Meade Telescopes. Which one to buy?

I'm considering getting a Meade ETX series Astro Telescope and was
looking for some feedback as to which one to buy or even another mfg.
The use will be for my father-in-law mainly, so once set up it ideally
needs to be "user friendly". I'm no rocket sceintist, but after some
brief research I think I can get this set up for him to use.
He has always wanted a telescope and now has the scratch to invest in
one, so I want to make sure he is getting what he wants.
Any suggestions are welcome.
TIA

Well, from many reports, the little ETX (90) does best on the planets
and Moon, yet who needs go-to to find them?

The bigger ETX (125) gets you more light gathering but with an
incredibly long focal length and doesn't take standard SCT accessories.

I'd seriously consider getting him an Orion 6" or 8" intelliscope dob;
or alternatively a Hardin dob (or Discovery for known high quality
mirrors) with Telrad, Turn Left at Orion, and Telrad finding books.
With your help, he should have a blast.

One can always add the digital setting circles later (a small computer
that tells you how to find things).

The good thing about the dob option is that it's much less $$, will show
many more things, much brighter than the ETXs...

Larry Stedman
Vestal

On 20 Aug 2004 10:13:06 -0700, bill kline wrote:

I'm considering getting a Meade ETX series Astro Telescope and was
looking for some feedback as to which one to buy or even another mfg.
The use will be for my father-in-law mainly, so once set up it ideally
needs to be "user friendly". I'm no rocket sceintist, but after some
brief research I think I can get this set up for him to use.
He has always wanted a telescope and now has the scratch to invest in
one, so I want to make sure he is getting what he wants.
Any suggestions are welcome.
TIA

The ETX's are good scopes, but may not be best for your father-in-law.
The important issues a

1. What objects does your FIL want to look at?
ETX's are well suited for planets, the moon and maybe the sun.
They are not ideal for deep sky objects such as galaxies, nebulae
or star clusters.

2. What physical considerations must be taken into account?
Does he want to sit down, or does he mind standing to view?
Can he lift heavy objects? Can he contort his body to look
through a low finder scope? . . .

3. Where will he be observing from? City? Country? Suburbs?

There are many other criteria in selecting the right scope. Please be more
specific. Checking with the FAQ's may help.

Cheers,
Larry G.



--
Using M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/

bill kline wrote:

I'm considering getting a Meade ETX series Astro Telescope and was
looking for some feedback as to which one to buy or even another mfg.
The use will be for my father-in-law mainly, so once set up it ideally
needs to be "user friendly". I'm no rocket sceintist, but after some
brief research I think I can get this set up for him to use.
He has always wanted a telescope and now has the scratch to invest in
one, so I want to make sure he is getting what he wants.
Any suggestions are welcome.
TIA

One thing that is often not considered is the ease of use: time
to set-up, portability, etc. I have an 8-inch Orion reflector
on EQ mount and I like it very much. However, for casual
observing from the patio after work, lugging the heavy tripod,
setting-up, etc. was too much for me. So, in addition to it, couple
of weeks ago I got a small Orion StarBlast (4.5-inch f/4 tabletop
dob). Now I'm using it almost every clear night, while I use the
big scope mainly for "serious" night-long observing. I take a
look outside, if it's clear I take it out and in 30 seconds I'm
set at the eyepiece.

Regards,

- Alex

Alexander Avtanski wrote in
:

bill kline wrote:

I'm considering getting a Meade ETX series Astro Telescope and was
looking for some feedback as to which one to buy or even another mfg.
The use will be for my father-in-law mainly, so once set up it ideally
needs to be "user friendly". I'm no rocket sceintist, but after some
brief research I think I can get this set up for him to use.
He has always wanted a telescope and now has the scratch to invest in
one, so I want to make sure he is getting what he wants.
Any suggestions are welcome.
TIA

One thing that is often not considered is the ease of use: time
to set-up, portability, etc. I have an 8-inch Orion reflector
on EQ mount and I like it very much. However, for casual
observing from the patio after work, lugging the heavy tripod,
setting-up, etc. was too much for me. So, in addition to it, couple
of weeks ago I got a small Orion StarBlast (4.5-inch f/4 tabletop
dob). Now I'm using it almost every clear night, while I use the
big scope mainly for "serious" night-long observing. I take a
look outside, if it's clear I take it out and in 30 seconds I'm
set at the eyepiece.

I concur completely. The ETX is (unfortunately) NOT user friendly. You
will get much more bang for your buck with a medim sized (4-10") reflector
on a Dobsonian mount.

"Paul Lawler" wrote in message
. 125.206...
Alexander Avtanski wrote in
:

bill kline wrote:

I'm considering getting a Meade ETX series Astro Telescope and was
looking for some feedback as to which one to buy or even another mfg.
The use will be for my father-in-law mainly, so once set up it ideally
needs to be "user friendly". I'm no rocket sceintist, but after some
brief research I think I can get this set up for him to use.
He has always wanted a telescope and now has the scratch to invest in
one, so I want to make sure he is getting what he wants.
Any suggestions are welcome.
TIA

One thing that is often not considered is the ease of use: time
to set-up, portability, etc. I have an 8-inch Orion reflector
on EQ mount and I like it very much. However, for casual
observing from the patio after work, lugging the heavy tripod,
setting-up, etc. was too much for me. So, in addition to it, couple
of weeks ago I got a small Orion StarBlast (4.5-inch f/4 tabletop
dob). Now I'm using it almost every clear night, while I use the
big scope mainly for "serious" night-long observing. I take a
look outside, if it's clear I take it out and in 30 seconds I'm
set at the eyepiece.

