Meade ETX-90EC

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Meade ETX-90EC
I've had an ETX 90EC for a year. It's my first telescope. Optical quality is very good, but I see saturn's Cassini division only rarely (and I have a dark high desert sky). Portability for camping is great. Using autostar is a minor hassle and the results often imperfect in acquiring and tracking. More often I unlock the mount and just push the scope like a (tiny) dob to look at planets and easily found objects. Finder difficult;
I added a scopetronics red dot sight (reccomended).

My most used "scope" is 10x60 binoculars. If I had it to do over again, I'd buy an 8" Orion dob. The ETX is a good little scope, but not a beginners telescope.

Overall Rating: 7
Optics:8 Mount:7 Ease of Use:7 Value:7
Weight: 4 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=71423

Meade ETX-90EC
As an experienced amateur astronomer, I cannot imagine a newbie being happy with this scope as it ships with only 1 lowpower eyepiece and the cheap plastic base and fork design is highly susceptible to vibration. My unit shipped with a defective horizontal clutch (RA in equatorial mode).

The optics were nothing to write home about.

It's an average scope on a cheap plastic mount with lots of hype behind it.

Anyone considering this scope should see what they get for the SAME PRICE from a 127mm Mak like the Orion StarMax 127mm EQ, which, gee, actually comes with a metal tripod and a padded carrying case!!!!

Overall Rating: 2
Optics:7 Mount:0 Ease of Use:5 Value:0
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=71598

Meade ETX-90EC
Mounted on lightweight GEM, is an exceptional scope. Too much plastic, but what a great price ($200-250 on Ebay New!)

Overall Rating: 8
Optics:9 Mount:5 Ease of Use:7 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=81985

Meade ETX-90EC
Best optics of ANY compound scope I have owned. Pinpoint stars, perfect star test, diffraction rings around all medium to bright stars. Incredible detail on planets and the moon for a 3.5" scope. Drive works perfectly. Compact and portable. COST????? They are liquidating the RAs now for $179 (Apogee). After selling off the junk MA eyepieces, my net cost is $139! Is that the telescope buy of the century or what?

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:8 Ease of Use:9 Value:10
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=84276

Meade ETX-90EC
Bought the RA model for 349 with excellent #844 tripod.Scopes optics are great-pinpoint stars(great star test),awesome detail on the moon.4 bands on Jupiter,easy Cassini division on Saturn and all in a portable 11 pound package.PS the finder is good optically but a pain in the neck to use also buy the flex focuser from Scopetronics and enjoy.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:10 Ease of Use:8 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=85222

Meade ETX-90EC
Great 3.5 inch scope for 350.00 with #844 tripod .Stars pinpoints and star test is excellent.Four bands on Jupiter very impressive.Finder is good optically but apain in the neck to use also get the flex focuser from Scopetronics-works great.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:10 Ease of Use:8 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=87370

Meade ETX-90EC
I picked up an ext90ra from Apogee a few weeks ago at the close out price of $179. I heard allog of good and bad press from the ext90's but I figured since trying 2 Orion apex china made scopes and having to return both that maybe meade's qc might be better. Well I cn tell you that the first night out and then latter that week I performed a fake star test and was I surprised with the optics. It seems to work as well as an 80mm achro as g=far as deep sky but the pinpoint star images are just like a friends Pronto and TV 85, has no false solor at all and seems to split doubles well. Have not had it out on the planest yet cause Jupiter is too low and waiting on the moon to come around but the way the scope star tests is not far from my MN56 so I don't think I'll have a problem. Its very portable and travels well which is why I bought it but was not ecpecting the optical performance this scope has. This would make an excellent first scope for starters but even for a good secod scope to take on vacations were you dont have to worry about the scope if it gets knocked around a little. Hey its not a Pronto but for $179 this is soo much better than some of these semi high price 80mm refractors that are being sold just under $500 that just don't have the color correction and optics that this does. My hats off to meade and I have found many owners that have been just as happy, buyit know before they are all gone, highly recomended.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:9 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 9 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=90839

