Lee Jay
sage
Reged: 02/27/08
Posts: 463
Loc: Westminster, CO
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Well, skipping the entire story, I just bought one of these.
Pretty happy so far, but a couple of notes and newbie questions.
First, the finder is plastic on a plastic ring. Unbelievably cheesy and won't stay in alignment. Not a big deal, though. Does someone make an upgrade? Where does it mount?
Having trouble with the alt brake. I have to crank it down pretty darned tight to get it to stay. Given how it's built I'm not surprised (I've taken off the knob for a look inside - really small radius), but I'm wondering if others have noticed the same thing.
Does someone make a pre-fab adjustable weight bar for this scope? With an eyepiece it's nose-heavy, with a dSLR on the back it's way tail-heavy. I'm thinking of making my own balance system but if someone makes something, maybe I'll save myself the trouble.
The optics seem pretty solid, after two days of terrestrial testing. I was surprised to find an erect non-reversed image through my dSLR straight through the back mount. Nice!
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jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Posts: 6749
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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Finders seem to be somewhat problematic on the ETX series; thank goodness for GoTo. Once I have my mount aligned I rarely have to use my finder. I had a similar problem with the alt clutch on my ETX-60BB. I took it apart and roughed up the clutch bearing surface with some abrasive paper.
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-John
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Homebuilt scopes from 4.25-16.5"
Meade LXD75-N6/SN6/SC8, DSX-90, ETX-60BB, ETX-125PE, DS-2130
Orion StarBlast, BinoViewers, Coronado PST
Rebel XT/XTi, DSI Pro (I, II, & III), DSI, LPI, Electronic Eyepiece, Phillips SPC900NC
Tasco 60mm Refractors
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Bilbobaker
member
Reged: 02/23/08
Posts: 15
Loc: Cottage Grove OR
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In turning left mine makes a bunch of noise with no motion before actually moving.
Any ideas as to correcting it?
Quote:
Finders seem to be somewhat problematic on the ETX series; thank goodness for GoTo. Once I have my mount aligned I rarely have to use my finder. I had a similar problem with the alt clutch on my ETX-60BB. I took it apart and roughed up the clutch bearing surface with some abrasive paper.
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Lee Jay
sage
Reged: 02/27/08
Posts: 463
Loc: Westminster, CO
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Quote:
In turning left mine makes a bunch of noise with no motion before actually moving.
Any ideas as to correcting it?
You sure you have the clutch brake set tight? Mine did the same thing, but then I realized I had not set the brake tightly at all - just barely engaged.
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orion9
sage
Reged: 11/08/07
Posts: 202
Loc: North Carolina
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I too couldn'd resist the sale price on a quality scope like the 125pe. But since it has arrived it has rained non-stop or been threatening to rain. So much for the drought. But what really amazes me is why I keep getting reflectors when I'm a refractor guy. I wonder what Jung would say?
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StarWars
Postmaster
Reged: 11/26/03
Posts: 13784
Loc: CyberSpace
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Quote:
I too couldn'd resist the sale price on a quality scope like the 125pe. But since it has arrived it has rained non-stop or been threatening to rain. So much for the drought. But what really amazes me is why I keep getting reflectors when I'm a refractor guy. I wonder what Jung would say?
Now is a good time to read the owners manual.. 
The ETX still needs the motors calibrated and train the drives.
Backlash can also be adjusted..
Enjoy..
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Sony Digital Media player..
MX 460 earbuds
Celestron 2x Barlow Lens
Orion Collimation Eyepiece
Rigel Quick Finder
Assorted Bino's 
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jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Posts: 6749
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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I finally pulled the trigger on one of these. I dearly love my DSX-90 as a grab'n go telescope and I particuarly enjoy using it with my binoviewers. However, I often find myself wishing I had a Mak with just a bit more light grasp as the 90 runs out of light before it runs out of resolution and the 125 sounds like a nice choice. I looked around at some other Mak OTAs that I could put on my DS-2000 mount (and I still might try that with the 125) but I wasn't convinced I'd get the same optical quality I enjoy with my 90, soooo I decided to stick with Meade. We'll see, but hopefully I'll be all set for a fun holiday weekend!
