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pepper
journeyman
Reged: 06/17/09
Posts: 9
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I'm a complete noobie, but just ordered my first telescope. I remember the ETX line when I was like 16 and now years later I'm getting one...
Cloudy here so will not get to use it till later. I read on the weasner site getting bad reviews, but the tripod ships separate so someone's box got lost or did not ship.. and mine came with the finder attached so not not sure..
I got it from high point scientific and they have them in stock and they ship quick. I was on order with Meade untill it said back ordered and did not like waiting, so check around if you want one now
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brianshodge
member
Reged: 05/15/09
Posts: 27
Loc: Long Beach, California
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Nice pics! I have mine out on the deck right now waiting for it to get dark! Hopefully it works as it's supposed to!
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LX90 ACF 8"
ETX-LS 6"
Meade DSI II
Canon Rebel XSI
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Astroboy86
sage
Reged: 01/28/07
Posts: 444
Loc: Southeastern Virginia
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Pepper, welcome to CN! That is one sweet-looking scope. Everyone here has been eager to see pictures of an ETX-LS "in the wild".
Did you get the ACF or SCT version? (Same question to you, Brian.) It looks like your scope came with Meade's new Series 5000 Plössl eyepiece. Did it come with any other EPs, Barlow, or other accessories?
Looking forward to your first light report (and pictures of the front end, showing the corrector plate). Most importantly, get out there and enjoy your new telescope!
-Harry
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Our ever-growing equipment collection:
Celestron CPC 925 GPS XLT (The Precious)
EarthWin PFS-D binoviewer w/dielectric coatings
Meade ETX-125AT (Shadow Lass)
Meade DS-2130ATS-LNT (Mr. Magoo)
Meade 114NT/500 (Foggy Bottom)
StellarVue M4-style EQ mount
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pepper
journeyman
Reged: 06/17/09
Posts: 9
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hey guys, I got the ACF version.
ok, so it worked out as it said it would, it aligned itself and then asked me what to go to. it took a while but not that long. then had clouds and dew on my lens so it stopped there. But I just wanted to tell everyone mine works as it says. It sent to some stars but not sure with my eyepiece ( 26 ) and the dew what I saw... I know nothing about telescopes and was impressed how easy it is to work. very simple, I know alot about electronics and... but I had my GF run it and she was on it before I even instructed her so it is very user friendly
the 5000 26 I bought myself, it comes with a 4000 26 though. no extra barlow, not much else in the box besides the scope, mount, eyepiece. not sure if it comes with a manual but I did not get one, there is one on a cd though as I wanted to know how to work the controller. I have some more eyepieces on the way, I was not sure what to get so I got some of the meade 5000 sets to cover the spectrum.. got the meade 5000 barlows , the X2 and the X3. I guess I need a dew heater for the scope?? and a power tank very soon. a case would be nice but we can't have it all..
I hope all who get one enjoy it, and hope there's work. Now just for some clear nights.. hope someone gets some pictures from the camera
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Arthur Dent
Galactic Hitch-Hiker
Reged: 10/23/08
Posts: 1182
Loc: South Yorkshire, UK
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Hi Pepper
Welcome to Cloudy Nights and the ETX forum in particular
Thanks for posting the pictures and the brief "first light" report - did you actually manage to get some observing done or did the clouds/dew spoil the party?
Like many reports of the ETX-LS before, the scope looks really over-engineered for the 6" optical tube. From your second picture, it looks able to accommodate at least an 8" and probably a 10" OTA.
I really can't believe Meade when they say that they have "no plans" for bigger scopes - the mount is clearly engineered with bigger optical tubes in mind.
Art
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If I like it, the wife says that we can't afford it!
=======================================================
Meade ETX105 (a nice "Grab & Go" scope) & Celestron NexStar 6SE with Bob's Knobs.
Various EP's from 6mm to 26mm, Baader Hyperion 8-24mm Zoom, a 2x Barlow, 2" diagonal and 7Ah PowerTank.
MRF and Antares 8x50 RACI finder scope - both for the 6SE's OTA, whilst the ETX gets a plain RDF.
