Meade ETX-105EC Telescope

I have had my ETX-105AT for about a month now. This is the first scope that I have owned. Previously, I tried to use an old reflector that my father in law made and loaned to me. It was heavy, had a cumbersome mount, and needed to be collimated. This was not a very good first experience.

On the other hand, there is the ETX-105AT. It is very portable because of size and weight. It does have substance, though and is very well made.

Set up was very easy, right out of the box. In a few minutes, I had it all put together, and sighted the finder scope in. This is an important step that will help when it comes time to do an alignment prior to viewing objects. The other important step is to train the motor. Both are easily accomplished if the directions in the manual are followed. Speaking of the manual, it is well written and easy to understand.

That evening, I took the scope out onto a second floor balcony and put it in the "home" position. This means that you are to align the tube so that it is level, and point the scope in the direction of north. I used a small bubble level and a compass to do this. I later found that as long as you have this in some proximity to level and north, the two star alignment will work, and be accurate.

After doing the two star alignment the scope found and tracked objects flawlessly. It is easy to find the alignment stars even without a great knowledge of the constellations because they are usually the brightest objects in that section of the sky. I used a sky chart to verify though, and this also is helping me to learn my away around the night sky better.

What I saw: Great views of the moon. They were of good contrast and sharp. Three dimensional features were visible of the craters. Mars. Very sharp image and even though it did not appear too large with the 26mm Plossl, It still was amazing to see. I later purchased a 2x Barlow and I got to see it even better. I have ordered the Meade special eyepiece package for $99.00, and am anticipating even better views. I also saw Uranus and Neptune. They were very small, but nevertheless able to be seen in contrast to the surrounding stars.

Deep sky objects were easily located with the AT computer. I viewed M-11 and some of the other Messier Objects. They were not extremely bright, but were exciting to see, and it was not difficult to discern them from the surrounding stars.

The unit takes eight AA batteries. I purchased NiMH batteries with a charger from Radio Shack.

I purchased this product after reading reviews and speaking with salesmen at the various shops. I was impressed with the simplicity and sharpness of the images. The fact that you can have this scope set up in less than 5 minutes, means that it will be frequently used, rather than being a dust collector. My second choice was a reflector, but they appeared to be more cumbersome, take longer to setup and require frequent collimation.

I am very happy with this purchase, and this scope will probably meet my needs well into the future.

The scope came with a package including the tripod (Meade Deluxe) a 26mm Plossl and the goto computer.

I purchased it from Scope City for $870.00 shipping with the UHTC coatings.