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considerthestars
member
Reged: 08/09/06
Posts: 96
Loc: Annapolis, MD
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I've ordered the ETX-80 AT backpack version, which should arrive in time for the 4th of July weekend. Weather warning for the East Coast next weekend!
Anyway I will probably have a few questions for this forum over the next few weeks. What I thought I'd ask for now is what accessories people have found to be the most useful with the ETX80.
Also, if you were putting it in the overhead of an airplane, what carrying case would you use?
thanks,
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Gordon Leidner
Zhumell 10 inch Dob
Nextar 8SE
Meade ETX80 AT
Orion 8x56 Mini Giant Binocs
Hyperion 24mm, 17mm, 13mm, 8mm, 5mm
Meade LPI
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caheaton
super member
Reged: 05/26/09
Posts: 138
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Congratulations! The ETX-80 is a great, fun little scope. For lunar observing, I'd recommend the Orion V-Block. It does a great job of improving contrast and making subtle details pop out. I also purchased the 6.4mmEP...images are a bit dim, but it's a must when you just need a bit more magnification (and it's perfect for the Moon). I also purchased an Astrozap Baader solar filter...but there isn't much to observe on the Sun just now.
Those are the items I'd suggest right of the bat...other accessories will depend upon how and where you observe (LPR filter, camera adapters, etc.).
Craig
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Treehopper
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/29/08
Posts: 582
Loc: Upstate NY
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Great news, Gordon! I'm probably going to be ordering one myself early this week. Dollar for dollar, they seem like a pretty solid, dependable and enjoyable little refractor. The fast f/5 focal ratio will fill the niche I currently have for a easy-to-use wide-field sky-scrubber.
Takes me to my early days of using a home-brew 90mm doublet (had a 2cm clamshell defect in the edge, but didn't seem to affect the viewing any) that I would use on a simple alt-az platform. It was supported by three old wooden crutch legs, if you can believe it. I and my mentor who helped me build it referred to it as "The Hobble" telescope. 
Let us know when you get it, and we'll be looking forwrd to some of your initial impressions and first light report!
Kind regards,
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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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jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Posts: 6695
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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Cool! I have the little ETX-60BB and it's a fun little scope. I like the V-block idea, I'll have to get one myself. Once suggestion I'dhave is to get a stand-alone Barlow or Televue PowerMate; the built-in Barlow works, but you have to turn the focus knob about 20 times to refocus when you use it. It's much faster when I use my 2x shorty Barlow (I haven't ried it with my 5x PowerMate yet).
As far as a carry-on case, I'd just use the backpak, it's a really nice package that's well made and very comfortable to wear. Beware you need to draw the focuser down to get it to fit into the backpack.
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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
Edited by jgraham (06/29/09 11:02 PM)
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AlexDJ30
sage
Reged: 09/02/08
Posts: 267
Loc: Monterrey, Mexico
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Yes i think the ETX-80 its a fun wideview scope, the only that is see not very good in the BB package is the tripod, i guess if the winds blow you would need to put something heavy so it doesnt move too much. From that i think you can have lots of fun watching open clusters some nebulaes and galaxies (on dark sites of course..on the city like i live aperture rules, the bb will be really not to a lot of use (only moon and the major planets in some degree)..
Have fun..i think the bb version have already a dewshield (dont remember that), but you should get a the dc connector and a powertank to use it in the field, maybe 1 or 2 more eyepices and later on if you dont like the internal barlow a new ones with much better quality. A Minus violet filter is a most!
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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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jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Posts: 6695
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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Good point about the tripod. It's very light, but suprisingly sturdy for its weight. If I recall right there's a hook under the center post where you can hang weights if you'd like to add a bit of mass to it. My little ETX-60BB is so light it does fine on the tripod. Using the hand controller helps a lot to keep the vibrations down.
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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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considerthestars
member
Reged: 08/09/06
Posts: 96
Loc: Annapolis, MD
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Quote:
Let us know when you get it, and we'll be looking forwrd to some of your initial impressions and first light report!
Kind regards,
The scope arrived today and I took it out for first light tonight. Thick, broken cloud cover so I was limited in what I could see. Mostly I wanted to see how the Go To worked. It worked great! I did a two star align and it worked great the first time. Used the only stars I could see thru the clouds initially, which were Arcturus and Altair. It would try to slew to each one and was off maybe 5 or 10 degrees each time, but when I manually slewed to the stars the alignment was successful. I then had it Go To Deneb (about the only other star I could see) and it was spot on! Then the moon....again, right on the money. Later, Spica. Dead center. Finally enough clearing for M5, which was, again, almost perfect.
So I'm very happy with how the Go To works. Why is it the ETX Go To is so much better than the Nexstar's? I mean there was no hassle with having to make certain the last bursts for alignment were "down and to the right" in order to tighten up the gears or anything like that.
So far my only criticism is the noise (sounds like it is sending morse code to the aliens) and the fact that in looking through the two different eyepieces (the one on top and the one in the back)they don't hit the same object--aren't lined up.
