value Set Of Upgraded Eyepieces: amzn.to/3Y7MYmn
Best Overall Red Dot Finder: amzn.to/3UQVPJr
Economy Smartphone adapter: amzn.to/3WfKS2e
Bluetooth shutter button: amzn.to/3OBpW1i (prices have risen)
CHEAP 8 inch Dobsonian Telescope: amzn.to/49TH12l
NICE 8 inch Dobsonian Telescope: amzn.to/4bbxIuU
RED HOPE Adventure Scifi Novel Series:
Kindle Edition: amzn.to/49O9bud
Paperback: amzn.to/4aPRc7Y
Audiobook: amzn.to/3WhhXOw
*** My new SciFi short story prequel, right here on KZbin ***
kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKulZaGjYpmWgpY
//MY OTHER RELATED TELESCOPE VIDEOS:
1) Restoring a destroyed telescope: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4CagXt3iqlsbKs
2) Restoring one of Orion's largest Dobsonians: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gnnMh4eZic2qjZo
3) Fixing telescope cross-hairs: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eXy3c56hlraEpNk
4) Detailed video for cleaning your telescope mirror: kzbin.info/www/bejne/raXGZmZ4p8RsbMk
5) How to attach a smartphone to any telescope: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eX68kqONm718m7M
6) Build a cheap "no-brainer" adjustable counterweight: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fnLFqnenj9Frabs
KZbin NOTES:
1) This video complies with the KZbin Community Guidelines and Terms of Service.
2) Soundtracks used with permission from my video editing suite, Camtasia
3) All products shown were purchased by me with my own money.
4) This video does not contain any controversial subjects, children, offensive material or language.
#buyused #broken #DIY #restoration #telescope #gskyer #reflector
Questions answered:
1) How do I buy a used telescope?
2) Is it safe to buy a used telescope?
3) What should you look out for with used telescopes?
4) What kind of eyepieces are there?
5) How do I restore a telescope?
6) How do I fix a telescope?
7) How do I buy a cheap telescope?
8) How do I save money on a telescope?
9) Gskyer telescope review
*******
0:00 Introduction
0:21 Choosing A Telescope
4:04 FIRST LAW OF BUYING USED: Don't believe the description
5:30 SECOND LAW OF BUYING USED: The Importance Of A Dust Cap
11:22 MISSING/BROKEN PARTS LEVEL 1: Replace With Used Parts
18:25 MISSING/BROKEN PARTS LEVEL 2: Improvise/3D Print
24:33 Odd Last Minute Fixes (Viewfinder)
30:58 BONUS! Let's add a pro handle

[@craigsawyer6453]

I purchased a "telescope" from Goodwill just so I could get the tripod. There was nothing usable about the scope, just a dented tube with a chipped objective. The tripod was in poor shape mechanically, had rust, paint pealing, a missing nut and washer, as well as gum stuck to it in several place. A good restoration later and that beauty became the upgrade my very first telescope, from the early 70's, was desperately needing.

[@reflactor]

Congratulations. Be careful though because restoring old telescopes can be addictive!

[@craigsawyer6453]

@@reflactor I sure hope so! The creative process is almost as fun as viewing. Great content on your channel. Thank you for the inspiration.

[@conchobar]

We are in a great period for used Telescopes. Tons of telescopes were purchased on a whim during the lockdowns, so many of those have hit the used market and many more over the next 2-3 years. I bet you can find plenty of gently used Peloton bikes too 😂

[@reflactor]

I've been seeing a lot more Dobsonians popping up on the used markets.

[@joebass5163]

Ah, so all if my scopes purchased since November 2022 have been used. Orion 100 f/4 tabletop newt, Orion 76 f/9 eq newt, Starhopper 8 f/6 dob, SV nighthawk II 80 f/6, Meade 4504 eq newt, Sears Towa 60 f/15 eq, Tasco 999VR 60 f/5, Celestron C102HD eq. I need to stop watching Ed Ting and Reflactor channel 😂

[@reflactor]

That's an impressive collection! I think Ed Ting has about 10x more telescopes that either of us, lol. Thanks for watching. :)

[@citizengkar7824]

@ 30:46 Sorry: I did have a cackle. As a plumber, for over 40 years, I think I've got a permanent crease, on my crown, from collecting numerous underhouse floor joists, etc.. Know how you must have felt. People in large, demographic countrys are so lucky, with your buying options, for most products -eg. silver stacking; or 2nd hand telescopes. Great video.

[@reflactor]

I feel your pain! My camera is mounted on a tripod that is bungie-corded to the ceiling. I hit the camera a lot, but I usually edit it out. Figured I would leave one in this time, lol. Thank you for watching.

