supercoolone
super member
Reged: 07/25/07
Posts: 148
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Meade's website says that they are now shipping the LS. Anyone who pre-ordered please give us your reviews!
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brianshodge
member
Reged: 05/15/09
Posts: 27
Loc: Long Beach, California
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I pre-ordered just a couple weeks ago from astronomics so I don't know when I'll receive it but I'll be sure to post when I do.
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LX90 ACF 8"
ETX-LS 6"
Meade DSI II
Canon Rebel XSI
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Starlighter
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/03/07
Posts: 4820
Loc: Sunny California
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My local Meade dealer claims they should have them in stock by the middle of next week.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed, hoping that this scope is everything promised. If it is, it will bring more people into this fascinating as well as rewarding hobby and that would be a terrific accomplishment.
On the other hand, if the ETX-LS is fraught with serious bugs that cannot seem to be addressed in a timely manner, I doubt the company will survive.
But seeing how much they've invested, I think they just might pull this one off.
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Celestron C4-R 102mm achromat
Celeston Nexstar 6SE SCT
Meade 80mm APO Triplet
Televue NP-101
Televue TV-85
Vixen A70Lf
Vixen A80Mf
William Optics 66mm Zenithstar Patriot
Celestron CG4 EQ mount
Orion Skyview Pro AZ mount
Televue Gibraltar 5
Vixen Portamount
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Mike Cook
member
Reged: 07/13/08
Posts: 82
Loc: Moncton NB (Cloud Central)
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Same here, I am hoping that this new ETX-LS changes everything and is a success, as it seems that the mount is designed for larger tubes, might end up as a whole new system. I can't wait for the slew (Pardon the pun!) of new owners and their experiences with this new telescope. My dealer in Canada reports them shipping too.
Mike
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Starlighter
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/03/07
Posts: 4820
Loc: Sunny California
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Check this out: Meade at NEAF
The metal gearing is the same as on the LX 90. No more plastic.
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Celestron C4-R 102mm achromat
Celeston Nexstar 6SE SCT
Meade 80mm APO Triplet
Televue NP-101
Televue TV-85
Vixen A70Lf
Vixen A80Mf
William Optics 66mm Zenithstar Patriot
Celestron CG4 EQ mount
Orion Skyview Pro AZ mount
Televue Gibraltar 5
Vixen Portamount
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Mike Cook
member
Reged: 07/13/08
Posts: 82
Loc: Moncton NB (Cloud Central)
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Thanks for the link Starlighter. It looks pretty beefy and solid. Should handle larger LX size optical tubes. Interesting times ahead once people begin to use them.
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Meade ETX125PE Maksutov
Meade series 5000 80mm triplet on AT Voyager alt-az
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AlexDJ30
sage
Reged: 09/02/08
Posts: 294
Loc: Monterrey, Mexico
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well i wonder how much battery you need to operate this new LS scope, i mean it have to power the motors, handcontroll, the new speaker ad card readers and the memory inside of it (the one that all the info for the tv and sound), the gps..
i supouse it will draine batteries fast! so i think a powertank and normal house outlet will be needed! the only sad thing is that doenst have an wedge from the start so people can start imagening right away! again just confine to the 30 secs expuosure thign! and i wonder this thing have autoguider port..or doesnt have it?? i didnt see any ...
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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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Fhuyu
member
Reged: 07/06/08
Posts: 42
Loc: Madrid, Spain.
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Nice news!!
One question friends, what is the difference between the 2 models?  
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*TeleVue-85mm
*Lunt LS100THa/B1200
*Coronado PST
Zeiss AbbeII ocular set+barlow.
Zeiss Zoom 8-25mm & TV Zoom 3-6mm
Ethos 13mm, TermiNagler 31mm.
Masuyama: 20mm, 25Wmm, 30mm.
Rodenstock 40mm.
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Starlighter
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/03/07
Posts: 4820
Loc: Sunny California
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One has coma-free ACF optics and the other is a basic SCT.
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Celestron C4-R 102mm achromat
Celeston Nexstar 6SE SCT
Meade 80mm APO Triplet
Televue NP-101
Televue TV-85
Vixen A70Lf
Vixen A80Mf
William Optics 66mm Zenithstar Patriot
Celestron CG4 EQ mount
Orion Skyview Pro AZ mount
Televue Gibraltar 5
Vixen Portamount
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brianshodge
member
Reged: 05/15/09
Posts: 27
Loc: Long Beach, California
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AlexDJ,
The battery life is actually only 3 to 5 hours according to Meade, so a power tank is almost essential.
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LX90 ACF 8"
ETX-LS 6"
Meade DSI II
Canon Rebel XSI
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jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Posts: 7068
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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That's pretty true for all but small mounts, they really need a beefy power supply to work well. I suspect it will be particularly true for the LS with all the gadgets is has to run.
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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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rmollise
Postmaster
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 5305
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Quote:
well i wonder how much battery you need to operate this new LS scope, i mean it have to power the motors, handcontroll, the new speaker ad card readers and the memory inside of it (the one that all the info for the tv and sound), the gps..
i supouse it will draine batteries fast! so i think a powertank and normal house outlet will be needed! the only sad thing is that doenst have an wedge from the start so people can start imagening right away! again just confine to the 30 secs expuosure thign! and i wonder this thing have autoguider port..or doesnt have it?? i didnt see any ...
