Meade ETX105ec... Good or not?

I was just wondering if anyone has ever use the Meade ETX-105ec. I have recently puchased one (with UHTC coating of course) and have not had the chance to use it. Thanks to that "new telescope curse" it has been cloudy here until today. I am looking foreward to using it tonight... I was just wanting a few E-pinions on this scope. I have already checked collimation and its perfect.. thanks

BTW I am sorry that this is not really an ATS thread but I figured this would be the best place to get good educated response

I have a MEADE ETX 90 regular model and I am not happy with the electronics. The new EC models in my opinion are a rip off.
1. they now have the telrad finder (red dot) instead of the traditional acromatic one, the telrads are only good if you live in a dark rual area.

2. They didn't change anything on the scope construction on the EC's they just slaped a picture on the tube

3. The raised the price on them 100$ for nothing that improved the scope.

I'm not sure about the UTHC. But I've had to send my computers back to Meade 2 xs so I just took the scope off the mount and put it on a tripod Alz/Alt. I can find more objects and set up my scope faster than the computer. Star charts arent hard to read so I don't know why people buy computerized scopes unless they are doing astrophotography. There is verry little to gain with computers.... you just spend alot of money for a small scope. I payed 500$ for my ETX 90 and I payed 500$ for my 10 inch dob.

Sorry I was talking about the PE eddition not the ec..... my mistake

I've got a Meade ETX-125 and the electronic handheld is a plus, but I must agree with Terapin, it can wreck a night quickly. I am only using the manual controller so that I can discover the heavens myself, not discover punching in some numbers on a keypad. Though I do use the Autostar from time to time. It can be helpful if you've spent weeks looking for an object and it is simply not to be found.

Edit: You've got the ETX-105EC? The EC stands for electronically controlled, and there should be no Autostar with it. But if there is one, then the name should be ETX-105AU. The U is for UHTC.

[edit on 3/24/2005 by diehard_democrat]

Originally posted by Terapin
One more thought... For the money ... you could have built your self a Dobsonain telescope with a much greater power and get some amazing Deep Space views. They are easy to build, cheap, and you can find designs and parts all over the Net.

My sentiments exactly, but a lot of people don't have the time (or knowledge) to grind a mirror. A think a better choice would have been an Orion XT-10, some star charts, and a couple of decent astronomy field guides. You would have gotten a lot more for your money, if not even saved some.

Also, if you're having trouble using it try and find an astronomy club near you. Most of them are pretty receptive and will show you how to properly use it. If you want some informtion from ATS try reading through this Astronomy: Telescopes.

Originally posted by Ignorance Is Bliss
I was just wondering if anyone has ever use the Meade ETX-105ec. ......

Hi IIB!!

Sorry - have no experience of this telescope here but have around 40 years with astro-scopes.

First, if you can house them, a refractor will "win" hands down (upto 40 inch diameter) - I've used a 12.5" refractor so feel able to commnet here!! )

My current telescope is 8.5" SCT - which has excellent light grasp and some magnification due to it's inherent focal lengthan focal ratio...

However, Meade is a "trusted" name - buy it, use it = and please report back your findings!!

Peace! AEN

Refractors are the best but Reflectors can get reeeeaaaallll big. Refractors cannot. Well they can but the cost is outrageous. Hence why its generally super construscted reflectors and Carsseigians.

Thanks for the input everybody. I appreciate it... and its not that I am not familiar with the night sky. just that I think the autostar is convienient. and I plan on doing some astrophotography with it and the tracking (in either Alt/az or Polar mode) will be a plus for longer exposure times..... anyway I have been looking at some things with it for a while and while I know it is not a huge scope I am very pleased with what I have been able to see so far... I am currently saving up for a Meade LX200GPS or maybe an Obsession light bucket?