Heads-up on amazing deal. (Meade 24mm UWA + Series 5000 diagonal)-159$

[Eigen]

Noticed this deal mentioned on CN and thought I would share it. I have ordered on for myself through an old friend currently residing in the States.

http://store.meade.com/99-reflectivity-diagonal-and-24mm-ultra-wide-angle-eyepiece-kit.html

By comparison a 5000 diagonal is 195EUR and a 24 UWA is 405EUR according to Vega Optics but I don't know how competitive their pricing is?

Catch is that it appears they will only send to US/Canadian address.

Anyway I am a happy camper, expect a month of rain all over Europe when the package arrives.

[alan potts]

Thats cheap I have both and paid near to 3 times that and that was with discount. Alan Potts top tip Buy Buy Buy, thay are very good.

Alan.

[Eigen]

Well it seems the deal is now over, with the prices back to 200$.

Alan, how do you like the diagonal? I ordered mainly for the UWA, it's reputation is pretty solid. The diagonal itself I don't really need, but it seems pretty solid and I suppose it will look nice on a LX200 ota. Is the performance up-to-par?

[Eigen]

Prices back to 400$.* Sorry for the double post.

PS is there an edit button I am not seeing or is editing entirely disabled?

[alan potts]

Eigen,

I have the Meade 2 inch diagonal and the Televue and apart from the better build quality of the TV the Meade is excellent. Optically I can't tell them apart. The Sky at Night Magazine rated it as highly commendable in a test some years back. Its very good, if you can put it against a Televue what else is there to say , the 24mm is a fine eyepiece too.

I am not sure but I think only advanced member can edit, you need 250 posts.

Alan

[nephilim]

Yep, 250 posts to enable editing.

[Eigen]

Eigen,

I have the Meade 2 inch diagonal and the Televue and apart from the better build quality of the TV the Meade is excellent. Optically I can't tell them apart. The Sky at Night Magazine rated it as highly commendable in a test some years back. Its very good, if you can put it against a Televue what else is there to say , the 24mm is a fine eyepiece too.

I am not sure but I think only advanced member can edit, you need 250 posts.

Alan

Thanks for the info Alan. I haven't been able to find a good review of the diagonal, your experience is quite encouraging. As you said, if it is comparable to the TeleVue there is not much left to say.

Oh and thank you both in regards to the editing info, I really have to start being more thorough when reading through the rules.

Regards,

Eigen

[alan potts]

Eigen,

I think it is fair to say in general most Meade equipment is pretty good, I have had almost all of the Series 5000 eyepieces which the diagonal is part of and they are very good indeed, yes there are better but two and a half times the cost.

I am sure that you will be very pleased with the 2 inch diagonal, I used mine last night with a scope costing a graet deal of money and no weak link in the chain was visible. I don't know which Sky at Night mag made the review on diagonals but it goes back a good few years, it must have been one of the early issues. I know they were using it as advertising when I bought mine and that was 4 years ago. I would have been nice to see what other diagonals were in the test.

The other one that I have used and again couldn't tell one from the other was a top end Williams Optic model, very nice.

Take care and I hope you all soon get some weather.

Alan.

[Eigen]

Very encouraging, thank you Alan. Makes the waiting even more difficult now, hehe. What is it about waiting for astro gear that can turn a grown man into an impatient child.

Thanks for the wishes, though down here in NIce weather tends to be great, it is the winter seeing that has been bothering me lately. Pickering 1 skies with not a cloud is sight is quite frustrating to say the least. Bulgaria should have some pretty stable seeing though? I know that seeing in Slovenia is amazing on a regular basis.

[Eigen]

Another heads up for anyone who was considering this deal but missed out. It is available on Telescopes.net and it seems like they ship to Europe? http://telescopes.net/store/meade-99-reflectivity-diagonal-and-24mm-ultra-wide-angle-eyepiece-kit.html

[alan potts]

Did you get yours after al, and what did you think if the weather has let you use it.

Alan

[Stargazer_00]

Just got it from the 2nd link there for $209 with express shipping to UK. £133 by today's exchange rate. I nearly fell off my chair thanks a ton for the heads up was in the market for a UWA eyepiece AND a 2 inch diagonal. what a win. Even with duty and taxes if this gets stopped thats a huge saving.

