My first scope was a 60mm Tasco refractor on an equatorial mount w/ wooden tripod back in 1987. It was of low cost and also came with 2 or 3 eyepieces, barlow and solar screen. The mount was pretty stable, lightweight and highly portable with a wooden tripod. The scope even came with a poster of the Halley comet path...even though it was a year after its return. Well, the lens looked like it was made of the same material as the optical tube...only transparent. The 4mm eyepiece had a lens diameter that can only be seen through a microscope. The plastic focuser was very smooth and the finderscope was a nice decoration. Enough talk about the pros... From what I can recall, Jupiter had more of a yellowish color than today and the moon's craters were sharply defined. I loved cranking the power up to 450X. The images were somewhat blurry (when the object was in the field of view!), but it was the fun that counted. There was also less light pollution in my area at the time, and to be honest, I can not remember atmosphere turbulence affecting the image...even when I got my 6" Criterion within a year later. Maybe its because my eyes were not trained w/ the experience. All in all, I was very satistfied w/ the scope at the time, had alot of fun, and enjoyed its views that brought me into this wonderful hobbie.
Rob
Rob