Meade Infinity 102

[Ray of LIght]

 i just purchased a meade infinity 102az, hasnt arrived yet. I have a bad back and other health issues and for that reason i chose to upgrade my celestron 70az with the meade. It has the larger aperature but i can still handle it. Any opinions on this telescope would be greatly appreciated. Kind of closing door after horse ran out but was kind of limited on options. Thanks!

 

 

[Ray of LIght]

Gee, i hope i dont have to assume no one likes this telescope. I read done really good reviews so i also hope i am wrong in my assessment of what is happening here. I appreciate all info. Thanks again. 

[brantuk]

Been a bit quiet recently Ray and may take a while for folks with your scope to see your thread and reply. But there are folks with Meades on the forum. I always give it 24hrs before expecting a reply.

[Ray of LIght]

Thanks so much for the feedback!! I am new to any kind of forum and i guess i will learn with the help of folks like u. Once again thanks!

[brantuk]

No probs - Welcome to SGL

[Dave In Vermont]

As above - welcome aboard - it's nice you've joined us!

Looks to be a very nice little refractor. It looks to be a sweet wide-field achromat, which I very much enjoy. I have an ST80, which is an F/5 80mm achromatic refractor. Yours should excel on some extended nebulae and star-clusters, as well as the star-fields of our Milky Way galaxy.

Do let us know on your viewing and what objects you're enjoying.

Clear & dark skies over in New York -

Dave

[cloudsweeper]

Ray - 

I  had a smaller Meade Infinity which really got me fired up with this pastime.  It gave good results with the Moon, planets, Orion Nebula, clusters, and double stars.  And your model is larger (more light) and has nice slow motion controls.  Also, the alt-az mount is very easy to aim and use - a wise choice.  If you have difficulties looking at objects high in the sky, you could simply employ a stool or similar.

I'm sure you will get a lot of enjoyment out of your 'scope.

Doug.

[Cornelius Varley]

Post moved to the correct forum section.

[rwilkey]

Hi Ray, the Meade refractors are great scopes by any measure, and you will get a lot of pleasure out of the great 102mm aperture, it's just the right aperture for great views of the best solar system objects as well as DSO's.  I've used the 90mm version and it is a great scope with the right eyepieces.

[Ray of LIght]

Thank you all? ! I am so happy to hear that the meade achromats are do well liked and, incidently, i would really like to do dso observing as my main interest once i become proficient enough (and have viewed the solar system!). Im expecting delivery of my new scope tomorrow and am looking forward to it very much, to say the least! Thanks again and as they say, clear skies! Please keep the feedback coming ??!

[Dave In Vermont]

Ray:

Have you heard of Stellarium yet? It is what is called a 'Planetarium-Program' and what it does is give you a very realistic view of your nighttime sky from your location - which you tell it. Then you add any & all objects you'd like to see and/or find. It's a very detailed and in-depth piece of software. Similar programs can run you $200+. But Stellarium is absolutely free. No kidding! I'll give you the links for this and links for the instructions. The most recent instructions are on Wiki as they are constantly being updated by the developers (one is a member here). And another is on a Pdf. you can download for home-use.  I'll leave a screenshot of mine - which is quite advanced. Not to worry - yours will start more simple, until you load it with all the things you wish. Here's my Cut & Paste:

On this link is the main page for downloading Stellarium. Choose which version is correct for your computer. Here you go:

http://www.stellarium.org/
 
As for instructions, the most current one's are posted in Wiki due to there being new features & functions being created almost daily. There is also a Pdf. that's almost up-to-date, absolutely enough 'up-to-date' in all needed ways. Here's the Wiki-Link:
 
http://www.stellarium.org/wiki/index.php/Stellarium_User_Guide
 
And the Pdf. is here:
 
http://barry.sarcasmogerdes.com/stellarium/stellarium_user_guide-new.pdf

Enjoy!

Dave

Click on image for full-size.

[Mak the Night]

Found this on Cloudy Nights if it's any help.

http://www.cloudynights.com/page/articles/cat/user-reviews/telescopes/100mm-110mm-refractors/the-meade-infinity-102-az-r2915

[Ray of LIght]

Thanks dave and mak! I have the stellarim app on my iphone and inappreciate the info since i am finding it a little difficult. I also have star map 3d+ which i have used to some success but i feel it will be even more useful with my new scope. Thanks again!

[Mak the Night]

You're welcome Ray. I like Celestron's SkyPortal on my Android tablet as well. Have fun with your new scope, it sounds great.

[Ray of LIght]

Sounds good Mak, i will check out the app store for it. I will put up a post when i get my new telescope today and let u all know how i like it ?!

[Ray of LIght]

Downloading sky portal now. Between that and the scope oughta keep me busy for awhile ?! Thanks so much. Will let you know how im progressing. 

