Jump to content

ETX-80

McCoy

By McCoy
in Welcome

Recommended Posts

McCoy

McCoy

Posted
Posted

Hi my name is Paul, I am a brand new member tonight and brand new to scoial media as well. I have been stargazing on and off for awhile; mostly using department store telescopes and vewing the moon and planets. I now live in North Western Alberta and recently purchased a Meade ETX-80 using the 494-Autostar controller. One of the reasons I have joined is to maybe obtain a bit of guideance from other ETX-80 users. The images with this scope are "right some good" crisp and clear, controlling the scope with the 494-Autostar controller, not so much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 25
  • Created
  • Last Reply
ronin

ronin

Posted
Posted

The 494 is pretty basic, the 497 looks better but not really a great advance and you need to change the drive gear ratio's held in the handset to use one. Never tried it but read it on Weasners and from what I read that was all required. However still not sure it is worth doing for what difference it would make.

Power, the batteries work, an AC/DC mains supply is better, just make sure you watch it as I think the ETX-80 does not have end stops so will happily go round and round then strangle itself to a standstill fighting against the motors or pull the power lead out.

Eyepieces, try the Astro-Tech Paradigms, 5mm, 8mm and 25mm will do about everything, maybe the 18mm in place of the 25mm.

They are noisy little things, especially when slewing to the next target, when just tracking they grumble.

A bubble level is useful, you may get the chance of one with a compass the compass is of limited use and usually inaccurate, but the level is useful.

The scope tends to be very easy to set-up and align. As you say the handset is basic, not sure if you can attach a laptop with software. That is one avenue that may be worth checking, again Weasners.

Many do not rate the scope but as it is so easy to use you will most likely find that you use it a lot. There is variant here that sits on a platform on a table, looks like the platform that it sits on could be easily homemade with a piece of 8-12mm ply and a few tools.

If you ever "upgrade" to a 105 or 125 you are in for a shock. They are harder to align, the field of view is much narrower so alignment is a more difficult.

If you take care of it then it will last years, and as said as it is so easy to use it will very likely get the most use.

P.S. Which bit of Alberta ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
hoops86

hoops86

Posted
Posted

Hi Paul,

Welcome to SGL :)

As mentioned above try Weasners mighty ETX site. Mike is a great guy and his site is amazing for ETX owners. Unfortunatly he cant update his site any longer. But there is loads of useful info there that will help you!

http://www.weasner.com/etx/menu.html

I always found Autostar to be very easy to setup and align. Ive never used the 494 hand controller so not too sure what limitations it has. But i would suggest when aligning your scope you pick a "2 star alignment" and manually select each star you want to use to align.

Also i would suggest you use either a power tank or a 12v mains adapter to power the scope!

All the best!

Cheers

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites
nytecam

nytecam

Posted
Posted

Hi Paul - welcome to SGL   The Meade ETX-60/70/80 series [i've the '70'] are good starter scopes with goto.  Download the manual for the full spec of the various modes and options.   The drive is a little clunky but capable of taking good deepsky images if set-up properly - my ETX-70 gallery  @ http://home.freeuk.com/m.gavin/etx70mg.htm  :police:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
McCoy

McCoy

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all your replies, i see that i'm not the only one with these issues. Also i want to thank everyone for all your suggestions and sites to check out.

I Paul

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...
David55

David55

Posted
Posted

I have an ETX80 which was my first scope. I now also have an 8" dobsonian, but still use my ETX regularly. Mine is a desktop version, so it's really easy to set up anywhere. This week, for example, it has been really cold outside, but I can stick my ETX on the windowsill in the bedroom, open a window and watch Jupiter and it's moons, the Pleiades and some of the larger clusters in comfort. Sure, there's a bit of atmospheric distortion caused by the warm air from the room mixing with the cold air outside the window, but it's better than nothing and still enjoyable. Certainly the ETX gives lovely crisp views, I find that the 26mm eyepiece is best, but also got a Meade 12.5mm which I find more comfortable than the 9.6mm supplied with the scope. The built-in flip barlow is pretty good too, although the number of turns required on the focusser means that I rarely use it. I had a few problems with the goto at the start, but it was fine once I carried out the calibration process right. But to be honest, I hardly ever use it now that I know my way around the sky a bit better. I've been very pleased with the ETX, it gave me my first views of a tiny, but banded Jupiter, it gives great views of the moon, many double stars and clusters. And I've even been able to take it on holiday to watch gannets diving for fish in Cornwall. If after a few months you feel the need for a bigger scope,then the ETX will have done its job well and provided, as it did for me, an excellent introduction to astronomy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.