Meade ETX-90EC
the etx90ec was my first telescope. i am very impressed with it. aside from the instructions that meade supplys with the scope, leaving somewhat to be desired, i am completely satisfied with it.
i now also own a 10" lx 200 and the etx will slew anywhere the lx200 will, i may not be able to see the object but it is there in the same location . i have since upgraded the autostar twice and it is almost like getting a new telescope.
i gave the optics a 9 because i'm not sure what a 10 is. it has textbook images of stars (much better than the lx200)its only drawback being its 3.5" aperture.
i gave the mount a 7 because it shakes at high power. i have since modified it a little , and it has improved that somewhat.
i gave ease of use 6 mainly because of the instructions given by meade. for a beginner such as myself there were things mentioned in the instructions which make sense to me now , but none when i first started. after a while it got easier .
because of the etx & autostar i have seen 100's of objects that i couldn't imagine ever seeing without the computer control. i take my hat off to those who have seen these objects without that help . its a little expensive but worth it . its cheaper now than it was when i bought it.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9 Mount:7 Ease of Use:6 Value:6
Weight: 12 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=95950

Meade ETX-90EC
Aside from my $1100 Borg 76ED refractor, which may outperform a TV76 or at least equal it, this little scope is my "baby" for all applications. Its higher contrast makes it do way better on planets than my 5" Celestron. It is so light I can practically tuck it into a coat pocket ( a really big pocket :-) ).

Optics blow me away every single time. The RA model costs $180 and when you sell off the cheapo eyepieces it becomes less than a $150 scope. Where can you get $800+ optical quality for that price? This scope is extremely easy to use with a Telrad or Rigel finder, and extremely HARD to use without one. The built in finder is junk, toss it into the garbage. The focuser should be replaced with an aftermarket vibration-free cable like ScopeTronix sells.

I bought a tacklebox from Home Depot for $5.99, put some foam in it, and I carry the ETX tube assembly that way everywhere -- it's the star at star parties, outings, camping, etc. Nature photography and visual usage are superb. The only complaint I have is the limited aperature and long focal length, but everything else rocks. What can I say? The all-time best telescope ever made, for the money.

I don't have the electric mount, so I would not know. The plastic RA mount is kind of junky, I replaced it with a $150 Bogen fluid head tripod and it's the sweetest combo out there.

I wish I had two to make binoculars!

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:10 Ease of Use:9 Value:10
Weight: 9 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=100473

Meade ETX-90EC
Sadly, I must give this 'scope a low rating. I bought it as a close out. I anticipated getting a 'poor man's Questar'. What I got was an instrument that I really cannot recommend for serious astronomical observing without spending additional $$$$.

The optics are good - on a par with my 120mm refractor. The mount has a very cheap feel to it, and the plastic knobs just don't cut it - someone once referred to the knobs as 'fiddly', and that is a very accurate observation. They are small, and in the case of the focuser, tends to fall off.

The biggest problem is the finder. It is impossible to use it, and the solution is to spend $49 for a right angle finder (that's why you see so many 'new' small Meade finders for sale on eBay). You can't even use it to align on Polaris, which compromises the accuracy of the clock drive.

Also, you really need a tripod for this scope because Murphy's Law says the table you place it on will inevitably have one leg shorter than the other and will wobble!

So when you add the cost of the finder and tripod, you're back up to around $400. A 90mm or 100mm equatorial refractor on a tripod would be a better investment at that price.

Since I have other 'scopes more suited for astronomical work, I find this little beast good for terrestial viewing.

Overall Rating: 6
Optics:9 Mount:5 Ease of Use:3 Value:5
Weight: 9 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=104044

Meade ETX-90EC
This little scope is the sharpest I've seen. Just picked one up for $180 new! Split epsilon lyra easily and cleanly with a TV 9mm Nagler. Unbelievable. Get a focus knob extension and a right angle finder and you'll have the best optics available for under 3 times that amount.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:8 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 2 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=116008

Meade ETX-90EC
This machine is a study in contrasts. The 3.5 inch Mak OTA is awesome, the views razor sharp. Star tests are excellent, splitting Eps Lyrae is child's play. M13 is granular with edge stars easily resolved. Pumping up the power to 200x is easy, and M13 really resolves well - very similar to my old C8 (but just a lot dimmer). Deep sky is possible with this little monster - M81/82 are easily viewable with details! Ring nebulae shows very well. The problem with mine was everything else with the scope. The electronics were wonky, 60% of the time, the scope would not complete it's 2 star alignment. Goto was hit and miss. In polar mode, using the scope manually, it was okay. But honestly, the best time I had with it was when I pulled the OTA out of the forks, and mounted to a camera tripod. The wife and I tracked down 15 Messier objects that night and had a hoot! Mine was one of the first EC models. Hopefully the bugs are fixed, but for my money, I'll stick with an Orion StarMax. VERDICT - Recommended with reservations.

