I have Meade ETX90 ('classic' version from the late '90, excellent optics) that I recently deforked and mounted on SkyWatcher AZ GTi mount, this is great lightweight travel combo
I have this OTA. It's razor sharp on Moon and Gas Giants but that's about it for this aperture. I tried F/6.3 reducer on it for DSOs but it vignettes terribly in this configuration due to small size of baffle. Another dreadful thing are grub screws on focuser and mirror flip which became loose over time - they're all imperial sizes which is a bit if an issue here to replace. All in all great little Grab'n'Go and AZ GTi loves it's low weight :-) Oh and LX90 8" ACF I got used few months ago.... what a scope. After careful collimation it's very sharp too :-) Unfortunately the mount starts to show it's age as it's bit outdated compared to i.e. SW with their USB ports, direct access to controllers from ASCOM, stepper motors etc. But for visual use it is a breeze to setup thanks to built in GPS and functionality of Audiostar. I just wish Meade were still around and innovating.
I've got an even earlier Meade LX10 8", bought used a few months ago. While the mount is cosmetically challenged with some flaking paint from a lifetime in a homemade observatory, and the mechanics had to be nursed back into service, once cleaned and well collimated the optics are excellent.
I’m new to the hobby. I am happy to see my Meade 4500 is on the good side of your list! Found it for $60. I have been using the equatorial mount all wrong. Can’t wait to use it the correct way.
I've had a 12.5 inch Meade Starfinder Dob for about 20 years now. I have made into a very enjoyable telescope by basically rebuilding it from the ground up. I still am using the sonotube and it has the same optics but nearly everything else has either been rebuilt or replaced. If you don't mind a project, you CAN make one of these scopes enjoyable to use with some upgrades. And I get lots of oohs and aaahs from the public when I am deep sky viewing with this thing.
Hmm, I have a Meade Adventure Scope 80 at f/5 that I use with a photo tripod, and I am satisfied with it. That is after chucking all the accessories that it came with (Diagonal, EPs, Tripod, Dovetail, but kept the backpack and red dot finder ). I would say it's about two steps up from a spotting scope, but as long as I don't push it too hard it gives some decent views in light polluted LA county, and is great for quick peeks at the moon, and some other brighter objects. Would I recommend it, maybe for the OTA only, and as something to travel with and not worry too much about it getting beat up. It really is only for beginner casual observing. My two cents.
Hi Ed, I own a10 Inch Meade Starfinder with the Sonotube, I changed the focuser to a Parks one, added a Telrad and a 9X50 finderscope to it, This telescope has given me all kinds of pleasure over the past 20 plus years, it has great optics and I have seen over 1,500 objects with it. Yes, i agree, the mounting straps suck. but other than that issue, I have no complaints about it. Bob, A very happy Starfinder Owner.
My ETX-125 mount gave trouble from day 1, 20 years ago. Finally binned the mount a couple of years back and the great OTA is now on a big manfrotto photo tripod/geared head while I save for an EQ6-R (or equivalent) mount.
Hi Ed! I've enjoyed your reviews for many years and now am so happy to see your YT videos. On the topic of Meade telescopes, I can add that years ago I bought a new 10" LX5 SCT, and for years it was my favourite for planetary views. Mars showed wonderful details especially, which I drew in my log book. Unfortunately the fork mount gave out and I sent it in to Meade for replacement. Then around 2003 I noticed that the corrector plate coatings were starting to form something like tiny bubbles in places. I ended up giving the telescope to a friend to use, as the views were still usable at that point, and I moved on to a C-11 after my observatory was built. :) I also have older SP C-8, new orange SE C-8 and C-6, plus a white C5+ and single fork mt.
I rediscovered my love for astronomy with my Infinity 102 alt-az mounted achromatic refractor. Now using an ETX125 and suffering from aperture fever. Saving up for a 16" Lightbridge...
Another great video. I have enjoyed your postings even long before your videos! I will add a small caveat to your Starfinder review. I agree 100% that pretty much every add on is junk: focuser, finder, and those awful straps for the GEM mount.. which is pretty poor itself. That said, my SF 8" is optically my benchmark. Maybe I just got lucky, but if I had to choose I'd keep the SF over my Edge 8". Granted most people aren't going to buy a scope only to gut it, but for those DIYers who find one cheap it could make a very worthwhile project. I paid less than $150 for mine 15 years ago. It now rides on my Losmandy mount, has a new focuser, finder, and added coma corrector (same tube, although it has been "finished" both inside and out) and it consistently produces outstanding AP images (the scope part, not my processing!) Also, and maybe this does not matter, but I have handwritten test results of the focal length (in inches) on the back of the primary. I don't know many optics that get attention by hand before heading out the door these days. The only other I have is a Star Instruments 6" rich field made in the late 70s, also a superb scope. BTW, the coatings on both these scope are still excellent.
I recently bought a Meade Polaris 130EQ 5" reflector. Unsure if it has a spherical mirror but based on the star tests I've done it looks like I got lucky with a parabolic mirror. This is my reentry into amateur astronomy after 15 years away. My last scope was a Meade ETX-90 which I kind of regret selling. While I've only had the scope a few weeks, I've upgraded the weak EQ2 mount to a Celestron CG4, added a complete set of Plossl eyepieces and had my first accidental collimation experience by finding the factory collimation was way off and spent 3 hours getting it into collimation. The following evening I found 4 Messier objects and split Polaris. I don't know if this was a good choice but it is simple, portable and I always wanted a classic equatorial reflector. I'm old school and would love to own one of the older Meade reflectors. I remember those ads in the magazines and catalogs and thought it would be awesome to own one. So my entire Meade experience is two scopes out of the three I ever owned. While I saw Andromeda for the first time with the ETX-90, I am liking the simple reflector so far. So as a sample of two, the Polaris is my favorite Meade scope because it is the only one I own and the ETX-90 I didn't have long enough to develop a proper opinion.
Purchased (closer to stole) a Meade ETX125-AT brand new for $350 delivered about ten years ago. You may remember that these went for around $1000 back then. I have since modified the scope to have a "permanent equatorial wedge" that I designed, a remote focuser and wireless goto capability. The funny thing was that I wasn't looking to buy a telescope at the time, but there were only two left in stock and the price was irresistible. Everything still works fine on it, but the tracking mechanism isn't the most rugged, so someday I may need to attach a dovetail and mount it on a GEM. But the optics are quite good and it is very portable, so I will not be getting rid of it any time soon.
@@edting Yes, I was sort of surprised that you didn't mention them in your video. I also have a mint condition Celestron C8+ with the Byers worm drive and an Orion ED80T-CF mounted on a ES EXOS2-GT w/PMC8. I am looking to make the C8+ into a goto using an OnStep unit I assembled, but the Dec axis is a pain on these fork mounts. Any Ideas?
I remember going in to Meades little shop in Costa Mesa with my Mom in the mid 70’s and getting their 8x50 finder for my Criterion RV-6 Newtonian. They didn’t have much back then but boy that 8x50 finder was a dream come true in those days lol.
The first reflector I built has a Meade Research grade 10" f6 mirror with an Antares diagonal and a JMI reverse crayford focuser. I still have it and drag it out of the garage when I'm not using one of my others (Meade LX200 emc 10, Celestron 130, Skywatcher 80mm x 500mm semi apo, or others). That homebuilt 10" Dob, as ugly as it is, gives fantastic, simple viewing and is still a favorite of mine! Keep up the good work, Ed! Clear skies! /Dave
I bought my Meade 8” model 2080 back in 1981 shortly after its release and the telescope is in perfect shape after 40 years. The mirrors and corrector lens never have needed anything but cleaning from time to time. The drive works perfectly. It is very well designed and has robust construction. It’s just a matter of treat it as the delicate, precise instrument it is.
I love the ETX 125 after a Wegat modification. The Lightbridge was my first table top Dobsonian so it’s sentimental. It was practical during the earliest years of raising my daughter when on the rare occasions I could escape... it was fast. I passed up a Unitron years ago in a flea market lol. I had no idea they were tied to Meade. The last Meade purchase I made was an LX-85 mount. Big mistake. There were no working ASCOM drivers and the aux port is wired backwards. It’s really sub par. That was the nail in the coffin. Thanks for all your time and knowledge. I really value your opinions. Clear skies.
I just picked one up on EBay for $340. the autostar is said to have a connection issue but I’m guessing it’s an issue with the cable itself. Was that a good buy? Planning on selling the ETX 90EC I got for the same price.
Thanks for the info ED. I have an old 10" LX200 made in 1993 that I got in 98. Came with the very limited 750 object data base but I did order the new ROMs to bring it up to the better specs. Then I managed to acquire the 3.34 version board and hand controller for 150 bucks. This is the 18 volt versions which I always use 12 volts so no cap burns outs. I still use this scope to this day and has worked pretty darn good for something 28 years old. Shows no signs of oxidation so a bonus there. I do take it apart an re-grease the gears/bearings every few years.
I have a Meade 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegraine LX-200 Classic. I'm happy with it except for 2 issues: 1) no upgrade is available for the electronics. The hand controllers frequently malfunction and it's extremely difficult, if not impossible, to find a replacement, 2) The motors are very noisy, especially at faster slew rates. My neighbor's houses are very close to mine, and there's nothing like a loud telescope to wake up the light sleepers.
My first telescope was a Meade. It was the Meade Polaris 90 achromat refractor. I actually still have it 5 years later. Not a fancy scope and both my 5 inch mak and C9 go further, but it's light and very easy to use compared to even the mak. It's because of how great and super easy that scope has been that I am interested in owning a 4 inch Skywatcher doublet apo some day.
Fortunately, I bought an ETX 120 that was made with quality and not the ones that was made after they tried to cut cost. When I first went to look at it, it was very well taken care of over the years and the owner had upgraded to a $10K Obsession telescope. So he decided to sell this one to me for a price I could not refuse. Everything about is like new and the quality reminds me of an high end camera equipment from the 80's and 90's. Even came with a dual controller and the RAM mount for cellphone that came off of a sold motorcycle attaches perfectly onto the tripod leg and I don't have to hold it in my hands. So far, have not taken it out on a tour but will see how it fares.
