Lee Jay
sage
Reged: 02/27/08
Posts: 419
Loc: Westminster, CO
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If we just look at Meade and Celestron, one could argue:
DS 2000/ETX 80 competes with Nexstar GT/SLT
ETX PE competes with Nexstar SE
LXD75 competes with Advanced GT
LX90 competes with CPC
There are lines in each without competition in the other (Lightbridge, Max, CGE, CGEM).
The two big holes in the above lineups as I see it are:
Nexstar 6SE and 8SE have no ETX PE counterparts.
Advanced GT 9.25" and 11" have no LXD75 counterparts.
The first one is interesting to me regarding this forum.
Meade has publicly announced the future relaunch of the ETX line. While we could discuss improvements that could be made to the existing line (and have in the past), my interest here is in the possibility of 6" and 8" SCT/ACF scopes in the ETX line to match up with the Nexstar 6SE and 8SE.
What do you think about that possibility? The Nexstar 6SE and 8SE are $1000 and $1400 while the LX90 8" is $2100, so there certainly seems to be a hole there. I for one would be interested in the possibility of wider views and shots than I can get from my ETX 125 PE without sacrificing aperture, and I like the dual-fork design with built-in wedge better than the Nexstar single-fork design (and I'd be willing to pay a little more to get them). Those wider fields of view could come from a bigger baffle tube, CO and a faster f-ratio (f10 instead of f15 on the current Maks), possibly with the addition of a focal reducer as well. The problem is, could an 8" ACF ETX be cheaper than the LX90 8" and still be attractive to buyers and a money-maker for Meade? The Nexstar 8SE sure seems to be alone in its class - light (around half the weight of the LX90 8"), relatively cheap, and with good aperture and features.
What do you think?
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Odin
super member
Reged: 03/21/07
Posts: 128
Loc: Ont, Cdn
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I'm With you on This... I'd love to have a bigger aperture and lower F ratio... However.... the price does restrict most. Dual forks are a must for me.. and better gearing if a larger aperture is unfolding in the ETX line. The grinding has got to Stop. 
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*=== Life Is Great Under The STARS ===*
LX90 8" EMC
Rigel Quickfinder
ETX125PE UHTC
60mm Refractor Meade Digital Series
Meade Electronic Eyepiece
32mm,26mm,15mm,9.7mm series 4000 Super Plossl
2x Barlow
10x50 Tasca Binoculars
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StarWars
Postmaster
Reged: 11/26/03
Posts: 11636
Loc: At The Movies
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I think the ETX-90PE and ETX-125PE competes with the Celestron 4SE/5SE..
The Meade LXD75 SN-6 AT UHTC competes with the Celestron 6SE.
And the Meade LXD75 ACF-8AT UHTC competes with the Celestron 8SE..
Buy a new Meade ETX-90PE telescope between now and November 30, 2008 and receive a Meade 12.4mm Series 4000 Plossl Eyepiece and a Meade 20mm Series 4000 Plossl Eyepiece FREE, a value worth $98!
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Sony Digital Media player..
MX 460 earbuds
15x70 ETX125AT
FireBall XL5
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Lee Jay
sage
Reged: 02/27/08
Posts: 419
Loc: Westminster, CO
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Quote:
The Meade LXD75 SN-6 AT UHTC competes with the Celestron 6SE.
And the Meade LXD75 ACF-8AT UHTC competes with the Celestron 8SE..
I don't agree - Alt-az mount versus GEM. The LXD75 SN-6 may compete with the C6-NGT and the LXD75 ACF-8AT competes with the C8-SGT.
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sang33ta
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/08/08
Posts: 539
Loc: UK
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Well I did discuss some time ago i would have liked meade to make a 150etx mak and the fact you couldn't buy a LDX-75 mount on it's own. I'd also love to see the Meade 7" mak back but maybe moved to the LDX line instead of the LX200. Infact a pick and mix aproach to choosing the scope, mount and eyepieces you want would be nice. It would make returns easier if everything was modula and you didn't have to send back everything, just the faulty part you chose.
