Firstly, as you say, the N5 is unusable without power. I own two different  “goto” systems – a Meade LX200, and various telescopes I use on a Vixen  GP-DX with a SkySensor 2000, but both of these systems can be used perfectly  satisfactorily “manually” as well as with the computer.    With a telescope like the N5, a VERY high percentage of what you’re paying  for isn’t optics – it’s the “toys”. Finding things in the sky isn’t  difficult – it just takes a decent star chart and a bit of practice to learn  to do it. It’s good quality optics which let you see things, not computers.  Especially at the lower end of the market, I think it’s far more important  to spend your money on optics rather than computers.    For the price of the N5 you can buy an LX10 or a Celestar 8 and still have  money left over for some decent eyepieces, a good star atlas, etc etc. An 8″  telescope will gather 2.5x as much light as a 5″, and will show you an awful  lot more. Heck – for the price of the N5 you could buy a good DSC device for  a C8 or LX10 and still have the computer to find things for you – all you’d  be missing out on would be the ability to move itself!    I’m afraid I regard the N5 as a “rich man’s toy”. VERY expensive for a 5″  scope. If your budget is not limitless, you can do a lot better.

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