Weasner's Meade ETX-60AT & ETX-70AT User Feedback

ETX-60AT & ETX-70AT USER FEEDBACK

Last updated: 26 April 2005

This page is for user comments and information specific to the Meade ETX-60AT and ETX-70AT. Additional information on these models is available on the ETX-60AT & ETX-70AT Announcements page. Comments on accessories and feedback items appropriate to other ETX models are posted on other pages. 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-70 vs ETX-125
Sent:	Sunday, April 24, 2005 21:21:58
From:	Kris Owens (krislo13@hotmail.com)
First let me say thanks for the great website.  

I recently purchased a Meade ETX-70 and I have enjoyed looking at the
moon and seeing Saturn.  However, the planets are what I really enjoy
looking at and I find that this scope isn't quite what I hoped.  The
planets are pretty small and it is difficult to get good pictures.  I
have been considering upgrading to a ETX-125 and am wondering what kind
of improvement I can expect in the viewing of the planets.  Any
thoughts?  Please reply to krislo13@hotmail.com.

Thanks again,
Kris

Mike here: See my comments on the ETX-70 on the Helpful Information: Buyer/New User Tips page. There is a comparison there.

Subject:	re: Downloading Satelites to a Meade EXT-70 
Sent:	Friday, April 22, 2005 22:37:03
From:	Richard Seymour (rseymour@wolfenet.com)
*Specifically* for "User Objects" (and satellites are User Objects)
there's this article on how to use the Updater:
http://www.weasner.com/etx/autostar/guide-libraries.html

For one or two satellites, i just key them in on the keypad:
http://www.weasner.com/etx/autostar/as_iss.html   <-- short
http://www.weasner.com/etx/autostar/as_satellite.html   <---long

Individual Orbital data is from http:/www.heavens-above.com

have fun
--dick

Subject:	Downloading Satelites to a Meade EXT-70 
Sent:	Tuesday, April 19, 2005 21:05:51
From:	Sara Hamilton (sweetham456@sbcglobal.net)
My father and I are having trouble trying to figure out how to dowload
current satelites to his Meade EXT-70 telescope. We have been to the
Meade web page, and to the customer help page, but we do not fully
understand how to download the satelites from our computer to the
telescope. We know that we need to get a #506 Conector Cable Kit, but
from there, we have not been able to advance in our satelite-viewing
adventure . We were wondering if you could help us out. If you can,
thank you VERY much. Hope to hear from you soon!

Thanks again, 
Sara Hamilton

Mike here: There are several articles on satellites and the ISS on the Helpful Information: Autostar Info page on the ETX Site. They should get you started. And you won't need the cable if you want to enter them into the Autostar by hand.

Subject:	Resetting the etx70at
Sent:	Thursday, April 14, 2005 18:09:53
From:	Louis Welke (lwelke@sbcglobal.net)
I have been trying to reset my etx70at 'scope there is really no info in
the manual on how to do it I slewed my 'scope indoors to the Moon and
then moved outside  while it was still locked on to the Moon. Then I
tried to slew to other objects outside but now it won't slew at all. At
one point the scope raised itself until it stopped where the eyepiece
struck the bottom area and bound up I shut it down immediately. I hope
that no damage was done. Is this a reset problem?

Louis Welke
 Grand Rapids Mi.

Mike here: From your description it is unclear exactly what you did. Did you go through the normal Autostar alignment steps indoors? Or did you just point at the Moon and select Astronomical from the Targets menu item? As to resetting the Autostar, there is a RESET menu item in the SETUP menu; just scroll through the menu items until you see RESET and then press ENTER. The slew upwards could be due to a couple of things: low batteries or a loose Autostar cable connection. There are other possibilities but those are the two most common.

And:

Thanks for getting back to me,yes I did the normal alignment indoors,
had the handset point the scope to the moon, and then moved the 'scope
outdoors .

I went to my 'scope dealer the next day and he did a reset but still no
go. After getting "motor fault "messages all the time I called Meade
customer service and they determined that I had a bad motor drive and
they would fix it free of charge even though I was a week out of
warranty(great people) and I sent it out this past Saturday and
hopefully I will get it back in a few weeks.

Thanks again for your help Mike.
 
Lou Welke Member of GRAAA.org

Subject:	Motors ETX 70
Sent:	Thursday, April 7, 2005 22:05:08
From:	Ken Hurd (vze7d73l@verizon.net)
long time no email. anyway It seems that I lost a motor on my scope and
was wondering if you knew of a place that sells them?

I'm sure you do.....If you wouldn't mind sharing that info with me?

Thanks.....

Mike here: Try Telescope Warehouse (link on the Astronomy Links page).

Feedback Archives

Check the Feedback Archives for previous editions of the User Feedback pages.

Return to the top of this page.

Go to the ETX Home Page.