Overall Rating: 7
Optics:9 Mount:5 Ease of Use:5 Value:6
Weight: 15 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=142060

Meade ETX-90EC
I've looked trough 1 ETX (yes, ONE, they are not as popular in Denmark as they are in the US) in my whole life. It was at a local starparty, where a club member had brought his ETX90/RA. We were only looking at the Moon, but the views of it could be expressed by one word: Impressive!!
At 357X (7mm barlowed) there was no image breakdown and i think it could hold up to 400X, but we didn't try.
But beware, I think that only 1/10 of the units is as good as the one i tried.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:10 Mount:8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=144484

Meade ETX-90EC
This was my first scope and i wish i had known more about scopes when i purchased it. The optics are good but the scope is a real pain to use. I purchased the electronic focuser because the image jumped around so much i was going nuts trying to focus. The auto star is real accurate on mine, always placing the object in the field of view. Without auto star all but the easy objects are difficult to find. In the winter the system is useless, after a few minutes in freezing weather the auto star goes wacky slewing the scope all over the place, and it is simply not user friendly trying to keep the key pad in your pocket so it wont freeze up. The field of view is narrow compared to other faster scopes, and i like wide field views too. Overall i would not recommend this scope, optical quality good but not great (although i have heard of excellent optical quality in some of the etx's), very difficult to use with all the little knobs and the mechanics are just plain cheap. After all the money i spent on accessories to make the scope more enjoyable to use i could have had a tele vue 85mm apo. And in all honesty that is what i wish i had purchased, in a side by side comparison there is no doubt that the tele vue 85 is worth the extra money. I will say that the etx looks real nice on its trpod sitting in my living room, but thats not really what i bought it for. So do yourself a favor, if you are thinking about a small scope look for a nice small refractor, tele vue is not the only company that sells high quality scopes. In the end you will be very glad you did not buy this scope.

Overall Rating: No Vote
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=160992

Meade ETX-90EC
I have the RA version of this telescope. Excellent, excellent optics on this. I owned a Ranger at the same time
I had my ETX and the ETX blew away the much higher
priced Ranger on planets. The mount is nice because it is
so transportable, but the small finder is nearly useless. As
a result this telescope is not that easy to use.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:10 Mount:8 Ease of Use:7 Value:9
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=204155

Meade ETX-90EC
Manual sucks, and Autostar is hard to master, but overall good value.

Overall Rating: 8
Optics:9 Mount:9 Ease of Use:5 Value:7
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=255148

Meade ETX-90EC
ETX-90/RA
Very good telescope for this price, great possibilities in planetary astrophotogrphy. Very nice optics, good contrast, plastic mount but quite solid. On a good wooden tripod vibrations stop after about 1 second. Very good eyepiece, horrible finderscope.

Overall Rating: 8
Optics:8 Mount:6 Ease of Use:8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=318362

Meade ETX-90EC
An ETX90-RA Review

Overall Review: Delightful and fun. Very good planetary performance. Great near focus (microscopic) performance. Good terrestrial views, only limited by narrow field of view (FOV). Some limitations on deep sky (nebulae). Mechanically functional, even charming, for the experienced stargazer. The inexperienced scopist may find the mechanical functionality of the ETX discouraging in a manner similar to the ubiquitous department store altazimuth mounted 60mm refractor.

