Which ETX do you use?

[ETX Astro]

Does any body here use a ETX as there primary scope and which one?

[mldee (Mike)]

I purchased an ETX125 blue tube PE when in the states last year and dragged it back here minus tripod, only to find the mount died half way through my first attempt at alignment. A nut had fallen off the worm drive bolt end. Fixed that and resumed the aligment. After about five minutes, during which it seemd to be doing everything right, all of a sudden the elevation drive just stopped. No noise at all. Googled for instructions, pulled it apart, all looked good, so obviously an electronic fault.

By this time I was heartily sick of the mount workmanship. Yes, I could have packed it up and sent it off for repair, but can't be bothered.

I removed the OTA and put it on a spare EQ5 goto, where it has sat ever since, while I wait for the rain to stop in Brisbane. I also have since bought a C8 etc and built a RO obs, as you can see on my sig, but plan on trying the ETX125 one day soon.

I like the optics, but the mount is a pile of plastic s**t.

[ETX Astro]

Originally Posted by mldee

I purchased an ETX125 blue tube PE when in the states last year and dragged it back here minus tripod, only to find the mount died half way through my first attempt at alignment. A nut had fallen off the worm drive bolt end. Fixed that and resumed the aligment. After about five minutes, during which it seemd to be doing everything right, all of a sudden the elevation drive just stopped. No noise at all. Googled for instructions, pulled it apart, all looked good, so obviously an electronic fault.

By this time I was heartily sick of the mount workmanship. Yes, I could have packed it up and sent it off for repair, but can't be bothered.

I removed the OTA and put it on a spare EQ5 goto, where it has sat ever since, while I wait for the rain to stop in Brisbane. I also have since bought a C8 etc and built a RO obs, as you can see on my sig, but plan on trying the ETX125 one day soon soon.

I like the optics, but the mount is a pile of plastic s**t.

It sounds like the old ETX125 EC was a better unit, I have been told the PE mounts have a lot troubles
Do you still have the mount and hand controller

[Kal (Andrew)]

My first scope was an ETX90EC bought back around 1998. It was my only scope for the next 8 years, and it served me well.

[tnott]

I used the ETX 125 for years as my main scope and it served me very well. Still use it mainly at home for the moon and planets or as a travel scope. Weasner's mighty ETX site and Dr. Clay's Constellation Guides helped get the most out of it.

http://www.weasner.com/etx/menu.html

[mldee (Mike)]

Originally Posted by ETX Astro

It sounds like the old ETX125 EC was a better unit, I have been told the PE mounts have a lot troubles
Do you still have the mount and hand controller

Yes, still here, still unrepaired. I was going to send it to Bintel, for a paid repair, but they want me to send the OTA as well, and it's just too much hassle to pack.

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

ETX-70at. Paid $200 fr it second hand. Can't see much with it but am using it to learn basics of Astrophotography

Just set up as a polar alignment.

[marki]

I have a ETX 125 PE (the ones with the pics on the tube) which is a nice little scope for visual work. It would make a great grab and go if the batteries lasted more then ten seconds. I too had trouble with the drive as about a week after I bought it there was a snapping noise followed by loss of tracking in the az drive. Turned out the little plastic ring which holds the worm to the gear drive broke. Bintel sent me another express post and whilst I had it in bits I went through and cleaned it out and set up all the clearences properly (meade QC ). Its been fine ever scince and has great optics. Would not try to use the drive for photography though.

Mark

[ETX Astro]

Originally Posted by mldee

Yes, still here, still unrepaired. I was going to send it to Bintel, for a paid repair, but they want me to send the OTA as well, and it's just too much hassle to pack.

Star Optics is the best Meade agent in Australia for sales and repairs and his shop is on the gold Coast the person you want to talk to is Lex
and he is a lot cheaper

[mldee (Mike)]

Thanks for that info, I'll give him a call on Monday.

[stephenb (Stephen)]

Originally Posted by ETX Astro

Star Optics is the best Meade agent in Australia for sales and repairs and his shop is on the gold Coast the person you want to talk to is Lex
and he is a lot cheaper

That's an encouraging endorsement. I am in the market shortly for a Meade so I'll have a chat with them. Thanks.