Meade didn't have an ETX-150 so i had to do it myself, although it turned out more like an LXD-75 150, LOL.
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Hioptic 152mm f12.5 Maksutov
Celestron Advanced CG5-GT Mount (Mr Noisy!)
Meade 4000 Super Plossl Set
Casio QV-2900UX
Got fed up of waiting for Meade ETX-150 so put this together for £500/$1000 
Edited by sang33ta (10/13/08 07:15 PM)
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Lee Jay
sage
Reged: 02/27/08
Posts: 419
Loc: Westminster, CO
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A Mak 150 or 180 wouldn't solve the problem of competing with the Nexstar 6SE or 8SE directly, because it only allows narrower fields of view rather than the wider fields of view that the SCTs allow. A large-aperture SCT is, in my view, a more flexible instrument than a large-aperture Mak for this reason. Apparently, you can get a significantly wider *and* narrower field-of-view with a C8 (8") than you can with an ETX-125 (5").
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StarWars
Postmaster
Reged: 11/26/03
Posts: 11636
Loc: At The Movies
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Quote:
Quote:
The Meade LXD75 SN-6 AT UHTC competes with the Celestron 6SE.
And the Meade LXD75 ACF-8AT UHTC competes with the Celestron 8SE..
I don't agree - Alt-az mount versus GEM. The LXD75 SN-6 may compete with the C6-NGT and the LXD75 ACF-8AT competes with the C8-SGT.
And that's why Meade won't expand the ETX line... 
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Sony Digital Media player..
MX 460 earbuds
15x70 ETX125AT
FireBall XL5
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violini
member
Reged: 10/03/08
Posts: 24
Loc: Winnipeg, Canada
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I haven't seen any Hioptic scope for sale in North America. I filled up a "sample" request form on their website, but they didn't respond. sang33ta, what is your impression of Hioptic 150 Mak?
I think Meade does not expand ETX line into 150 is a smart business decision.
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Own two poor man's Questar:ETX90 RA
Edited by violini (10/14/08 03:18 PM)
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AlexDJ30
super member
Reged: 09/02/08
Posts: 150
Loc: Monterrey, Mexico
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I think first meade should correect the common issues with the ETX line..thats it..small focus knob for bigger and better, no image shift for God grace!, second the rings should be metal made and not cheap plastic!...correct the lock knobs so there is no problems. Second i am not fan of the doing the circles to get to home position, this doesnt happen to the LX-90 and above scopes..correct that so no doing circles for home position because many people forget and this gets pron to crack the hard stops! Do not use cheap grease lubricant that end up on the rest of the electronics! use better quality one !
Another change would put the arms higher!! and the tube too, so you could use the back port on most of the time in alt/az (like using a good dialectric or put a crayford focuser! or imagening better on alt/azm!!). Get ride of the red dot finder! and use a better viewfinder instead of 3 pontis..6 ponints and with the option on the base to put another finder if you may like!
ON the ripod if you want to use polar aligment to put some knobs (like most of the wedges this days slow motion)...maybe this could be an accesory, sell the ext only on alt/azm mode and sell the wedge with slow motion knobs apart, the tripod for me should be a least a bite heavier!
I dont want ETX-150...ETX-180 or whatever i want this first be implemented and they would have a win scope
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Equipment:
- ETX 125 AT
- C6 ASGT
- WO 66mm SD
- 2.5X ED Barlow, 8-24mm Zoom Eyepice
- Canon EOS Rebel XSi
- Celestron Nextimagen
- Orion Starshoot CCD cam
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violini
member
Reged: 10/03/08
Posts: 24
Loc: Winnipeg, Canada
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If you don't tighten the lock knob well, the clutch will slip; if over-tightened, the lock knob bushing will crack and Meade will not sell you the parts. You have to ship the scope to them for repair. I thought the red dot finder was an improvement from the old 8x21. A 90 degree finder of 8x30 would be better. 884 tripod is sturdy enough but needs extra thing to do level-north. Replace the attitude scale bar with a threaded rod for fine adjustment. If you leave your scope in the car during hot summer days, the buffer on the 2ndary mirror will get loose. I am doing mod on one of my ETX90 RA to replace all the plastics with metal.
