DS MODELS USER FEEDBACK Last updated: 30 November 2000

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:	ETX info
Sent:	Wednesday, November 29, 2000 20:06:29
From:	BBRAUNSKI@aol.com
Hi: I dropped you a line the other day and you helped me out with some
info. I just thought I'd pass along some info to you. Service
Merchendise has a sale going on now until 12/9 on their telescopes. The
EXT-60AT and the DS-114EC along with some smaller units are $50 off the
standard price. You can buy on-line or at the store. I picked up the ETX
for my children.
Thanks again for your help.
Bob

Subject:	  Re: Meade 4504
Sent:	Monday, November 13, 2000 00:39:11
From:	john.heffernan@hedaniel.com (John Heffernan)
Mike, Thanks for the reply.

you mentioned digital cameras at the end.  I have a Fuji Finepix 1200
(USB only sadly so i wont be able to make use of the adapter!), but I
was wondering, do you know of a way to attach it to the 4504?  (it has a
moving zoom lens and does have an LCD screen.)

Thanks,

John

Subject:	 Meade 4504
Sent:	Friday, November 10, 2000 05:19:01
From:	john.heffernan@hedaniel.com (John Heffernan)
Great Site.

Just a note to say that the DS assembly instructions are on Meade's web
site (or at least the 4500 series are and they are similar (ish))

By the way, I have a couple of questions, if thats OK :

I have a 4504 with the autostar thingy on it.

- Does anyone know where I can get manual controls (knobs etc) for it?

- Can anyone recommend a finder scope that is better that the stock item
(preferably one that fits in the stock brackets (ie same external
diameter)

- Thinking about buying the MH50 eyepiece (2"), will it fit my 4504 (it
came with the 1.25" eyepiece mount NOT the .96")? is it worth buying?

- Does anyone know where I can get a non-warranty-nulling ready-made Mac
cable for the autostar motor control.  I have plans for making it but it
will kill my warranty!!

Thanks,

Keep up with the great site...`

John Heffernan

Added later:

Thanks for the quick reply!

I will check the page and maybe buy an adapter.  If I can verify the
pin-outs I might get the soldering iron out and make up a cable.

Subject:	lost instructions
Sent:	Tuesday, November 7, 2000 13:40:15
From:	JnfrDnldsn@aol.com
i am in a situation that probably seems simple to most but, is still in
need of a solution. I purchased a ds-114 last feb. or so and have since
been divorced and moved twice and in the process have lost all paperwork
that was included with the scope. where can i find the setup
instructions ? now that i am in a more conducive situation,  i  am
anxious to get started asap, but this does not appear to be a " wing it " 
type of assembly.  any suggestions ?   i purchased  it at a wally
world in a different state and no longer have the receipt to prove
purchase.

thanks 

schaan@hotmail.com  (please reply to schaan@hotmail.com)   if feasible

joplin MO

Subject:	 Model 4504
Sent:	Wednesday, November 1, 2000 06:12:13
From:	e_suty@yahoo.com (Evan Sutton)
Im really enjoying this site and I apreciate the format (less fluff more
stuff).  I love those Ford telescope from Steve Bedair, although I would
have gone with a Chevy if I could have. And what the heck is John Yeh
doing with his 4504??  Heres my story: Ive had my eye open for a
telescope for some years. (never looked through anything more than opra
binoculars at the baseball game up till now).  I had never really
trusted Carl's star count (billions and billions? yea right.) and kinda
wanted to see for myself.  The wife almost forked out $350 on a 80mm
something in "The Nature Store" a few months back just to shut me up but
we held off.  Then I was in Costco and saw the [in]famous 4504 for $200.
 Did some checking on the web etc., found nothing near as cool looking
for even twice the price so bang, I bought it. It came with 3 eypieces
4.5, 12 & 25 (I think, and Im sure its those darned puny .96 ones,
although Ive heard its not the size but how you use them.) a barlow
(really long), a cd thats still in the envelope, and the autostar goto
thingy, and a video. I put it all together in about 45 minutes, spent
about 15 more looking at that piece of felt and scratching my head (the
wife was shaking her head and rolling her eyes), popped off that
do-hicky on the star end (amid much chuckling from wife) and booked out
to the back yard. I used an ac adapter in lue of batteries fired up the
autostar, which fortunately gave me some good advise about not looking
at the sun (which gave me some other ideas for alternate uses).  The bad
new is I dont think I can see Polaris from my back yard so polar
alignment may not be too acurate, but I did atempt an initialization and
it seemed to point to the general area of Vega and Altair on request but
I couldnt find any black holes.  A few weeks later the moon made it to
my back yard and that was quite impressive.  Even the wife went from eye
rollin to jaw droppin.  Lots of craters and ridges, but no cheese. 
About a month later I was comming out of the Safeway and noticed a big
ol star up there much brighter than the others.  I went home and checked
out the 'planatarium' on the comptons interactive encyclopedia cd that
came with my computer (the mead cd is still in the case) and found that
whatever the star was it seemed mighty close to Jupiter. A little time
lapse magic showed that it would be over my backyard about 2 in the
morning.  So bang, Im up at 0200 (I couldnt be sure but I think the wife
was rolling her eyes even though they were shut) I set the modest 4505
up w/ the 25mm and shazam.. Jupiter, complete with bandy-cloud things
and moons! Wow. All these years Ive been walking under these same stars
but tonight, wow..  So I put in the 12mm and gues what?  wow again..,
fuzzier but bigger.  So im thinking should I go 4 mm? which of coarse I
do.  And hmmm... ocasionally clear but mostly fuzzy, big I think.  But
whats this?  It keeps moving, from this side of the eypeice to that. But
no problem, i shift the autostar down into low and I cruise right along
with it.  wow... Now remembering that compton said Saturn was nearby, i
Shift back up to 3rd or fourth and haul butt over to this other
not-quite-so bright star, plop in the 25 mm, focus... and  WOW... small,
but with rings and all. So I say the wife has to see this, I drag her
out of bed and guess what she says? 'you mean thats a planet?' then
'Wow...'   The next night the wife opted to stay in bed so I had to get
jr. up to keep me company. Jr was mildly impressed, but he's mildly
impressed with passing gass in the bathtub too so...  Anyhow, the moral
of my story is this:  If you have been curios about all those different
lights up in the sky, like watching the discovery channel, have a
impressionable young-un that might be squandering his impressionability
on poke-mon, or a spouse who likes to roll their eyes up but never new
what they was a rolling towards, and you have a spare $200 then run,
dont walk to wherever you can to get this non-acromatic-.91mm eypiece
having, plastic trim sporting jem of an instrument and maybe you too
might be doing the 2 am backyard jaw drop dance with me!  And Mike, rock
on with this web site.
-Evan Sutton

