cuhulin, yes that skyscout looks like a fun gadget but there is no
mention of what kind of optics it has! for all i know it could be a zero
power dot sight like a telrad. they focus on its electronics and
database but leave out the most important info. if i spent $400 thinking
that i was buying a small scope and only got a zero power sighting
device i would be seriously ****ed!

Jim wrote:
cuhulin, yes that skyscout looks like a fun gadget but there is no
mention of what kind of optics it has! for all i know it could be a
zero power dot sight

yes, that's basically what it is, coupled to a GPS receiver and a data base.

if i spent $400 thinking that i was buying a small scope and only got
a zero power sighting device i would be seriously ****ed!

I would respectfully suggest that, in your example above, if someone
spent 400 bucks of their money without having a clue what they were
buying, forget being seriously ****ed, they would be seriously stupid
and deserve what they (don't) get. :-)

again, you are right. a guy should know what he is buying, that is why i
am surprised that the celestron site gives absolutely no information on
what the unit actually is. who would buy it for $400 on the info given?
its not mentioned what the aperture is or what the magnification is if
any. both of those are important if shopping for either a telescope
sighting device or a small handheld scope. i am left with the knowledge
that it has gps navigation and a bad-ass database but you had to tell me
that it was just a robotic telrad. how did YOU know? do you have one?
perhaps you know if it is mountable like a telrad or is it only a
handheld teaching aid? if its not fitted with facilities to mount it to
a scope then they sure missed the boat. more people would buy it as a
sight for their existing scope than as a teaching aid. hmmmm........ all
of this should of been covered on the website. thats where we got
started, with an incomplete description by the manufacturer!