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Treehopper
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/29/08
Posts: 582
Loc: Upstate NY
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I've been jonesing for one of the ETX-80's since last year, but many outlets were on backorder. I have and love my ETX-125PE, but due to some mobility issues (I'm disabled), it gets a bit cumbersome to drag out and set up. Consequently I haven't used it much this past year. I thought with its smaller size, the ETX-80 might inspire me to get out and use it more than my poor neglected 125.
As it turns out, supplies appear to be back up and I find myself with a little bit of discretionary money. Most of my scopes in the past have been refractors, so there's a comfort factor already built in to the 80 that I like. What's attractive about the 80 for me is its footprint and "lugability"; from what I'm lead to understand, the whole package (scope, mount, tripod, etc.) comes in around 10-11 pounds, which makes it much more "grab and go" friendly for me. I'm looking in particular at the "backpack" edition, which further facilitates the need I have for high portability.
I'm interested in hearing from past or current owners of the ETX-80:
• What in particular do or do you not like about the scope?
• How reliable are the RA/Dec brakes (prone to slippage, wearing, breaking, etc.?)
• How about the motors (noisy, loose, do they "chatter" like some of the older GoTo units, how is battery consumption, etc?)
• Are you satisfied with the optics, resolution, flatness of field, contrast, etc.? How pronounced are any chromatic or spherical aberrations?
• How is the focuser (too tight/loose, twitchy, tough to get at when the scope is at extreme declination?)
• How accurate do you find the GoTo/Autostar for this scope? Can you use the AS #497 with the 80, or must you use the #494?
• How sturdy/stable is the supplied tripod, and if need be, can it be mounted on the more robust 884 field tripod of the ETX-125?
That should get us started. Thanks in advance for fielding my questions. 
PS I know, there are refractor purists who will advise me to get an ED or flourite scope. I have nowhere near that sort of money to toss at a second scope. What makes the ETX-80 attractive to me is it's price-point, relatively small and lightweight size, and its wide-field view.
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Tim
Champion of small aperture scopes everywhere!
Meade ETX-125PE
Meade ETX-80
Celestron FirstScope 76mm Mini-dob
 Updated: 09/16/2009
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Quads
sage
Reged: 09/07/08
Posts: 296
Loc: Central Sands, Wisconsin
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I love mine. That being said, I don't own any other scopes, aside from some long-forgotten dept. store reflectors that I never could get to view anything acceptably. And I actually have never met anyone else that owns a scope, so I have nothing else to compare to. I'll try to give my opinions on a few of your questions in the quote below.
Quote:
• What in particular do or do you not like about the scope? Nothing really. It's what I expected, and more.
• How reliable are the RA/Dec brakes (prone to slippage, wearing, breaking, etc.?) They seem pretty reliable. The only time I have slipped the clutch is when I didn't have it tight enough with my camera piggybacked on it.
• How about the motors (noisy, loose, do they "chatter" like some of the older GoTo units, how is battery consumption, etc?) Yes, it's kind of noisy, but mostly only when slewing. When tracking it just "talks" and "chirps". Keeps the bears away! There is a little play/slack, but doesn't seem to bother. I get many short nights of observing from my NiMH batteries before recharging. Up to 20 hours probably. Freshly charged they should easily go all night, plus I keep a spare set in the backpack.
• Are you satisfied with the optics, resolution, flatness of field, contrast, etc.? How pronounced are any chromatic or spherical aberrations? Yes, I'm satisfied, but don't really have anything to compare to. It's better than my binoculars.
• How is the focuser (too tight/loose, twitchy, tough to get at when the scope is at extreme declination?) It's more loose than tight. Not hard to get at. When switching on the internal barlow, it requires A LOT of turns to refocus.
• How accurate do you find the GoTo/Autostar for this scope? Can you use the AS #497 with the 80, or must you use the #494? If properly aligned, everything it Goes-To will be at, or very near, center of the 26mm eyepiece. From what others have posted here you can use the 497.
• How sturdy/stable is the supplied tripod, and if need be, can it be mounted on the more robust 884 field tripod of the ETX-125? It's sturdier than any of the photo tripods I have. And yes, I think the 884 tripod was listed as an option so can be used with it.
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I'm a "just for fun" photographer that also takes nighttime sky pictures.
Meade ETX-80AT-TC-BB
Canon PowerShot SX100 IS
Affordable Astrophotography
Powered by Ni-MH Rechargeable Batteries
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caheaton
super member
Reged: 05/26/09
Posts: 157
Loc: SW Ohio
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I've owned the ETX for a few weeks now and have been able to take it out 4 times so far (horrible weather  ).
