Quote:
Originally Posted by AndrewJ
Gday Peter
Just to start with, i own 2 Meade scopes and bang for buck they are great value.
However, as a result of persistent problems with the software, ( esp for Sth Hemi PEC operation initially ), i have spent a lot of time "digging" into the guts of the code, and finding ways around some of it.
Meades DO NOT work exactly as advertised
The serial commands for remote control have bugs
which is a huge concern to many users.
There are also many other bugs in the general use of the scopes
and whether or not you hit them can be pot luck.
Many of these bugs have been reported to Meade and met by a deafening wall of silence.
Meade appear to refuse to deal with these and dont respond to emails
Many sites constantly criticise the inability to get "technical" help or valid response to these sorts of problems.
This creates a very negative view of them ( rightly or wrongly ) in the eyes of many prospective customers
Producing "new products" whilst the existing ones are left to rot with known problems is not a reason to be applauding them.
Again, i reiterate, i have 2 Meades and i still use them happily
but i know most of the traps now, many new users dont
and their scopes may end up in a closet as a result.
Andrew
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Hi there Andrew,
You are absolutely right you get bang for your buck no doubt about it. Sorry to hear you (and others) have problems and yes I have heard getting help direct from Meade has been difficult, but recent posts on CN indicate this maybe changing. The good news for us in Australia is that with the likes of Don and Michael at Bintel and Barry Gerdes there seems to be more than enough local talent to sort most, if not all issues out.
I have owned 4 LX200s over the years. This year alone my 12inch LX200R has had 97 nights of operation at around 4-5hrs per night doing multiple slews to perhaps a 100 plus galaxies per night. That is a bigger workload than most would be doing and I have found it DOES work exactly as advertised. Gotos are spot on, always, from park to anywhere (within the slew limits) in the sky - I have the star in the focus window of my SXVM7 everytime. I know several others who have imaged many thousands of galaxies with no major issues, mechanical or software related, they even operate remotely. I have read lots attributable to user error, balancing, hot plugging, power supply issues and not reading how to set the thing up right in the first place, to name a few - inevitably the product gets tarred with these as well. Right or wrong I will continue to applaude Meade.
PeterM