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MEAD ETX 70 ANY GOOD??


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Oh I see, different one - the Leicester one was the only one that came up with the keywords I put in. Anyway it is essntially the same scope but without motors on the mount (which can be added later). It has a polar scope (£30 new 1/2 that 2nd hand) and an additional longer focal length eyepiece which is good. The short f/l EP is not the usually great but a 1/2 decent short EP won't cost the Earth. Always a bit wary of sellers that describe a telescope as "Huge" hopefully any interested buyer will know what it is and how big it is :)

There are ways to improve the tripod such as filling the Ali legs with sand to dampen vibrations - you could even build an observatory with a steel pier to mount it on :(. Even keeping them short helps a lot.

I would still ask about condition of the mirrors - preferably a piccy - they are delicate things and even cleaning by an inexperience person can cause expensive damage! I'd prefer them to come nice and dusty than freshly cleaned by a numpty.

Oh, and they come along fairly regularly so don't over bid!

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I have a SW Exp. 200P and I have to say I love it! Although I don't go in for imaging yet. At which point I'm looking at one of those ST80s to hit off with.

Funny though, I am in the market for a small aperture ETX as I'd like a portable scope to go out with - and as much as I adore my newt I'm not carrying that anywhere. :)

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The other thing to remember about the ETX 70 is that the drive gears are plastic and prone to slipping. I'd say it has a short lifespan and as most of those in circulation will be 2nd, 3rd hand you may get a duffer.

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The ETX looks good as it's an inexpensive route to GOTO (if buying on eBay). That said, I recently picked up 3 Meade RB70 scopes for £10 (OTAs only) for a hobby project - I want to build them up to something approaching reasonable and donate them to local schools, 2 of them anyway.

I'm test driving one now. Portable enough but can't achieve good focus with a 6mm (yes, I went there :)). 8mm was okay and I'm about to tap Saturn up. Okay, it's not a patch on my larger aperture newt but it could be quite portable with a flimsy mount.

But, damn, those ETXs look the part!

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I have a SW Exp. 200P and I have to say I love it! Although I don't go in for imaging yet. At which point I'm looking at one of those ST80s to hit off with.

Funny though, I am in the market for a small aperture ETX as I'd like a portable scope to go out with - and as much as I adore my newt I'm not carrying that anywhere. :)

That's just wussy! ... My 14" dob makes regular outings! :(

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That's just wussy! ... My 14" dob makes regular outings! :(

LOL! Fair play, but I don't have a car and I couldn't imagine the sight of my rig on the back of my little Vespa! Although it would make a few of the locals giggle I'm sure :)

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LOL! Fair play, but I don't have a car and I couldn't imagine the sight of my rig on the back of my little Vespa! Although it would make a few of the locals giggle I'm sure :(

Crikey that is a scarey thought - how about a trailer or side car for it? :)

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Just bought an ETX70 for portability and entry level imaging down the line. Looking forward to testing it out. And this one will fit on my back so no need for a sidecar :icon_eek:

Have fun with it - the best scope is one that you use. :)

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