Frankly, even the old ETXes needed an external battery for any more than brief operation--unless you like buyin' AAs (Cs in the case of the LS).
As for imaging? The built in camera can produce widefield shots...Orion's belt, the Pleiades, etc., but I doubt you'd want to go much over 30 seconds with it anyway. It is not cooled and looks pretty noisy in the shots I've seen.
There isn't an autoguide port AFAIK, but you can guide just as well through the serial port.
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Uncle Rod
Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using a New CAT
Available now!
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Arthur Dent
Galactic Hitch-Hiker
Reged: 10/23/08
Posts: 1475
Loc: A damp South Yorkshire, UK
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Quote:
Nice news!!
One question friends, what is the difference between the 2 models?
About £200 (or US $200) I think 
Art
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If I like it, the wife says that we can't afford it!
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Meade ETX105 & Celestron NexStar 6SE with Bob's Knobs
6-26mm EPs + Hyperion 8-24mm
MRF and Antares 8x50 RACI finder scope
Canon EOS 400D DSLR (un-modded) and SPC900 webcam. Finally climbing the AP Learning Curve!
<img width="600" height="300" src="http://7timer.y234.cn/exe/apanel.php?country=UK&adm=UKL9&site=0&en">
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rmollise
Postmaster
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 5305
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Just for the record, I've got an early report from a first time LS user. The scope worked as advertised...turned the switch on, it did its GPS and alignment dance, headed for two stars, found 'em, centered 'em up, and aligned its silly little self! 
Stay tuned.
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Uncle Rod
Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using a New CAT
Available now!
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jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Posts: 7068
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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Cool. Turn it on, go get the Thermocell going, get a cup of coffee, come back and observe. I kinda do that now with my LNT; turn it on and come back a few minutes later when it's pointing at the first alignment star. It's not a huge labor-saving device, but it's nice.
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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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brianshodge
member
Reged: 05/15/09
Posts: 27
Loc: Long Beach, California
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Skies Unlimited has also reported that the scope works as advertised. Several online shops now list the scope as being In Stock.
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LX90 ACF 8"
ETX-LS 6"
Meade DSI II
Canon Rebel XSI
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brianb11213
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/25/09
Posts: 3297
Loc: 55.215N 6.554W
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Quote:
The scope worked as advertised...turned the switch on, it did its GPS and alignment dance, headed for two stars, found 'em, centered 'em up, and aligned its silly little self!
Good to hear. I really do wish Meade well with this, if it works consistenly & reliably it's going to be a great help, especially for the beginner market which is where the current LS seems to be targeted.
But the skeptic in me suggests that it might be wise to hold out until there is significant evidence coming in from real users with partly obstructed sites, patches of cloud cover etc.
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rmollise
Postmaster
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 5305
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Quote:
But the skeptic in me suggests that it might be wise to hold out until there is significant evidence coming in from real users with partly obstructed sites, patches of cloud cover etc.
It's probably a good idea to do that with ANY telescope. Partially obstructed sites will be as much of a problem for the scope as they will be for you. OTOH, it can probably see stars through haze, etc., better than you can.
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Uncle Rod
Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using a New CAT
Available now!
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teskridg
sage
Reged: 01/15/08
Posts: 338
Loc: PA
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At $1299 for a 6" SCT, you're getting mighty close to a Celestron 8" NexStar which doesn't require much more effort to align and has two more inches of aperture. For $1499 the ACF model is the same price as the Celstron 8". As the main advantage of the ACF is better edge rendition for astrophotography, and since the Lightswitch mount is not ideal for AP, I'm not sure where these LS models fit in the competitive telescope market. Were I a novice who knew no stars' identities the LS technology would be very appealing; at these prices, though, the beginner may be scared away from this very clever and seductive telescope.
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Tim Eskridge
CPC 800
Scopebuggy
Burgess Binoviewer Model 24
8mm Radian
11mm Nagler
15mm GTO
20mm Burgess binolite and Stellar
24mm Panoptic
26mm Meade SP Series 4000
30mm Vixen NPL
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brianb11213
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/25/09
Posts: 3297
Loc: 55.215N 6.554W
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Quote:
At $1299 for a 6" SCT, you're getting mighty close to a Celestron 8" NexStar which doesn't require much more effort to align and has two more inches of aperture. For $1499 the ACF model is the same price as the Celstron 8". As the main advantage of the ACF is better edge rendition for astrophotography, and since the Lightswitch mount is not ideal for AP, I'm not sure where these LS models fit in the competitive telescope market.
Well ... the LS mount ought to be at least as good for AP as the Nexstar SE mount, and the relative freedom from coma makes the collimation of the ACF scope much less critical than that of a SCT. That in itself is surely a major selling point in the beginner market.
As to "value for money", well the market will sort that one out. If the LS scopes are seriously overpriced, they'll be heavily discounted to clear stocks. If they fly off the shelves, the price isn't too high.
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