DS MODELS USER FEEDBACK Last updated: 31 December 2001

Subject:	telestar
Sent:	Sunday, December 30, 2001 10:26:25
From:	RoxanneBarrett@aol.com
I recieved a Telestar ds-114 for Christmas a couple of years ago, my
husband and I are seperated at this time, and I can't find the booklet
that came with it, how can I get the info I need to use this telescope,
I depended on my husbands help, but, would really like to use this
telescope now...Thanks Roxanne Barrett

Subject:	question about DS telescope
Sent:	Saturday, December 29, 2001 19:59:51
From:	fjr922@email.msn.com (fjr922)
Hello!  My name is Kimber, and I just got a new DS. 114 telescope and I
took the instruction booklet with me on a trip and lost it.  Where could
I go to get a new one.  I thank you for any help you can give me.  It's
much appreciated.  Have a wonderful day.

God Bless
~Kimber

Subject:	re: ds-2130ate question
Sent:	Saturday, December 29, 2001 0:16:07
From:	rseymour@wolfenet.com (Richard Seymour)
To:	jpregione@qwest.net
The AC adapter would plug into where the battery pack goes.

You can buy adapters with the 9v dual-snap fastener connector. Even
Meade's is only $20.

Or, if it's like  the other models, the jack is 5.5mm outer diameter,
2.5mm inner diameter.   Radio Shack size "N" Adaptaplug.

have fun
--dick

Subject:	Meade DS-2114ATS
Sent:	Friday, December 28, 2001 23:49:47
From:	Kim
I just purchased a Meade DS-2114ATS.  Since I know very little about
telescopes, except what I have read on websites and have talked to
salespeople about, I did not know exactly what to expect.  To my
surprise, the image is upside down and at an awkward angle.  Of course,
this makes terrestrial viewing a little difficult.

I want a scope that is versatile and can be used for both terrestrial
and celestial viewing.  Can I buy a 45 degree angle eyepiece to make the
images upright for this reflective telescope?  Or am I better off going
with the ETX 105 or 125 EC? I am just a little concerned about the
reviews about these scopes.  The mechanics don't sound so great...

I definitely want the AutoStar option since I don't know how to locate
specific objects in the sky.   I also want to see some good details on
celestial objects.  I am willing to pay the price for a versatile scope
for novices.

The DS-2114ATS seemed like a very good deal since it has a large
aperture, 3 eyepieces, AutoStar, and the tripod.

Kim

Subject:	ds-2130ate question
Sent:	Thursday, December 27, 2001 19:03:26
From:	jpregione@qwest.net (Jim Regione)
I just bought a ds-2130ate and want to get an ac adapter for it.. do you
know which one I get? I dont see anywhere on the telescope where an
adapter would plug in (with the exception of the 9v connector that the
battery pack plugs into) so am kind of confused as to what will power
it. I appreciate any help you can give.
jim regione

Subject:	DS-70/494 Alignment problem
Sent:	Wednesday, December 26, 2001 20:23:21
From:	mike-saunders@msn.com (Mike Saunders)
Have looked on meade's site and through your sites pages and could not
find anything about this problem.
Newly purchased system.
I have tried to align using the easy and two star method.
Every time, it slews the altitude okay, but it just keeps going around
in circles for the azimuth.
I have let it go around as many as three revolutions and it does not
seem to want to stop.
Tonight I was trying to use Sirius for the star.
The 494 says it is version 11ec.
I have it programmed correctly for the closest city, Ypsilanti.
I have it programmed for a DS-70 scope with Alt/Azm mount.
I have Calibrated the motors
I have tranined the motors.

What am I missing?
Why does it keep going around in circles when trying to align?

Thanks,
Mike Saunders

And from our resident Autostar expert:

From:	rseymour@wolfenet.com (richard seymour)
Sounds like either the drivers (in the Autostar) to the Az motors
are dead, that the HBX cable has a pin or two insufficiently pressed
into the cable, or that a connector inside the telescope base has
fallen off.

BUT then you said:
> I have Calibrated the motors
> I have tranined the motors.
Both of which require proper operation of the cables and motors.

The first thing i'd try would be RESET
   (Setup>[scroll up] Reset [enter][enter]
and then, when it shows "Model", be sure to press [enter] when it
 shows you your model (a ">" should be in the first character position
if that model is truly selected.)

