Meade DS-70


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Brand and Model:Meade DS-70
Price ($USD):$249
Type:Plain Refractor
Attributes: un-checked Go-To un-checked PEC
Aperture:70mm (2.8")
f Ratio:f/10
Focal Length:700mm
Finder:5x24
Electric Power:Autostar and Electric Motion Con
Mount:Altazimuth
Tripod:stinks
Weight (lbs):20 lbs??? lbs.
Dimensions (w/h/d):??
Description:

Vote Highlights Vote
Meade DS-70
Having used this scope for a couple of months now I have found it to be a very good scope. Sure your nor using a 16" dob or any other reflector but what the hell comes with some good Bells and whistles and I'm still having fun. If you really serious about Astronomy you may want to look else where but for my Money I LIKE IT.

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39982


Meade DS-70
I think the comments above are too harsh for the scope I have. Got it as a Christmas present, just the mount and the OTA, no autostar. This thing may not be a great scope, but it got me and a lot of other people jumping up and down with excitement. Rings of Saturn nice and clear, easily saw 2 cloud bands on Jupiter. Bright star clusters like the Beehive are terrific, even under suburban skies. The Orion nebula from a dark site is genuinely exciting. No problems with the tripod. Plenty of extra color on bright targets of course. The azimuth part of the mount works extremely well, altitude is a little sticky, but not terrible. The focuser is amazingly good, almost Televue smooth. (I have seen another of these scopes with a terrible focuser.) You can not balance the tube, so there seems to be little point to the supplied 2" adapter; experiment shows that almost any 2" ep makes the scope point straight up. Overall, the optics are are somewhat dim and low contrast, but for brighter objects this scope works OK. It is what it is, and a lot of kids especially could really be delighted with the example I have. Maybe QC is a problem. I like mine.

Overall Rating: 5
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39981


Meade DS-70
Save your money. Get the cardboard tube out of a role of toilet paper and look through that. You'll be happier and see just as much.

Overall Rating: 1
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39980


Meade DS-70
Decent low-end starter scope. The mirror diagonal on the one I sampled was out of alignment and the azimuth tracking contained a tremendous amount of slop.
Also, the tripod legs would not lock securely. The scope comes with a 25 mm and a 9 mm eyepiece. The 9 mm eyepiece literaly fell apart when exposed to very cold weather due to differential expansion between the 1.25" tube and the lens mount. This was easily fixed with glue. Even with all the problems, I like this scope better than the ETX-90.

Overall Rating: 5
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39979


Meade DS-70
bought for $199, bought autostar for $199. Fine Optics, however autostar is very sloppy and rarely puts object in FOV of terrible 5x24 finder. Mount is slightly unstable, also. Do not reccomend paying $398 for this scope that lasts for about 2 weeks until you get bored with it.

Overall Rating: 4
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39978

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