Edit: UK retailers

EP is £215 http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/Meade_5000_Series_24mm_Ultra_Wide_Angle_Eyepiece_2__.html

Diagonal is £146 http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/Meade-5000-Series-Diagonal-2--W-SC-Adapter.html

Add some delivery on top thats as near as damnit £360 ish

What a deal...

[Eigen]

Hey Alan, I wish I had recieved the package. Yesterday was some of the best seeing I have had in months, the split on Gamma Leonis was breathtaking, 300+ mag skies with no issue, perfect airy disks. Needless to say everything else was just as good, I don't remember spending so much time on NGC2392 the steadiness really helped coax some previously unseen detail from within the nebula.

But alas the package is still on its way, or stuck in French customs somewhere. Will be sure to post what I think of the combination, when it arrives.

Stargazing00, agreed the deal is quite literally unbelievable, just the diagonal goes for 200EUR on this side of the Atlantic. Glad I was able to pass on the savings to another SGL member. Be sure to post your opnion on the combination as well.

[Stargazer_00]

If this actually comes off (cant quite believe my luck right now) then I owe you a beer my man.

[alan potts]

Eigen,

It's once a week cloudy night today, I will give Gamma a try, it's on the other side of the house to where I normally set up but I can move around so I will give it some scope time.

Why French Customs, are you in France? Or is it doing a Europian tour.

Alan

[Eigen]

Stargazing00, will be happy to take you up on that offer next time I am in the UK.

Alan, yes I am living in Nice at the moment, unfortunately this entails the dreaded French customs. I tend to avoid ordering from outside the EU, but this was just one of those deals.

Gamma is one of my favorite doubles, beautiful pair and fairly tight with about 4" separation, just about split able in the ~65X+ region, looks great at 140X. Well worth the move to the other side of the house in my opinion. Another one to check out tonight, would be h3945 Canis Majoris, the winter Albireo, lovely gold and blue.

[alan potts]

Eigen,

I will give it a look for sure, I seem to be good at seeing tight and difficult doubles so I will see if I can better X65, not that I am trying to out do you. I managed Sirius the other night at X44 and I am absolutely sure I was seeing this though I must say I find it hard to believe myself. I am a few degrees South of you but give Sirius a try.

Alan.

[hwsoderlund]

That is one sweet deal. Just placed an order myself even though I am a dob user and have no use for the diagonal. Thought I'd sell it on and keep the ep. The diagonal currently sells for about £150 here in Sweden, so even if I only get half of that I pretty much get the eyepiece for free. Perhaps I should have ordered two sets...

[Eigen]

Eigen,

I will give it a look for sure, I seem to be good at seeing tight and difficult doubles so I will see if I can better X65, not that I am trying to out do you. I managed Sirius the other night at X44 and I am absolutely sure I was seeing this though I must say I find it hard to believe myself. I am a few degrees South of you but give Sirius a try.

Alan.

I have no doubt that you will out do me with the 115 APM of yours. All I have at my disposal with me is an LX200 8incher and a 5 inch mak.

I am afraid that Sirius might be a bit of a stretch, but I will give it a try next time the seeing is good, which is really what it boils down to in the end. Splitting Rigel, which is quite similar l is not problem, but Sirius is a bit tougher.

hwsoderlund, agreed, if you sell the diagonal you basically get a 24UWA for peanuts. Lets us know how you get on with the EP when it arrives.

[Stargazer_00]

My diagonal and eyepiece turned up today. Shows how long it took in the end but man was it worth it! Even after customs taxes and royail mail admin fee all in it was £166. Saved a ridiculous amount.

So pleased I just put in an order for a 4.7, 6.7 and 18mm Explore Scientific 82' to finish off my set of 82's I expect that lot to come in at around £300 after taxes and handling charges. Madness.

[Eigen]

Nice to know it worked out for you as well.

I am quite pleased with the diagonal really complements the SCT aesthetically, performance wise I have not had enough time behind the eyepiece to say but it is looking quite good.The eyepiece is a bit on the heavy side, but based on observation thus far definitely a keeper!

For the price I am on cloud nine.