Proudly assembled in the US with Chinese stuff

[Shawn]

Yeah Mick I agree, If they are given the whole job, but this sub-contracting stuff,,,loose term I agree....screws up the end product....division of responsibility results in a poor product..

[Shawn]

Asimov, Did you check out the gear,,,mayby you could help me with my setup, Im getting the crap with 17 deg S....I see your a lot lower..but your kit looks similar..Oh No Im going to have to move out of the tropics. I digress,,,ooops Chinese Stuff Made in America ,,,Duh

[mick pinner]

l think it was built around the late 90's, l've had a chance to compare it build wise to a fairly late GPS model and it is certainly better quality, the most notable flaw on the new one was porosity holes in the casting of the fork arms and base whereas mine is perfectly smooth with an almost machined finish. The use of plastic over the previous model has also increased quite a lot.

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

Loved my LX200GPS 8" but the wedge was a pita

[asimov (John)]

I doubt I'd be able to help, I have a C9.25 on an EQ5 mount. I know nothing of wedges & so forth. Is your scope brand new? I'm under the impression you haven't even got to use it yet, or am I wrong here..

[casstony]

Shawn, since the 8x50 finder is broken maybe you could replace it with a right angle one?

While I'd be upset to see pieces falling off my scope, I'm not surprised that a few corners are being cut given how much financial pressure Meade is under (according to posts I've read on other forums). I wonder if there is another Chinese company eyeing Meade's great product line-up but poor balance sheet?

Tony

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Back a few years ago when I owned 'Midwest Harley' the Harley-Davidson dealership for Western Victoria I found a MAJOR difference in parts from different countries.

The Japanese after-market Harley parts were garbage and didn't fit well. The Chinese parts were even worse! Often some parts would not fit at all!!!

But if you wanted quality you could always buy the genuine HD factory parts from the American Factory, stamped with Made in Japan, Germany and even Australia (Yes, we make Harley parts here in Oz for HD). Although these parts are 'Factory' and labelled as 'Genuine' and cost a lot more, often the quality is still poor.

As a dealer, I soon discovered the same as many dealers world-wide! Taiwanese is the way to go!!!

Taiwanese parts go by the name of Zodiac and AMA and the quality is exceptional. Every surface of all alloy parts are machined and polished (even on the inside where it doesn't matter), their chrome is flawless and doesn't crack or peel, and everything fits perfectly. Zodiac parts even come sealed in plastic & sometimes wax coated! And the suprising part is that the Taiwanese brands are far cheaper.

Many show bikes around the world are made from Zodiac & AMA parts.

When I enquired about the amazing quality to a rep, he said that the Taiwanese are proud of what they make for the world, whereas in other countries, the workers just 'go to work'. They have no pride in their product.

Could be true, I dunno. All I know is that Asian quality is different in different countries, and Taiwanese is at the top.

[Shawn]

Originally Posted by asimov

I doubt I'd be able to help, I have a C9.25 on an EQ5 mount. I know nothing of wedges & so forth. Is your scope brand new? I'm under the impression you haven't even got to use it yet, or am I wrong here..

Close to the truth, Its a long story. I ordered a 16" way back in feb March some time, I was told stock was available, about a month later, computer error, no stock available, wait another month or so. patiently waited a month or so. and then .Oh weve stopped production, in favour of more sellable smaller units, pick up again september maybe... In their own defence they did offer to sell me a 16" at considerably less, for the stuffing around they put me thru, thats all well and good if i ever get it..So I ordered a 14R" instead, anyway in the meantime I moved, North. Then a Cyclone, I dont believe in god. but this orcestrated sequence of obstruction is starting to take godlike proportions.It has been a farce so far. Imaging at last,,,,,shame someone else uses that.....

[Shawn]

As for build construction, At least I got only 180lb of poorly assembled gear as opposed to 350lb.....ha ha ha ha...
The feedback on this topic has been most intersting..

[Adrian-H]

they dont try to fool you, its just lack of knowledge about the company that you buy from.

it cant be helped most of the time, not knowing about the contracts that they hold for producing or buying and using products from another country with there "company name".

its not like meade is going to annouce that GSO is making there lightbridges with big meade tags all over it.

maybe if you where intersted into what there company really dose, you would know, which products produced by some bad rep company or some good rep company like GSO, its not that they are trying to fool you.

from some of the posts in here, it seems pretty narrow towards china and the eastern region, some of you should really think about what you are saying, this is from an american company, some of the products are manufactured in china maybe? but they are still under meade correct? so vent your frustrations towards meade.

allthough i can understand the frustration of having bad quality products.

[Shawn]

Originally Posted by Adrian-H

they dont try to fool you, its just lack of knowledge about the company that you buy from.

it cant be helped most of the time, not knowing about the contracts that they hold for producing or buying and using products from another country with there "company name".

its not like meade is going to annouce that GSO is making there lightbridges with big meade tags all over it.

maybe if you where intersted into what there company really dose, you would know, which products produced by some bad rep company or some good rep company like GSO, its not that they are trying to fool you.

from some of the posts in here, it seems pretty narrow towards china and the eastern region, some of you should really think about what you are saying, this is from an american company, some of the products are manufactured in china maybe? but they are still under meade correct? so vent your frustrations towards meade.

allthough i can understand the frustration of having bad quality products.

Hi yer
Frustrations towards meade, hmmm. ever tried ..?.. And I didnt say Bad quaity probuct, what I said was poor assembly, not enough attention to detail I guess. The engineering itself is fine what you get is what you pay for on the most part, I would guess its a QA issue, with items supplied not quite being spec, or its close use that screw ,,,approach either way its a QA issue. Im still happy with the scope Its a fine peice of equipment even if bits of it are of eastern origin, Its just dissapointing to have to dissasemble it to reassemble it properly. Looking on the bright side, we havnt had one clear nite up here for the last fortnite,, .