Meade Telescopes???

[bbg404]

Hello all I'm new here and to astronomy

Currently taking astrophotos of the moon but want to see things in more detail!!

Looked / Looking at the Meade ETX range just wondering what people think of them?

Thanks

[nmoushon]

Any of the ETX arent the best at taking photos of DSO but you'll still be able to grab some decent pics of the moon fore sure. For visual purposes you'll want the largest aperture you can fit in your budget. Also allow for some extra eye pieces as well.

[Stargazer_00]

If your question is very specifically about the ETX range then they are 'ok' but probably you can do a whole lot better for that money.

I suspect what you really need is some fundemental help in bringing you up to speed.

My first advice would be to go to www.firstlightoptics.com and look at all the other types of scopes on there.  This is a great site for entry level scopes and has fantastic service.

Feel free to ask any other questions on here.

Typically we'd ask what your budget it, what your interest is and go from there.

[bbg404]

Thanks I wouldn't necaserally take pics through the scope it's more for looking!

I've looked at the ETX 70 80 90 but just not sure what i get extra for my money!!

I'd be buying used as well as I'm not sure if this is just a random hobby or if ill get in to it

[Stargazer_00]

I remember when I first started looking at getting into astronomy I was also looking at Meade ETXs, and at that time the 120 version looked like the biggest hubble-esque thing since sliced bread!  So obviously their marketing is still good if people are still stumbling across them early on.

If you want to look at decent second hand then go to www.astrobuysell.com/uk  This is the best place to find decent second hand equipment.  There is also a classifieds section here that opens up after 250 posts I think.

I would recommend a newtonian reflector to be honest.   And on a dobsonian mount as this will ensure the majority of your money goes into optics rather than mount.  Tripods at entry level are typicaally wobbly and not great.

[bbg404]

I just don't understand enough to know if it's worth the extra from a 70 to 90 like how much more will I see

I've had a look on there but there's nothing as yet! I personally think 250 is way to high for newly like my self looking to buy kit and get in to a hobby

[Tinker1947]

Maybe you should look at joining a local club, they have people to advise you and also kit to look through, just be aware if it bites people spend more than £250 on one eye piece.....

[bbg404]

Oh there's local clubs??

I'm in Whitley Bay, Newcastle Upon Tyne

[DrRobin]

Hi,

There are a few local clubs, but since I am not a member of any of them, I couldn't comment, but Sunderland AS seems very active.  There is also Newcastle AS, but probably closest to you is Northumberland AS.

I started nearly 3 years ago with a Skywatcher 127 Mak, it was a little more than your budget, but had full GOTO capability and a 5" (127mm) aperture.  These are similar to the ETX range, good value for money and if you don't know your way around the heavens GOTO is really useful.  I went for something reasonably small so as not to take up too much space at home and be portable enough to travel out to a dark sky.

When I bought my scope I knew I wanted to go into astrophotography, the little MAK was fine for the planets and the Moon, but I sold it and bought a 10" dobsonian, which was great for the planets but useless for galaxies and other objects.  It is difficult to know where you might end up, I think work out your budget and what your main interest might be, then see about a scope that fits both.

There is a healthy second hand market on here, Astrobuysell.com/uk and also ebay, but I understand you might be reluctant to buy a scope second hand until you get the feel for what it is you are looking at.  Some of the dealers sell on second hand/ex-demo scopes (FLO on this site) and they are good value too.

Hope this helps?

Robin

[ronin]

ETX 70 and 80 are both short refractors, f/5.

Both are easy to set up and align and if you added a barlow would be OK for imaging Saturn, Jupiter and the moon, the short focal length would really prevent them from imaging Mars, could make Saturn a bit difficult.

ETX 90 is a Mak same basic mount and set up the same way but the narrow field of view means the initial level and North has to be accurate, and you will need a 32mm or 40mm eyepiece as well to get as wide a view as possible for locating the first alignment star.

Power: Bit odd as I do not think there is a DC port on the 70 or 80 and not sure about the 90.

70 and 80 are 9volt, 90 is 12volt. Some retailers sell a PP3 convertion cable, worth getting to power from mains DC unit.

ETX 90 is more "normal" for planetary imaging.

I think the handset for the 90 is more advanced but check, some variants of the 90 came with a very basic handset. You need the 497 handset I think.

All are on Alt/Az mounts so none suited for DSO AP, also I would not like to try and stick a DSLR on any of them. The dual fork mount makes this difficult.

