![[Home!]](../images/mighty_etx.jpg){kind=small}
DS MODELS USER FEEDBACK
Last updated: 1 January 2001
|
DS MODELS USER FEEDBACK |
This page is for user comments and information specific to the Meade DS telescope models. Accessories and Feedback items appropriate to the ETX models are posted on other pages as appropriate. If you have any comments, suggestions, questions or answers to questions posed here, e-mail them to me and I'll post them. Please use an appropriate Subject Line on your message. Thanks.
Subject: Eyepieces for DS 114 Sent: Sunday, December 31, 2000 13:53:27 From: WKess66375@aol.com I received a TeleStar DS 114 by Meade for Christmas. It has .965" eyepieces with an adapter for 2" eyepices. Question: is there an adapter for 1.25" eyepieces available? I went to the Meade web page but they assume that I already have the 1.25" aperture. Thanks.Mike here: Yes, there is an adapter but you may find that some eyepieces will not focus. See the Orion Telescope site for examples (http://www.telescope.com/cgi-bin/OrionTel.storefront/3a4fd6ce02620c602717409842180626/Product/View/G315).
Subject: 494 & "5" key Sent: Friday, December 29, 2000 00:56:59 From: screi@peoplepc.com (Wayne Scharphorn) Happy New year! David McCaig asked about the Starfinder asking for the "5" key command to exit the Sun Warning and you are right..the wrong software is loaded and the only fix is to have Meade send a new one. I had the same problem when I bought my 4504 in Sept. Meade did send a replacement but it took about 4 weeks so I brought my scope back to Costco(where I bought it) and swapped it for a new on. BTW..when I first got the message and stood there trying to figure out what key to punch (counting & punching keys..clockwise..& counter-clockwise..8-) I finally got a response from the display..all it said was "BOZO" and went dark..he he..a great newbie story. Wayne
Subject: re: 494 Autostar and "bozo" Sent: Thursday, December 28, 2000 23:27:05 From: rseymour@wolfenet.com (richard seymour) To: dmccaig@argontech.net David, I have heard of one previous instance of -exactly- that symptom. I believe you have an early (or incorrectly loaded) 494 Autostar. Returning it to the dealer or Meade is the only "fix" i am aware of. I shall (and you should) send a note to engineer@meade.com informing them of the problem. They will not -respond- from that address, but they do read them all (they forget a bunch, but at least they read them) I will try to find the previous messages about that controller and see if there was any other solution... but memory says "no" good luck --dick seymour
Subject: Meade 4504 Sent: Thursday, December 28, 2000 21:28:42 From: Mike I recently bought the Meade 4504 at Costco and assembled it exactly as the directions indicate. I took it out during the day to view a terrestrial object (chimney) with 25mm eyepiece about 300 yards away. This was successful and I could see where the paint was chipped off the chimney. I then took it out tonight with anticipation of seeing the heavens. There was no moon so I got the brightest star I could see in the viewfinder. I looked in the 25mm eyepiece and seen the brightest star (and others) but no better than I could with the naked eye. In fact, I could see it better without the telescope. I tried the H12.5mm and SR4mm eyepieces and could see nothing but darkness. Next I inserted the Barlow3X and 25mm and seen nothing but darkness. Am I doing something wrong? This is driving me nuts and got me thinking how else I could spend $240.00. Thanks in advance. Mike PhoenixMike here: You may be doing something wrong but you are also expecting too much. Stars are so far away that even with the largest telescope you CAN'T afford they remain as pinpoints. Looking at stars is fun (look for differing colors or look at star clusters) but if you want to see details, look at the Moon and planets. Faint fuzzies (nebulae and galaxies) will appear as just that but you can see shapes (like in M42 in Orion or M57 in Lyra). Do some homework and you'll be greatly rewarded. Now to what you may be doing wrong. When moving to higher magnifications three things can occur: the view gets dimmer, the field-of-view (FOV) gets smaller, and the focus position may change. So an object that was visible may become invisible; what was visible in the eyepiece at a lower magnification may be just outside the FOV of the higher power eyepiece; and you may need to refocus once you get the object into view. Hopes this helps.
Added later:
Thanks for the info. I suspected that I was expecting to much from my new scope. I can hardly wait for the moon to appear again.
Subject: DS and ETX series with laptop Sent: Thursday, December 28, 2000 11:36:25 From: m.meiling@freeler.nl (Marco Meiling) Can the DS and ETX series scopes be directed with only a laptop, i.e. without the autostar controller? Kind Ragards Marco MeilingMike here: Until someone (Meade?) compiles (or emulates) the Autostar software for a different CPU, the Autostar is required.
Subject: DS Model Feedbeck Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2000 18:16:16 From: ajlau@ap.net Great site! In response to Adam McFarland's post concerning a case for his DS-114. I got an Orion case for my Meade 4505. It is Model number 15164 (http://www.telescope.com/cgi-bin/OrionTel.storefront/3a4aa16a01b9332a2718409842180648/Product/View/G006). It carries both the tripod and the OT. Works for me. Keep up the super work. Albert Lau
Subject: #494 Autostar Controller Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2000 09:36:29 From: dmccaig@argontech.net (David McCaig) I just purchases a Meade Telestar DS-114 telescope for my daughter for Christmas and cannot get the #494 Autostar to work. We are completely ignorant about this and after reading some of the things on your website, I thought you could probably help us. When the autostar is powered up, it gives a sun warning and says to verify that it has been read and understood to press the "5" key. The only problem with that is that there is no "5". The #494 has no number pad on it. Only one key will give any response and that is the help "?" key. It returns the response "bozo" which is just how I feel about now. I have tried to call Meade but it is always busy. If you can help us we will be truely grateful. I enjoyed reading all of the emails on your web page, although most of it is way over our heads right now. Thanks. David McCaig and Lacy dmccaig@argontech.netMike here: Well, not having a DS scope and the #494 Autostar I really can't say how to get past the Sun warning. It sounds like the Autostar may have the wrong software loaded but I don't know for sure.
