Advice please: Meade DS-2000 90mm x 800mm

[ely_ellis]

Hi all,

Wonder if anyone can help.

I am about to buy my first scope and I don't want to jump in with something large, just something of good quality.

I have seen a Meade DS-2000 90mm x 800mm refractor with 5x eyepieces and the computerised mount and tripod.

Does anyone have any experience with this scope and mount and what would be a good price to pay for a second hand one.

Any information would be useful.

Thanks

Martin

[ronin]

There is an occasional post about these and they do not seem to be that good. If I recall the mount has a bit of a gimmick in that it "talks".

The scope is probably a reasonably decent 90mm f/8.8 achro refractor. I am not sure about the mount. Meade usually make a fork mount and these are arm mounts.

From past posts I would personally avoid, however if you can get a used one fully working and at a decent price it could be worthwhile. At the end the choice an decision is yours.

Suggest you consider any scope like this as a first scope and one that you will either reasonably quickly want to upgrade, or decide that astronomy is not for you and so get rid if. It will not have any realistic resale value also it may not have a market.

New they seem to be about £270.

For that sort of money there are better scopes and ones that you will keep for longer. Mostly however not goto

You could look round for a similar spec scope on an EQ mount, preferably an EQ3-2 at least.

[ely_ellis]

The one I am looking at is going for about £75, so would be good as a first scope I think, but just a little unsure of whether it is worth it at that price.

Looks like it could well be worth it if new they are around £270

Of course then I am worried there could be something wrong with it!

[ronin]

It seems that DS-2000 is the name of the mount not the scope.

The scope seems to be 80mm not 90mm, the whole lot being designated DS2080.

The specification I can find is:

DS-2080AT-LNT / 20087

Optical Design Refractor

Optical Diameter 80mm (3.1")

Focal Length; f/ratio 800mm, f/10

Mounting Type Altazimuth, DS-2000 mount

Viewfinder Red Dot with LNT

Tripod Aluminum; full-length; adjustable with accessory tray

Eyepiece (1.25") SP9.7mm, SP26mm

Software AutoStar Suite", PC-compatible DVD

Price for that is £205, think it was Harrison's that I took the information from. There 3 in the DS 2000 range.

The scope uses the small Meade Handset.

At £75 you would get a scope, being on an arm it should be transferable to another mount, note the SHOULD.

Being mercenary if it all failed you could probably sell the handset IF it were compatible with the small ETX range. A spare handset is always a good idea to someone that has one (me). This would need to be determined if it ever came to that.

Meades are pretty easy to set up, assumption is that the DS2000 range uses the same principle of: level mount, level scope, aim scope due North, press align.

If operating I cannot really think of any reason to say No, ultimately it is a scope and although better, there is ALWAYS a better not matter what scope you have, it gets you started.

I cannot really say No as I sit here looking at a small Meade ETX70 that is not as big as the one you are considering that I have had for the last 10+ years and that works fine and is used a lot. To say don't buy seems at odds with it. I would probably take a chance on it.

Wish I knew what the others that has a Meade DS who posted on SGL did after their set up problems were solved, assuming they were.

If the scope slews up/down/left/right, and, better, if the seller will set it up roughly North and Level then select Align. The scope goes through the alignment motions - should select a first star and slew to it, select a second star and slews to that then says Alignment successful. This last one means setting the scope up on the tripod and mount so is more involved, basically they may not want the hassle of doing so.

[glowjet]

This will be the Meade DS2090, 90mm GOTO refractor on an alt/az arm mount which, when they came on the market retailed for £199, was compete with a full set of 6 MA eps ( modified Achromats ) and #497 Autostar hand controller and mount, I have seen through one of these at a star event and was very impressed with the optics, the owner had just acquired the scope and was obviously delighted with his purchase. If I am correct the Meade #497 controller alone still sells for around £70 secondhand on ebay, and the case of eps must be worth in the region of £20-£25. HTH

[keithatrochdale]

I have one of these, it was not bad and well worth £70 - snap it up. Mine has a lot of play on the focuser and the scope is of plastic construction. Being plastic it is nice and light.

I now have a clam shell for it and pop it onto my HEQ6 with Baeder(?) film for white light sun observing - at that price you can't loose out.

[todd8137]

i brought my daughter this scope as a starter scope about 16months ago as a starter scope its mega it works well and we have had some great pics and video of the moon and planets

do not be fooled by the size of this scope its only 90mm but theres a lot to see with this scope as long as you train the drives every couple of uses it will serve you well i have used a number of cameras with this scope a cheap web cam and adapter will get you great videos of the moon and planets that will amaze your freinds and your self go for it at that price i would want to see it working first i have videos on youtube search for todd8137 on youtube and see what views you will get of the moon ect

for what it is and how much you will pay get the scope its good in my eyes

[ely_ellis]

Hi all,

Thanks for all the advice, unfortunately it was sold. It went for just under £120.

I work nights and was not up to get in a winning bid so, never mind, but something to look for next time.

Thanks again.

Martin

[rwilkey]

This is a starter scope and must be viewed as such, personally I think the following is better: eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

I have experience of the DS2090, it is a good scope and the 5 ep's are a good starter kit. My only gripes are that the mount lock works loose after a while and this is a pain, and also the red dot finder (RDF) is worse than useless and broke within a few days, but if you want to 'try out' the GOTO revolution this is a good place to cut your teeth. My wife loves the scope, always using it and wouldn't change it for the world.

[jefft104]

I bought a meade ds2000 years ago and have really only used it to view the moon.  The optics are reasonable and the autostar goto was pretty standard for Meade at the time...no GPS so you do have to align it.  The construction is pretty cheap and they sent me two defective focus assemblies on warranty before they gave me a decent one that works.  The others had defective gear racks.  I believe that this scope was rebranded by Meade and not manufactured by them.  I think at 75 pounds it is a reasonable buy if it is complete with the software and autostar and all works.  Lots of plastic on it so handle with care and you should be ok.  I believe they were still on the market around 2003.  Good luck.

[Cornelius Varley]

3 hours ago, jefft104 said:

I bought a meade ds2000 years ago and have really only used it to view the moon.  The optics are reasonable and the autostar goto was pretty standard for Meade at the time...no GPS so you do have to align it.  The construction is pretty cheap and they sent me two defective focus assemblies on warranty before they gave me a decent one that works.  The others had defective gear racks.  I believe that this scope was rebranded by Meade and not manufactured by them.  I think at 75 pounds it is a reasonable buy if it is complete with the software and autostar and all works.  Lots of plastic on it so handle with care and you should be ok.  I believe they were still on the market around 2003.  Good luck.

FYI. This thread is now six years old and the OP has moved on from his first telescope (please read his equipment list)