I picked up a Meade 127ED made in 1992 with the LXD 600 mount on March 13 of this year, I couldn’t be happier with the optics and the 1697 goto EQ mount.The original owner bought it new and took very good care of it. It has been a nice complement to my 8 inch LX 90 Schmidt Cassegrain.
There's a full electronics upgrade you can buy from a private source. You have to take the motors out and send them in and he calibrates them. Simple internal upgrade took me about an hour to modify. Works with an Autostar II once upgraded and is 12 v. I did miss the higher speed of the 18 v. On Yahoo groups.
My favorite meade telescope is the ETX 125 observer. None of the issues i always hear people complaining about are present here. No wandering secondary baffle, no suspect goto accuracy, no crappy tracking... all is good here. Is there a lot of plastic? Well, there is less than there used to be and the scopes are so well made that the plastic that is there is fine and helps keep the weight down. I love the Audiostar and quality of the razer sharp high contrast images and that metal flaked lazer blue paint job is stunning. Also, the accesories that came with the scope are excellent, including two super plossl eyepieces and a handy compass/ bubble level.. It's a showpiece telescope undeserving of the ETX's notoriously bad reputation...
I had the Meade 8inch SCT and they have been a good scope giving good images which a sharp and clear. 30 years later I have Meade's 8 inch ACF SCT in white and it is a great scope and not to heavy. Loved your video.
Still have my 10in. Meade LXD55 Schmidt/Newt from 20 years ago. Other than a runaway motor, which Meade fixed, it's still working great.. as of a few years ago when I set it up last. Although I probably need a Autostar update. Love the optical tube and UHTC lens coating.
Just thought to mention the the current Meade top of the line ACF telescope OTAs are available in two versions f/8 and f/10. There is far more than just a focal length change between these two versions. f/8 versions are the way to go. They've eliminated mirror flop by changing the primary mirror to ride on 3.5" bearings instead of floating it on grease. It more has an internal 10:1 crayford with a 7:1 two speed control. Most important is that they are RC hybrid with a hyperbolic secondary, a spherical primary and a Schott Glass corrector c that is not a Schmidt corrector but a special design that converts the primary to function more like a hyperbolic. Amazing difference in flat field and focusing For those looking for me automation you should mention LX600 (fork) and Lx850 (EQ) systems. Lx600 the OTA comes off the forks making it much easier to transport and set up. Builtin autoguiding and plate solving make these ideal for those looking to get into astrophotography. Especially the fork mount which is nice for visual in Alt-az mode. I was very impressed by the F/8 being so much better than the F/10 which has none of these changes, just an oversized primary. Need an update!
I bought a 4500 OTA from the outlet store for $50 about 15 years ago. I didn't expect much, but thought it would be a fun banger project - and it was. The image was astigmatic, but in an intriguing way - it was exactly the same in and out of focus, just 90 degrees rotated. This told me it had a good primary but a warped secondary. I replaced the secondary with an Antares. The transformation was mind-boggling. It made absolutely perfect images. That may be the most perfect mirror I've ever seen, and that includes my 10" Royce. I had a view of the Moon one night that was like being in orbit. I'm sure that scope could give a $4000 4" Tak a run for its money. I gave it away to a friend - something I often regret :) I sure got my $50 out of it!
Excellent video, thanks. I bought a de-forked Meade 2080 last year. Judging by its serial number, it was manufactured in 1995. I have it mounted on a Vixen GP mount with simple Dec and RA motors. It's been a very good performer so far. One upgrade it needed was a GSO Crayford focuser which negated the previous noticeable image shift when focusing.
Thanks Ed for this roundup. I don't intend to buy any more Meade telescopes (have a Bresser branded 150mm achro) other than maaaybe an LX200, but this video brings back memories of when I used to pore over the Meade ads in Sky and Telescope and Astronomy, a couple decades ago.
Hi. Do you own the 150/1200 achro? I'm really interested in that scope for planetary and double stars. Is it worth the money? Is the performance good? Thank You
I've written about that scope in scopereviews. The most important part of that scope is the mount. This is a heavy OTA at nearly 20 lbs. Usually they sell them on mid-sized mounts mounts like the AVX, which are getting a little unsteady with this amount of weight on them.
Im new to the star gazer's community and have 4500 bought it still brand new in the box for $80! However trying to find a support group in the my area (Detroit)! Hopefully be able to do so soon. Super glad to know it's on thelist.
I have the following Meade scopes, etx90 goto, great optics but like plenty of other etx90’s, the mount was junk after a couple of years. I put the OTA onto a non goto etx mount-now a nice little scope. ETX125, same as the 90, great optics let down by poor quality electronics. I will get around to de-forking It, one day! Two de-forked 7” Maks, both with the dinner gongs removed! Lovely scopes! Both have been fitted with aftermarket focusers to eliminate mirror image shift. My favourite lunar/planetary and double star scopes. Last, and by no means least, an 8” LX10 that runs off a 9V battery. I got this back in the spring of 2019. It was sitting on the “for sale” section of an online used Astro website for ages. It came with all of the original packaging/owners manual etc..it’s hard to believe that this scope is over 25 years old, the previous owner kept it immaculate. Only tried it under the stars a couple of times. Optics seem to be very promising. A lot of scope for less than half the price of some eyepieces. Anyway, thanks for the tips and advice-keep up the good work.
The Cline Observatory where I volunteer for weekly public viewing sessions has had three telescopes in the dome since 1997. The first was a 16" Meade SCT. Being essentially a bigger version of the smaller SCTs, it had mirror-based focus, a lot of image shift, and it was unreliable and Meade's customer service didn't support it. So it was replaced with a 16" RCT which worked fine for a while, and now it has a 24" Planewave CDK. We had also used 8" SCTs on piers at some point, we have one of those 8" SCTs which we use for solar viewing, and we got rid of the piers and use skywatcher 8" dobs and a CPC800 now. I've only been volunteering since 2017 of course so i wasn't there for all those changes.
The ETX125 had a big problem with slipping clutches. I took mine apart and found gear grease on the clutch plate. After cleaning and only adding a minimal amount of grease to the gears, it worked fine for a few months and then I had to repeat the cleaning again. When I was researching this problem, I found out it was a common issue with these Meade ETX scopes. Unfortunately, it turned me off to Meade products.
I have an LX200 10" SCT. The electronics were 18v. It was very noisy. I got an all new iOptron CEM 60 mount so I de-forked my 10" OTA and put a dovetail bar on it. It fits nicely on my CEM 60 now. I will probably use it just for visual purposes.
The only Meade scopes I've had are a DS-114 (don't buy; ok to take if free and plan on buying decent eyepieces) and a 10" LX200 Schmidt Cassegrain. I love the LX200 but an 8" would be far easier to move around. The 8" OTA weighs about half of the 10". Thanks for the lesson on Meade reflectors. I have a 6" Cave Astrola that looks very much like the Meade reflectors and assumeg that you had some very nice Caves.
I have a 4500 I bought back in the late 90's. I'd hate to say how much I paid for it back then, especially considering what they go for now. The biggest problem I had was with the tripod leg bracing/accessory tray support. They used these cheap plastic screw-on mounts that would break every time it moved. I finally figured out how to replace them with metal hinges from Home Depot that worked a treat. I'd really like to upgrade to a larger OTA but use the same GEM mount and tripod.
Hi Ed, I'm so happy about what you said in regards to Meade's 8inch Schmitt Casagrains. I guess I just got lucky when I brought my LX90 2 years ago. It had only been used a couple of times and the owner gave up. After he died his wife finally sold it. It came with a wedge and loads of extras. I've been so happy with it.
I have the 127ED and I apparently got one of the good ones. I had read your articles so I knew what to look for. Mine is extremely sharp and I even saw a smudge of a detail on Ganymede (confirmed later). My copy of the mount works flawlessly, in fact I bought the scope mostly for the incredibly robust mount, sufficient for my 10" Newtonian. That the scope was so excellent was a bonus. I paid only $1600 for both. I would not even consider selling either one.
Hi Ed, I just discovered you're on UA-cam. John H here. I've moved from MA to NH, not as far as Todd moving MA to UT, I guess. I miss the days of buying/selling/trading Travelers with Todd, transacting a deal with you in a parking lot in NH, and seeing you swing by to ogle the ARIES 254mm triplet to show at my first NEAF, and I ended up outside in the tent, with the upside to that being that the NEAF blems were out there also. Ahhh, the good old days. A guy flew up from Houston to take the 254mm triplet home, and I'm down from 3 Travelers at the peak (for 2001 eclipse) to just the very best/last one from Todd when he moved on to bigger things. Actually, it's the second time I've owned that one, the first time he wouldn't sell it to me without an option to buy it back 1-2 years later. Which he did. Regarding Meade, my first LX200 was the 7" Mak, which I regret selling around 1996. A year or two later, I bought a 10" f/6.3 LX200, which is now stored at my business, 20+ years after I heard a popping noise, probably the usual capacitor problem. An LX200 makes a nice manual alt-az mount if you don't bother fixing the electronics!
My first 'real scope' (had a Tasco as a kid) a Meade LT6 ACF bought used a year ago - AZ mount died a few days later - tried to fix it but lack of spares curtailed that - Now happily sitting on a Vixen SXD2 Equatorial Mount - The scope has great optics and solid construction. This one is not made in China but Mexico not sure thats better ? So must have some age to it.
I had a 10" LX200 back in the 90's, well it was my fathers... Unfortunately the electronics all went to crap on them and the mirrors were slightly out of alignment or something over time, it just could never get good focus. Ended up selling it for like 600 bucks and regret that I ever did that. I should have joined a club and figured out how to fix it.
I have a Meade ETX 125 that I bought a few years ago and it has great optics. I also have an old Meade 8 inch Schmidt Cassegrain that I think is the 2080 model. I have de-forked that OTA and I'm getting ready to put it on a modern goto equatorial mount.