[@gabrielrobles5288]

I have 4 telescopes and I only bought one new and even then it was a refurbished one. Love your video man.

[@reflactor]

Telescopes are like potato chips - you can't have just one! Mine have all been used except for the 6 inch Dob that I built in the 1990's. I still have that one, but I never use it anymore. Clear skies and good weather!

[@cityofbrologna]

@@reflactor would love to see a video of the 6 inch dob you built sometime. Clear skies!

[@reflactor]

@@cityofbrologna Thanks! That is on my list of to-do videos. :)

[@JoeJaguar]

glad you got a good one i got the almost same one but was bad. I noticed the3 finder backwards in the pic of the add. and when you where showing the focuser i was wondering why it was silver inside figured maybe the diagonal.

[@reflactor]

It's always a mystery what abuse these used telescopes had to go through. It works great on the Moon and the Orion Nebula (Trapezium looks great), but Venus looks bad. Haven't tried it on any other planets yet.

[@JoeJaguar]

@@reflactor yes it looked decent on that moon vid but could get worse as it gets too high power. Iam thinking Venus had lots glare & colour? However should be good on pleaides & the hyades maybe m31 stuff like that 85% of used scopes i have seen in this entry scopes have always had issues or missing parts The worst ones was almost all reflectors had the mirrors really dirty some had bad mirrors even after cleaning mirror was still foggy or hazy. I think they had it in a garage with alot cleaning agents/ chemicals that will leak out and over time kill the mirror

[@reflactor]

Venus was very prismy, with colors smeared out. Stars were surprisingly good. I know what you mean about the dirty mirrors - that's what drove me to mention the importance of the dust cap when searching for a used telescope. Just having a dust cap almost guarantees good optics.

[@strat1960s]

Love this video! Thank you.

[@reflactor]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. There's more to come! I just need to find some spare time. :)

[@dumpydalekobservatory]

I've gotta say pretty much everything I own is second hand, the telescope I use in the observatory is a RASA 11 on an old Celestron CGE pro which I rescued from a storm damaged observatory, the scope or astrograph as it's described I managed to get sorted out first as it had some issues. The mount was totally dead & you cannot get parts for them any more. I managed to source an after market kit for it & it works a treat. The observatory itself was a £155.00 bargain on eBay to!! Great video as always clear skies!! Oh & mind your head....

[@reflactor]

Very clever work to get that mount working again. I am astonished at how much you paid for the observatory - fantastic deal! Thanks for watching. Clear skies!

[@JANDLWOODWORKING]

Love all your videos!!!!!

[@reflactor]

Thank you for watching. This video was a lot of fun to make. Clear skies (and good weather)!

[@GCoyote06]

Saw your post on FB. Good video. I've encountered every used telescope problem you have talked about.

[@reflactor]

Thank you for watching. It's a lot of fun to fix them up. I wish I would've started making videos earlier because I've had some doozies of a mess to clean up - my used Orion XT8 Dobsonian started life as a flood victim. It took a long time to repair the mud and rust damage.

[@shadowbirdstudio9035]

Excellent video and channel. Recommending this as well.

[@reflactor]

Thank you for watching! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Fixing up old telescopes is my main hobby.

[@shadowbirdstudio9035]

I just did a Celestron 127EQ from Goodwill, $15 !!! Filthy and no eyepieces. Turned out great. I have an old MIJ Tasco refractor on the bench next.

[@jackieblank4249]

Great job with that Gysker fixer upper there John. Hope you get a lot of use out of it. I like the idea of having a smaller scope to use when one does not feel like dragging the big guns out. I want one.😊😊😊. Keep looking up and clear skys.

[@reflactor]

Since filming this, I bought a used Orion Starblast 4.5 Dobsonian. It is Orions' small Dob and to my amazement, the optics are pretty amazing compared even to this Gskyer. It's smaller too. I think I'm going to use this as the one I store in my car. Clear skies!

[@deepskymike767]

Another excellent video John. I’ve been thinking of purchasing a small refractor to just look at the moon or project the suns image and after watching this I’m heading to the classifieds. Keep up the great content. Clear skies. 🇬🇧

[@reflactor]

Thanks Mike! Glad you found it helpful. There's a treasure trove of affordable used telescopes out there - they just need a little attention, lol. This Gskyer 90mm turned out to be great for the Moon and Orion Nebula, but not Venus. I haven't tried it on Saturn or Jupiter yet. Clear skies and good weather!

[@entropytango5348]

I currently own 8 telescopes including Astro-Physics and Takahashi, all were purchased second hand. Watch out for sloppy focusers

[@reflactor]

Congrats, it sounds like you have found some terrific deals. Clear skies!