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Own two poor man's Questar:ETX90 RA
Edited by violini (10/15/08 01:45 PM)
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AlexDJ30
super member
Reged: 09/02/08
Posts: 150
Loc: Monterrey, Mexico
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I am sorry violin but i have hear many frightful stories of ETX (more than celestron) and thats quality control, i am not bashing meade i just wish they were more smart and implement that ideas if they ever sometime upgrade the ETX line for better quality, i would love that been implemented better than seeing a bigger ETX in the family.
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Equipment:
- ETX 125 AT
- C6 ASGT
- WO 66mm SD
- 2.5X ED Barlow, 8-24mm Zoom Eyepice
- Canon EOS Rebel XSi
- Celestron Nextimagen
- Orion Starshoot CCD cam
Edited by AlexDJ30 (10/15/08 05:24 PM)
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rmollise
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 1660
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Quote:
I think first meade should correect the common issues with the ETX line..thats it..small focus knob for bigger and better, no image shift for God grace
One thing to keep in mind is that reading the I-net forums gives a jaundiced view of the ETX. People are much more prone to post "I've got a problem" than "my ETX works great"--as most of 'em do. Have you had problems with your scope? Most of 'em are solvable.
The ETX does show some focus shift, but that in mine is no worse than that in the LX200GPS 14-inch I use regularly.
Not sure what you mean about "plastic circles." Are you talking about the fork mount? If so, it's not really plastic on the 125; it is metal, only the outer covering is plastic.
Making the arms "higher" would make it easier to reach the focuser, but at the expense of making the mount less steady. I prefer using a flex-focus, an inexpensive and workable solution. The rear port? I've never felt any need to put a diagonal on there, but, admittedly, it would be nice if you could use SCT accessories on the scope, if it had a standard rear port instead of the flip mirror.
The red dot finder works exceptionally well, and is far more convenient than any optical finder. Since you are only going to need it for centering alignment stars, the red dot is more than sufficient.
As for the tripod? It's possible to adapt the scope to a standard Meade tripod/wedge, but I have never felt impelled to do so. The only reason to put the scope in polar mode is for imaging, and IMHO, the ETXes are too limited by small aperture and slow optics to be very effective there.
Somebody who wants "more" along these lines should look at the LX90 or Celestron NexStar 8 SE. It will be interesting to see what Meade comes up with for the "next" ETX, but IMHO, the current scopes, while not perfect, are great for what they are--portable grab-'n-gos that feature excellent go-to and superb optics. I'll admit that I usually use my ETX 125 on those evening when conditions don't look good enough or I'm too tired to haul out something better...but, you know what? The ETX has never failed to astound me with what it, despite a few liabilities can show me.
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Uncle Rod
Watch for Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using a New CAT--coming in December!
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Mak2007
sage
Reged: 06/24/07
Posts: 248
Loc: MD
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Wow, Uncle Rod, that was a GREAT reply. I agree with all that you said. 
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10x50 Nikon Action Ex
ETX-125PE
"Don't worry about what telescope you own, or its quality. Just get out under the night sky, and enjoy God's wondrous universe." Thomas M. Back
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Lee Jay
sage
Reged: 02/27/08
Posts: 419
Loc: Westminster, CO
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Quote:
Somebody who wants "more" along these lines should look at the LX90 or Celestron NexStar 8 SE.
The LX90 8" is twice as heavy and 50% more expensive than the NexStar 8SE. That's why I think Meade should do something here, and it should be with the more-portable grab-and-go ETX-series. Meade doesn't have something to compete with the NexStar 6se or 8se at similar weight and cost.
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