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Last updated: 31 December 2001
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Last updated: 31 December 2001 |
Subject: Could use some advice if you can spare a moment Sent: Sunday, December 30, 2001 11:09:16 From: Epneff2@aol.com My name is Eric Neff and I live in Collegeville PA. I hope you don't mind my bothering you with this, but I saw your website and thought I'd give it a try. I just purchased a Meade ETX-105. I'm trying to polar align the scope, but I can't get the scope's declination past about 77%. I.e. it won't go straight up and down. Nothing visible seems to be preventing the scope from swinging the extra few degrees to 90%. I.e. neither the cap on the camera port nor the spotting scope get in the way. There seems to be something inside the swivel mount on the side (that the vertical lock is attached to) that is blocking the further declination of the scope. I've tried loosening the horizontal and vertical locks. I've tried using the motor to make it go, but it won't. I'm reluctant to unscrew the housing as mess around with the mechanism for obvious reasons. I'm reluctant to try to do it by brute force either for the same reasons. Do you happen to know if there's something I'm missing? I can't swivel the scope enough to see the north star (when the tripod is set to my latitude) and I can't even view anything within 13% of the north star, even if I could get it in polar alignment, so I can't believe it's supposed to be that way. Also Fig 16 in the manual clearly shows that the scope should be capable of moving to 90% declination. Any thoughts?Mike here: It should move to 90 degrees and since there doesn't seem to be an external blockage it would seem to be internal. Since the scope is new, exchange it at the dealer.
Subject: re: new ETX-105 Sent: Saturday, December 29, 2001 0:44:13 From: rseymour@wolfenet.com (Richard Seymour) To: bigbhang711@earthlink.net If you use Meade's Updater to install version 22eT, your Autostar will learn about the 105. But, indeed, calling it a 125 works. have fun --dick
Subject: The new 105 ETX Sent: Wednesday, December 26, 2001 17:07:59 From: bigbhang711@earthlink.net (Daniel White) For Xmas I was able to upgrade from the 70 to the new 105 (bonuses are a good thing!). I also got the new 30,000 object 497 Autostar for the scope. The 497 does not have the 105 as a choice for scope but I am told by Meade to choose the 125 ETX when prompted and set up the scope as usual. It seems to do the trick because I previously had selected the 90 as the scope and kept on getting "unit motor fault" messages even after replacing the batteries and making the other necessary checks to make sure the motor wasn't getting blocked or overloaded. I've only been able to use the scope a couple of times but the optics are superb and the jump from the 70 to the 105 has been quantum. If I have any further problems I will certainly post them but the initial impression (after getting the kinks worked out) is tremendously favorable. I'm very curious to hear about other folks' experiences with this scope. Happy holidays to all. Dan White
Subject: ETX 105 / #1244 focuser Sent: Wednesday, December 26, 2001 12:33:50 From: bdickson@mweb.co.za (Bruce Dickson) Thanks for a great web page. I exchanged a private email with Bob Shutan about his post of 3/12/01 - he noted that his comment that the #1247 focuser would suit the ETX 105 was incorrect. I've experienced the same problem as others regarding the #1244, and will try the #1247 once the silly season is over. (The Meade site and the manual both state that the correct unit is the #1244.) In the interim, I dropped an email off to Meade's engineering department to see if they can suggest something. I'll keep you advised of any correspondence. For what it's worth, my ETX 105 gives me about the same image quality under dark skies, as my 12" LX200 does from our (suburban) home. It has really amazing optics and is a great travel scope. M42 with the SP 40 mm eyepiece has a lot of "Wow!" factor. all the best Bruce Midrand South Africa
Subject: ETX-105 Feedback Sent: Sunday, December 23, 2001 6:27:47 From: StargazerETX@aol.com I just bought the ETX-105 with the delux field tripod about two months ago. It's not only the first scope I ever bought, it's the first one I ever looked through, so comparisons are difficult. However I would like to say for the record several complaints. 1. Focusing knob difficult to turn and in a very awkward place especially when viewing directly over head. Also it seems to be a very course adjustment. 2. Motor gears very noisy at high speeds. Also the first couple times I used it the motor would start running by itself and continue to whine. (I HEARD this was a potentially big problem and should be corrected. DO YOU THINK I SHOULD CONTACT MEADE?)I have a theory about this. I think it's because the autostar doesn't recognize the 105. After I trained the drive the problem has not reoccured. 3. The telescope, securely mounted and tightened on the"Delux" field tripod, is extremely shaky. This makes it doubly hard to focus when combined with difficult knob. Here's an example. Jupiter seems to jump in and out of view when turning the focuser. That's with the 9.7mm eyepiece, no Barlow. One either has to wait for it to stop shaking to see if the focus is right or actually find Jupiter again and recenter it in the eyepiece. Very frustrating! 