[Mak the Night]

I'd definitely check out the Virtual Moon Atlas as well, it runs on Windows and Linux.

https://www.ap-i.net/avl/en/start

[Ray of LIght]

Will do! Quick quick question: any opinion on the meade or celestron 2x barlow? The celestron is an omni, the meade is the 2x shorty i believe. U guys are great, thanks so much ??

[Ray of LIght]

Oh, also looking at the high point 2.5 barlow. Thanks!

[cloudsweeper]

Celestron products are very good.  I have a long FL Omni EP which I like to use, as well as XCel LX EPs.  As for Barlows, my own preference is to build up the EP collection to get the mags I want that way.   But of course they are popular as a convenient way to extend your range of mags.

Doug.

[Mak the Night]

3 hours ago, Ray1103 said:

Will do! Quick quick question: any opinion on the meade or celestron 2x barlow? The celestron is an omni, the meade is the 2x shorty i believe. U guys are great, thanks so much ??

I have a variety of Barlows. The first three Barlows in the top row of this picture are Celestron 2x. The silver coloured one is an Omni. I believe the Omni series are manufactured by GSO (Guan Sheng Optical). The black one to the right of it is from the Celestron Eyeopener Kit and is also almost certainly GSO. They are almost identical and are relatively decent quality for what they cost. Although I've seen the Omni priced at nearly 40 quid (pounds Sterling), which I think is over-priced. The Celestron Barlow to the left of the Omegon apochromatic 2x 'Short Barlow' is Synta made and better quality than the other Celestron Barlows. It also has a removable Barlow element.

FLO sell it: http://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-eyepieces/celestron-2x-universal-125-barlow.html

TS Optics do one similar: http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p7095_TS-OpticsTSB21T2--2x-Barlow-1-25--with-integrated-T-thread-and-Photo-Adapter.html

The Barlow on the extreme left of the bottom row is a GSO 'shorty' apochromatic 2.5x (TS Optics). I recommend this as I find it very useful on my 90mm Mak. The 2.5x TeleVue Powermate (far right) is too heavy for the little Mak.

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p55_TS-Optics-TSB251-2-5x-Barlow-Lens--1-25-inch---apochromatic-triplet-design.html

Regardless of what it portrays in the artwork on the TS Optics site, the GSO manufactured Barlow doesn't feature a barrel safety undercut, as GSO have ceased putting them on the draw tubes of many of their eyepieces as they can make extraction difficult when utilised with a compression ring.

Celestron AstroMaster (Synta) Barlow showing element removed.

The unthreaded element can be threaded directly onto other eyepieces to produce about a 1.6x magnification.

As can be seen threaded into this 10mm Celestron Luminos eyepiece. One caveat though, Celestron threads aren't always universal and the Celestron Barlow element may not thread into other makes. Whether this is some difference between Synta, GSO and other Asiatic manufacturers I'm not sure. As a whole though, anything Celestron will fit anything else Celestron.

I've never owned a Meade Barlow and have no idea who actually manufactures them. My guess is that they are predominantly GSO though.

[Ray of LIght]

Great advice, thanks again guys! I got my new telescope today and i love it! Beautiful piece of equipment. Unfortunately weather will be lousey for the next five days or so but i will post my impressions as soon as i can. If it performs as good as it looks i am going to be a very happy camper! Thanks so much! Would continue to welcome any advice for a beginner like myself. 

[Dave In Vermont]

There are some good tricks you can learn to get the best performance out of your 102mm. But this can wait until you've had the 'First-Light' with it. Or your house washes up on Mount Ararat in Turkey - after the flood and 40 days & 40 nights of rain we're now destined to have.....

Have fun!

Dave

[Mak the Night]

9 hours ago, Ray1103 said:

Great advice, thanks again guys! I got my new telescope today and i love it! Beautiful piece of equipment. Unfortunately weather will be lousey for the next five days or so but i will post my impressions as soon as i can. If it performs as good as it looks i am going to be a very happy camper! Thanks so much! Would continue to welcome any advice for a beginner like myself. 

It's an unwritten law of nature that if you buy any new astronomy gear the weather takes a turn for the worse. This is especially true after buying a new telescope lol. Time to play with some good free astro software and plan for some viewing sessions. Plus, you will be in time for the Mars Opposition.

Cartes du Ciel: http://www.ap-i.net/skychart/en/start

This is online but very good: http://target.lroc.asu.edu/q3/

Have fun!

[Ray of LIght]

Dave and Mak, you guys are hilarious ?! How true though. Same thing when i got my 70mm celestron. Then your wife says " see, bought that telescope and you never use if". Then i have to calmly explain how telescopes dont have x-ray vision. Oh well. I will check back in soon. Thanks again for everything!