I concur completely. The ETX is (unfortunately) NOT user friendly. You
will get much more bang for your buck with a medim sized (4-10") reflector
on a Dobsonian mount.

The ETX is very easy to setup, more so than a 10" reflector! remember you can use the ETX
without aligning it
--
md

"md" not given to avoid spam wrote in
"Paul Lawler" wrote in message
Alexander Avtanski wrote in
bill kline wrote:

I'm considering getting a Meade ETX series Astro Telescope and was
looking for some feedback as to which one to buy or even another
mfg. The use will be for my father-in-law mainly, so once set up

One thing that is often not considered is the ease of use: time
to set-up, portability, etc. I have an 8-inch Orion reflector
on EQ mount and I like it very much. However, for casual
observing from the patio after work, lugging the heavy tripod,
setting-up, etc. was too much for me. So, in addition to it,
couple of weeks ago I got a small Orion StarBlast (4.5-inch f/4
tabletop dob). Now I'm using it almost every clear night, while I
use the big scope mainly for "serious" night-long observing. I
take a look outside, if it's clear I take it out and in 30 seconds
I'm set at the eyepiece.

I concur completely. The ETX is (unfortunately) NOT user friendly.
You will get much more bang for your buck with a medim sized (4-10")
reflector on a Dobsonian mount.

The ETX is very easy to setup, more so than a 10" reflector! remember
you can use the ETX without aligning it

Just to assure you that I am not trying to start a flame war, I own BOTH
an ETX-125 and an Orion XT-10.

I assure you that even without aligning it (and what would be the point
in that?) I can set up the XT-10 in one tenth of the time (about 30
seconds) it takes me to set up the ETX (about 3 minutes). If I do align
the ETX (again, what would be the point in not doing so?), I am looking
at well over 10 minutes.

"Paul Lawler" wrote in message
. 125.203...
"md" not given to avoid spam wrote in
"Paul Lawler" wrote in message
Alexander Avtanski wrote in
bill kline wrote:

I'm considering getting a Meade ETX series Astro Telescope and was
looking for some feedback as to which one to buy or even another
mfg. The use will be for my father-in-law mainly, so once set up

One thing that is often not considered is the ease of use: time
to set-up, portability, etc. I have an 8-inch Orion reflector
on EQ mount and I like it very much. However, for casual
observing from the patio after work, lugging the heavy tripod,
setting-up, etc. was too much for me. So, in addition to it,
couple of weeks ago I got a small Orion StarBlast (4.5-inch f/4
tabletop dob). Now I'm using it almost every clear night, while I
use the big scope mainly for "serious" night-long observing. I
take a look outside, if it's clear I take it out and in 30 seconds
I'm set at the eyepiece.

I concur completely. The ETX is (unfortunately) NOT user friendly.
You will get much more bang for your buck with a medim sized (4-10")
reflector on a Dobsonian mount.

The ETX is very easy to setup, more so than a 10" reflector! remember
you can use the ETX without aligning it

Just to assure you that I am not trying to start a flame war, I own BOTH
an ETX-125 and an Orion XT-10.

I assure you that even without aligning it (and what would be the point
in that?) I can set up the XT-10 in one tenth of the time (about 30
seconds) it takes me to set up the ETX (about 3 minutes). If I do align
the ETX (again, what would be the point in not doing so?), I am looking
at well over 10 minutes.

I just pick up my etx, incl tripod, walk 3 meters into my backyard, put it down, switch it on,
and I am ready for viewing. now that did not take 3 minutes, did it? :-)
point is not time though, but portability, a 10" reflector is a BIG scope for some folks to
carry around.
--
md

Paul Lawler wrote in message .125.206...
Alexander Avtanski wrote in
:

bill kline wrote:

I'm considering getting a Meade ETX series Astro Telescope and was
looking for some feedback as to which one to buy or even another mfg.
The use will be for my father-in-law mainly, so once set up it ideally
needs to be "user friendly". I'm no rocket sceintist, but after some
brief research I think I can get this set up for him to use.
He has always wanted a telescope and now has the scratch to invest in
one, so I want to make sure he is getting what he wants.
Any suggestions are welcome.
TIA

One thing that is often not considered is the ease of use: time
to set-up, portability, etc. I have an 8-inch Orion reflector
on EQ mount and I like it very much. However, for casual
observing from the patio after work, lugging the heavy tripod,
setting-up, etc. was too much for me. So, in addition to it, couple
of weeks ago I got a small Orion StarBlast (4.5-inch f/4 tabletop
dob). Now I'm using it almost every clear night, while I use the
big scope mainly for "serious" night-long observing. I take a
look outside, if it's clear I take it out and in 30 seconds I'm
set at the eyepiece.

I concur completely. The ETX is (unfortunately) NOT user friendly. You
will get much more bang for your buck with a medim sized (4-10") reflector
on a Dobsonian mount.

I think alot of you are avoiding the fact that many new amateurs are not
star hoppers nor do they want to be. In such a case, a Dob will definitely
not give them more pleasure.
-Rich

(Richard) wrote

I think alot of you are avoiding the fact that many new amateurs are
not star hoppers nor do they want to be. In such a case, a Dob will
definitely not give them more pleasure.
-Rich

As someone who owns and uses both an ETX and a Dob, I have no dog in this
fight (if you take my meaning) and am certainly NOT attempting to avoid any
facts. The OP specifically said it was for his father in law and needed to
be very user friendly. He didn't specify his father in law's age, but my
father in law couldn't run an ETX if his life depended on it.

There is no escaping the fact that an ETX is NOT a trivial scope for the
"average" non-computer, non-science oriented person to set up and align
properly, and even when aligned provides less than spectacular (to be kind)
views of most DSOs, owing in large part to its long focal length.