Equipment Reviewed
-ETX90-RA; second hand but in unused or nearly unused
condition
-ETX90 Hardcase (Meade #774), second hand, used,
functional, no keys
-8X25 right angle finder (Meade #884), new
-Scopetronix Visual Back, new
-EZ-Focus cord, new

Cost (including shipping and with equivalent accessories)
-As described, $330
-Retail RA model* ($380-$400) *limited retail availability
-Retail EC/AT model ($700-$800)


Comparative Reviews:
-to a 100mm (F15) diffraction limited Rubinar on a table top equatorial mount; the ETX90 has a slight optical superiority (contrast, detail, near focus), the ETX & Rubinar are equal on chromatic correction, FOV,cool down.the Rubinar is superior for photographic use (flat field), the ETX is mechanically superior, the ETX is superior in terms of portability

-to an 80mm ED (Orion) (F7.5) on a full equatorial mount; the Orion 80mm ED has a slight optical superiority in contrast, the Orion is greatly superior in terms of FOV and cool down, the ETX & Orion are equal on detail and near focus, the Orion is slightly superior on deep sky viewing, the ETX is slightly superior on chromatic correction, the Orion is mechanically superior, ETX is superior in terms of portability

-to an APM 102mm triplet achromat (F6) on a full equatorial mount; the ETX is optically superior (contrast, detail, chromaticism, near focus), the APM is greatly superior in terms of FOV and cool down, the ETX & APM are probably equal on deep sky viewing, the APM is mechanically easier to use, the ETX is superior in terms of portability

-to a Celestron C-90 (F11.1) on a camera tripod with slow-motion device; the ETX is optically superior (contrast, detail, near focus), the ETX and C-90 are equal in terms of FOV, cool down, deep sky, the ETX is mechanically easier to use, the ETX is slightly more portable.


Anecdotal Mechanical and Optical Review of the ETX90-RA
A full description of the appearance and functionality of the ETX can be obtained at the Astronomics.com website. Here, the ETX instruction manual can be downloaded. Familiarity with the maksutov-cassegrain type scope in general and the etx/questar type configurations in particular, will facilitate understanding the following comments.

Visual Performance:
Saturn: wow! The cassini division is visible each time, every time (once thermal equilibrium has been reached) as a thin dark line nearly through the whole ring system at this time. The shadow of the disk of the planet on the obscured ring is clearly visible. Polar darkening, crepe ring against the planetary disk and the equatorial band are visible. The moons are visible but not spectacularly so. The ETX gives a beautiful crisp view of the ring system and cassini at 40X. The best views in terms of sharpness are around 100X. A nice crisp view continues to be delivered up to 210X (c. 70X per inch of aperture) with a concomitant three-dimensional appearance.
Jupiter presents a very nice sharp disk up to 210X. It is in the 100X to 135X range that the ETX performs best on the Jovian detail, revealing two distinct belts, with indications of belt splits, bars and fragments of belts elsewhere on the planet and some indications of festoons. The GRS and eclipse shadows should be easily visible. The features, though visible, seem to be slightly washed out. The use of a yellow filter helps. The moons appear as four beautiful bulls-eyes.
Venus presents a nice gibbous disk at this time with no color (chromatic aberration) present.
Mars even though it is six arc seconds in size, presents a definitive disk and a hint of a dark surface feature.
The double star Castor is beautifully presented at 100X as two headlights encircled by a noticeable diffraction ring. The doubled nature of eta Orionis is clearly seen.
With a 32mm plossl providing a 1.3 degree FOV, the Great Nebula in Orion is attractively framed. At 100X the trapezium presents four perfect tiny airy disks with first diffraction rings. At 180X, in the clearest and most stable of skies, there is a hint of “e”.
With the 1.3 degree FOV of the 32mm plossl, the entirety of the Pleiades can be taken in. Stars are pinpoint across the field, as is to be expected at this long focal length.
At fifty feet, both through a window and without a window, views of juvenal blackbirds are excellent, revealing the detail of the coat as well as its iridescence. It is easy to see a sparrow work a seed’s covering apart with its thin red tongue to obtain the seed and leave the chaff. Though very pleasing, this scope is of limited “birding” potential because of its small FOV. Some nearer objects would not be properly framed.
When using attachments such as a diagonal and visual back in the rear port or an extension tube (2 inches) in the upright port, objects as near as three meters away can be focused on. Even at this near distance focus is sharp. Observations of a bubble in a window pane at ten feet illuminated by sunlight revealed numerous details that could not be seen at all upon close inspection with the unaided eye in full light conditions.



