Advise: New telescope for Dad

Hi All!

I need some advise here. I want to get a telescope for my dad on christmas but I don't know what model will suit him best. He's always been interested in science and astronomy, but never has had a chance to get a telescope. His home is located in a light polluted area, so I want something with some light gathering power. I myself own a 4 inch achro, and living in a big city I find it nice, but a little bit underpowered because all the light pollution.

My dad is turning 65, so I need to get him something easy to setup and carry inside and outside his house. I was thinking on getting him a 6 or 8 inch dob (Maybe an Orion or Hardin). Do you guys think it's a good idea, or are there any other models I should consider?

Thanks!

The 8" or the 10" DOB by either company would be a great starter scope, 6" is a little small.. I think the Orion with the ability to add DSC easily would be my choice. Only $150 and you have a "Push-To" scope.
Floyd

You might want to base your decision upon an aperture to weight ratio. Is your dad robust enough to schlepp an 8 or 10 inch dob from wherever he stores it to wherever he uses it? If you think it might be a problem, get him the 6" Orion, which only weighs 34 pounds, assembled. And unless you order the optional digital setting circles to cope with the light pollution, he'll probably wind up using the scope mostly for looking at the moon, planets, and bright clusters, which the 6" F/8 system is ideal for. Just my .02

Personally, I am a great fan of the 8" f/6 dob (especially with a 2" focuser). A 10" will certainly show more, though, but pay attention to the weight of the two sizes whatever supplier you choose. 10" production dobs are generally substantially heavier than 8" ones (in the case of Discovery it's more than double). Cost is pretty much the same. The nature of your Dad's moving and set up environment, will likely make the choice easy.

Ya, 6" dob. Get the Prion, so you can add the hand controller now/later if it becomes an issue. if you have extra cash, just get a nicer eyepiece set. It's so light, and so simple, that it'll be used all the time.