G'day Ed, thanks for the videos. I've just purchased my first Meade, a 127mm series 5000 Apo triplet refractor. I haven't had a good chance to use it yet but it looks a beauty. Keep up the good work!
Favorite: 14" LX200 GPS/SMT. Permanently installed, this one is my work horse. Least favorite: 8" LX5 - SN8. Mechanically it was sound but optically ... it was so so bad.
I don't think they are made now, but in the absolutely "Buy!" category is the HD60 series of eyepieces. I have a whole slew of $300 ultrawides from 40mm down to 4.7mm and they never get used any more. The comfort and sharpness of the HD60s is absolutely outstanding. They are light weight and nearly parfocal. They remind me of orthoscopics but with a 60 degree field of view. Most comfortable eyepieces ever! I've heard they are similar to the Televue Radians. OK enough Meade praise! Like you, I lusted over that 10" on the GEM and that is still my ideal!
I own a Meade 7" Maksutov on a Lx200... It's a beautiful instrument. It's old school but it still holds up. I compared it to the latest model of Skywatcher. Can't say I saw a real difference. If there is something to say about it it's indeed the weight. Mine still has it in. Cool down time increases but if you take account for that it's not a really big issue. Overall a lovely instrument.
lololol. For some reason I never seriously considered Meade. I wanted a Celestron for a long time, checked out Meade, but the Nexstar line was the way for me.
I have several Meade scopes. The one's I would buy again are: the ETX90RA, Meade 10"SN, and Meade 10"SCT. My friend had the 10" Research Series Newtonian and it was excellent. I also had the DS16 which as you mentioned, removed the optics and downsized the secondary to 3.1". The primary was good but not great. The Meade SN came undermounted but my sample has very good optics. I have a Meade 6' f5 Newtonian, 6600 series I think. Meade also made the worst optics I have looked through in a mid 90's 16' SCT. It would not achieve focus no matter what. If I could only have one it would be the 10" SCT as it has the best SCT optics I have used similar to what you also state.
I just found an AS ( Adventure Scope) 80 refractor locally for $75.00 . its going to be a guide scope mostly on my Celestron 150 Omni XLT newt. on an AVX . :)
The Tasco 4.5” “Space Station” reflector scope (received as a gift) actually has okay optics and 1.25” focuser. The mount is junk though. Upgraded to an 8” SCT now.
Happy to hear the Meade 395 is 'To Buy' as I just acquired one. Although.. this refractor has a spider problem. Yep. A spider problem. As a spider managed to get past and in between the lenzes and has made a nice web there. Poor thing never got visitors, I'm afraid... 😢 But so it's there, dead, in the middle of it's web.
I recently got a Meade Series 6000 70mm Quadruplet astrograph and I am loving it! The stock tube rings and dovetail aren't the best (especially the tube rings). I picked up some tube rings meant for the stellarvue sv70t and they provide much more stability than the stock tube rings. The optics are great for the price and outclass my Skywatcher evostar 80 for sure. I was a bit nervous going with Meade for my astrophotography needs but I'm glad that I stumbled across a good scope for the price. Thanks for making this video! Meade definitely isn't the best choice in 2021 even with my experience.
My first telescope was a rare Meade bird, 4" SCT on a small German equatorial (model 1037). It was pre-fork mount, and the optics are pretty good, so maybe those early ones were better? I think it was the smallest 'scope at Texas Star Party three years running. Thanks for the great reviews, Ed.
Had a Meade US made 10 inch sct it was fantastic 85mm obstruction or 33% total from memory. I recently sold my 130TS triplet(better optically than the TS 115 for sure mine was) also fantastic as looking for something else now.. The 10" Meade was easily as sharp as my 7 inch skywatcher Mak and that was fabulous as well but totally smashed in light gathering by the 10", though globs looked great at a dark sky site with only 7". The one I wished I hadnt sold the most is the 10" Meade, it did everything . A C925 I have now seems as good allround hard to remember to compare though..Have to stop this selling buying caper ..full of sellers remorse...the newer etx125 was just OK optically looked just 1/4 wave the older US ones were great..my most recommended cheaper scope is a C6 for the budget minded its very good
I have a Meade 6000 series 115mm apo and it is fantastic, and a great size at only 12 pounds. My only complaint is that Meade advertised a 3' field flattener for the series (now discontinued) but it does not fit on the newest 6000 series, which I learned the hard way. That said, the 3rd party Hotech field flattener, Astrotech .8 reducer/flattener, and Starizona Apex .65 reducer/flattener all work great on it, making it an extremely versatile astrophotography telescope for even a lighter mount like the LX85.
Great video. Worth mentioning is portability factor. If the buyer expects to set up/ break down or transport the telescope for viewing sessions, the Meade 10" fork mount SCTs really push the limits. For one person, safely mounting the 10" LX200 on a wedge is daunting and a mounting plate with guide pins is highly recommended for alt-az orientation. Also, for decent tracking you should get a counterweight system to balance them and reduce the load on the drive train. The 8" scopes are much easier to handle and consequently tend to see much more use. Many 10" Meade SCTs spend most of their lives in a box for this singular reason. Fantastic optics in any of the UHTC or newer versions, but keep weight in mind. The 8" might be a better choice.
@@David-hm9ic have you used a wedge for astrophotography? I also find the standard field tripod is ok for visual use but with the wedge you're better off with the "giant" field tripod. The old version of the giant was too tall. Thr later short version sold with larger scopes is better.
I used a Meade model 1060 tube assembly on a Byers 812 mount. Put this system together in 1980 and used it for film astrophotography up until 2003 when I sold it. I took many fine images with hypered 2415 film. I still regret selling it. The optics were great and with a Baader coma corrector, it produced a nice flat field across a 35mm film frame.
Ed. Surely over the years you have sern some innovative and good amateur made scopes. I have built many Newtonians and taught mirror making in college. Would love a review from you on my current project.
I bought 2 Newtonian hand made scopes from a rummage sale. They are both 6 or 6.5 inch mirrors with 7" tubes that are 5 feet long. They seem really nice. I cannot believe how bright and pinpoint sharp everything is through them. I've always wanted to grind a mirror and build a huge Dobsonian.... I build precision CNC equipment and I have a pretty good idea how to grind my mirror using a computer to get it any shape I want. Maybe you could give me some pointers about what to watch for as I start in on a fairly expensive piece of unreplacable glass?
I have one of the cursed generation 12.5in dobs. And I must agree that everything aside from the glass is trash. There are many better scopes out there for those looking to drop an eyepiece and go viewing. However if you are the perpetual tinkerer, like I am, being able to snag one of these boat anchors for cheap ( $300 if you want to include the tank of gas and a lunch for me and the family when we went to get it) can net you a cheap to start a project. So far I've swapped out the cheap plastic rack and pinion for an aftermarket crayford focuser, rebuilt the bottom end to have better columination and (any) airflow, and I'm waiting on a replacement secondary housing as aside from the spider the included one is pretty junk (mine had stripped allen heads). Now when my kids get a bit older (and finish beating up on everything they see) making a family project of a truss conversion with all the bells and whistles is sounding like a fun way to teach them how to do things by hand and get them off the TV at the same time.
I have ETX-60mm, ETX-90mm and ETX-125mm. The 60 was my first scope. My wife found it for 10 or 20 dollars at a garbage sale. It was untouched never been used. I was fortunate to read about the issues people had with them and have managed to keep it working and use it all the time without damaging the forks. The 125 was next. It was a basket case when I got it but the optics where VERY nice. It was hardly ever used but used hardly when it was...... Fixed all its maladies and it is a wonderful scope. The 90 I got from craigslist and paid too much for it but it was nearly new with no issues and it's a harder to find but sought after uhmc (?) coated scope.... All three have goto mounts and use the exact same accessories. I can mount my Canon T3i or any one of my SVBONY cameras to any one of them in a moments notice because the back cam port is the same thread on all of them. Was surprised you didn't even mention them. Or did I miss it?
Your ETX experiences are about normal. I have a well-documented troubled relationship with these scopes going back decades. Too much cheap plastic, inaccurate pointing systems, and long term reliability issues are prevalent. I use mine with planetary imagers on the moon. Deep sky, forget about it...
@@edting I'm not into deep sky anyway.... With that said, I have only been into astronomy and astrophotography for about a year. My experience talking to other ETX owners has been interesting in that some figured these scopes out right from the beginning and didn't break anything and were very happy with them. They all bought the scopes new and read the entire manual, eventually. The accuracy problem is one of two things. Either misuse and abuse and lack of maintenance have physically damaged the scope causing inaccuracy OR not using the scopes in what I like to call "the right way".... There are several configuration and fine tuning steps that need to be taken on a semi regular basis. And the sync function along with polar alignment with the wedge are crucial to get these scopes to accurately FIND objects and land them in the center of the eyepiece. But the tracking on all three of mine have been flawless. ONCE dialed in. So I will agree they can be a pain if you don't take the set up seriously. But if I spend about 30 minutes ahead of time getting ready, it's a great way to go. And while I'm no expert I think the optics are pretty good. An ETX-125EC can be found in great shape with all the extras for 500 bucks. Ita not great for nebulas. But its GREAT for Jupiter and its moons and Saturn and its moons and rings. Anyway I just found you not too long ago. I really value your advice. I can't say how the ETX scopes match up to others, I just like them a lot. Thank you for replying.
I own a Meade 80 MM Series 6000 Apochromatic Refractor which I like very much. It's good for daytime viewing, for lunar and planetary viewing, and for brighter deep sky objects. It has no chromatic aberration that I can perceive. I'm moving towards solar viewing with it, including hydrogen alpha viewing, and later on I'll buy a camera for it. It does everything I want, and it's portable. It's also beautiful to look at. What's not to like?
Not a fan of the Schmidt-Newtonians that Meade made. Our club had one and the front mirror assembly had come loose. Trying to get that back together and collimated was a study in extreme frustration.