[@DavidMFChapman]

I find that used telescope sellers typically ask way too much, even for a lightly used instrument. They don’t appreciate that buyer has no warranty or any recourse if it’s a lemon. Once in a while I see a decent telescope for a decent price. My best purchase was $85 for a vintage Tasco 60 mm (back when they were good). It came in the original wooden case and had all the parts. I bought it out of curiosity, and now resides in a telescope museum.

[@reflactor]

I've seen prices all over the map. For example, I bought my 12" Dob for $250 via the Facebook Marketplace. I had to get it recoated for $175, but that was still a pretty good deal. When I sell a telescope, I often throw in extras and give them my phone number so they can call me with questions. This is especially true if I sense they are brand new to the hobby. Question: There is telescope museum? Please tell me about this! :)

[@BariumCobaltNitrog3n]

I found some elliptical front surface mirrors (25x75mm and up) on Edmund Scientific in the clearance section for $4, also all the elements for a nice eyepiece or Barlow for about $25 and many over 50mm, super cheap if you want to rebuild a 2" EP. I made a 4.25" reflector out of paper wrapped in fiberglass, a 10x spotting scope for $12 at Big 5 and a little focuser from an old refractor, but I'll be using it for astro so yeah. I found the main mirror in the dumpster behind our applied optics department, 4.25" 16" FL

[@reflactor]

Sounds like you have had some fun projects to work on. Fantastic dumpster finds!

[@BariumCobaltNitrog3n]

@@reflactor Right? I live near Chabot space and science center in the bay area and they have a free telescope building program. Grind your own 10 or 12" mirror, plus they have all the lasers and computers to dial things in. I love your idea of buying used and fixing up!

[@reflactor]

@@BariumCobaltNitrog3n Cool! Was that a relic of the John Dobson work? I know he started all of his fun telescope stuff in the bay area. I actually lived in the bay area for a year and had no clue about the San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers club or that John Dobson was still active in the telescope making hobby (I'd hand-built a Dobsonian five years earlier). Otherwise, I would've tried to get his autograph on my Dobsonian!

[@mycarolinaskies]

Ive got helpful tip for aiding purchase of GOTO telescopes in the daytime. Planetarium apps on phones like Stellarium have the ability to show where a target is located. By using this feature the phone screen can be held next to the optical tube and you can see whether the GOTO is actually performing reasonably close to intended targets.

[@reflactor]

That's an excellent idea!

[@k.h.1587]

First time I have heard tube rings called hoops

[@williammclean3870]

I used to repair my cross hairs on my telescopic gun sights using thick super glue, put a drop on one edge and stretch it across the eyepiece.

[@reflactor]

That's one of the most clever solutions I've heard. Many people recommend fine spider web too.

[@brandtdales]

I know that Black Widow web is used in high end Rifle Scopes.

[@reflactor]

Thank you for the info. Since I posted my special video on fixing cross-hairs, I've heard some interesting thread sources, but spider web seems to be the most effective from what I'm told. Clear skies!

[@vicamaral]

Last year bought brand new 127 triplet ed glass, the focuser wouldn't rotate, the front lens were loose and wobbling ed glass the focuser draw tube wobbled, all because off shipping damages, so even new scopes needs fixing, great video keep them coming, ps i have the same toolbox bought back in 1979, got any spare draws stops, little metal clips? clear skies keep the videos coming.

[@reflactor]

Wow, your telescope had a rough ride for sure! Were you able to fix it all? I bought that toolbox used from a friend who upgraded to one twice that size - it's functional, but I don't have any spare parts unfortunately. Special trivia: The sound you hear in between scenes in the video is this toolbox drawer opening and closing.

[@buzmccullough7901]

I buy used computerized telescopes during the day. I do a fake star alignmentto and if the scope points at a star on my phone's planitarium software, I know it is working. I bought a scope from a person and explained how I was testing it And they exclaimed "There are stars up there during the day?"

[@reflactor]

Very clever. I use that trick when working on mine in the shop too. I've thought about finding a benchmark date/time and then drawing a few accurate stars on the walls of the shop for reference.

[@DavidMFChapman]

Jeeze, considering all you had to do, giving the guy $100 was extremely generous! That ‘scope was in a world of hurt. My typical line before even going is “I’ll give you $xxx if the telescope checks out. Be ready to walk away!

[@reflactor]

You have to understand that the pizza was getting cold and I didn't have much time, hahaha. I probably did overpay for it (the telescope, not the pizza). I'm still at a loss as to how these telescopes have such unique damage. For example, I don't understand why so many cross-hairs are broken in the finders.

