I feel your Dad's pain!!! There is nothing like having a new toy and
not being able to play with it!!

I was able to find a little information on the Tasco 302003 in a few
minutes searching. It's a low end reflector telescope on an altaz
(azimuth-elevation) mount. From what little I can find, it appears to
be pretty decent as a starter scope. By the way, Tasco is now part of
Bushnell; you MIGHT be able to get some information from them.

I would suggest two possible approaches. Scopes are a lot like many
other pieces of equipment. A novice is presented with an overwhelming
number of controls, and knows next to nothing about what each does.
Once you've mastered the first telescope, learning the tricks of the
second is easy. Suggest to your dad that he locate a local astronomy
club, attend a few meetings, and try to make a friend or two who can
help him. The science department at the local high school, college,
or university is a good start. You can also help by searching online
for astronomy clubs in his area.

The second approach is more 'do it yourself'. The local library
should have books for the back yard astronomer. He could check out a
few and spend some time reading. Browsing through the offerings at
Borders or Barnes and Noble could also be useful.

A few words of caution for your dad. Thirty years ago Tasco was a
very respected name in telescopes. Their quality has degenerated over
the last decade or more. Many people will 'dis' the telescope simply
on the basis of the manufacturer's name. Also, there is always the
gadget hound who will insist that no self respecting human would
consider looking at the stars with anything less than a computer
controlled, laser sighted, $5000 monstrosity. AVOID BOTH OF THESE TYPES.

Astronomy can be a very expensive hobby. Your Dad's scope cannot hope
to match the high resolution images from a 16" scope that many college
astronomy departments have; let alone the images from the Hubble.
Still, it is capable of showing a great deal of detail of the Moon's
surface, Saturn's rings, the bands on Jupiter, etc.

Bill

--- In classictelescopes@yahoogroups.com, "lindy_loo4u"
<lindy_loo4u@...> wrote:
>
> My name is Lindyloo and live in NI and I have joined this site on
> behalf of my Dad who has a tasco 302003 telescope
> My Dad has no computer so he asked me to try and find the
> instructions !! so far a fruitless search
> so if anyone has or knows where I can get the instructions for the
> telescope that would be good news for both me and my Dad
> hoping to hear from someone soon
> thanks
> from lindyloo
>