I have a Skywatcher Explorer 150PL, and I think its a nice telescope. I bought it two years ago, total incl. all accesoires cost me about €500, but you can also get great beginner telescopes for less money, which allow you to see Jupiter + moons and the rings of Saturn. I would recommend visiting an online astronomy forum: I got a lot of help from the Dutch astronomy forum and they also recommended this telescope to me. This will also help you to get into contact with other people sharing this hobby. And I wouldn't recommend building your own telescope when you have (almost) no experience with them.