Optical Performance:
Sometimes point-light sources (sunlight reflecting off of crevices in ceramic or glass, stars) appear as tiny perfect airy disks surrounded by a bright first diffraction ring that is of uniform width but of slightly differing brightness at one end. I would call this 95% collimated. This level of collimation probably provides a degree of detail and contrast that in my eyes would be indistinguishable from 100% collimation. I obtain this degree of collimation inside the house at sun reflected point light sources, sometimes under the sky when the scope has reached full thermal equilibrium and at other times by pressuring the internal diagonal mirror in one specific direction (not advisable) or by loosening and tightening the meniscus ring. At other times there is a perfectly round airy disk with a discontinuous first diffraction ring. The ring is fully formed on one side going to a less well formed, fainter and at times disconnected appearance at the other side. Sometimes, more diffraction rings are noticed on one side of the disk than on the other. Slightly out of focus images of point-light sources reveal the central circle/point as slightly off center. I would consider this to be 90% collimated. Under most conditions this provides perfectly acceptable views such as those described above under Saturn and Jupiter, the descriptions of which were secured while observing the same under these conditions. Nevertheless, improvement of the collimation from what I am calling 90% to 95% collimated provides a noticeable difference in detail and contrast.
Intra and extra focal images of point light sources reveal a high degree of similarity. Though high optical quality can also be obtained in some optical configurations while also producing dissimilar intra/extra focal images of point light sources (of which the maksutov might be one), the presence of this similarity in a 90mm F13.8 maksutov cassegrain is a good sign. The famed double dark ring that maksutov owners are familiar with in star testing is of nearly the same dark hue on both sides of focus; the extra focal being only slightly more washed out. Both defocused images nicely collapse down to the Berrevoet’s circle, and then to the Barbour Dot and finally to the airy disk with diffraction rings. There is no indication of astigmatism in the extra and intra focal images. There is a slight indication of astigmatism in focused point light sources in slightly unstable air or in thermal disequilibrium. However, this is well below diffraction limitation if it is present at all.
A similar sized refractor may take 15 minutes to a half hour to equalize a thermal difference of fifty degrees Fahrenheit. Maksutov cassegrains of this size may take between thirty minutes and an hour for the same. Good views can be obtained between 15 and 30 minutes, with everything that can possibly be seen in a 90mm maksutov being within the visual threshold as one comes nearer to thermal equilibrium. I have adopted the technique of uncapping the meniscus lens, pointing it down, opening the rear port, inserting a visual back and a mirror diagonal and pointing it facing down to faciliate cooling and to minimize dust entering the system.
I have not used the provided 8X21 finder. However, I suspect that it is nearly worthless for optical and mechanical reasons. The 8X25 right angle finder is adequate. It provides a more comfortable position for viewing. It also provides a nice apparent field of view. However, the limited FOV and the lack of light gathering surface somewhat limits its ability as a finder. If one is comfortable with using charts and star-hop-ing from bright objects, this should be adequate. Another challenge with this finder is that the use of the three double screws can prove challenging. This challenge is augmented by the fact that the #774 original carrying case was not designed with this finder in mind. The wall of the case jams against the finder. This in turns tends to change the direction pointed. One final negative about the finder is that under cold conditions, the glue holding the objective cell to the tube and the lens to the diagonal holder tends to deteriorate, resulting in these being pulled off. One other deleterious feature is that two dust caps were not provided with the finder.
There are knobs that allow one to manually adjust both in right ascension and declination. There is a rod-attached-knob that can be used to tighten the declination setting and a knob provided to tighten the right ascension setting. In order to use the electric clock drive this knob must be tightened. The drive tends to drift a bit until it catches. Usually this drift is less than the FOV of a 32mm plossl and just about the FOV of a 12.5mm ortho. If one attempts to center the object by loosening the right ascension lock knob and using the other knob, the drift will be experienced again. I have learned to slightly adjust one of the table-top tripod legs and then re-adjust the declination. I have had little difficulty.
It is not difficult to open the back and insert the batteries. A suggestion given elsewhere is very useful; use the central leg fully screwed in and secured to pull the bottom plate off once the three screws are removed.



