Thanks Rhino
I looked at EQ mounts but they are more than I wanted to gamble on my first telescope. So for Venus & Mercury are they too bright or too far away to get detail?
Meade has one now that aligns itself & talks at you. It is about $300 more than one that just tracks or I guess moves to something in the database after it is aligned. That is what I'm considering.
With 30,000 objects, it should keep me occupied for a while. The one that talks has 100,000 objects.
Tap the breaks a second, jim-d. Especially since you've never even looked through one.
Before you drop a couple of grand on a telescope (and several hundred more on eyepieces, Telrad, books, charts, and many other extras!), PLEASE take some constructive advice from someone that has been there, done that.
I'm not sure where you live, but I'd stongly suggest that you find a local astronomy club and attend a few meetings. If you can't find one through Google, call your local science museum and I bet they have a contact for you. Most clubs normally have a viewing site that is out of town and dark(er) and almost always have at least one weekend a month where they'll let visitors come out and look through their scopes. Most of the people in these organizations are more than happy to share their scope with you, especially if you're a newbie. (Plus their experience will be very helpful when first learning to find things.) Many of these clubs also own scopes that are free for the members to use, and the minimal cost to join the club is a much better way to spend your money for the first year or so. You get to try out all kinds and see what you want, or you may decide that using the club's scopes satisfies your curiosity enough to save you a lot of money.
As far as "what can I see?", you'll find that you can see very little if you live in or near a major metropolitan area. The typical neighborhood backyard is bright enough that you are almost guaranteed NOT to see much of the more interesting objects. And under NO circumstance will you see anything like those Hubble photos that are in books and on the net.
I also suggest that you spend $100-150 bucks on a good set of 10x50, fully-multicoated binoculars and a book or two. Two books that I'd suggest are "Turn Left at Orion" and "The Backyard Astonomer's Guide". The first is great for helping you find the "easier to find" objects right from your backyard. Even if you later decide that a scope is the way to go, those binoculars will come in VERY handy when you're in the field. Since everything is "right side up", it's easier to find things than it is through a telescope, too.
Just my two cents worth.