[@samgrieg2542]

​@@reflactorkids probably stick their fingers down into the viewfinder tube to 'feel' cross hairs inside 😅 that's my guess how they get broken

[@MrRayopt]

Did you make any videos showing how to repair the electronic alt/az mounts ? I've got a DS90 refractor and don't know how to bring it to life. Thanks

[@reflactor]

My hour long Dob restoration dealt with broken encoder ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4CagXt3iqlsbKs ) and I had one that I had to take apart to fix a loose mirror: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXrdmqSdjcmcf9k

[@MrRayopt]

@@reflactor I'm sorry, I mean just the drive on a refractor mount. Thank you

[@AstrophotographyUnderMSSkies]

Have you ever or have you heard of anyone replacing lower cost, low quality optics in a cheaper beginniner scope for better quality? I've got a Hexeum 80x600mm "beginner scope" and I've been pondering the idea to see if I could improve the quality of it.

[@reflactor]

That's an interesting question. I've never heard of that happening, but it's certainly possible. You'd have to get a matching set of lenses with a focal length similar to the originals. I think it would likely be so expensive that you'd be better off buying a more expensive one.

[@ricardohdz1987]

Are those telescopes any good? I see lots of them all the time for sale. Also wanted to mention, i also bought a used telescope during the craziness of the pandemic, 8 inch dobsonian, think i got it for about $120, i had no idea what to look for, but if you are good with tools and especially after watching some of your videos i was able to fix it, it was missing one of the collimation screws for the primary mirror, no view finder, just one eye piece, the base wasn’t as smooth as i would like, i had to clean the primary mirror, and it was probably never collimate it, i took some time fixing it, but now it’s basically like a brand new telescope for a fraction of the price. Definitely love watching your videos, it just took me a couple of days to actually watch it since it was a little bit long and wanted to watch it with no interruptions, thanks for the info

[@reflactor]

This Gskyer is great for the Moon and Orion Nebula, but not so good for Venus. I haven't used it on any other planets yet though. Congrats on getting an 8 inch Dob and getting it so cheap. The 8 inch Dob is the one I always recommend - it's a "forever" telescope because it's the sweet spot in aperture, portability and price. Thanks for watching. I actually try to make shorter videos, but this one kindof got away from me, lol.

[@glhmedic]

Do you think you could do a video on improving the celestron 127eq power seeker? I have one that I’m trying to make work and would like some new ideas. Before anyone comments I have a 8 inch dobsonian zhumell and I’m getting a gskyer 90 mm just waiting for it to be delivered. I know the 127 has a lot of well deserved hate and many ppl tell me to get rid of it I can’t sell or give it as it is known as a hobby killer.

[@reflactor]

Your wish is my command! I'm actually working on refurbishing a used 127eq not only back to new, but better than new. It's also a documentary, but I can't say too much about that yet.. So far it's been a lot of fun, but it's by far becoming the most involved and time-consuming project I've ever worked on. I look forward to sharing it!

[@glhmedic]

@@reflactor awesome! Looking forward to it.

[@michaelcolford6817]

And what does Mrs. Refractor think of this new purchase?

[@reflactor]

Hahaha, no comment!

[@factChecker01]

What do you think about the Astronomical Society as a source of information or used telescopes?

[@reflactor]

That's a fair point - please keep in mind that much of my channel here revolves around restoring or fixing up old/broken equipment. I suspect that any equipment purchased from members of an astronomical society would already be in excellent condition.

[@factChecker01]

@@reflactor , Actually, I wasn't trying to make a point, just asking for your opinion. I have no experience with buying telescopes, new or used. My telescope repair ambitions do not go beyond watching your KZbin videos. (I'm a thinker, not a doer) 🙂

[@and3583]

Makes me wonder how that key came out

[@reflactor]

Good question. My guess is they tried to take it apart to fix something and didn't quite know how all the parts went back together?

[@edf2953]

It seems as if you purchased a real nice used telescope. Great idea putting the handle on the optical tube. Looks very impressive. As you suggest I think you found yourself a real nice travel telescope. Very informative and interesting video as well. Clear skies.

[@reflactor]

I now put those handles on top of any ringed telescopes that I buy. It makes them look great.

[@waynethebarber1095]

People always lie! They think what they have is absolutely the best and they're giving it away to you for nothing ..

[@reflactor]

That's possible, but I try to focus on the positive and hope is that they simply don't understand what they are selling (or that it's broken).

[@gabrielrobles5288]

Coconut sized eyepiece😂😂

[@reflactor]

Haha, it really is. To be honest, I'm almost too afraid to use it for fear of dropping it.

[@citylimitsphoto]

Enjoy this video. Nice to see a Charlotte's Web connection.

[@reflactor]

Thanks for watching!

[@cosaelperro1972]

not a single view of red hope?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ??????

[@reflactor]

I must've forgot!