Actually, I am looking at an LX90, but a ETX125 looks like a nice little 'scope to throw in a padded bag in the boot of the car, for emergencies!

I'm reading some old S&T magazines from 1985-1988 and the ETX appears to be a competitor to the Questar's from that era.

[mat,v]

How would the ETX go as a guide scope? Maybe a second hand one piggybacked on a LX-90 for example,,Any thoughts?

[James74]

I second that endorsement for Lex at star optics, bought an etx125 from them last year, it was cheaper than anywhere and they have good support service too though i haven;t needed it my father has and says they hve been great..

As for the scope, im a rank beginner so probably easlily pleased, but me and my wife love it. It is reliable, easy to align , good optics as far is am concerned we see a lot from our lit suburban sky here in brisbane.

[seeker372011 (Narayan)]

Originally Posted by barx1963

ETX-70at. Paid $200 fr it second hand. Can't see much with it but am using it to learn basics of Astrophotography

Just set up as a polar alignment.

my ETX 70 is not my primary scope but please don't underestimate its capabilities

here are my images with a stock-out of the box ETX 70

with an Orion Deep Space Imager I

http://s91.photobucket.com/albums/k282/n_mukkavilli/

look at the three albums on the left for the actual images (Mmessier, Caldwell and Other)

for sub sub $1000 telescope plus imaging system, its not all that bad



for older images with just a modified webcam

http://www.freewebs.com/seeker372011/

and yes much better in polar mode
Narayan

[marki]

The optics are very capable but the best pics are always taken when the tube is riding on another mount. See link below.

http://www.meade.com/photogallery/etx_gallery.html

Mark

[Miaplacidus (Brian)]

ETX-105. The only thing to recommend this aperture is that the plastic covers that come on those packs of CD/DVDs from Officeworks fit nearly over the front. Nice for making various masks, etc.
Great on moon and planets. I consider it a nice "social" scope. Small and friendly, and it tracks nicely so you don't have to keep aligning it when sharing the eyepiece (provided all your eyes are parfocal: a pain to refocus). And I'm one of those who think a GOTO actually helps teach people stellography, or whatever you want to call it. Not an imaging scope, notwithstanding the miracles Narayan has managed to pull off in the past, but good for drawing with. A pain when objects are at zenith. I don't trust the mechanical robustness, either, so I wouldn't leave it kicking in the boot of the car "for emergencies". Optically nice. Must use a battery pack or mains power.
Cheers,
Brian.

[stephenb (Stephen)]

Originally Posted by Miaplacidus

.... I don't trust the mechanical robustness, either, so I wouldn't leave it kicking in the boot of the car "for emergencies". ....

Agree, I wouldn't "leave" it in the car. I meant to use it for a last minute inclusion for an overnight trip or similar.

Are there any ETX user groups in Australia?

So people use them piggybacked on a larger scope like a ED80 or similar? How do they mount them?

[mldee (Mike)]

As mentioned earlier, I have my 125 temp mounted on an EQ5 GoTo using a standard dovetail and a couple of 6" rings, which are slightly too large. The ETX125 tube is about 150mm OD and the rings ID is about 160mm. I cut some strips of ~3mm thick rubber from a good quality floor mat section I bought at Clark Rubber for my RO rain sealing.

Two strips about 2cm wide and about 25cm long fit under the rings and provide good grip to the OTA. May not be the most professional of solutions, but for casual use, seems to work fine. YMMV.

[White Rabbit]

I have an ETX125 PE and I'l ll echo the comments above. Nice optics ****e mechanics. Mine rubber bands like crazy and it's the most frustraing thing in the world. I had mine off and was using it on my HEQPro 5 until I got the newt. Great little scop.

I asked here a little while back if it could be used as a guide scope and was told yes but you'd need to get a focal reducer. I think it might be a little heavy for my set up on my eq5 though.

In a nutshell though I think they are very over priced considering my ep5 and 8"newt was cheaper lol.

Sandy

[stephenb (Stephen)]

How would you all rate it's optics compared to say a Newt equivalent? Or perhaps I wonder how it stands up vs. a Celestron 5SE? That would be an interesting comparison test to do. We really are talking about a true grab 'n' go, aren't we? Size, visual use and portability?