Added later:
Thank you for your quick response. I am glad I found your website and know that it will be of great value in the future, when we know more about the use of our telescope.
Subject: Meade DS-4504 Autostar?? Sent: Tuesday, December 26, 2000 15:04:35 From: kruger@ngulube.co.za I have recently bought a Meade DS-4504 with the ??AutoStar?? handbox. Is this an AutoStar or not?? It doesn't have an RS-232 port, so is it possible to connect it to my computer?? In the menu it has a DOWNLOAD item under SETUP with UPDATE SOFTWARE capability, so it should be possible to connect it to a computer in some way. Is there anybody who knows how to do this, if so, please let me know how, mine still has Version 1.0f of the firmware. I also want to control it from my computer if possible. Thanks for the great site, -------------------------- Etienne Kruger kruger@ngulube.co.za --------------------------
Subject: ETX 125 or Telestar DS-114AT Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2000 15:36:51 From: mclemons@ipa.net (Mike Clemons) Hello, I am thinking of buying a new telescope. This will be my first purchase and I don't know jack about telescopes, however I do like the (ETX 125) and ( Telestar DS-114AT) both of which are from Meade, and both have the GO TO Function, One is a refractor scope, and the other is a reflector, My question is which is better? Please respond, Thanks Mike.Mike here: I have no direct experience with the DS models. Some users like refractors and some users don't. You might want to look through the DS Models Feedback pages for other user comments.
Subject: DS 114 AT Sent: Monday, December 18, 2000 20:14:50 From: lynnhebert@centurytel.net (cen36003) I've been reading some of the feedback on the Meade DS 114 Scope. I have a few my self. Yes the eye piece that came with the scope is junk, you need to upgrade to a better eye piece. Also the view finder is not very good either, on the one one I have I was unable to adjust one of the thumb screws, every time I would tighten it up just a little , it would slip, the hole was too large far the screw. Also the battery pack for the Go To Computer is junk also. I have had my scope only 2 weeks & the wires on the battery pack has broke off. Waiting on a replacement battery pack.
Subject: DS114/EC Cases Sent: Sunday, December 17, 2000 12:32:23 From: mcfarlnd@chem.nwu.edu (Adam McFarland) A friend of mine just bought a DS114/EC. I was wondering if you or any of your readers know where to get a carrying case for it (preferably to hold both the scoe and the tripod). Adam McFarland
Subject: manual for ds-114at online Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2000 21:29:41 From: yachtboy@goin.missouri.org (yachtboy) i found the link to the ds-114at manual online, at a walmart site(sort of) heres the link: http://www.telescopeaccessories.com/ds_instruction_Manual.pdf the main page is: http://www.telescopeaccessories.com/ thanks, yachtboy! -- ========== "Being diabetic is alot like having an un-invited guest at a picnic, who keeps pointing out the potato salad may have gone bad."--W.B. Willis ---------- http://www.geocities.com/swl_yb400pe http://www.geocities.com/swl_yb400pe/psychedelic.htm http://www.geocities.com/swl_yb400pe/RHPS_synopsis.htm =======================
Subject: Telescope Sent: Monday, December 11, 2000 21:45:43 From: nitro5955@Home.com (Mike Fawcett) I was wondering if you know anything about the Meade DS-70EC Telescope and if it is any good. I appreciate your help. MikeMike here: See the DS Models Feedback page on my ETX web site for some info on these models. Check the Feedback archives as well.
Subject: Meade DS114 Polaris Sent: Wednesday, December 6, 2000 18:31:16 From: reelistic@gulftel.com (John Griffin) To: etx@me.com I recently obtained a Meade DS114 Newtonian branded as a Polaris. The scope came equipped with the Autostar. As the owner of an ETX70 that I was reasonably happy with, I had moderatley high expectations of the addtional apperture and focal length. To say the least I was dissapointed. The DS114 came with very poor .96" eyepieces which I replaced with 1.25 3000 series ploisels and a free upgrade from Meade to a 1.25 focuser adaptor. The alt-az mount took a lot of tweaking and torquing to get anything close to a smooth tracking feel. However a even after a meticulous setup, the Autostar refuses to track at anything over about 100x. I use it to get in the general area and then track manually. Worst of all is the optical system. It is virtually impossible to get the scope to hold collimation and I usually wind up adjusting during each viewing. Even with theoretically lower capabilities, the ETX70 is a provides much better viewing. The best magnification of the DS114 provides no better an image than the 70 despite the larger aperature. I do no not recomend this machine to anyone who does not have the patience to collimate and fine tune the mount. Wahoo
Subject: DS Series PDF manual Sent: Monday, December 4, 2000 07:23:13 From: Frederic@tx.dataradio.com (Frederic Lamorce) Someone was looking for the DS manual in PDF, I found it for all the DS series, on the website of a retailler, that offers it to download :) I have a local copy on my website, take it to www.multimania.com/tiange/dsseries.pdf FredEric.
Check the Feedback Archives for previous editions of the DS Models Feedback pages.
Return to the top of this page.
Go to the ETX Home Page.