When you tell them to goto something they slew as fast as they can, they are not quiet. Not sure if you can set the 90 to a slew speed less then max, you cannot set the 70 or 80. 70's "grumble" as they track the object, assume 80's do.

The 70 and 80 will not really go above 70x and 80x respectively. If you wanted more then try a 4mm eyepiece but it would need to be reasonable - plossl's are no good, not sure about the TMB clones, more costly may work better but you are looking at £65+ in cost.

Clubs: http://fedastro.org.uk/fas/members/

Scroll down to Northumberland, 3 clubs listed.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Meade (branded) scopes are far more popular in the States then here in Europe. I'm sure they are perfectly fine scopes. The EXT, because of its fork arms is not really suited to imaging. You will be able to image the Moon and maybe the inner planets. For purely observation astronomy i'm sure its fine. You want to go for the biggest aperture you can afford/handle.

I'm gonna say the 90mm scope would be the way to go.

[ollypenrice]

You pay too much for the electronics (which are a bit naff anyway) and not enough for the bits you look through with these scopes.

For a list of clubs just Google Federation of Astronomical Societies and you'll see that they have a list of affiliated clubs. I agree that getting along to one would be a fine idea.

There are some really great Geordies on SGL who will be sure to rally round and help you if you post a thread along those lines!

Olly

[bbg404]

Thanks robin!

Ill look in to the local clubs!

Yeah the etx ones I've been looking at come with the GOTO feature and they look small enough as you say to travel about! I'm just looking at if it's worth paying an extra £50-£100 for the 90 over the 70 I'm just not sure how much ill use it!

I'm not big on Astrophotography just look a few of the moon so that's not the main priority I just want to see more than I can with my naked eye

As mentioned above I've got a long way before I'll be able to see the classified section on here but I would be interested in A Meade ETX if any one sees this! I will in the mean time look at eBay

Thanks for your help

[DrRobin]

Hi,

I think I would go for the 90mm, the extra 20mm will give nearly 30% more light gathering capacity and future proof you a little. I think a 70mm scope will feel just too small for a first scope.

If you do decide to buy second hand I would definitely look on astrobuysell.com/gb as well as eBay although as others have mentioned Meade aren't as popular here as in the US so a bargain might be hard to find.

Have a look at Sunderland AS and Newcastle AS websites, they both offer public sessions include workshops on buying a scope.

Robin

[ArmyAirForce]

bbg404, before you spend any money, get yourself down the the Sunderland Astro Society, and have a look through some scopes and get a feel for the physical size and what you can see through them. The observatory is usually open on a Thursday evening, the second Sunday in the month is a workshop night to chat and help people with setting up, imaging, processing or just observing, the third Sunday is Lecture night, with chatting and or observing after.

We meet at the Washington Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, generally from 7pm.

http://www.sunderlandastro.com/

[David55]

My first scope was a 'desktop' ETX80- ie no tripod. After about 6 months I got an 8" dobsonian, but I still use the ETX regularly. It gives lovely clear views with very little distortion. It came with 9.7mm and 26mm Plossl eyepieces plus an inbuilt x2 barlow giving magnifications from x15 to x80. The goto capability is good once set up, but I hardly ever use it. It will give you lovely views of the moon, double stars and star clusters and i saw this spring's comet, Panstarrs, with ease. What hooked me, though, was my first view of Jupiter. It will look very small, but you'll be able to make out at least 2 cloud bands and 4 moons. Jupiter is so bright you'll not even have to wait until it is very dark. Watching Jupiter outside on a warm spring evening with a glass of something acceptable is a great pleasure. Finally, the ETX is small enough to carry around easily and has an upright picture (though left and right are swapped) so I've taken mine on holiday to look out over the sea and watch the gannets diving for fish. If you are buying secondhand, you might get a really good deal if you can find one whose electronics have failed- you won't miss much, lots of the value is perceived to be in the goto capability.

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi  bbg404 and welcome to SGL.

Optically the 'traditional' Maksutov ETX (ie 90, 105 & 125) are very good, (in other words... a poor mans Questar!!  ), (I don't know about the 70 & 80). It is/was the drive and plastics gears in my opinion that let them down  . As far as I am aware only the 90 & 125's in the Mak are only available as are as the 70 & 80, as Meade discontinued the ETX105 a few years ago. 

There was an advert on UKASTRO BUY & SELL about a month ago and the seller was asking £100.00GBP for the OTA only. They can fit on a 'heavy duty' photo tripod head.

I have an ETX105 that I have modded, but yet to do a post for it.