Excellent informative video. The commentary and opinions are great, as always. You should be a consultant for the new Meade/Tasco as you would be an excellent fit. And n asset to the company's direction. Not only for product engineering and development, but your marketing savvy as well. With your many years of experience, you'd be the face of the next generation Meade. Keep-up the great work Ed.
The Starfinder straps won't spring back at you. They are not elastic straps. I've owned many meade sct's and the optics were never as good as celestron. The reflectors though were pretty good.
Just got lucky in picking up a vixen gpdx with an old lx200 that was purchased in the states. Has the old skysensor 2000, currently waiting for an eq5 goto kit for the mount. All in all I paid £550 for the scope, mount and goto kit which will be brand new. Hoping to do some astrophotography with it but expecting to only use it for planetary.
I have recently (since Christmas) started in astronomy. I was wondering if you would review a telescope. It's the Galileo G80095 with the cell phone adaptor. I got it as a present. And, of course now I want a better scope. Was really wondering what your thoughts would be.
It didn't seem like any of these telescopes had a go-to feature or mount. As a novice beginner of this hobby, I have no idea where anything is actually at up in the night sky (except the moon lol)! Do have any videos ranking the best telescopes with the go-to finder/tracker mounts? Again, I am a beginner and am not looking to spend an arm and a leg for something, just a great telescope that makes learning and viewing a breeze (and with a stunning image)! Also, I seem to be leaning towards a refractor with their more compact design... something similar to the Celestron NexStar 8SE design. Doesn't have to be a Celestron, and I was also looking for one with a mirror larger than 8 inches!
I own an etx 90 and an etx 125. Both are fine optically but both suffered with poor quality electronics. This is a well known issue with the smaller Meade scopes.
He mentioned the original ETX, which was the ETX90 Mak. I think I still have 3 of them, including one which I bought when they first came out, feeling lucky to get it at MSRP ($495?, I forget). My advice is that the ETX90 fork mount is useless, just get the OTA. Even a photo tripod is better than the ETX fork mount. I've owned a Questar 3.5 at the same time as the ETX90, and while the Questar is a bulletproof work of art, the ETX is by far the better value for anyone who notices thousands of dollars being missing from their wallet. I keep them around so that family members can use them during total solar eclipses while I hog the A-P Traveler and share the Canon IS binoculars, though I've given Canon IS as a gift so I can hog mine in 2024.
I can't find any sct parts at all, I was thinking of building another refractor or a sct but finding any optics for them seems to be impossible, I haven't found a single primary for sale used or otherwise.
Hi Ed. I love your videos. You’re the coolest UA-cam astronomer by light years. I’d love to see a video showcasing your eyepiece collection, which ones are your favorites and the most used. I’ve currently got a 24mm panoptic, as well as 15mm and 9mm Celestron Kellners. My scope also came with an awful 4mm ramsden that I don’t even use due to nearly no eye relief and no eye cup. I want to get a Nagler, but I’m not sure whether I’d get more use out of the 13t6 or the 5t6, mostly because I’ve got the medium power Kellners which don’t look terrible to me. I’m in Colorado Springs with less atmosphere to punch through and use a 127mm f/7.87, 1000mm scope. I end up looking at planets most of the time because they are easy to find and I tend to observe in my back yard with a lot of light pollution.
I'll put my LX50 on the original 26 year mount against any other SCT of similar aperture in the realm of EAA. Piggybacking an ASKAR FMA180 with a 585mc and main OTA with a 294mc
Thanks for this video! I have a late 90's Meade ETX-90 which is excellent. I've deforked it very quickly and I've been using it for 20 years on an equatorial mount. It's one of my first instruments and I'll keep it for the rest of my life, although I've switched to several Takahashi telescopes since then. I was also given a 10-inch LX200, but I'm having a hard time adjusting it. It has an enormous shifting which complicates the collimation. Do you have any links to recommend me for disassembly and maintenance of the Meade LX200, for example a tutorial on UA-cam or an article with photos?
Hi Ed,I really like your overall review, my experience with 8 " sct same fusy corrector plate and 16" sct ,f 10. Specifically not to buy 16" lx200. A so called flagship with plastic gears in DEC , noisy RA gear and worst focouser image shift , mirror flip on lower altitude. Even at the time of box opening found secondary mirror lose enough if you turn OTA to 90° should fell off on the primary. I kept it for 4 years spends hundreds of nights mostly fixing, handling and maintenance of the equipment not its fruit.
I have an ETX90, feels like real class. Seems diffraction limit sharp. However I've long believed that eye piece viewing is inherently flawed so I'd like to see scopes designed purely for digital. Either with a state of the art sensor in it like from Sony or born with a camera mount say Sony EF. A telescope should be exclusively operated from a computer on a big display with live long exposure and stacking. Even remotely like your office while the telescope is outside or even across the country. Or in Chile. Eye pieces should be a crime under the geneva convention. As should refractors. Someone paying 5k for an 80mm refractor setup should be branded with a branding iron. Only way they will learn.
I have a Meade LXD75 SN-6AT (6" f/5) Schmidt-Newtonian that I use for astrophotography. I did replace the craplastic 2" focuser with a GSO Crayford which I even modified for remote electronic focus, and it works well for my skill level. I believe you reviewed one perhaps a year or two ago? I also installed Bob's Knobs on the secondary, so collimation is now pretty straightforward--the original screws were literally a disaster. Too bad this is not a more common product because, in terms of the optical design, I believe they may be superior to a straight Newtonian.
@@petermetcher Yes, I did have to file out a larger hole to accept the draw tube, and I had to drill new bolt holes. This did involve removal of the Schmidt corrector plate to access the bolts,. At the same time, I removed the primary mirror to clean it and added a standard Synta-style finder mount. All-in-all, not really difficult to do, and the GSO focuser a significant improvement over the stock plastic one.
@@richardshagam8608 Thank you 😊 I appreciate the info. I have in mind to change the finder as well. But the first job is the focuser. The standard focuser seems to have a mind of its own!
@@edting So far so good! This is my first computerized/go to type mount/scope. I have a lot to learn.... Keep up the great videos, I learn from them every time!
That corrosion on the corrector plate at 1:43 looks a lot like lens fungus. That's a plague for vintage camera collectors. I've never seen a removal method suggested that is reliable and safe for the glass.
That looks like fungus but the coatings have failed on that corrector plate. I've seen this happen with older eyepieces and lots of less expensive scopes.
Just got a 13+ year old meade 5000 series 80mm which I was sorry about the condition it was in. Getting It back to light is difficult with parts missing and very little information about it on the Internet. Hope to get it up and running for astrophotography soon :)
I just Picked up a Series 5000 80mm ED APO Triplet too. I bought it here in Australia for $600 and it had some bits and pieces with it, one of the bits was a Tele Vue X2 and as I am a Astrophotograghy guy I sold the Tele Vue for $400, so the scope and the beautiful Hard case cost me AUD200!!! I this it is a beautiful piece of equipment. Also have a Meade LX90 8". Whilst they made some crap, they made some very lovely equipment. We don't get much Meade stuff in Australia much any more.
@@dmi70594 after few astrophotography testing on the meade 5000 series, the camera zwo294 mc pro sensor didn't work on the telescope and gave me lots of vignetting. The zwo533mc pro sensor size gave me much better results for astrophotography
Hi Ed, thanks for sharing. I'm new to the hobby and want to delve deeper into astrophotography. I recently found a Meade 115 EDT, almost new, listed for about $700. The price is very good, but is this telescope suitable for deep-sky photography, how does it perform as a visual telescope?
I'm sorry you feel so strongly about the 4400 not being a good scope. I got one at a good price and I'm having a great time with it. Even after all this time, the mirror is in great shape and those little eyepieces aren't so horrible. I did get an adapter that makes it possible to use the 1.25s. I had got this one as something to get me by as I waited for my Orion Starblast, (That never came) and for the Zhumel (That showed up with the worst focuser I have ever seen) I have to say, I think I could do worse for a first telescope, just saying. :P
I have Meade ETX90 ('classic' version from the late '90, excellent optics) that I recently deforked and mounted on SkyWatcher AZ GTi mount, this is great lightweight travel combo
I have this OTA. It's razor sharp on Moon and Gas Giants but that's about it for this aperture. I tried F/6.3 reducer on it for DSOs but it vignettes terribly in this configuration due to small size of baffle. Another dreadful thing are grub screws on focuser and mirror flip which became loose over time - they're all imperial sizes which is a bit if an issue here to replace. All in all great little Grab'n'Go and AZ GTi loves it's low weight :-)
Oh and LX90 8" ACF I got used few months ago.... what a scope. After careful collimation it's very sharp too :-) Unfortunately the mount starts to show it's age as it's bit outdated compared to i.e. SW with their USB ports, direct access to controllers from ASCOM, stepper motors etc. But for visual use it is a breeze to setup thanks to built in GPS and functionality of Audiostar. I just wish Meade were still around and innovating.
I've got an even earlier Meade LX10 8", bought used a few months ago. While the mount is cosmetically challenged with some flaking paint from a lifetime in a homemade observatory, and the mechanics had to be nursed back into service, once cleaned and well collimated the optics are excellent.
I bought a Meade 8" LX10 in the late 90's and still use it. It's heavy but the optics are good.
I’m new to the hobby. I am happy to see my Meade 4500 is on the good side of your list! Found it for $60. I have been using the equatorial mount all wrong. Can’t wait to use it the correct way.
I've had a 12.5 inch Meade Starfinder Dob for about 20 years now. I have made into a very enjoyable telescope by basically rebuilding it from the ground up. I still am using the sonotube and it has the same optics but nearly everything else has either been rebuilt or replaced. If you don't mind a project, you CAN make one of these scopes enjoyable to use with some upgrades. And I get lots of oohs and aaahs from the public when I am deep sky viewing with this thing.
