Hello, first I want to thank everyone for their opinions. Ive been researching for 2 months on which scope to purchase. Yes, I have binoculars and attended a local astronomy club. I had pretty much settled on the Orion Skyquest XT8 8" Dobsonian until last night. I saw references of the Sky-Watcher. After some research it appears that it is made by the same company as the XT8 but is actually made a little better. The best price I found on the XT8 was $480 + $30 shipping.
Luckily I found WWW.Khanscope.com which is in Canada.I called them this morning and found a very informed and nice person on the other end. I ended up ordering an 8" f6 Dob with a 2" focuser, a 9x50 finderscope with dovetail bracket,2- 1.25" plossl eyepieces (25mm + 10mm),1-barlow lens, silicon dioxide coated mirror,and a 2 year warranty for $347 + $42 insured shipping. I am supposed to receive it by the 20th and will let you all know how it works out. Just to let you know, the same package with 6" scope is about $250. Thanks again

• Good Luck with it - bobsal - December 13, 2001 - 21:34 UTC