Here's my take on your questions:
What I like best about the scope is how accurate the goto is: the other night I decided to leave the 6.4mmEP in place (I purchased an extra EP for a bit more power) and it still managed to slew to the desired object and have it in the field of view. I was impressed! What I like least is probably the focusing...it takes a lot of turns when switching between the barlowed views and non barlowed views. I've read that an external barlow requires less focusing. (If you go that route, get a short barlow...I don't believe a long one will go in without hitting the angled mirror).
The motors are a bit noisy, especially when slewing. When tracking mine sounds like it is growling and burping.)
I have had a bit of slippage occasionally, but I just tighten and then realign (or just slew back to position if the slippage was slight). This has only happened twice in about 8 hours of logged viewing and only when the scope was pointed near horizontal.
Battery life is hard for me to judge...the first set of batteries lasted about 6 hours, but these were refugees from my digital camera (the camera had told me to replace them, but a battery tester showed them as still having about half of their capacity left). I started getting tracking errors with those batteries. I installed a fresh set (lithium AA this time) and it's more accurate then ever.
As far as optics, images appear fine to me...I can focus stars to points. There is some chromatic aberration, but not as bad as I was anticipating. (slight on Jupiter, a wire thin green ring around the Sun).
The focuser is a bit loose...I do wish it had a bit less play but you get used to it and adapt. It has been easy to focus regardless of declination or azmith. (Maybe just a tad harder when scope is vertical, but still doable...just takes more turns do to more limited turning travel).
I have the TC version...it comes with a somewhat heavier tripod then the backpack version. Tripod seems stable enough.
Some more observations: The scope does jump around a bit when focusing, but so does my Newtonian so I'm used to this. I have neve lost the image from the field of view...it does make focusing a bit more difficult, but just take your time and you will have things focused with less then a minute of effort. Tracking is less accurate when using the 6.4EP and barlow, but I haven't trained the drives yet. According to others, this improves tracking. So far, I just manually adjust every few seconds as I rarly use the scope at that power.
For the money, this scope is an excellent value. Consider that the included eyepieces sell for $39 dollars each...the autostar around $150, the tripod, I don't know but let's say $60 to be realistic. That's $288...plus you get a nice bag for the tripod...and the scope can be found for as low as $229 (Adorama...but they are out of stock just now). A very good deal in my book. If you go portable, I would also suggest getting the carrying case (or making your own) for the scope. Also, a dew cap is in order, as it is not included with the TC. I use an astrozap, but you could also make your own or buy the Meade cap.
Have fun!
Craig
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Craig
Ancient Tasco 4.5" (from back when Tasco's were good)
Meade ETX-80
Orion XT10i
Meade Super Plossls 6.4, 9.7, 15 & 26mm
Zhumell Z Planetary 3mm
Agena Ultra Wide 30mm
Edited by caheaton (06/26/09 02:50 PM)
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Treehopper
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/29/08
Posts: 582
Loc: Upstate NY
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Thanks Quads and Craig for your assessments. It sounds like for the money you get a pretty decent little package! I like that you can swap the more versatile #497 controller in (I'm sure there's probably a firmware update that needs to take place to take the ETX-80's specifics into account.)
So far as the motor sounds, I can live with that. I tend to growl and burp (among other noises) at times myself, so nobody will be the wiser. And this also keeps the bears away; at least, I haven't seen any on my 7th floor balcony in a couple years now! 
Last year when I ordered a Flexi-Focus cable for the ETX-125, I actually received two in the package. I'm curious if the cable will work (or if it will even be necessary) on the 80. Any suggestions or has anyone tried this? I know on the 125, the cable helped dampen the focus "jitter" that would usually occur when just using the focuser knob.
The EP's are a bonus, although the same ones came shipped with the 125. I can either hang onto these and use them as barter goods at our next swap meet, or perhaps bestow them on an eager young new stargazer to help get him started with some decent quality optics. The Super-Plossl's weren't bad little eyepieces as memory serves.
Probably due to the increased size and weight of the ETX-125, my one complaint was that it ate batteries like popcorn (not too surprising, since it was moving a tube assembly that probably comes in at 25-30 pounds!) I'm grateful to hear the batteries have at least a little more longevity in the 80. One of these days, I'm going to have to invest in a decent battery or field power supply, but until I do, it's nice to know I won't go into debt buying AA's.
These are excellent reviews so far. I'd really like to hear from any other ETX-80 owners, and particularly those who have the backpack edition. Is the backpack padded enough to keep the scope and its components from banging around inside while traveling? How much room is there for spare batteries, and maybe an extra EP or two?
Thanks again! This has really helped me, and hope that it helps other prospective '80 shoppers as well.
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Tim
Champion of small aperture scopes everywhere!