Hmm, I have a Meade Adventure Scope 80 at f/5 that I use with a photo tripod, and I am satisfied with it. That is after chucking all the accessories that it came with (Diagonal, EPs, Tripod, Dovetail, but kept the backpack and red dot finder ). I would say it's about two steps up from a spotting scope, but as long as I don't push it too hard it gives some decent views in light polluted LA county, and is great for quick peeks at the moon, and some other brighter objects. Would I recommend it, maybe for the OTA only, and as something to travel with and not worry too much about it getting beat up. It really is only for beginner casual observing. My two cents.
I have it too, it is a good sleeper telescope
Hi Ed, I own a10 Inch Meade Starfinder with the Sonotube, I changed the focuser to a Parks one, added a Telrad and a 9X50 finderscope to it, This telescope has given me all kinds of pleasure over the past 20 plus years, it has great optics and I have seen over 1,500 objects with it. Yes, i agree, the mounting straps suck. but other than that issue, I have no complaints about it. Bob, A very happy Starfinder Owner.
My ETX-125 mount gave trouble from day 1, 20 years ago. Finally binned the mount a couple of years back and the great OTA is now on a big manfrotto photo tripod/geared head while I save for an EQ6-R (or equivalent) mount.
Hi Ed! I've enjoyed your reviews for many years and now am so happy to see your YT videos. On the topic of Meade telescopes, I can add that years ago I bought a new 10" LX5 SCT, and for years it was my favourite for planetary views. Mars showed wonderful details especially, which I drew in my log book. Unfortunately the fork mount gave out and I sent it in to Meade for replacement. Then around 2003 I noticed that the corrector plate coatings were starting to form something like tiny bubbles in places. I ended up giving the telescope to a friend to use, as the views were still usable at that point, and I moved on to a C-11 after my observatory was built. :) I also have older SP C-8, new orange SE C-8 and C-6, plus a white C5+ and single fork mt.
Nice to hear your telescope journey. We often refer to our lives in terms of our scopes. We talk about "The LX200 years" or the "CG-5 years".
I rediscovered my love for astronomy with my Infinity 102 alt-az mounted achromatic refractor. Now using an ETX125 and suffering from aperture fever. Saving up for a 16" Lightbridge...
I like to listen to Ed at bedtime. These are my bedtime stories
Another great video. I have enjoyed your postings even long before your videos!
I will add a small caveat to your Starfinder review. I agree 100% that pretty much every add on is junk: focuser, finder, and those awful straps for the GEM mount.. which is pretty poor itself. That said, my SF 8" is optically my benchmark. Maybe I just got lucky, but if I had to choose I'd keep the SF over my Edge 8".
Granted most people aren't going to buy a scope only to gut it, but for those DIYers who find one cheap it could make a very worthwhile project. I paid less than $150 for mine 15 years ago. It now rides on my Losmandy mount, has a new focuser, finder, and added coma corrector (same tube, although it has been "finished" both inside and out) and it consistently produces outstanding AP images (the scope part, not my processing!)
Also, and maybe this does not matter, but I have handwritten test results of the focal length (in inches) on the back of the primary. I don't know many optics that get attention by hand before heading out the door these days. The only other I have is a Star Instruments 6" rich field made in the late 70s, also a superb scope.
BTW, the coatings on both these scope are still excellent.
I recently bought a Meade Polaris 130EQ 5" reflector. Unsure if it has a spherical mirror but based on the star tests I've done it looks like I got lucky with a parabolic mirror. This is my reentry into amateur astronomy after 15 years away. My last scope was a Meade ETX-90 which I kind of regret selling. While I've only had the scope a few weeks, I've upgraded the weak EQ2 mount to a Celestron CG4, added a complete set of Plossl eyepieces and had my first accidental collimation experience by finding the factory collimation was way off and spent 3 hours getting it into collimation. The following evening I found 4 Messier objects and split Polaris.
I don't know if this was a good choice but it is simple, portable and I always wanted a classic equatorial reflector. I'm old school and would love to own one of the older Meade reflectors. I remember those ads in the magazines and catalogs and thought it would be awesome to own one.
So my entire Meade experience is two scopes out of the three I ever owned. While I saw Andromeda for the first time with the ETX-90, I am liking the simple reflector so far. So as a sample of two, the Polaris is my favorite Meade scope because it is the only one I own and the ETX-90 I didn't have long enough to develop a proper opinion.
My 10" 2120 LX is a very good ota. The old mechanicals died long ago so it now has an EQ6-R.
Purchased (closer to stole) a Meade ETX125-AT brand new for $350 delivered about ten years ago. You may remember that these went for around $1000 back then. I have since modified the scope to have a "permanent equatorial wedge" that I designed, a remote focuser and wireless goto capability. The funny thing was that I wasn't looking to buy a telescope at the time, but there were only two left in stock and the price was irresistible. Everything still works fine on it, but the tracking mechanism isn't the most rugged, so someday I may need to attach a dovetail and mount it on a GEM. But the optics are quite good and it is very portable, so I will not be getting rid of it any time soon.
You know, those 125s were/are decent!
@@edting Yes, I was sort of surprised that you didn't mention them in your video. I also have a mint condition Celestron C8+ with the Byers worm drive and an Orion ED80T-CF mounted on a ES EXOS2-GT w/PMC8. I am looking to make the C8+ into a goto using an OnStep unit I assembled, but the Dec axis is a pain on these fork mounts. Any Ideas?
I remember going in to Meades little shop in Costa Mesa with my Mom in the mid 70’s and getting their 8x50 finder for my Criterion RV-6 Newtonian. They didn’t have much back then but boy that 8x50 finder was a dream come true in those days lol.
The first reflector I built has a Meade Research grade 10" f6 mirror with an Antares diagonal and a JMI reverse crayford focuser. I still have it and drag it out of the garage when I'm not using one of my others (Meade LX200 emc 10, Celestron 130, Skywatcher 80mm x 500mm semi apo, or others). That homebuilt 10" Dob, as ugly as it is, gives fantastic, simple viewing and is still a favorite of mine! Keep up the good work, Ed! Clear skies! /Dave
I bought my Meade 8” model 2080 back in 1981 shortly after its release and the telescope is in perfect shape after 40 years. The mirrors and corrector lens never have needed anything but cleaning from time to time. The drive works perfectly. It is very well designed and has robust construction. It’s just a matter of treat it as the delicate, precise instrument it is.
I love the ETX 125 after a Wegat modification. The Lightbridge was my first table top Dobsonian so it’s sentimental. It was practical during the earliest years of raising my daughter when on the rare occasions I could escape... it was fast. I passed up a Unitron years ago in a flea market lol. I had no idea they were tied to Meade. The last Meade purchase I made was an LX-85 mount. Big mistake. There were no working ASCOM drivers and the aux port is wired backwards. It’s really sub par. That was the nail in the coffin. Thanks for all your time and knowledge. I really value your opinions. Clear skies.
I just picked one up on EBay for $340. the autostar is said to have a connection issue but I’m guessing it’s an issue with the cable itself. Was that a good buy? Planning on selling the ETX 90EC I got for the same price.
Thanks for the info ED. I have an old 10" LX200 made in 1993 that I got in 98. Came with the very limited 750 object data base but I did order the new ROMs to bring it up to the better specs. Then I managed to acquire the 3.34 version board and hand controller for 150 bucks. This is the 18 volt versions which I always use 12 volts so no cap burns outs. I still use this scope to this day and has worked pretty darn good for something 28 years old. Shows no signs of oxidation so a bonus there. I do take it apart an re-grease the gears/bearings every few years.
I have a Meade 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegraine LX-200 Classic. I'm happy with it except for 2 issues: 1) no upgrade is available for the electronics. The hand controllers frequently malfunction and it's extremely difficult, if not impossible, to find a replacement, 2) The motors are very noisy, especially at faster slew rates. My neighbor's houses are very close to mine, and there's nothing like a loud telescope to wake up the light sleepers.
My first telescope was a Meade. It was the Meade Polaris 90 achromat refractor. I actually still have it 5 years later. Not a fancy scope and both my 5 inch mak and C9 go further, but it's light and very easy to use compared to even the mak. It's because of how great and super easy that scope has been that I am interested in owning a 4 inch Skywatcher doublet apo some day.
Fortunately, I bought an ETX 120 that was made with quality and not the ones that was made after they tried to cut cost. When I first went to look at it, it was very well taken care of over the years and the owner had upgraded to a $10K Obsession telescope. So he decided to sell this one to me for a price I could not refuse. Everything about is like new and the quality reminds me of an high end camera equipment from the 80's and 90's. Even came with a dual controller and the RAM mount for cellphone that came off of a sold motorcycle attaches perfectly onto the tripod leg and I don't have to hold it in my hands. So far, have not taken it out on a tour but will see how it fares.
Thank you for the informative video!!
I just recently de-forked a 12” classic SCT.
It also has a heavy metal weight behind the mirror that I removed.
I picked up a Meade 127ED made in 1992 with the LXD 600 mount on March 13 of this year, I couldn’t be happier with the optics and the 1697 goto EQ mount.The original owner bought it new and took very good care of it. It has been a nice complement to my 8 inch LX 90 Schmidt Cassegrain.
There's a full electronics upgrade you can buy from a private source. You have to take the motors out and send them in and he calibrates them. Simple internal upgrade took me about an hour to modify. Works with an Autostar II once upgraded and is 12 v. I did miss the higher speed of the 18 v. On Yahoo groups.
My favorite meade telescope is the ETX 125 observer. None of the issues i always hear people complaining about are present here. No wandering secondary baffle, no suspect goto accuracy, no crappy tracking... all is good here. Is there a lot of plastic? Well, there is less than there used to be and the scopes are so well made that the plastic that is there is fine and helps keep the weight down. I love the Audiostar and quality of the razer sharp high contrast images and that metal flaked lazer blue paint job is stunning. Also, the accesories that came with the scope are excellent, including two super plossl eyepieces and a handy compass/ bubble level.. It's a showpiece telescope undeserving of the ETX's notoriously bad reputation...