All in all, a great scope so far! 
--------------------
Gordon Leidner
Zhumell 10 inch Dob
Nextar 8SE
Meade ETX80 AT
Orion 8x56 Mini Giant Binocs
Hyperion 24mm, 17mm, 13mm, 8mm, 5mm
Meade LPI
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Treehopper
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/29/08
Posts: 582
Loc: Upstate NY
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Great to hear, Gordon! I think I found a pretty sweet deal on one as well (<$240, shipping inc.), and will probably order it after the holiday weekend. Should look nice sitting next to the ETX-125PE!
The noise sounds a lot worse than it actually is, we're just hyper aware of it because it's likely very quiet around us at night. For what it's worth, I've used my 125 on my balcony (I live in a high-rise), and nobody has ever mentioned hearing a strange "whir" or "morse code" coming from my porch.
As far as the alignment issue... that one is a bit of a stumper. Only thing I can think of is the drop-down mirror that the ETX's use as a diagonal might be a bit "tight" for lack of a better term. Ideally, it should be at 45° relative to your objective and eyepiece. Being new, it might not be "bottoming out" at the proper angle. If it were only dropping to, say, 43° instead, there would be an apparent discrepancy between the diagonal view and the straight view.
Perhaps if you carefully worked the mirror up and down a few times to "break it in" a bit, it might fall into proper alignment. Of course, this is pure speculation on my part. There may be another reason altogether for it, but it has a ring of plausibility to it.
In any event, congratulations on the new scope! May you enjoy it for many, many years to come!
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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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considerthestars
member
Reged: 08/09/06
Posts: 96
Loc: Annapolis, MD
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Tim
The idea of the diagonal not going down all the way sounds plausible. I'll try working it up and down and see if it helps.
You're going to love this scope......
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Gordon Leidner
Zhumell 10 inch Dob
Nextar 8SE
Meade ETX80 AT
Orion 8x56 Mini Giant Binocs
Hyperion 24mm, 17mm, 13mm, 8mm, 5mm
Meade LPI
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jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Posts: 6695
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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I've had a similar experience with my little ETX-60; the view through the visual port is fine, but it doesn't quite line up with the camera port. No big deal, I just assumed the camera port is optically on-center and the detent for the flip mirror is off a tad. And yes, the mount is a tad noisy. Setting it to slew in quiet mode works well. Also, if you mount it equatorially it drives only the R.A. motor when it's tracking and that quiets it way down. I've stepped away from my scope to hear wht it sounds like from a few feet away and it doesn't seem that loud when you're not standing right next to it.
Have fun with the new scope!
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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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Treehopper
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/29/08
Posts: 582
Loc: Upstate NY
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So Gordon, amidst the grilling and the fireworks this weekend, did you get to play with the ETX80 anymore?
Need to find out some additional information on the scope. One site says the 80 uses 8 AA cells, another says 6. One site I went to shows an AC adapter for the scope that interfaces with a 9-volt cell (the little so-called "transistor radio" batteries, if that's not dating myself too much!  ) This didn't sound right to me either. Sooo, how many cells does it actually use? And what sort of AC adapter interface am I looking for?
I'm almost thinking of biting the bullet and getting one of the large "Power Tank" supplies that can be used for both the 125 and 80, and if need be serve as backup for my laptop if I decide to take that along in the field. I have the 12v "cigarette lighter" adapter for the 125 already.
Thanks in advance. Grace, peace and clear skies to you! 
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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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The 80 uses 6 AA cells. The battery holder for the AA cells has a 9 volt type plug on it for removal from the battery compartment when changing batteries.
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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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Treehopper
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/29/08
Posts: 582
Loc: Upstate NY
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Ahh, so then the adapter with the 9-volt "cap" probably would be the correct one for the 80 then? Good to know!
I read through the whole thread of your images, Quads. To say I'm impressed is an understatement! You've done some fine work! I might actually have to pull my Minolta Dimage 7i camera out and see what I can do with it. You've inspired me! I haven't tried any digital AP at all. Way back in the day, I had some fair-to-middling success with traditional film-based SLR's, but it's been years since I've taken a camera outdoors at night.
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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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KWB
Postmaster
Reged: 09/30/06
Posts: 9268
Loc: Westminster,Co Elev.1646Meters
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Hi
When you get back home consider using 12 volts to power your telescope ASAP. More precise tracking and a more accurate GOTO.
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Kenny
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." - Albert Einstein
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Quads
sage
Reged: 09/07/08
Posts: 296
Loc: Central Sands, Wisconsin
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Quote:
I read through the whole thread of your images, Quads. To say I'm impressed is an understatement! You've done some fine work! I might actually have to pull my Minolta Dimage 7i camera out and see what I can do with it. You've inspired me! I haven't tried any digital AP at all. Way back in the day, I had some fair-to-middling success with traditional film-based SLR's, but it's been years since I've taken a camera outdoors at night.
Thank you!
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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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