Customer Reviews

Meade 114 EQ-ASTR Equatorial Reflector

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

 

 

This telescope is great for viewing the moon. I've found the controls easy to use and sensitive enough in most cases. The laser sight is mostly useless though.

TIP: the entire front plastic cover comes off, not just the obvious smaller view port. This allows in much more light and makes locating objects MUCH easier.

This is a very good telescope i use it every night to see the moon or Jupiter. Great for the moon pretty well done with Jupiter and Venus. Nice smooth tuning easy to assemble and easy to take apart. I got this for my birthday and it was awesome weeks later the stand broke haven't use it till i got a new stand and it works amazing i highly recommend this to beginner or moderate astronomers.

I decided to get an inexpensive scope after not having one for many years. Living in Arizona on the edge of a city, my sky is dark enough for good viewing.

It assembled fairly quickly. The only problem I had was figuring out the counterbalance. I did it like the instructions said, and the tube would drift. It took about 10 tries to get it right.

The mount needed to be tightened after I assembled it, so I needed to take it off again and tighten almost every bolt. Not sure if it loosened up during shipping, or the factory didn't torque them properly. About 15 minutes with a socket driver took care of that.

I find the red dot finder to be quite useful. I've managed to be dead-on in the eyepiece when using the finder.

My main complaint is the fact that the tripod seems a bit flimsy. I get alot of jiggle if there's even a tiny breeze. Extending the legs makes it worse.

Otherwise, the optics aren't bad, the finder is useful, the included lenses work OK.
Meade should look at a sturdier tripod, though.

The only problem (if you can call it that) is that this telescope, while listed as a refractor scope, is actually a reflector telescope. If you're looking for a refractor telescope you'll have to look elsewhere.

This was easy to assemble; it took us all of 15 minutes. That's not bad, since no one in my family has ever used a telescope. If you know what you're doing it can probably be put together in a fraction of that time.

We purchased this item as a birthday gift for my seven-year-old. He loves it, and is eager to learn about astronomy.