Other than that, it's either return/exchange and/or talk to Meade
at their 800 number

Good luck
--dick

Subject:	DS and Autostar
Sent:	Wednesday, December 26, 2001 14:14:32
From:	markw@esameday.com (Mark Wallace)
What a terrific site you have. There's alot of info here. Can you take a
minute to tell me what I need to do to run my ds114 with my laptop? I
have a 494 controller. Can get or make a 505 Do I need a 497 controller?
Seems the 494 isn't equipped with a port. Can I run the scope with the
laptop directly?. Thank you for your time

Regards, Mark Wallace

Subject:	506 cable
Sent:	Friday, December 21, 2001 15:59:13
From:	acinsp1@midsouth.rr.com (Larry Levine)
Would you happen to know where i can find the schematics to make a 506
cable to connect my meade ds series telescope aux port to my laptop?

thanks so much in advance,
larry

Subject:	Meade DS-2130ATE
Sent:	Friday, December 21, 2001 7:58:18
From:	DarrenJVirgo@home.com (Darren Virgo)
I just bought a Meade 2130ATE from Wal-Mart for $349. I have always
wanted a scope and this is my first. I did a lot of research and this
scope and others, and it seemed to be a good buy for the money. I have
yet to get a chance to observe through it yet. My question is pertaining
to the Dec. lock and setting circle. I was going through the instruction
manual and got to the section on setting home position. It states to
loosen the Dec. lock and set to 0 degrees. When I loosen it, there is
nearly 4 degrees of play in the Dec. setting circle. Is this normal, and
if so, will it effect the ability to set the home position easily?

Also, on the R.A. setting circle, the tape with the degrees on it spins
freely. Shouldn't it be adhered somehow? Finally, the gap on the base is
considerably larger on the side opposite of the mounting arm. Perhaps I
am over conscious of my new purchase. Any advice on these topics?

Thanks,
Darren

Subject:	Motor Failure Error
Sent:	Tuesday, December 11, 2001 7:32:51
From:	michaele@cytronics.com (Michael Ehrenberger)
I purchased a used DS-144 that had a motor failure at each start up. I
traced the problem down to that the gear grease/oil that was in the
motor housing has covered up the sensor that counts the rotation of the
motor. With a screw driver and a Q-tip I had it fixed inside of twenty
minutes.
    Hope this helps.
Michael Ehrenberger
Plano, TX.

Subject:	re: DS-114EC 2X Barlow lens
Sent:	Sunday, December 9, 2001 23:05:00
From:	rseymour@wolfenet.com (Richard Seymour)
To:	amirza1@email.mot.com
The DS-114 is capable of very nice views.  I have used one with other
eyepieces than the ones it  comes with, and it can do much better than
you describe.

If you are in the US, call Meade's 800 number and request the free 1.25"
adapter.

Before you rush out and buy more eyepieces, first check to see that the
scope is still correctly "collimated"... poor collimation can also wreck
the view through the scope.

A quick check of collimation is to reove the eyepiece, and simply look
into the eyepiece hole. You should see your eyeball looking straight
back at itself, *centered* in the eyepiece hole and the mirrors in the
tube.

If it's not centered, then the collimation needs to be corrected before
any more high-magnification testing.

Collimation is easy to do, it's mainly -small- adjustments of three
screws located behind the main mirror.

good luck
--dick

Subject:	DS2130 Review
Sent:	Saturday, December 8, 2001 14:13:13
From:	samc99us@yahoo.com (Sam Carter)
Hey DS2130 Reviewer:

When will you finish the review? Also, is theat a teleview by Meade
(maybe a telestar?)? That is the praticular one I saw at my local
Wal-Mart( Meade Teleview DS2130). I believe those are made in China!

Sam

Subject:	DS 70 or ETX 70AT?
Sent:	Friday, December 7, 2001 16:24:38
From:	gshnaider@graycary.com (Shnaider, Gennady)
Your sight is very useful, thanks for taking the time to keep it up.

I want to buy a telescope for a gift.  Its for my brother, who is new to
astronomy and just likes to look at the sky from his balcony.  HE is a
really busy guy and something that is low maintenance would be good
until he becomes more interested in moving up.  I'm thinking that the
ETX 70 has some great features, but am afraid that it may require too
much maintenance on his part, and so perhaps the DS 70 is better.

Do you have an opinion as to the better starter telescope for someone
like him?

Thanks!

Subject:	DS-90EC
Sent:	Friday, December 7, 2001 11:06:47
From:	Brian.Moldover@aventis.com
Well, after much wrangling, I purchased a new DS-90EC from
telescopesforless, and I have to say Gary was really good at taking time
to walk through all the options and affirm it was a good choice based on
my requirements. Also the scopes Vann's had for sale were blemished, and
I couldn't take a chance that my son would get a damaged telescope as a
present just to save about $50.

Now come the accessories, I'm going to start with a 2x Barlow, an
adaptor so I can get the digital camera hooked up, the 505 cable to hook
it up to the laptop, and off we go! Also we got a number of recommended
books for him so we can read and view together. What else do I need to
get?

Look for some photos around the holiday time. I'm taking 2 weeks off
work and if we get some clear winter weather in rural NJ the skies
should be great.

Thanks to Mike and everyone else for the comments, this is a great site!

