[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by fireant911

The timing of this thread is great. We live far out in the country and I often go out at night and simply marvel at what I see in the sky above. Earlier this week, I started looking for a decent telescope for someone that wants to look closer at some of the objects in the sky without spending much cash. I did a little research and the reflector-type scopes came up as the best bang-for-the-buck. I have narrowed my search down to these two inexpensive models. What say the experts here? Are these two choices okay for novice's purchase if $200 is my limit?

https://www.amazon.com/Orion-StarBlast-Equatorial-Reflector-Telescope/dp/B06XSM4R74/ref=dp_ob_title_ce?dpID=41geR02qr%252BL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=detail

https://www.amazon.com/Celestron-31042-AstroMaster-Reflector-Telescope/dp/B000MLL6R8/ref=nsa_prb_sm_n_au_dka_US_pr_prb_0_0?adId=B000MLL 6R8&creativeASIN=B000MLL6R8&linkId=af6c99962dc3f544dabbc09b3a576f21&tag=opticsden-20&linkCode=w48&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.opticsden.com%2Fbest-telescopes%2F&slotNum=0&imprToken=2ecoyRhLQaoEDp1nK6gmdw

I've taught hundreds of people about the sky, about telescopes, and about how to start doing it yourself.
Number 1 rule is, if your equipment is too hard to use, you won't use it. Period. Too complex, too heavy, too expensive, too time consuming, too much work getting set up, etc. If it becomes work to go spend an hour looking at the sky, then you will never do it again.
Beginners need something that gives a huge amount of return for any effort. As you get more and more into it, you will deal with more effort for incrimentally smaller and smaller returns.

The easiest way to start checking out the sky is a good pair of 7x50 binoculars, and a decent star chart (although, the phone based star charts are impressive these days...).
The second best option is a 6 inch dobsonian style. It will take the average new amateur 2+ years to run out of stuff that a 6 inch scope can see. At that point, you'll be advanced enough to know what you're future plans are. Maybe, go with an 8 inch dobsonian if you plan on primarily spending time in your own backyard. If you're going to travel at all (down the street, or drive outside of town) then stick with the 6 inch.

As for 6 inch dobs, any brand is pretty equal (Meade, Celestron, Orion).

After a bit of time, maybe add on some digital setting circles, which will let you start to hunt down things that are harder to find. I wouldn't start with them though.