Meade Instruments

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Meade Instruments
Meade and Celestron are competing against one another, which normally brings prices down and quality up. But in the Meade Celestron world (universe?)the prices have come down but so has the quality.
Both companies have forgotten their roots. Celestron Pacific (as it was called) started in 1964, and in 1970 the venerable C8 SCT was released. At the time, the C8 was not a worm driven telescope. Then Meade jumped into the SCT market in 1980 with the 2040 and 2080 scopes. In 1983 Celestron came out with the Super C8, which was much improved (worm driven). This is what should happen - competition should drive up quality. After both companies cut quality in the late 1980's and produced many scopes with crappy optics, BOTH companies suffered. It was a result of that ill-sited direction that many quality driven telescope manufacturers gained market headway, but not without many amateur astronomers getting burned along the way. As a result of their market share drop, Meade and Celestron tried to merge in 1990, but were turned down by the Federal Trade Commission. Just think how crappy their service would be had that merger been approved!! My own feelings are that they actually did merge in 1991, but just not officially. Basically they are both screwing their customers and getting away with it. Seems coincidental that the poor customer service and quality decline were right after the two companies got into bed and tried to "unite". Seems the customer is the only one getting "united" now. If we get "united" enough perhaps a new company will start-up and kick Meade and Celestron (Tasco) butts by showing what real customer service is.
There is no force that can beat a mass public opinion.

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Meade Instruments
Meade is better then Tasco at customer support. Tasco refused my simple request after two days of using the scope. The scope came with a scratched lens on the 5x zoom part. Also the mount wore out after 2 uses. Tasco said that the scope is my problem to deal with becuase I bought it at Wal-Mart during Christmas. They refuse help unless you buy from them. And Wal-Mart refused the return stating it had been used. I was to take it to tasco for repairs. Tasco told me 200 bucks to fix it. thats more then i paid for the thing.

Overall Rating: 7
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Meade Instruments
Meade equipment is junk. Everytime I buy something with their label on it it either doesn't work or doesn't perform the way they say it does. I have returned three of their scopes and numerous acces because of defects. I will never buy meade equipment again.

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Meade Instruments
Over the years I have done business with Meade many times. Quality of products are generally good having owned a number of their scopes and accessories. Meade does seem to treat its customers better on an individual basis than Celestron.

They will fix something again and again until you are satisfied. Celestron fixes it once then tells you thats it. Sometimes customer service needs a little push, but I have found through experience that Meade generally, does the right thing at days end.

I know of two accounts where Meade made good on products misrepresented by dealers. The Celestron of today will not do this.

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Meade Instruments
Yo tambien adquirí el modelo Meade LX-5, no se como pueden estar vendiendo el modelo LX-10 con un panel tan pobre. Hasta el mando de control del LX-5 supera en mucho el del LX-10. Si el tripode incluso parece mas inestable en el LX-10!!! Tan siquiera es extensible!!
Los manuales de intrucciones en PDF serian una salvaguarda para aquellos que adquirieron sus productos bajo la propaganda de "lifetime guarantee". La verdad es que uno de estos aparatos son de por vida, pero el papel desgraciadamente se estropea con el paso del tiempo. Quiero revisar los manuales ya!!!
EL LX-5, LX-6 SON MEJORES QUE EL LX-10, LOS PANELES DE CONTROL MEJORES QUE EL DEL LX-50!!

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Meade Instruments
By: m063712.efane.navfac.navy.mil ???
¿QUE ES ESTO? ¿ME ESTAIS VIGILANDO??

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Meade Instruments
After having severe GOTO accuracy problems with my 8" LX-200 since I purchased it last winter, I finally decided to contact them after trying every possible cure. They sent me a replacement motherboard immediately. That did not cure my problem so they told me to send the entire unit in. I received my scope back in exactly 30 days after shipping it to them. It appears to be a brand new unit (less the arms) or they did a fabulous job cleaning both the computer unit and the OTA unit.
However, I did not receive back the following items that I had enclosed with it.
#1 - the hand controller cable
#2 - the DEC motor control cable
#3 - my Meade electronic focus motor
#4 - 2 screws to hold the electronic focus housing on with
#5 - my brand new, 1 week old Bob's Knobs.
I contacted them today about the missing items. I will post a rating if & when I get those items back. Without those first 2 items, the scope is virtually worthless to me.

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Meade Instruments
Meade seems threatened by hard-copy communications, responding only verbally to faxed, emailed or letter inputs. Meade refused to supply specifications on environmental operating range of AutoStar computer (relating to cold-weather failure modes). Manufacturing process control appears poor as measured by now statisticall-relevant user group tallies.