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-John
================================================
Homebuilt scopes from 4.25-16.5"
Meade LXD75-N6/SN6/SC8, DSX-90, ETX-60BB, ETX-125PE, DS-2130
Orion StarBlast, BinoViewers, Coronado PST
Rebel XT/XTi, DSI Pro (I, II, & III), DSI, LPI, Electronic Eyepiece, Phillips SPC900NC
Tasco 60mm Refractors
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StarWars
Postmaster
Reged: 11/26/03
Posts: 13784
Loc: CyberSpace
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Quote:
I finally pulled the trigger on one of these. I dearly love my DSX-90 as a grab'n go telescope and I particuarly enjoy using it with my binoviewers. However, I often find myself wishing I had a Mak with just a bit more light grasp as the 90 runs out of light before it runs out of resolution and the 125 sounds like a nice choice. I looked around at some other Mak OTAs that I could put on my DS-2000 mount (and I still might try that with the 125) but I wasn't convinced I'd get the same optical quality I enjoy with my 90, soooo I decided to stick with Meade. We'll see, but hopefully I'll be all set for a fun holiday weekend!
Still on sale for $698..
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Sony Digital Media player..
MX 460 earbuds
Celestron 2x Barlow Lens
Orion Collimation Eyepiece
Rigel Quick Finder
Assorted Bino's
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jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Posts: 6749
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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Cool beans, I received an email confirmation that my telescope has shipped and should be here Thursday. Just in time for a long weekend! I hope the Weather Deities are kind to me.
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-John
================================================
Homebuilt scopes from 4.25-16.5"
Meade LXD75-N6/SN6/SC8, DSX-90, ETX-60BB, ETX-125PE, DS-2130
Orion StarBlast, BinoViewers, Coronado PST
Rebel XT/XTi, DSI Pro (I, II, & III), DSI, LPI, Electronic Eyepiece, Phillips SPC900NC
Tasco 60mm Refractors
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tellint
member
Reged: 04/21/08
Posts: 62
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Very close to ordering this...just waiting for final approval from the old CFO. Should order in the next few days.
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southmike
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/22/04
Posts: 2828
Loc: Fayetteville, NC
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lol I hope the sale ends they made my non pe version..
very hard to sell. it is a shame cause they are good scopes.
And I can't just give mine away.
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group scope pic
my refractors
LX200 10"-St120
LX200 8" f6.3-Orion 80ed
LX200 8" f10-Orion 90 Mak setup pic
Meade 102ED LXD650
Sky Watcher 100 ED Triplet prototype
Nexstar 5
etx125
etx70's
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kumarjaybee
journeyman
Reged: 05/20/08
Posts: 7
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Greetings!!
I'm a newbie. Need a quick suggestion from the experts.
Someone in my local area is selling a (used 4 times) ETX-125EC with EMC super multi coatings for $500 with the following add-ons :
#1. #497 Autostar Controller (with over 14,000 objects)
#2. #825 8x25mm Right Angle Viewfinder
#3. SP26mm LP Multi-coated Telescope eyepiece (1.25")
#4. #1247 Electric Focuser
#5. #883 Deluxe Field Tripod ( There are holes in mounting plate for optional table tripod)
#6. #775 Hard Carrying Case for traveling
#7. Seven additional eyepieces with hard carrying case
#8. Electronic eyepiece for output to monitor or television
I want to know if it is worth buying the above for $500 or buy a new ETX125 ~$700
Appreciate any suggestions from the experts.
Thx,
k
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Zebra24601
Postmaster
Reged: 10/09/05
Posts: 11476
Loc: San Gabriel Valley, CA 91770
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If it's in good working order, the extras are worth several hundred dollars, easy. Heck, just the eyepiece kit and hard carrying case for the OTA are worth over $200. So $500 for everything sounds good, to me.
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Zebra24601
Meade 8" SCT w/UHTC * Celestron 100ED * Celestron C11 * Celestron Firstscope 80EQ
Meade LXD55 mount * Orion Sirius goto mount
Bushnell Voyager 4.5" Compact Reflector * Barska 15x70 binoculars * Galileoscope * Really cheap Tasco spotting scope
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tellint
member
Reged: 04/21/08
Posts: 62
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I just ordered mine a few minutes ago. Now comes the hard part...waiting!
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kumarjaybee
journeyman
Reged: 05/20/08
Posts: 7
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Zebra24601, Thx for your input.
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