I had the Meade 8inch SCT and they have been a good scope giving good images which a sharp and clear. 30 years later I have Meade's 8 inch ACF SCT in white and it is a great scope and not to heavy. Loved your video.
Still have my 10in. Meade LXD55 Schmidt/Newt from 20 years ago. Other than a runaway motor, which Meade fixed, it's still working great.. as of a few years ago when I set it up last. Although I probably need a Autostar update. Love the optical tube and UHTC lens coating.
I have a Meade 395 refractor, plus a 4400 and 4501 that I've switched the focuser tops to 1.25".
Just thought to mention the the current Meade top of the line ACF telescope OTAs are available in two versions f/8 and f/10. There is far more than just a focal length change between these two versions. f/8 versions are the way to go. They've eliminated mirror flop by changing the primary mirror to ride on 3.5" bearings instead of floating it on grease. It more has an internal 10:1 crayford with a 7:1 two speed control.
Most important is that they are RC hybrid with a hyperbolic secondary, a spherical primary and a Schott Glass corrector c that is not a Schmidt corrector but a special design that converts the primary to function more like a hyperbolic. Amazing difference in flat field and focusing
For those looking for me automation you should mention LX600 (fork) and Lx850 (EQ) systems. Lx600 the OTA comes off the forks making it much easier to transport and set up. Builtin autoguiding and plate solving make these ideal for those looking to get into astrophotography. Especially the fork mount which is nice for visual in Alt-az mode. I was very impressed by the F/8 being so much better than the F/10 which has none of these changes, just an oversized primary.
Need an update!
I bought a 4500 OTA from the outlet store for $50 about 15 years ago. I didn't expect much, but thought it would be a fun banger project - and it was. The image was astigmatic, but in an intriguing way - it was exactly the same in and out of focus, just 90 degrees rotated. This told me it had a good primary but a warped secondary. I replaced the secondary with an Antares. The transformation was mind-boggling. It made absolutely perfect images. That may be the most perfect mirror I've ever seen, and that includes my 10" Royce. I had a view of the Moon one night that was like being in orbit. I'm sure that scope could give a $4000 4" Tak a run for its money. I gave it away to a friend - something I often regret :) I sure got my $50 out of it!
Excellent video, thanks. I bought a de-forked Meade 2080 last year. Judging by its serial number, it was manufactured in 1995. I have it mounted on a Vixen GP mount with simple Dec and RA motors. It's been a very good performer so far. One upgrade it needed was a GSO Crayford focuser which negated the previous noticeable image shift when focusing.
Nice to hear about your repurposed 2080!
Thanks Ed for this roundup. I don't intend to buy any more Meade telescopes (have a Bresser branded 150mm achro) other than maaaybe an LX200, but this video brings back memories of when I used to pore over the Meade ads in Sky and Telescope and Astronomy, a couple decades ago.
Thanks for the comment. It was hard to try to compress almost 50 years worth of Meade history in 15 minutes!
Hi. Do you own the 150/1200 achro? I'm really interested in that scope for planetary and double stars. Is it worth the money? Is the performance good? Thank You
I've written about that scope in scopereviews. The most important part of that scope is the mount. This is a heavy OTA at nearly 20 lbs. Usually they sell them on mid-sized mounts mounts like the AVX, which are getting a little unsteady with this amount of weight on them.
Im new to the star gazer's community and have 4500 bought it still brand new in the box for $80! However trying to find a support group in the my area (Detroit)! Hopefully be able to do so soon. Super glad to know it's on thelist.
I have the following Meade scopes, etx90 goto, great optics but like plenty of other etx90’s, the mount was junk after a couple of years. I put the OTA onto a non goto etx mount-now a nice little scope. ETX125, same as the 90, great optics let down by poor quality electronics. I will get around to de-forking It, one day! Two de-forked 7” Maks, both with the dinner gongs removed! Lovely scopes! Both have been fitted with aftermarket focusers to eliminate mirror image shift. My favourite lunar/planetary and double star scopes. Last, and by no means least, an 8” LX10 that runs off a 9V battery. I got this back in the spring of 2019. It was sitting on the “for sale” section of an online used Astro website for ages. It came with all of the original packaging/owners manual etc..it’s hard to believe that this scope is over 25 years old, the previous owner kept it immaculate. Only tried it under the stars a couple of times. Optics seem to be very promising. A lot of scope for less than half the price of some eyepieces. Anyway, thanks for the tips and advice-keep up the good work.
The Cline Observatory where I volunteer for weekly public viewing sessions has had three telescopes in the dome since 1997. The first was a 16" Meade SCT. Being essentially a bigger version of the smaller SCTs, it had mirror-based focus, a lot of image shift, and it was unreliable and Meade's customer service didn't support it. So it was replaced with a 16" RCT which worked fine for a while, and now it has a 24" Planewave CDK. We had also used 8" SCTs on piers at some point, we have one of those 8" SCTs which we use for solar viewing, and we got rid of the piers and use skywatcher 8" dobs and a CPC800 now. I've only been volunteering since 2017 of course so i wasn't there for all those changes.
A 24" Plannewave, nice! Philips-Exeter near here has one of those.
The ETX125 had a big problem with slipping clutches. I took mine apart and found gear grease on the clutch plate. After cleaning and only adding a minimal amount of grease to the gears, it worked fine for a few months and then I had to repeat the cleaning again. When I was researching this problem, I found out it was a common issue with these Meade ETX scopes. Unfortunately, it turned me off to Meade products.
I have an LX200 10" SCT. The electronics were 18v. It was very noisy. I got an all new iOptron CEM 60 mount so I de-forked my 10" OTA and put a dovetail bar on it. It fits nicely on my CEM 60 now. I will probably use it just for visual purposes.
I love the buy this not that series! Please keep them coming!
Thanks Ed Ting, I just wanted to double check on this model. 👍
The only Meade scopes I've had are a DS-114 (don't buy; ok to take if free and plan on buying decent eyepieces) and a 10" LX200 Schmidt Cassegrain. I love the LX200 but an 8" would be far easier to move around. The 8" OTA weighs about half of the 10".
Thanks for the lesson on Meade reflectors. I have a 6" Cave Astrola that looks very much like the Meade reflectors and assumeg that you had some very nice Caves.
I have a 4500 I bought back in the late 90's. I'd hate to say how much I paid for it back then, especially considering what they go for now.
The biggest problem I had was with the tripod leg bracing/accessory tray support. They used these cheap plastic screw-on mounts that would break every time it moved. I finally figured out how to replace them with metal hinges from Home Depot that worked a treat. I'd really like to upgrade to a larger OTA but use the same GEM mount and tripod.
Hi Ed, I'm so happy about what you said in regards to Meade's 8inch Schmitt Casagrains. I guess I just got lucky when I brought my LX90 2 years ago. It had only been used a couple of times and the owner gave up. After he died his wife finally sold it. It came with a wedge and loads of extras. I've been so happy with it.
I have the 127ED and I apparently got one of the good ones. I had read your articles so I knew what to look for. Mine is extremely sharp and I even saw a smudge of a detail on Ganymede (confirmed later). My copy of the mount works flawlessly, in fact I bought the scope mostly for the incredibly robust mount, sufficient for my 10" Newtonian. That the scope was so excellent was a bonus. I paid only $1600 for both. I would not even consider selling either one.
Hi Ed, I just discovered you're on UA-cam. John H here. I've moved from MA to NH, not as far as Todd moving MA to UT, I guess. I miss the days of buying/selling/trading Travelers with Todd, transacting a deal with you in a parking lot in NH, and seeing you swing by to ogle the ARIES 254mm triplet to show at my first NEAF, and I ended up outside in the tent, with the upside to that being that the NEAF blems were out there also. Ahhh, the good old days. A guy flew up from Houston to take the 254mm triplet home, and I'm down from 3 Travelers at the peak (for 2001 eclipse) to just the very best/last one from Todd when he moved on to bigger things. Actually, it's the second time I've owned that one, the first time he wouldn't sell it to me without an option to buy it back 1-2 years later. Which he did.
Regarding Meade, my first LX200 was the 7" Mak, which I regret selling around 1996. A year or two later, I bought a 10" f/6.3 LX200, which is now stored at my business, 20+ years after I heard a popping noise, probably the usual capacitor problem. An LX200 makes a nice manual alt-az mount if you don't bother fixing the electronics!
Good to hear from you again, John!
My first 'real scope' (had a Tasco as a kid) a Meade LT6 ACF bought used a year ago - AZ mount died a few days later - tried to fix it but lack of spares curtailed that - Now happily sitting on a Vixen SXD2 Equatorial Mount - The scope has great optics and solid construction. This one is not made in China but Mexico not sure thats better ? So must have some age to it.
I had a 10" LX200 back in the 90's, well it was my fathers... Unfortunately the electronics all went to crap on them and the mirrors were slightly out of alignment or something over time, it just could never get good focus. Ended up selling it for like 600 bucks and regret that I ever did that. I should have joined a club and figured out how to fix it.
I have a Meade ETX 125 that I bought a few years ago and it has great optics. I also have an old Meade 8 inch Schmidt Cassegrain that I think is the 2080 model. I have de-forked that OTA and I'm getting ready to put it on a modern goto equatorial mount.
G'day Ed, thanks for the videos. I've just purchased my first Meade, a 127mm series 5000 Apo triplet refractor. I haven't had a good chance to use it yet but it looks a beauty. Keep up the good work!
I just got an old Meade model 4600 on an equatorial mount... I got it for free and it looks to be in good condition 👌 free is always the best price 👌
Favorite: 14" LX200 GPS/SMT. Permanently installed, this one is my work horse.
Least favorite: 8" LX5 - SN8. Mechanically it was sound but optically ... it was so so bad.
I don't think they are made now, but in the absolutely "Buy!" category is the HD60 series of eyepieces. I have a whole slew of $300 ultrawides from 40mm down to 4.7mm and they never get used any more. The comfort and sharpness of the HD60s is absolutely outstanding. They are light weight and nearly parfocal. They remind me of orthoscopics but with a 60 degree field of view. Most comfortable eyepieces ever! I've heard they are similar to the Televue Radians. OK enough Meade praise! Like you, I lusted over that 10" on the GEM and that is still my ideal!
