Weasner's Meade DS Models User Feedback

DS MODELS USER FEEDBACK

Last updated: 4 August 2006

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:	meade DS21340ATS alignment problems
Sent:	Monday, July 24, 2006 11:45:22
From:	michael.rowley80@ntlworld.com
i recently purchased a DS2130ATS while i was on holiday in Florida. i
finally got it home to the UK and waited for a clear night. When i came
to align the telescope and use autostar the telescope doesnt get
anywhere near its intended targets, it always seems to be about 45
degrees out, horizontally and vertically. i have tried changing the
location and time and used the reset option numerous times. when doing
the alignment process the LNT does not seem to work, the telescope does
not seem to level, nor does it point north. i am dying to get this
working and dont seem to have any joy trying to contact meade about it.
can anybody help me, i would be eternally gratefull??

thanks

Mike here: First off, as (I hope is) noted in the manual, the telescope may not end up level and pointing North at the completion of the leveling and Northing process. Does the Autostar show the Auto Alignment option or just the Easy, 1 star, and 2 star options? If Auto does not appear, the Autostar is not seeing the LNT; see the Helpful Information: Telescope Tech Tips page for some tips on the LNT. Have you tried the Easy Align option; how well does that perform? And while I'm asking questions, have you done a CALIBRATE MOTOR and TRAIN DRIVES?

And:

i would firstly like to thank you for replying to me, you are the only
Knowledgeable person i have had the pleasure of speaking to. firstly my
autostar only has the easy, 1 and 2 star align options, the easy align
gets nowere near anything. i will try calibrate and train as i have not
yet done this.

will let you know how i get on. have just bought DSI so would like to
give that a try if i get a clear night tonight, wish me luck

thanks 

michael

Mike here: Since the Autostar is not seeing the LNT, check the LNT battery and the cable connection. See the LNT articles I mentioned.

And:

have checked battery and cable still no joy. im getting very frustrated
now but i can still manually align the telescope so i will put that on
the back burner as i have new problems now. i have just purchased a new
meade dsi and all the promotional information i read assured me i would
be taking amazing images the first night out, this is certainly not the
case. is the ds2130ats notoriously bad for focusing as it is near on
impossible to get a good focused image? will a focal reduder help? as it
stands im not very impressed with this scope i cant see the gas belts of
jupiter as promised and when using my 2x barlow lens it is impossible to
focus, do you have any idea why this is? sorry for bombarding you with
so many questions, as you can tell im a beginner on this subject and you
are the only person who has given the time to help, which might i say im
very gratefull of!

hope to hear from you soon.

kind regards 

michael

Mike here: First off, I suggest learning your telescope BEFORE you try to do any astrophotography. So, set that DSI aside until you get comfortable with how to use your telescope and what you can expect from it. And speaking of expectations, it could be that your expectations do not match what the DS model will deliver. You should be able to see at least two cloud bands on Jupiter. However, if you try to exceed the maximum magnification, the view will get dim and fuzzy. If you are not certain how to determine this maximum, see the FAQ page. You might want to look at the Helpful Information: User Observations for a report from another user.

And:

thanks again for your advice mike i bet you are getting tired of my
uninteresting E-Mails by now!!. i will have a play about with the
telescope, do you have any suggestions on what sort of things i should
begin viewing?. with regards to my expectations, i have only expected
what meade have lead me to believe, i.e the photo galleries on the meade
website that have been compiled using the equipment i have obtained.
have they mislead me in any way, if so is this false advertising?

kindest regards 

michael

Mike here: Photographs don't lie; they look just like photographs. Unfortunately, the eye and the camera (or imager) "see" astronomical objects in different ways and with different details. As to what you should look at, the Moon is starting to be a nice object, low in the sky shortly after sunset. Start looking at the Moon, every night for the next couple of weeks if you can. Lots of interesting things to see there. And before the Moon gets too bright, check out M13 and M57 and all the Messier objects in and around Sagittarius. Those Deep Sky Objects make excellent starters. And don't forget Jupiter and its four larger moons; it is fun to watch the Moons changing position from night to night.

And:

thanks mike, i have been checking out your site and discovered a
paragraph on the lnt. i read this and it told me to try and rotate the
whole scope about 1.5" to the right to put more distance between the lnt
and possible interference from the motors. although the scope is still
not spot on it is 10 x better.

im going to have a play for a week or so, ill let you know how i get on.

kindest regards 

michael

Subject:	DS-2130 problem
Sent:	Monday, July 17, 2006 21:28:09
From:	Jorgenson, Dan (danj@spu.edu)
I just bought a DS-2130 that has the Autostar controller and the LNT
module.

The first strange thing that I noticed after initializing was that under
the Alignment menu, there was no Automatic option - only Easy, Two Star
and One Star. When I select the Easy option, the controller shows 'Calc
Level' while the telescope is moved into a horizontal position, and then
I see 'Calc North' and the telescope just spins in circles over and over
again... ? To stop it I have to flip the power switch off.

Have you seen anything like this? Everything else seems to work ok, but
I'm not able to align the telescope.

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks

- Dan J.

Mike here: It sounds like the Autostar is not reliably seeing the LNT. Check the LNT troubleshooting articles on the Helpful Information: Telescope Tech Tips page.

Subject:	missing parts
Sent:	Saturday, July 1, 2006 17:01:59
From:	Paulo Emilio (pauloemiliomattos@gmail.com)
Gentlemen , greetings. I bought one DS-90AT telescope  amazon.com  this
last May and unfortunately, it was shipped with two missing parts.
Therefore, I am in urgent need of purchasing these items since   your
sales representative here in Brazil ( Omnilux Corp. ) informed they were
unable  to provide spare parts for your telescopes. Considering that I
am not familiar with the correct names of these parts  in English,  I
will try to describe them below in order to provide you with the most
accurate information possible. They are related to the assembly and
proper fixation of the two lenses inside the Dew Shield ( part A -19 on
User's Manual ).

1.   A sort of a rubber or plastic ring, which is responsible  for 
separating the two  lenses one from another.

2.   Another ring, which is  threaded inward  inside the Dew Shield's
end to fixate the lenses properly preventing their displacement inside
the Dew Shield.

Mike here: As noted on the ETX Site home page, I am not a dealer. I suggest you contact the original seller.

And:

Thank you very much for such a swift reply. I am aware that you are not
a dealer. I just thought that maybe someone would know where I could
find these parts. I already contacted as many dealers as possible and
have been unsucssesful.
Best Regards .........
Paulo Emilio

Mike here: You could try Telescope Warehouse (link on the Astronomy Links page). I assumed you thought I was a dealer since you said "your sales representative" in your first email.

And:

Thank you very much once again . You had the right impression . This was
because I copied and pasted the fax I sent to Meade in California asking
for help. My mistake then ,anyway thanks for your help.
Regards ........ Paulo Emilio

Feedback Archives

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.