Canon EOS 400D DSLR (un-modded) and SPC900 webcam. Finally climbing the AP Learning Curve!
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Astroboy86
sage
Reged: 01/28/07
Posts: 444
Loc: Southeastern Virginia
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Pepper, thanks for the additional info and comments. Sounds like Meade is saving a few pennies on printing costs (like many companies these days) and only providing the manual as a PDF file on the CD. You can also download the manual here .
Your new scope will definitely benefit from a dew shield, although that huge bracket that holds the OTA to the fork looks like it might present a problem with fitting some of them. Try just the shield before investing in a dew heater & dew strips. On our ETX-125, we can usually go a whole night with just the dew shield and one of those little chemical hand warmers taped to the inside of the shield. A friend with a Celestron 6se does the same with good results.
A field battery is also a must, unless you just love buying C-cells. You have plenty of choices beyond the Power Tank, such as this one. You can often find a good deal at Costco, Sam's Club, or Wal-Mart.
Good luck and we look forward to your next viewing report when you have clear skies. You certainly don't want to miss the views of Saturn you can get right now!
-Harry
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Our ever-growing equipment collection:
Celestron CPC 925 GPS XLT (The Precious)
EarthWin PFS-D binoviewer w/dielectric coatings
Meade ETX-125AT (Shadow Lass)
Meade DS-2130ATS-LNT (Mr. Magoo)
Meade 114NT/500 (Foggy Bottom)
StellarVue M4-style EQ mount
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pepper
journeyman
Reged: 06/17/09
Posts: 9
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I'm with you art, I think they will come out with more tubes if they sell this one, why would they not? The just built this lightswitch thingy and I'm sure they did not plan on only having it on one scope..
I only saw a couple stars, but not sure what view I'm suppose to get with the 26mm eyepiece, and not sure if the dew got there before I was looking, but I know the startup worked as it would take a picture and then move the scope a little, take a picture again then move to another star to align with. pretty cool if you know nothing how to setup up a telescope..
astro, thanks for the manual, I was looking to get one I could save to my computer. yeah 8 C's at a time is no fun. I have a battery pack on order.
the biggest thing I'm trying to wonder is what field of view I'm suppose to see with a 26mm eyepiece with no barlow? am I just looking at a small bright light, as that's all I saw last night. But I have more eyepieces on the way so I hope they get here soon so i can " test" and start messing around with that.
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Arthur Dent
Galactic Hitch-Hiker
Reged: 10/23/08
Posts: 1182
Loc: South Yorkshire, UK
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Hi Pepper
Quote:
the biggest thing I'm trying to wonder is what field of view I'm suppose to see with a 26mm eyepiece with no barlow? am I just looking at a small bright light, as that's all I saw last night.
By this are you asking if the stars should image as anything other than "dots" or are you asking about planets?
If your query is about stars, then no telescope - Hubble included - will image any star (with the exception of the Sun of course) as anything other than pin-points of light. They are simply much too far away.
Also, even with higher magnifications and/or Barlowed eyepieces, don't expect to see images anything like you see them in books, magazines and on-line.
For deep-sky objects (DSOs for short) you need to use imaging (either using a webcam/digital camera or CCD) and take either LONG exposures or multiple short exposures which are then stacked to improve the s/n ratio.
For brighter objects, such as the Moon or Jupiter, then you should see decent images visually (or produce some very good images) when using webcams/digital cameras or CCDs.
With modern webcams/digital cameras or CCDs, amateurs can produce images to rival those taken by the professionals as little as 10 years ago.
Art
--------------------
If I like it, the wife says that we can't afford it!
=======================================================
Meade ETX105 (a nice "Grab & Go" scope) & Celestron NexStar 6SE with Bob's Knobs.
Various EP's from 6mm to 26mm, Baader Hyperion 8-24mm Zoom, a 2x Barlow, 2" diagonal and 7Ah PowerTank.
MRF and Antares 8x50 RACI finder scope - both for the 6SE's OTA, whilst the ETX gets a plain RDF.
Canon EOS 400D DSLR (un-modded) and SPC900 webcam. Finally climbing the AP Learning Curve!
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