4. I'd like to also mention this in the complaint dept. even though it has nothing to do with the scope itself. I ordered the electric focuser from Discovery Channel Online to solve some of my woes. Happily, it came right before Christmas. Unhappily when I opened the box there were parts missing. It came with the focuser and the hand controller, but no screw, no brass gear, and no allen keys. In other words the hardware bag was missing. When I called the Customer service mumber they said the Focuser was no longer in stock and I should call Meade to get the missing pieces. I heard a couple complaints on your site, saying the electric focuser is not really made specific for the 105 and doesn't fit well. What gives with that? But it's not all bad. I think the ETX-105 is a beautiful scope. And when I finally get a focus on Jupiter. It looks great. I've already bought some accessories such as the Series 4000 barlow, the camera adapter, and as mentioned above, the focuser. This is probably the only scope I will own for at least several years so I want to do whatever is necessary to make it more user friendly. I can't comment on the Autostar because I haven't figured it out yet. When I go to align the scope, it asks me to center on an unfamiliar star. I don't know the stars so I run into a snag. But with a good sky chart and some patience I hope to get it up and running soon. Anyway thanks for a great site! PhilMike here: Training the Autostar for the telescope was a good idea. It likely cured the mismatch you were experiencing. There are techniques for reducing or even eliminating the tripod vibrations. See the Telescope Tech Tips page for some mods. For myself, I don't raise it beyond its lowest height; more solid with the ETX-125EC that way. As to the electric focuser, yes, there is a different model for the -105. You need the #1247. If you have the #1244, that one is for the ETX-90. As to star charts, see the article "Alignment/High Precision/Star Charts" on the Observational Guides/References page.
Subject: ETX Sent: Friday, December 14, 2001 3:38:12 From: svstouk@otenet.gr (Stef) I presently own a 4,5" reflector from Meade. Being on a limited budget, I was thinking of buying the new ETX 105 as my next instrument, before I raise the money to buy a bigger one. As my time is limited, I want the GOTO feature to enjoy looking at things instead of for things. How does that sound to you? I would like your expert opinion on this subject. Thank you, clear skies Stef GreeceMike here: I only have minimal experience with the ETX-105EC but it is a nice scope. If you don't need a larger aperture, then it could satisfy your needs for a GOTO scope.
Subject: HI Sent: Thursday, December 6, 2001 20:29:02 From: ALFA1@isla.net (JOSE SAAVEDRA) Hi my name is jose i live in puerto rico , today i buy the etx 105ec ,my firts impresion of the telescope is very great ,optics are excelent, test whit jupiter looks better than etx 90 ,support more power magnification in saturn the same view very sharp , motor in alt-azm works very well , is a big deal for buy in this season . And take photos today and post later thanks happy holydays att jose, alfa1@isla.Net
Subject: Comment re: ETX 90 vs. 105 Sent: Tuesday, December 4, 2001 19:51:22 From: awasser@home.com (Adam Wasserman) Something buyers should consider in comparing the price ETX-90 vs the 105 is that the 90 comes with the poorer, straight-through viewfinder whereas the 105 comes with the better right-angle finder, equivalent to a $50 upgrade. Having just bought the 90, I can agree with every opinion I've seen that the right-angle viewfinder is a necessary upgrade. So the price difference between the two scopes is really only $150. -- Adam
Subject: Meade Electric Focuser Sent: Monday, December 3, 2001 20:52:39 From: bob@shutan.com Re: ETX105 focus motor problem--- 1244 is for the 90 only. The 1247 should fit the 105/125. Bob Shutan Shutan Camera & Video
Subject: 105 etx focus motor Sent: Sunday, December 2, 2001 17:23:31 From: thecaldwells4@earthlink.net (Rob Caldwell) I have had the Meade 1244 electric focuser for about a week, and have been fighting with it a good deal. The part I have fits poorly on the 105 and will only focus on objects close to infinity. By my observation the plastic casting is made for the Mak barrel of the 90 and associated plastic parts, and not for the 105. The 1244 I have does not have enough clearance between the motor protrusion on the upper right edge of the casting and the locating pin through which the screw mounts to the telescope. This poor alignment places the drive gear barrel at an angle to the focus gear and does not maintain contact throughout the range of focus. My question to other owners of the 105 is what is their experience with this part? Do I have a bad casting, seems unlikely considering the cost of a mold. Or is this just Meade trying to milk a part with no further investment? Finally has anyone seen an 884 tripod or is this just vapor. Thank you for the site. Rob
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