My Astronomy club has a 16" LX200 in a roll off roof observatory and several electrical/computer people to keep it going. lol
I own a Meade 7" Maksutov on a Lx200... It's a beautiful instrument. It's old school but it still holds up. I compared it to the latest model of Skywatcher. Can't say I saw a real difference. If there is something to say about it it's indeed the weight. Mine still has it in. Cool down time increases but if you take account for that it's not a really big issue. Overall a lovely instrument.
I wanted a Meade SCT for years while I was in college, when I was finally able to afford one I bought a Celestron.
🤣🤣🤣
lololol. For some reason I never seriously considered Meade. I wanted a Celestron for a long time, checked out Meade, but the Nexstar line was the way for me.
I have several Meade scopes. The one's I would buy again are: the ETX90RA, Meade 10"SN, and Meade 10"SCT. My friend had the 10" Research Series Newtonian and it was excellent. I also had the DS16 which as you mentioned, removed the optics and downsized the secondary to 3.1". The primary was good but not great. The Meade SN came undermounted but my sample has very good optics. I have a Meade 6' f5 Newtonian, 6600 series I think. Meade also made the worst optics I have looked through in a mid 90's 16' SCT. It would not achieve focus no matter what. If I could only have one it would be the 10" SCT as it has the best SCT optics I have used similar to what you also state.
I just found an AS ( Adventure Scope) 80 refractor locally for $75.00 . its going to be a guide scope mostly on my Celestron 150 Omni XLT newt. on an AVX . :)
The Tasco 4.5” “Space Station” reflector scope (received as a gift) actually has okay optics and 1.25” focuser. The mount is junk though. Upgraded to an 8” SCT now.
Happy to hear the Meade 395 is 'To Buy' as I just acquired one. Although.. this refractor has a spider problem. Yep. A spider problem. As a spider managed to get past and in between the lenzes and has made a nice web there. Poor thing never got visitors, I'm afraid... 😢 But so it's there, dead, in the middle of it's web.
That happens all the time…
My family bought my Meade 6” LX85 Maksutov for me as a gift. My focuser gives me trouble.
Who else is an SN6 fan?
Remember when Meade had a blowout sale for $200? Most underrated and versatile IF you can keep it collimated.
Charles, i am a SN 10 fan!!!. love it, but the mount is sloppy. Working on it to keep it sharp.
I recently got a Meade Series 6000 70mm Quadruplet astrograph and I am loving it! The stock tube rings and dovetail aren't the best (especially the tube rings). I picked up some tube rings meant for the stellarvue sv70t and they provide much more stability than the stock tube rings. The optics are great for the price and outclass my Skywatcher evostar 80 for sure. I was a bit nervous going with Meade for my astrophotography needs but I'm glad that I stumbled across a good scope for the price. Thanks for making this video! Meade definitely isn't the best choice in 2021 even with my experience.
My first telescope was a rare Meade bird, 4" SCT on a small German equatorial (model 1037). It was pre-fork mount, and the optics are pretty good, so maybe those early ones were better? I think it was the smallest 'scope at Texas Star Party three years running. Thanks for the great reviews, Ed.
Had a Meade US made 10 inch sct it was fantastic 85mm obstruction or 33% total from memory. I recently sold my 130TS triplet(better optically than the TS 115 for sure mine was) also fantastic as looking for something else now..
The 10" Meade was easily as sharp as my 7 inch skywatcher Mak and that was fabulous as well but totally smashed in light gathering by the 10", though globs looked great at a dark sky site with only 7".
The one I wished I hadnt sold the most is the 10" Meade, it did everything . A C925 I have now seems as good allround hard to remember to compare though..Have to stop this selling buying caper ..full of sellers remorse...the newer etx125 was just OK optically looked just 1/4 wave the older US ones were great..my most recommended cheaper scope is a C6 for the budget minded its very good
So unbelievably beautiful!
I have a Meade 6000 series 115mm apo and it is fantastic, and a great size at only 12 pounds. My only complaint is that Meade advertised a 3' field flattener for the series (now discontinued) but it does not fit on the newest 6000 series, which I learned the hard way. That said, the 3rd party Hotech field flattener, Astrotech .8 reducer/flattener, and Starizona Apex .65 reducer/flattener all work great on it, making it an extremely versatile astrophotography telescope for even a lighter mount like the LX85.
Thanks for the info on field flatteners. I'm going to check those out.
Great video. Worth mentioning is portability factor. If the buyer expects to set up/ break down or transport the telescope for viewing sessions, the Meade 10" fork mount SCTs really push the limits. For one person, safely mounting the 10" LX200 on a wedge is daunting and a mounting plate with guide pins is highly recommended for alt-az orientation.
Also, for decent tracking you should get a counterweight system to balance them and reduce the load on the drive train.
The 8" scopes are much easier to handle and consequently tend to see much more use. Many 10" Meade SCTs spend most of their lives in a box for this singular reason. Fantastic optics in any of the UHTC or newer versions, but keep weight in mind. The 8" might be a better choice.
I have a 10" LX200 and agree 100%. Fortunately I have the mounting plate/eyepiece holder with locating pins and it really helps.
@@David-hm9ic have you used a wedge for astrophotography?
I also find the standard field tripod is ok for visual use but with the wedge you're better off with the "giant" field tripod. The old version of the giant was too tall. Thr later short version sold with larger scopes is better.
I used a Meade model 1060 tube assembly on a Byers 812 mount. Put this system together in 1980 and used it for film astrophotography up until 2003 when I sold it. I took many fine images with hypered 2415 film.
I still regret selling it. The optics were great and with a Baader coma corrector, it produced a nice flat field across a 35mm film frame.
Wow, that rig must have been huge!
@@edting it was, but I was young and emjoyed using it. Very stable and great tracking for long exposures guided msnually.
Ed. Surely over the years you have sern some innovative and good amateur made scopes. I have built many Newtonians and taught mirror making in college. Would love a review from you on my current project.
I bought 2 Newtonian hand made scopes from a rummage sale. They are both 6 or 6.5 inch mirrors with 7" tubes that are 5 feet long.
They seem really nice. I cannot believe how bright and pinpoint sharp everything is through them.
I've always wanted to grind a mirror and build a huge Dobsonian....
I build precision CNC equipment and I have a pretty good idea how to grind my mirror using a computer to get it any shape I want.
Maybe you could give me some pointers about what to watch for as I start in on a fairly expensive piece of unreplacable glass?
I have one of the cursed generation 12.5in dobs. And I must agree that everything aside from the glass is trash. There are many better scopes out there for those looking to drop an eyepiece and go viewing. However if you are the perpetual tinkerer, like I am, being able to snag one of these boat anchors for cheap ( $300 if you want to include the tank of gas and a lunch for me and the family when we went to get it) can net you a cheap to start a project.
So far I've swapped out the cheap plastic rack and pinion for an aftermarket crayford focuser, rebuilt the bottom end to have better columination and (any) airflow, and I'm waiting on a replacement secondary housing as aside from the spider the included one is pretty junk (mine had stripped allen heads). Now when my kids get a bit older (and finish beating up on everything they see) making a family project of a truss conversion with all the bells and whistles is sounding like a fun way to teach them how to do things by hand and get them off the TV at the same time.
Ha, nice story! I have friend who looks at cheap Dobs the way an artist looks at a blank canvas.
I got to look through a Meade LX200 16" once. Globular clusters take on an amazing character at that FL (4064mm)
I have the 2045 Schmidt with field wedge and tripod 😮
I thought it was a classic, collectable 😢 🔭
Haha, sadly no. These things have a bad reputation. But having said that, I have a soft spot for these cute scopes.
I have ETX-60mm, ETX-90mm and ETX-125mm.
The 60 was my first scope. My wife found it for 10 or 20 dollars at a garbage sale. It was untouched never been used. I was fortunate to read about the issues people had with them and have managed to keep it working and use it all the time without damaging the forks.
The 125 was next. It was a basket case when I got it but the optics where VERY nice. It was hardly ever used but used hardly when it was......
Fixed all its maladies and it is a wonderful scope.
The 90 I got from craigslist and paid too much for it but it was nearly new with no issues and it's a harder to find but sought after uhmc (?) coated scope....
All three have goto mounts and use the exact same accessories.
I can mount my Canon T3i or any one of my SVBONY cameras to any one of them in a moments notice because the back cam port is the same thread on all of them.
Was surprised you didn't even mention them.
Or did I miss it?
Your ETX experiences are about normal. I have a well-documented troubled relationship with these scopes going back decades. Too much cheap plastic, inaccurate pointing systems, and long term reliability issues are prevalent. I use mine with planetary imagers on the moon. Deep sky, forget about it...
@@edting I'm not into deep sky anyway....
With that said, I have only been into astronomy and astrophotography for about a year.
My experience talking to other ETX owners has been interesting in that some figured these scopes out right from the beginning and didn't break anything and were very happy with them. They all bought the scopes new and read the entire manual, eventually.
The accuracy problem is one of two things. Either misuse and abuse and lack of maintenance have physically damaged the scope causing inaccuracy OR not using the scopes in what I like to call "the right way"....
There are several configuration and fine tuning steps that need to be taken on a semi regular basis.
And the sync function along with polar alignment with the wedge are crucial to get these scopes to accurately FIND objects and land them in the center of the eyepiece. But the tracking on all three of mine have been flawless.
ONCE dialed in.
So I will agree they can be a pain if you don't take the set up seriously.
But if I spend about 30 minutes ahead of time getting ready, it's a great way to go.
And while I'm no expert I think the optics are pretty good.
An ETX-125EC can be found in great shape with all the extras for 500 bucks.
Ita not great for nebulas. But its GREAT for Jupiter and its moons and Saturn and its moons and rings.