Meade ETX-125PE
Meade ETX-80
Celestron FirstScope 76mm Mini-dob
Updated: 09/16/2009
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astrowolf67
member
Reged: 12/15/07
Posts: 94
Loc: Western Kentucky
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Hi Tim, I own the back pack edition of the 80. As stated, the tripod is not as sturdy. It works, but is maxed out with the 80. It helps to use the built in hook to hang a bit of weight from for added stability.
As for the scope itself, as others have said, it is a bit noisy during slewing. Accuracy is extremely good, and, gets better with more use. I made a 12V adapter, and run mine off of a small jump start battery, at the full 12 volts. I made the cord long enough, and, have also used my vehicle's lighter outlet.
As for storage in the bag, everything is held in place rather well, but, I wouldn't recommend jogging with it. It is sufficiently padded for normal use, but I wouldn't dare put it through an airline or bus terminal. Storage space is pretty tight. The scope/base is by itself in the main compartment, with the dew shield flipped over on the objective end. The secondary compartment has two velcro pouches for mount screws, and the 45 diagonal, three eyepiece pouches, which if not kept horizontal, mine tend to fall out into the bottom of the secondary compartment. There is a small divided area in the bottom of the secondary compartment that barely holds the autostar, and my power cord.
Hope this helps!
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David
"Seek the Spirit of the Wolf, for He holds the Secret of Life."
Edmund Astroscan/Meade DS 2000 tripod
Meade ETX 60
Tasco 60mm EQ
Meade 114 NT/LXD75
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Treehopper
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/29/08
Posts: 582
Loc: Upstate NY
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Thanks for the additional comments, David! As most of my locomotion these days is done with a cane or walker, I can be pretty sure I won't be jogging with it any time soon, but it's good to know nevertheless the extent of the padding in the backpack. 
Being somewhat spoiled on the 125's ability to auto-level itself, how difficult is it to adjust or "shim" the tripod if you're on somewhat uneven ground so that you can get a level reading?
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Tim
Champion of small aperture scopes everywhere!
Meade ETX-125PE
Meade ETX-80
Celestron FirstScope 76mm Mini-dob
Updated: 09/16/2009
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astrowolf67
member
Reged: 12/15/07
Posts: 94
Loc: Western Kentucky
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The tripod included in the backpack version has a built in level. Adjusting it is pretty easy, however, the scope will block the level once mounted. Just as easy, is leveling the tube to the home position. I've always just eyeballed it, and never had a problem. As has been stated, the goto on these little scopes is amazingly accurate. Once the tripod is level, and the scope is in home position (tube level pointing north), I can turn it on, and have it aligned in about two minutes.
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David
"Seek the Spirit of the Wolf, for He holds the Secret of Life."
Edmund Astroscan/Meade DS 2000 tripod
Meade ETX 60
Tasco 60mm EQ
Meade 114 NT/LXD75
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Quads
sage
Reged: 09/07/08
Posts: 296
Loc: Central Sands, Wisconsin
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My 80 is the backpack version (BB). The backpack works well, but fits a little too tightly on the scope (it helps to run the focuser in, shortening the scope, when you put it in the pack). There is enough extra room in the eyepiece compartment for spare batteries, but not a lot more. Padding is sufficient for "careful" use, but don't drop it.
The tripod is very easy to level, just watch it's bubble, loosen the clamp on the appropriate leg, and slide it up or down as needed. Mine also came with an "eyepiece level/compass". I first level the tripod with the tripod bubble. Then mount the scope. With the eyepiece bubble, I level the scope up and down only, but ignore side to side since I've already leveled the tripod (the eyepiece bubble generally always disagrees a little with the tripod bubble, but seems to work best relying mostly on the tripod). Then I point it north and align with the Autostar.
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I'm a "just for fun" photographer that also takes nighttime sky pictures.
Meade ETX-80AT-TC-BB
Canon PowerShot SX100 IS
Affordable Astrophotography
Powered by Ni-MH Rechargeable Batteries
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caheaton
super member
Reged: 05/26/09
Posts: 157
Loc: SW Ohio
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Guess I'll throw my 5 cents (inflation) in here. I have the non backpack version. The tripod is a bit heavier and does not have a built in level. Still, it's very easy. The scope came with a combination compass/bubble level. I just place the bubble level on the edge of the tripod (with the scope moved more or less horizontal already) and use that to get a level for the tripod. I adjust for level by loosening the snapping lock on the legs and moving them up or down as required. After the tripod is level, I put the bubble into the eyepiece holder and then level the scope. I usually use Polaris for North, but tonight I did a rough alignment using the compass and it worked well enough (I was tracking the Moon).
Craig
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Craig
Ancient Tasco 4.5" (from back when Tasco's were good)
Meade ETX-80
Orion XT10i
Meade Super Plossls 6.4, 9.7, 15 & 26mm
Zhumell Z Planetary 3mm
Agena Ultra Wide 30mm
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