Meade DS 60

Ratings:Top:Astronomy:Equipment Reviews:Telescope Reviews:Meade DS 60

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Brand and Model:Meade DS 60
Price ($USD):138 (at Walmart)
Type:Achromatic Refractor
Attributes: un-checked Go-To un-checked PEC
Aperture:60mm (2.4")
f Ratio:f/11.7
Focal Length:700mm
Finder:5 x 24
Electric Power:
Mount:eq
Tripod:yes
Weight (lbs):lbs.
Dimensions (w/h/d):
Description:
This package may be upgraded with a clock drive and Meade's Autostar computer controller system.

Vote Highlights Vote
Meade DS 60
Stay away from these department store 60mm Meades. I have had the displeasure of using an equitoral mounted 60mm f11 that a friend owns.

He is lucky he still is my friend!

The 5x24 finder is useless, you might as well tape a toilet paper tube to the scope.

The 60mm primary is too small and of way too poor quality to observe anything other than the moon, M42 or M31. Planitary performance is limited by the fact that you can't go much over 60x without getting horrible ghosting. On the example of the Meade 60mm OTA that I played with, the primary was very pinched.

Take your $100, put it in the bank. You're better off getting an Orion 4.5" or 6" dob than ANY inexpensive Meade 60mm telescope. Forget the bells and whistles, go for quality over trinkets.

To describe this OTA in one word: TOY

Overall Rating: No Vote
Optics:1
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=67344

Meade DS 60
This review for a DS60AT with AutoStar.

Very good for 60mm (and all that implies).

The only limitation: the eyepieces suck big time. The
best upgrade is a .965 to 1.25 diagonal and one or two
moderate eyepieces such as Orion's Sirius plossls.

Overall Rating: 7
Optics:8 Mount:7 Ease of Use:7 Value:7
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=199402

Meade DS 60
Overall, this is an OK scope for a beginner. This scope comes with three inexpensive Huygenian eyepieces (25 mm, 12.5 mm, 4 mm) and a cheap 3X barlow. The scope is good for mainly the moon, and identification of the planets at low (28X and 56X) power. Forget surface details on the planets, I could barely make out saturn's rings. They shouldn't have included the barlow or even the 4 mm eyepiece, because they're pretty useless. Also, even with the lower power eyepieces, chromatic aberration was evident, as well as field curvature at the edges. In short, this is a toy and definately not worth a third of what it costs.

Overall Rating: 4
Optics:3 Mount:6 Ease of Use:8 Value:2
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=126580

Meade DS 60
Telescope for people with masochism inclinations. Really, very good choice for them !

Advice for 'normal' people: bypass it.

Overall Rating: 2
Optics:2 Mount:5 Ease of Use:8 Value:1
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=126479

Meade DS 60
Uh, correction on my last posting:

1. Jupiter has bands, not rings. I know this except when I have only had 4 hours sleep & type fast.
2. Regarding the M42 observation, you can only see 3 stars not all 4.

Overall Rating: No Vote
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=53118

Meade DS 60
Instructions on this scope are horrible; purchasers should cruse the internet where more info is available, or bug Meade after the Christmas call rush is finished.

The .9" Huygens eyepieces are mediocre of course. Still, on a shimmery night you can clearly see 2 rings of Jupiter & gobs of detail in the moon. M42 in my light-polluted sky may as well not exist. All you can see are the 4 stars.

The 60 holds little promise except to keep the closet company. It is good enough to amuse a child up to about 12 years old. For the most part, adults would lose interest pretty quickly. If you do purchase one, at least get the 1.25 eyepiece model, they are a step up and this is the standard size -- handy when you tire of this scope.

The electronic controls or autostar definitely enhance user pleasure, but is silly on a cheap scope. Put your money into the optics instead.

I got this as a gift, and it's going back. Based on a reasonably sturdy mount, autostar, and apparently decent objective (front) lens, I am going to look for a DS-90 variety with aftermarket eyepieces. This is probably the minimum light gathering for reasonable use.

In short, you can't get a useful scope for less than $500 unless you go for a Dobsonian type for 2/3 that amount. Then tracking becomes a chore.

Overall Rating: 5
Optics:4 Mount:6 Ease of Use:5 Value:8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=53116

Meade DS 60
I have found this telescope to be a very good starter compared to my Tasco telescope. I have seen many things with it and with a little patience I have learned to appreciate it. However, I am looking for a better and more high quality telescope for the time when I get a job where I don't work nights.

Overall Rating: 6
Optics:4 Mount:5 Ease of Use:7 Value:6
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=52546

Meade DS 60
Not entirely horrible, and certainly better than the 1's and zero's mentioned in some of the reviews here. Purchased DS60EC (electronic control) as first 'scope, based on v. low entry price (can be found in $129-170 range from several vendors). Get the white-tube OEM version, not the blue-tube reseller's special.

Downsides: Bit complicated to assemble, Alt-az mount not the most stable, motorized controls fun but rather silly. Upsides: light, easy to use, optics OK to my aging eyes, can get up to about 120x with a decent eyepiece. Came with two ep: a serviceable 25mm MA (Kellner) and a fairly awful 9mm MA. After a few viewing sessions, got a barlow and an inexpensive plossl-type 9mm which greatly improved performance. OK for planetary and wide-field viewing; pretty much useless for dim deep-space objects (but then, how could it be otherwise?)

Bottom line: Adequate starter scope if purchased at heavy discount from $299 list price.

Overall Rating: 5
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39768

Meade DS 60
cheapt plastic parts which strip easily. wobbly yoke and stand. doesn't focus very well at higher magnifications.

Overall Rating: 5
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39759

Meade DS 60
My first Telescope. Very much impressed! manual focus is honestly better than the higher priced DS-114AT which I had originally bought but was also dissatisfied with the "Go-To" autofinder digital remote which is good only as a reference tool for astronomy terminology not finding objects as claimed. The challenge was trying to view objects when the image focuser and viewing end is are at the high end, (Tilted end up) this was totally dumb! Light accumulation is great on ds-114at, but detail was personally viewed better on this smaller scope, DS-60M. With the ability to add digital features such as auto focuser and tracking, image correction (left to right,right side up) this scope is fine as it is. IT'S DEFINETLY A KEEPER!
FRANK PEREZ, LA FERIA,TX.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39757

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