Anyway I just found you not too long ago. I really value your advice.
I can't say how the ETX scopes match up to others, I just like them a lot.
Thank you for replying.
Leaving today on a road trip that will culminate with the purchase of a Meade LX200 7" MCT. Tentatively excited
Ah, that is the best kind of road trip!
@@edting First light on the Mak was great! The internal counterweight is too much for a 2" setup though. More reason to remove it
I own a Meade 80 MM Series 6000 Apochromatic Refractor which I like very much. It's good for daytime viewing, for lunar and planetary viewing, and for brighter deep sky objects. It has no chromatic aberration that I can perceive. I'm moving towards solar viewing with it, including hydrogen alpha viewing, and later on I'll buy a camera for it. It does everything I want, and it's portable. It's also beautiful to look at. What's not to like?
Those are good ones!
Not a fan of the Schmidt-Newtonians that Meade made. Our club had one and the front mirror assembly had come loose. Trying to get that back together and collimated was a study in extreme frustration.
Excellent informative video. The commentary and opinions are great, as always. You should be a consultant for the new Meade/Tasco as you would be an excellent fit. And n asset to the company's direction. Not only for product engineering and development, but your marketing savvy as well. With your many years of experience, you'd be the face of the next generation Meade. Keep-up the great work Ed.
The Starfinder straps won't spring back at you. They are not elastic straps. I've owned many meade sct's and the optics were never as good as celestron. The reflectors though were pretty good.
clear skies Ed !
Thanks!
Just got lucky in picking up a vixen gpdx with an old lx200 that was purchased in the states. Has the old skysensor 2000, currently waiting for an eq5 goto kit for the mount. All in all I paid £550 for the scope, mount and goto kit which will be brand new. Hoping to do some astrophotography with it but expecting to only use it for planetary.
I have recently (since Christmas) started in astronomy. I was wondering if you would review a telescope. It's the Galileo G80095 with the cell phone adaptor. I got it as a present. And, of course now I want a better scope. Was really wondering what your thoughts would be.
It didn't seem like any of these telescopes had a go-to feature or mount. As a novice beginner of this hobby, I have no idea where anything is actually at up in the night sky (except the moon lol)! Do have any videos ranking the best telescopes with the go-to finder/tracker mounts? Again, I am a beginner and am not looking to spend an arm and a leg for something, just a great telescope that makes learning and viewing a breeze (and with a stunning image)! Also, I seem to be leaning towards a refractor with their more compact design... something similar to the Celestron NexStar 8SE design. Doesn't have to be a Celestron, and I was also looking for one with a mirror larger than 8 inches!
Ed, you forgot ETX Mak series. ETX-125 is actually very good telescope
no, they are shit
I own an etx 90 and an etx 125.
Both are fine optically but both suffered with poor quality electronics. This is a well known issue with the smaller Meade scopes.
He mentioned the original ETX, which was the ETX90 Mak. I think I still have 3 of them, including one which I bought when they first came out, feeling lucky to get it at MSRP ($495?, I forget). My advice is that the ETX90 fork mount is useless, just get the OTA. Even a photo tripod is better than the ETX fork mount.
I've owned a Questar 3.5 at the same time as the ETX90, and while the Questar is a bulletproof work of art, the ETX is by far the better value for anyone who notices thousands of dollars being missing from their wallet. I keep them around so that family members can use them during total solar eclipses while I hog the A-P Traveler and share the Canon IS binoculars, though I've given Canon IS as a gift so I can hog mine in 2024.
I can't find any sct parts at all, I was thinking of building another refractor or a sct but finding any optics for them seems to be impossible, I haven't found a single primary for sale used or otherwise.
George Dudash and Associates will replace your Meade Classic Electronics (LX200 Autostar), but it's not a cheap swapout.
Thanks for that info!
Hi Ed. I love your videos. You’re the coolest UA-cam astronomer by light years. I’d love to see a video showcasing your eyepiece collection, which ones are your favorites and the most used. I’ve currently got a 24mm panoptic, as well as 15mm and 9mm Celestron Kellners. My scope also came with an awful 4mm ramsden that I don’t even use due to nearly no eye relief and no eye cup. I want to get a Nagler, but I’m not sure whether I’d get more use out of the 13t6 or the 5t6, mostly because I’ve got the medium power Kellners which don’t look terrible to me. I’m in Colorado Springs with less atmosphere to punch through and use a 127mm f/7.87, 1000mm scope. I end up looking at planets most of the time because they are easy to find and I tend to observe in my back yard with a lot of light pollution.
I love my Meade ETX127 Mak. The only negative point ist, that the mount is realy loud :-(
I'll put my LX50 on the original 26 year mount against any other SCT of similar aperture in the realm of EAA. Piggybacking an ASKAR FMA180 with a 585mc and main OTA with a 294mc
Thanks for this video! I have a late 90's Meade ETX-90 which is excellent. I've deforked it very quickly and I've been using it for 20 years on an equatorial mount. It's one of my first instruments and I'll keep it for the rest of my life, although I've switched to several Takahashi telescopes since then. I was also given a 10-inch LX200, but I'm having a hard time adjusting it. It has an enormous shifting which complicates the collimation. Do you have any links to recommend me for disassembly and maintenance of the Meade LX200, for example a tutorial on UA-cam or an article with photos?
Hi Ed,I really like your overall review, my experience with 8 " sct same fusy corrector plate and 16" sct ,f 10. Specifically not to buy 16" lx200. A so called flagship with plastic gears in DEC , noisy RA gear and worst focouser image shift , mirror flip on lower altitude. Even at the time of box opening found secondary mirror lose enough if you turn OTA to 90° should fell off on the primary. I kept it for 4 years spends hundreds of nights mostly fixing, handling and maintenance of the equipment not its fruit.
Thanks for the anecdote, sorry about your problems. I saw some similar issues with one of the big RCXs a few years back.
I have an ETX90, feels like real class. Seems diffraction limit sharp. However I've long believed that eye piece viewing is inherently flawed so I'd like to see scopes designed purely for digital. Either with a state of the art sensor in it like from Sony or born with a camera mount say Sony EF. A telescope should be exclusively operated from a computer on a big display with live long exposure and stacking. Even remotely like your office while the telescope is outside or even across the country. Or in Chile. Eye pieces should be a crime under the geneva convention. As should refractors. Someone paying 5k for an 80mm refractor setup should be branded with a branding iron. Only way they will learn.
I have a Meade LXD75 SN-6AT (6" f/5) Schmidt-Newtonian that I use for astrophotography. I did replace the craplastic 2" focuser with a GSO Crayford which I even modified for remote electronic focus, and it works well for my skill level. I believe you reviewed one perhaps a year or two ago? I also installed Bob's Knobs on the secondary, so collimation is now pretty straightforward--the original screws were literally a disaster. Too bad this is not a more common product because, in terms of the optical design, I believe they may be superior to a straight Newtonian.
Hi Richard,
I have an LXD75 SN10, which I want to replace the focuser. Did the tube on your scope need any modification to fit the GSO unit?
@@petermetcher Yes, I did have to file out a larger hole to accept the draw tube, and I had to drill new bolt holes. This did involve removal of the Schmidt corrector plate to access the bolts,. At the same time, I removed the primary mirror to clean it and added a standard Synta-style finder mount. All-in-all, not really difficult to do, and the GSO focuser a significant improvement over the stock plastic one.
@@richardshagam8608 Thank you 😊 I appreciate the info. I have in mind to change the finder as well. But the first job is the focuser. The standard focuser seems to have a mind of its own!
Hey Ed! Great video. I just aquired an 8" LX65, and was hoping I would not see it on the "don't buy" list! So far, I love it!
Haha, don't worry about what I say - if it works for you, you made a good choice!
@@edting So far so good! This is my first computerized/go to type mount/scope. I have a lot to learn.... Keep up the great videos, I learn from them every time!
That corrosion on the corrector plate at 1:43 looks a lot like lens fungus. That's a plague for vintage camera collectors. I've never seen a removal method suggested that is reliable and safe for the glass.
That looks like fungus but the coatings have failed on that corrector plate. I've seen this happen with older eyepieces and lots of less expensive scopes.
Yup, I remember you from the Meade refractor articles. Missed buying a 7” mak a couple years ago, still regretting that.
Just got a 13+ year old meade 5000 series 80mm which I was sorry about the condition it was in. Getting It back to light is difficult with parts missing and very little information about it on the Internet.
Hope to get it up and running for astrophotography soon :)
I just Picked up a Series 5000 80mm ED APO Triplet too. I bought it here in Australia for $600 and it had some bits and pieces with it, one of the bits was a Tele Vue X2 and as I am a Astrophotograghy guy I sold the Tele Vue for $400, so the scope and the beautiful Hard case cost me AUD200!!! I this it is a beautiful piece of equipment. Also have a Meade LX90 8". Whilst they made some crap, they made some very lovely equipment. We don't get much Meade stuff in Australia much any more.
@@dmi70594 after few astrophotography testing on the meade 5000 series, the camera zwo294 mc pro sensor didn't work on the telescope and gave me lots of vignetting. The zwo533mc pro sensor size gave me much better results for astrophotography
Every town needs a Scope Wizard
Agreed!
Hi Ed, thanks for sharing. I'm new to the hobby and want to delve deeper into astrophotography. I recently found a Meade 115 EDT, almost new, listed for about $700. The price is very good, but is this telescope suitable for deep-sky photography, how does it perform as a visual telescope?
I'm sorry you feel so strongly about the 4400 not being a good scope. I got one at a good price and I'm having a great time with it. Even after all this time, the mirror is in great shape and those little eyepieces aren't so horrible. I did get an adapter that makes it possible to use the 1.25s. I had got this one as something to get me by as I waited for my Orion Starblast, (That never came) and for the Zhumel (That showed up with the worst focuser I have ever seen) I have to say, I think I could do worse for a first telescope, just saying. :P
What about the 10, 12 and 16" Lightbridge Dobs?
Those are OK.