$80 I spent on a polarizing moon filter. A bit much I though, but hey, you expect to get charged for those odd little items. It was a big affair, like a barlow and I wondered why they needed to make it so flipping long since it's essentially just filters. Perhaps they wanted to justify the price I mused. Then on use I noticed that the screws that lock the EP and the movable polarizer filter were sloppy. Very sloppy like they had put the wrong threads on them or in the holes. Then it fell apart, luckily I caught it when it did. On inspection I find that the two halves are held together by a single grub screw and there was no recess for the screw to sit in. I had come a bit loose and the inner barrel had simply slid off the outer. Also there were score marks where it had ben rotating under the lose screw. Have a look at it in the pic below. Yes, that's RUST you see on it. Can you imagine that rust working it's way down onto the surface of your $400 dilectric diagonal? I can. A cheap mild steel screw and they haven't even finished the end off.
I drilled out a little depression for the grub to sit in but it's not satisfactory. I will have to drill another hole, tap both for proper grub screws and put countersunk depressions into the inner barrel before this thing is safe to use again. Mind you it is really a wasted effort since the optics on my $15 flea market plorized sunglasses are clearer than the rubbish Meade has put into this thing. It will be the last Meade purchase I will ever make I can assure you of that!
