Customer Reviews

Meade DS-2130AT-TC Altazimuth Reflector

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I just received a new out of the box DS-2130 AT and was preparing it
for my summer vaction trip. First problem, the 2 screws that hold the
eyepiece tray to the tripod were missing from the box. Next problem,
the cradle that clamps the telescope tube does not engage the tube
tight enough to keep the tube from sliding, even when fully screwed down.
The padding between the cradle and tube is paper thin, poor compression.
The last and bigger problem, one of the two driving motors failed to work.
Meade says it inspects its telescope twice before releasing, Yeah Right!
I suggest looking at another brand. I guess name recognition does not
assure quality.

I purchased this scope as a beginner scope. Meade claims that after a simple alignment procedure you will be up and running in no time. Not me. I followed the directions, trained the drive and set the red dot finder. The scope still would not align. I tried over 4-5 nights for 3-4 hours a night to try and make it work. Nothing! I finally went down to an astronomy store and asked the people working for some advice. Their response..."we hear that allot with Meade scopes. Even the more expensive ones". WOW! I did a little more reading and research and after 2 weeks I cut my losses and bought a different vendors scope and I could not be happier. It's really night and day. I can align the new scope in under 5 minutes and be viewing. I ignored the reviews that mention this scope having alignment problems. I hope you don't.

Who this product is not for:

If you don't read instructions and want an appliance that you can turn on and point at the sky without learning how to use it, this telescope isn't for you. It's also important to understand that no ground based visual telescope will give you views that look like NASA photos. I think Meade's mistake was in how they marketed this product. The advertising and packaging gives the buyer a bit of false hope. It's easy compared to using a manual telescope. But it's not as easy as the marketing propaganda implies. Take the time to watch the DVD and read the instructions, and you'll be fine.

What you can expect to see (the moon):
The moon looks incredible through this telescope. With it's tracking feature, you can spend some time looking at features on the moon at really high magnification and not have to worry about constantly adjusting the telescope.

What you can expect to see (planets):
Saturn and Jupiter will show some good detail. On a clear, dark, Winter night, you can expect to see bands and moons of Jupiter. On a clear, dark, Summer night, you can expect to see the rings, bands, moons, and the maybe the storm on Saturn. If you have good conditions and the right filters, Mars and Venus look good. Mercury is a tough target for anyone. Don't expect much more than a point of light from Neptune and Uranus. Pluto is out of the question.

What you can expect to see (deep sky objects - nebulas, galaxies, clusters):
The Great Hercules cluster looks wonderful in this telescope. The same goes for the Trifid, Lagoon, Eagle, and Lobster Nebulas in the Southern sky. The Ring Nebula is a must see also. Unless you are lucky enough to be in a very dark area, there aren't many galaxies that will look like any more than a puff of smoke in space. The Andromeda Galaxy is big and bright and looks good. But remember, it won't look like a NASA photo.

The early Meade DS telescopes had a bad reputation, and deservedly so. That being said, Meade created the goto market segment back in the 1990's. Competitors like Celestron and Orion, who both make good products, had the benefit of learning from Meade's mistakes. Their early products were pretty much junk as well. The good news is that low end goto telescopes are much better today. But, they still require some effort to learn how to use them.

The Gen II Meade DS telescopes are generally pretty good. I'm very happy with my DS-2130, but I'm also an amateur astronomer with some experience under my belt so I know what to expect from a 5" inch scope. More importantly, I know what not to expect. These telescope have an additional lens in the focuser that allows for a focal length that is greater than the physical tube length. What that means for you is that the images won't be as clear as they would be in a telescope with a tube that is twice as long and no additional lens, but the images are still good enough for casual use. Advanced users won't be happy with it, especially those who have access to large telescopes.

I like it because it's portable, relatively easy to set up, has enough aperture (tube width) to see Deep Sky Objects, and tracks with a reasonable amount of accuracy. I can't leave it to its own devices for hours on end like I can a Meade LX200, but it also costs $1700 less. I can, however, walk away from it for 20 minutes to get a refill on my coffee and come back to an object still centered in the eye piece. It makes a nice alternative for when I don't feel like lugging out my 12" wide, 100 pound Dobsonian telescope.

The handset and goto mount should not be considered replacements for some basic knowledge of where things are in the sky. Compare it to a calculator. You still have to know that 5*12 is not 48 (it's 60). Download a free program called Stellarium and play with it to learn where things are. It's actually quite fascinating and I use it all the time. Fantastic program...and the price is right.

I would recommend that you spring for a light pollution filter. It's a filter that screws on to the bottom of the eyepieces and it blocks light from street lights, signs, etc. It will make a big difference on deep sky objects, especially in an urban areas. I use one frequently.

Parting advice: Find a local astronomy club and go to a star party. A star party is where a bunch of telescope geeks get together in a field and look at the sky all night through their telescopes. If you ask nicely, most of them will be more than happy to let you look through their telescopes - some of which are *really* expensive. Feel free to bring your telescope and ask someone to show you how to use it.

This telescope came with defective parts. When Meade was contacted, replacement parts were promised and never shipped to us. Upon returning the scope, we were informed we must pay the $76 return postage and may be charged a 15% restocking fee. We are contacting our credit card to follow up on these charges. The product was defective and not our fault. I would never order a Meade product again. Amazons service was superior. Wish we could have dealt with them alone and not the manufacturer.

The thing is, the telescope it`s not what i'm expecting, the optics it`s not too good, the publicity in the page it`s so over the product, the details in the planets i can`t not see them, so i am so dissapointed.
Can i return this item, I'm from Costa Rica