Meade ETX-80 AT TC Astro Telescopes w/ Autostar Computer Controller & Meade Tripod Models: Meade ETX-80 AT-TC-BB Astro Telescope Autostar w/ Light Tripod, Backpack and No Case Model 0805-04-20

by Meade

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 18.5 pounds
• ASIN: B0010XXDE6
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,082 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
  • #22 in Camera & Photo > Binoculars, Telescopes & Optics > Telescopes > Catadioptric
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 9, 2004

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for the Family, June 26, 2009

By 

Patricia Brouillette (Fort Drum, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Meade ETX-80 AT TC Astro Telescopes w/ Autostar Computer Controller & Meade Tripod Models: Meade ETX-80 AT-TC-BB Astro Telescope Autostar w/ Light Tripod, Backpack and No Case Model 0805-04-20 (Electronics)

It is fun and easy to use. It will either find what you are looking for or you can manually find what you are looking for.

There is an easy procedure to get the telescope aligned and once aligned, it can find anything that is programed into the handset. You can also set it to track something once you find it.

It is a very good telescope for those who are just starting out. Easy to operate.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Design is flawed, October 20, 2010

By 

Pikkidok - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meade ETX-80 AT TC Astro Telescopes w/ Autostar Computer Controller & Meade Tripod Models: Meade ETX-80 AT-TC-BB Astro Telescope Autostar w/ Light Tripod, Backpack and No Case Model 0805-04-20 (Electronics)

I bought this telescope after reading a few good reviews but I am sorely disappointed. I think this telescope could just kill off your budding interest in astronomy. Although the Autostar program is fairly easy to use, it is not entirely straightforward to a beginner. This is a fairly inexpensive automated telescope but there are several things that I do not like about this scope.

There is a serious design flaw. The focus knob is small, tight and it isn't smooth. When you try to focus, it transmits jerky vibrations to the scope and cause your objects to shake. Try focussing on a shaking object! It affects higher magnifications and it does not bother me that much when I use it at low magnifications. But then, at low magnification, you might as well get a good astro binoculars at 25% of the price.

The in-built Barlow, meant to double the magnification is of low quality. I have yet to try putting my own Barlow lens in. The 9mm eyepiece is also not a good one. The 25mm eyepiece is alright though.

I am amazed how people can see bands on Jupiter with a scope that focuses so badly.

The tripod is study and light. That is the best thing about this scope. The backpack is too small for the scope. I don't think getting a better fitting bag will affect the bottom line at Meade.

The whole concept of this scope is great. Small, portable, light and automated. However, it needs to deliver its basic function, to show objects sharply. It cannot do that due to its poor focussing mechanism, then this is a sheer waste of money.

I hope Meade will incorporate an electronic focussing system in their next design. Focus using the Autostar control pad instead of fiddling with a coarse knob which shakes up the whole scope.

Unfortunately I cannot recommend this telescope unless you love spending 15-20 minutes focussing on one object. The time saved by the auto star finding computer is wasted on focussing the scope.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good telescope for the price range., September 18, 2008

By 

Joseph Gonzales - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Meade ETX-80 AT TC Astro Telescopes w/ Autostar Computer Controller & Meade Tripod Models: Meade ETX-80 AT-TC-BB Astro Telescope Autostar w/ Light Tripod, Backpack and No Case Model 0805-04-20 (Electronics)

The telscopse is good, The backpack is useless but I would recomend a case for the telescope anyway. I would seriously reccomend, if you buy this telescope, you get some rechargable AA batteries. I got like 12 of them. The autostar is a little complicated at first, so use in inn the daytime first.