Customer Reviews

ETX-80AT Astro Telescope w/ Tripod & Autostar Controller

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased this scope when, after being out of the hobby of astronomy (more or less) for 20 years, I was bitten by the bug and got back in. I was looking for a telescope that was portable and had a goto ability. This little scope delivers. If you're looking for a scope that will deliver Hubble like views, you're not going to find it here (or in any amateur instrument). However, since June this scope has showed me eclipses on Jupiter by one if it's satellites (Io), one of the rare(of late) sunspot groups on the sun (using a solar filter I purchased elsewhere), Jupiter - Uranus - Neptune - Venus all in the same night. Beautiful star clusters, colorful double stars, a few galaxies (albeit, the galaxies were just faint smudges of light) and quite a few nebulae. If you're already familiar with using a binoculars for your astronomical viewing, think of this as one half of a giant binocular...the views will be similar, but with the added bonus of being able to increase the magnification by changing eyepieces.

If you do purchase this scope, I highly recommend that you also purchase the Meade 6.4mm eyepiece...this will offer greater magnification for viewing the moon and planets and for splitting very close double stars. For clusters and nebulae the included eyepieces are just fine (I use the 9.7 the most).

Is the scope perfect? No...the focus mechanism takes a little practice to get used to and requires too many turns to refocus when using the barlow. Also, the batteries don't last as long as Meade claims (figure about 5 - 10 hours of use). However, this scope is an excellent bargain...very good optics, highly portable, and a goto system that makes it easy to find your targets in light polluted skies or when time is short and you need to make the most of it. Highly recommended.

I purchased this for my science teacher wife. She was thrilled. It is of exceptional quality and durability. Very compact and the fact that it can be used for both astronomical and terrestrial purposes is a big plus. The tripod is of good quality and light weight. Even so it seems quite sturdy. I would highly recommend a 5-10 lb weight suspended from the scope mount center. It will make images far more stable. If you have difficulty picking out night-sky objects the Autostar can be a big help in getting started. This is not a deep sky scope, more for lunar and planetary observations, bird watching and spying on neighbors (reviewer's note: the last is a joke...honest!).

This telescope is great for beginners entering the world of astronmy! It has a suceficent amount of power to see many great cestial bodies in the sky. I saw highly detailed craters of the moon and the craters of mars. The autostar controller guides you and can give a tour of the night sky for those wondering what to see in the sky . It also works with a camera to take pictures on land or sky.

When I purchased this telescope I didn't know what to expect. I
thought that you take the telescope outside, punch in what
object you what it to go to, and it moves. No...you have to align
it, which also means buying a star atlas. One thing you never want to forget to do is explain to your kids that this image won't be like the pictures you see. Overall, this is just a scope
for lunar and planetary viewing.

Very nice telescope for my 13 year old nephew, it's great for beginners.
The autostar can be a little confusing though.

I bought this telescope for my 9 years old niece but I really enjoy too this experience.

PRO:
a)It's easy to understand how it's work (whith the manual of course).
b)The tripod is usefull and it's easy to install the telescope on it.
c)Autostar works great and guide you to see the objects at night
d)The eyepieces are great (Jupiter looks very well with his four moons, Saturn its so clear but little)
e)It's work to see trees, birds, and nature, great!

CONS:
a) I find the alignment hard, there's no way (at least I don't know how) to put the coordinates of the place you are. I live in Honduras, Central America, I put the country in the autostar, but that information I think makes the alignment not exact. Advice: the alignment it's with too stars, it's important to know the constellations to facilitate the alignment. Alignment could be difficult but not big deal!

Sorry for my english (I am spanish speaker)

Here's the skinny: the telescope was easy to assemble and learning the ropes was somewhat easy with the included DVD. After using it for about two weeks one of the gear mechanisms failed and I was forced to return it. The Autostar feature is cool and after aligning the scope, you can search the heavens for a boatload of objects in the sky. One evening I was able to get a clear view of Jupiter and some cloud bands. I also saw four of its moons (which looked liked four pinpoints next to the huge planet). That's pretty cool if you ask me.

All in all the telescope worked fine up until it stopped working.

The telescope comes well packed, important if it is being shipped to Australia. Importantly, the software knew about my obscure home town, so setting it up was a doddle.... The one starry night we have had, (it's winter here), presented stars as points without coma, and the scope knew where they were. This purchase had a dual purpose, to look at beach and islands opposite our beachside holiday home and to look at the sky at night. It wins on both accounts.

This is my first telescope and I really love it. It is very easy to use. The tripod is nice and sturdy and the extra slots for eyepieces is helpful. Autostar (the included 'software') is really cool. This is not software you put on your computer but rather a computerized system attached to the scope for finding objects and orienting the scope. Autostar makes it possible to quickly move to your object of choice in the night sky. For further help with this - check out the computer software called Stellarium.

We have been mainly using the telescope as a spotting scope for birding and observing other wildlife. For really getting into the stars, you do probably need one of the magnifiers - we haven't gotten that yet. I have zero regrets with this purchase.

i gave this scope to my father for a gift. i researched this product and i was happy with my purchace.