Subject:	DS-114EC 2X Barlow lens
Sent:	Friday, December 7, 2001 8:24:55
From:	amirza1@email.mot.com (Ather Mirza {AMIRZA1})
I just bought a DS-114EC telescope that comes with a 3X Barlow lens,
25mm, 12.5mm and 4mm eyepieces. I looked at Jupiter and Saturn with the
25mm and 12.5mm eyepieces and the image was a bit smaller than I
expected. Then I tried these 2 eyepieces along with the 3X Barlow lens
and was not able to focus at all as it was too big and blurry. I was
wondering if a 2X Barlow lens would serve the purpose.

Also I have heard about an eyepiece adapter .965" to 1.25" along with a
9.7mm Super Plossl eyepiece. How is the image quality with these for
planetary and deep space ? Do these work along with the barlow lenses
and the original eyepieces as well ? All feedback would be welcome

Thank you

Ather Mirza

Subject:	re: choice to make
Sent:	Thursday, December 6, 2001 22:29:11
From:	Raymond.Barbour@za.didata.com
To:	rtv0369@earthlink.net
I have a DS127 and have been fiddling with the various parts of the
mount and have found that if the motors are too tight attached they
vibrate so much as to make the seeing seem out of focus. Resyncing the
scope which switches off the motors makes the viewing crisp. The brass
nut which is on the opposite side of the worm gear shaft should be
tightened until the motor sound changes and then slacked off a bit There
is also a tiny screw that requires an Allen key that moves the worm gear
shaft up and down. If this is too tight the white plastic gear on the
worm gear shaft that the motor drive meshes with rubs against the inside
of the motor housing and causes the motor to vibrate a lot. Once you
have adjusted these settings you will definitely need to retrain the
drives as this will change the amount the worm gear needs to turn to
take up the slack.

Hope this solves you vibration problem!
Regards,
Raymond Barbour
South Africa

Subject:	re: 114EQ-DH4
Sent:	Sunday, December 2, 2001 21:46:07
From:	rseymour@wolfenet.com (richard seymour)
To:	snarasim@godzilla.ICS.UCI.EDU
the 114EQ-DH4 is *exactly* the same as the MEade 4504.

ANd there is a yahoo Egroup dedicated to that model.

Many hints/help/topics... including many ways to improve the mount.

Visit:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Meade4504Telescopes/

have fun
--dick

Subject:	114EQDH4
Sent:	Saturday, December 1, 2001 18:49:36
From:	snarasim@godzilla.ICS.UCI.EDU (Subha Narasimhan)
I visited your website and loved it. Great job! It was very useful.

I have a question about a telescope I bought, I was wondering if you
could spare a few minutes of your time...

I am an amatuer and completely new to astronomy. For casual star gazing,
I did a lot of research and decided to buy a refractor Meade ETX 70 AT.
But on ebay, there was a new Meade 114 EQ-DH4 with Starfinder and
Equatorial mount on sale. Attracted by the higher aperture, I bought it.
I now realized that it is a reflector type. And now I am scrambling to
convince myself that it might actually be a good buy. :-) It came in
such a huge box, I am kinda scared to open it in case I have to re-sell
it.

I read on your website that Starfinder is the hardware of the 494
Autostar (no numeric keypad) with custom patching for German Mounts. I
am pretty much decided about using an Automated telescope. I think I'd
be quite lost without the GOTO feature.I tried using binoculors briefly
and lost my patience. In fact Autostar revived my interest in going for
a telescope.

My concerns are really about using the reflector telescope as opposed to
the refractor ETX models. I read that reflector models are bulky,
mirrors require periodic alignment which can be complicated and time
consuming for a novice. Refractors offer low maintenance and easy set up
and use. Is this true?

I am looking for resources comparing this with other models for first
scopes like maybe Meade ETX 70AT with autostar in terms of  usability,
usefulness, portability, setup, cost etc. If you have any information,
I'd be thankful if you could pass it on.

In your opinion, would this be a good first scope for a casual novice
user? If not, what brand would you suggest for a completely new user for
casual star gazing.

Here are the specs of my telescope: Meade Model 114EQDH4  Supplied
complete with aluminized and multi-coated primary mirror and matching
elliptical flat secondary mirror (D = 114mm, F = 910mm f/8) mounted in
aluminum tube assembly; rack-and-pinion giant focuser with sleeve lock
and eyepiece-holders for 0.965" eyepieces; precision equatorial mount;
Starfinder GO TO electronic drive system with control motor on each
telescope axis and HAND CONTROLLER INCLUDED for automatic object
location and tracking; battery pack accepting ten (user-supplied)
AA-size batteries; Meade StarNavigator PC-compatible astronomical
software; full-length adjustable aluminum field tripod with accessory
shelf; 5 x 24mm viewfinder; three eyepieces (0.965"): SR4mm, H12.5mm,
and H25mm; 3x Barlow lens; operating instructions.

Thanks much!

Subha.

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