Meade 497 Autostar Computer Controller for ETX Telescopes

by Meade

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.8 x 3.5 inches ; 0.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00000K3RK
• Item model number: #497 Autostar
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #28 in Camera & Photo > Binoculars, Telescopes & Optics > Telescopes > Catadioptric
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 9, 2006

Product Description

Turn any ETX EC into a complete computerized GO-TO system with over 30,000 object library

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars necessary accessory, January 21, 2001

By 

Chel Micheline "Chel Micheline" (Southwest Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Meade 497 Autostar Computer Controller for ETX Telescopes (Electronics)

We purchased the ETX 125 and we found the Autostar to be necessary.

It was very easy to plug into the telescope and turn on, but getting the telescope aligned was another story. The first night we went out with just the Autostar and the telescope, assuming that we would have enough to get started. We were very wrong.

In order to align the telescope and get the Autostar working, the unit first asked us to find true north. Yikes! We gave it a rough guess. We were off compleetely, we would find out the next evening. Next was the exact time, which we also guessed on our inaccurate watches. Then we picked the nearest city, which is about 30 minutes away. Then the unit asked us to find two stars in the sky and identify and align them in the telescopeŐs eyepiece. The stars that the Autostar gave us to find were not exactly well-known stars, and they werenŐt in a part of the sky that was devoid of other bright stars. Without a map of the sky, we were lost. Pollox, Rigel, Castor were some of the stars we have come to know well through the Autostar. Needless to say, we did not get the Autostar working that night.

The next night, we went out equipped with not only the scope and the Autostar unit, but also a compass (to find north), a detailed map of the sky (to find the stars it was asking us to), and a watch that had accurate time on it. Before we headed out, we took the time to enter in our exact latitude and longitude into the Autostar. That night was a great success. After a short time spent aligning our two base stars in the scope, we were off to explore the universe and beyond. We saw Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, the Pleiades, the Orion Nebula and several Messier objects that evening.

I highly recommend the Autostar, but wish that the booklet would have warned us that we needed to be prepared with the compass, star map, latitude/longitude, and exact time to make our experience with it successful. The only drawback to the unit was that it needs to be aligned and reset every time it is used, but itŐs not like there are other competing units to use. ItŐs well worth the money, and enhances the experience with any Meade scope.

60 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must have for ETX-90EC, December 19, 1999

By 

Daniel W. Schuffert (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meade 497 Autostar Computer Controller for ETX Telescopes (Electronics)

This controller really became valuable to me after the first 3 or 4 viewing sessions with my new ETX-90EC. After the newness of just pointing the telescope at the brightest object in the sky wore off, the controller assisted me with finding all kinds of new objects to look at. It took some work for me to get the telescope aligned with the controller. I had to learn the reference stars that the controller uses to align the telescope. Once I learned the reference stars, the unit becomes essential for me to really enjoy this hobby. I cannot imagine using my telescope without this controller!

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Find stars you never knew existed, October 16, 2000

By 

C. McManis "Chuck McManis" (Sunnyvale, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Meade 497 Autostar Computer Controller for ETX Telescopes (Electronics)

The AstroStar is a great ETX accessory. My favorite feature is its "give me a tour of what's good tonight." It is also great for figuring out what your looking at with its "identify this" feature. The only drawback is you have to be really careful aligning the scope initially to get it to work. The instructions weren't that clear between the scope, the tripod, and the Astrostar book. My recommendations to you, remember to align the scope to true north (i hold a compass on the lens tube), use a bubble level to level the tube, set your watch to the second on the nights you go out, and make sure the viewfinder and scope are well aligned. Do these four things and I guarantee you'll have a great night of viewing.