Subject:	 4504 telescope from costco.
Sent:	Wednesday, October 18, 2000 01:01:43
From:	Jake.Andreou@iclmc.com (Andreou, Jake (MC))
Just a note about what I've found about the 4504 bundle. Its based on
last years 4500 series telescope - Newtonian reflector (NOT the DS-114EC
- achromatic reflector). It comes with an autostar goto unit (not sure
if it has a connector for a PC) on an equatorial mount, and the PC
software (Star Navigator). However there is some confusion as to whether
they come with 1.25 or 0.96 eyepieces.

The bundle is only available until X-mas or stocks last. Please follow
the link below for more info. But at £235 (UK p) or $249 (US d) from
Costco its a bargain for a beginner like me. In the uk Costco has a £35
money off voucher next month and I can't argue with that.

www.scsastro.co.uk/it020006.htm

Just a quick beginners question - is a Newtonian reflector the same as
an achromatic reflector?

Thanks for the great site,

Jake Andreou

Subject:	  Microflexing Meade 4.5" mirror
Sent:	Tuesday, October 17, 2000 10:27:38
From:	hwyeh@home.com (Hung-Wei Yeh)
I've just created a page on  how to microflex the 4.5" mirror in my
Meade 4504 scope.  There is a noticeable difference when I push the
scope to 300x. You can find out how at:

http://members.home.net/wmaphoto/microflx.htm

I also created page on Meade 4504 modifications for people that bought
the Costco special scope.

http://members.home.net/wmaphoto/4504mod.htm

John Yeh

Subject:	 DS-114EC
Sent:	Monday, October 9, 2000 12:41:29
From:	Scott.Eklund@PSS.Boeing.com (Eklund, Scott C)
I just purchased a DS-114EC from Costco and found that it had the 0.96
eyepieces. I understand that several other kits sold have the 1.25
eyepieces.

Is there a way to adapt it or change it? If it can be adapted, is it
going to be worse off than if I had a 1.25 equipped model?

Thank you, 

Scott Eklund

Subject:	 DS-127EC vs ETX-90EC
Sent:	Sunday, October 8, 2000 19:42:49
From:	razak71@hotmail.com (Razak)
I currently owned DS-70 and I have been thinking of buying a larger
scope. Could you give me the difference of image (say, Andromeda Galaxy)
seen through DS-127EC vs ETX-90EC.

Subject:	 Costco special
Sent:	Friday, September 8, 2000 10:48:55
From:	hwyeh@home.com (Hung-Wei Yeh)
I purchased the Meade DS4504 from my local Costco for $199 (they had a 1
week only $50 off coupon deal).  I figured that w/ the GOTO system and
4.5" Newtonian, I can't go too wrong w/ this deal as a first scope. 
I've since upgraded the scope w/ eyepieces, 2x barlow, coolpix push on
adapter, 10x50 finder, red dot finder from www.scopetronix.com  and the
free 2" to 1.25" eyepiece adapter from meade.  Last night I took some
pictures of Jupiter and Saturn with the this scope using my coolpix 990
on macro timer mode.  Here are the images.  I cropped them and did some
minor level adjustments in photoshop.

John Yeh

It is almost the same as DS-114EC, but w/ a GOTO equatorial mount. 
DS-114EC has a alt-azm mount.  I don't know what eye piece the DS-114EC
comes w/. the costco unit comes w/ .965 eye pieces, in 25, 15, 6 mm. 
They are all junk.  Also the finder is also junk.

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