Aesthetics and Portability:
The metal tube of the OTA has a beautiful royal blue/purple sheen. Though invisible in lamplight, it is particularly attractive in daylight on the picnic table, on the office desk or a window table in the living room.
For those who appreciate small complete packages, this scope is very ideal. The scope, its mount, its drive and needed accessories can be carried in one hand. Within its overhead compartment allowable hard case, everything one needs can be packed. This includes the scope (ota, mount, drive), eyepieces, diagonals, legs, filters, tools, etc. Everything one needs for a night of observing can be stored in this one convenient case.
All the controls and easy to use and convenient. The addition of an EZ-Focus cord and a Visual Back increase the convenience. The plastic components, though they seem substantial enough, do cause one to treat things quite gently for fear of stripping some screw or cracking a housing. On the other hand, there are a number of ETX users who can claim up to eight years of use since the first ETX arrived on the market with no durability problems.



Price and Value:
Is the ETX worth its price? The comparison touch stone of small catadioptric maksutov cassegrains is the Questar 3.5 (89mm). Any such comparison must be subjective and contingent on many unmeasurable factors. Yet, to construct a comparison is at least entertaining and perhaps somewhat useful. To this end, the following comparison attempts to be conservatively favored toward the Questar.

% comparison of the ETX to the Questar:
Optical Quality: ETX 90% of the Questar
Mechanical Durability/Functionality: ETX 50% of the Questar
Appearance and Aesthetics: ETX 75% of the Questar
Portability: ETX 90% of the Questar
Resale Value (of purchase price): ETX 50% of the Questar


If these values are multiplied (i.e. 90% X 50% X 75% X 90% X 50%) one obtains a conservative-comparative value of .15 (.9 X .5 X .75 X .9 X .5). If we assume a new purchase price of $4000 to $4500 for a Questar, Standard Model (basic), a new ETX-RA with comparable accessories should cost $600 to $675. Currently, one can obtain a new ETX90-RA, hardcase, flexible focus cable and visual back for around $400.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:8 Mount:7 Ease of Use:7 Value:8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=341740

Meade ETX-90EC
Fantastic optics show Pin-Point stars all the way out to the edge of FOV. You don't need premium EPs for this scope. Plossels and MAs show very nice/sharp views. Mount is not great but it tracks and can have GOTO. Possibly the best "Small Scope" value there is.

*Finder scope is Garbage!*

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9 Mount:7 Ease of Use:7 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=398163

Meade ETX-90EC
Had this beautiful instrument 10 months now, viewed nearly all the famed messier objects, watched Jupiter's Shadow transits, and the auto-star is amazing. Will even locate Venus in the daytime, especially if there is a daytime moon to reset. (use one star alignment, pretend you see the daytime star, reset it on the daytime moon, doesn't have to be anywhere near Venus, Goto Venus and it will stop at or very near the planet !!) Optics are wonderful, stars sharp and crisp ! It excels in portability, can move its tripod and all with one hand ! Had a six inch Schmidt but abit heavy and started collecting dust, sold it for the Etx90, Now always look forward to fun viewing. If you want to spend more time on viewing rather than finding Deep Sky Objects, this one's for you !! True, takes a little while to figure out the Auto-Star, manuel could be better but is brief to the point. If its aperature for the money you want, this may not be for you, but for again portability, wonderful Auto-Star, Puts Pure Fun back into the hobby. My favorite 3 items items. 1st-Used Palm IIIC color Pilot, with the planetarium program, includes the brighter NGC's And the 110 Messiers, 9000 stars, Double Stars, Asteroids, my favorite, new Comets!, etc.) Is synchronized to plug into your ETX and can touch any item on the map, Auto-Star responds and goes there !! 2nd - A wider Eyepiece, example 40mm, greatly aids in a quicker set up using the 2 star alignment. 3rd - Get a better finder, only use it for the 2 star alignment, but example a fun item is a Green Laser, gives a beautiful beam to the alignment stars, these are bright, so use with caution !! Am I still Excited, you bet !! Beam me up Scottie !! ..<>..

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9 Mount:9 Ease of Use:9 Value:9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=426695

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