Overall Rating: 4
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Meade Instruments
Ive done business with Meade and have called them on occassion and talked to Paul concerning the Starfinder series scope. Every time I have talked to him concerning this scope or thier products he had the answers to my questions and solved any issues that I had.. He is very straight forward and is honest about their produdcts.. And he does not try to sell you or steer you toward something you would be unhappy with.. I have also had extremly good luck working with Meade returns and shipping when my Starfinder Eq was crushed in shipment.. I cant praise this department enough..

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Meade Instruments
After sending me a 3rd motherboard, 2 more motors and a new hand controller in an attempt to solve my severe GOTO problem, the problem still exists. On 11/05/01, I mailed them hard copy drawings showing how far targets were off in the viewfinder. One week later, 11/12/01, I got a telephone call from a Meade tech informing they have finally figured out what is wrong and how to correct my problem. They are doing a UPS call tag to have my scope shipped back to the factory for a machine optical alignment at their expense. (Of course, this should have been done the first time I sent the scope in) I am really pleased with Meade's service. Even though the scope is not fixed yet, I feel they really are trying to get my problem solved. I highly recommend their products, service, and especially their warranty. My warranty was up October 12th and they are still trying to get my problem solved. I have talked to 6 different techs about this so far and each have proved to be very friendly and helpful.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Meade Instruments
I had sent in a etx 70-ec goto scope for replacement of a broken objective lens on a non warranty repair. Repair cost was $75 plus tax. Drove the scope down to Irvine (25 mile trip) and hand delivered to Mike of customer service. The repair took 4 1/2 weeks. The scope did not focus and required a second visit to the Meade repair facility. Again the repair took about 4 1/2 weeks. This time the repair shop replaced the OTA and although the focus was better, it still didn't live up to the advertisement claims of "Razor Shap Images". In addition, the replacement OTA had a flip mirror with a good amount of scratches on it, the original OTA flip mirror was perfect. I discovered that the objective lens was not square to the scope axis and was able to resolve this problem myself, improving the focus to a satisfactory level. I wanted to replace the bad flip mirror as well. I spoke with Paul at Meade customer support,explained the situation and requested a flip mirror exchange via mail. Meade would not do this exchange but would repair the scope again. I decided that my time wasted driving to and from Irvine for a third repair was worth more than the price of the scope & I didn't want to loose the scope for another month. I will live with the mirror for a while. I'd like to see Meade sell repair parts to those of us who are capable of fixing our own equipment. Meade management needs to overhaul the repair shop & rethink it's repair policies.

Overall Rating: 3
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=45891

Meade Instruments
Meade telescopes are really pretty good, optically. Mechanically and electronically, they are not too good. You buy from a Meade dealer - the vendor. They ship you the Meade product (often from the meade factory) and you pay the shipping. BUT often things are missing or damaged in transit, sometimes the scope itself. Remember that what you buy must be "fit for purpose" or you can demand a refund in full from the vendor.

Now, Meade itself and its "customer service" and warranty work. You have a one-year warranty - use it! After the year, you are "on your own". Meade will quickly replace items that you tell them are not "fit for purpose" - they are usually good at that. What about the telescope itself, if it needs servicing? Meade says you pay the shipping... and then you can wait for up to 6 months to get the scope back - they are S - L - O - W. And often thay don't make the telescope any better. The latin maxim is "caveat emptor" buyer, beware ... before you buy, remember that Meade has NO real customer service.

- an attorney who has lots of experience with Meade

Overall Rating: 1
Price:5 Service:0
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Meade Instruments
When I first got deeply involved with astronomy I had a very bad experience with a Meade product. I had purchased an ETX 90 from one of their featured dealers, "Wholesale Optics," of Connecticut. The scope was obviously used junk sold as new.
I could not get any satisfaction from the dealer so I contacted Meade. Meade told me to call the better business bureau of CT. They were totally unconcerned about my situation. I still own a few meade eyepieces and use them but until I hear of them making great improvements in their attitude toward the people who buy their products I will never buy from nor recommend them again.

Overall Rating: No Vote
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Meade Instruments
Yes, Meade has some problems with customer service, but their rival Celestron is much, much worse. This is from years of dealings with both companies. Often you have to send the scope back more than once to Meade. Keep sending it back till they fix it. Celestron will tell you thats it, and leave you with a scope that does not function. My personal experience.

As for dealers who are crooks, all the telescope companies deal with them. Check this site, and the BBB, though these are usually in up to date, for records and then make a choice, as to which dealer to deal with. There is a well known dealer who is a crook who sells used equipment as new, and worse, look for the records. Meade will usually do the right thing in such cases, where their rivals will not. Keep calling back if you do not like the customer service rep you get. Call back a few hours later and get someone else. I saw once where Meade took , a used scope sold by one of the dealers, back a gave him a new one. Meade usually does the right thing in the end. and it the better of the two major companies.

I have heard one or two dealers complain about Meade. Meade is kinder to its customers than its rival. I could care less how the dealers are treated, bottom line is the customer.

Overall Rating: No Vote
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Meade Instruments
I wonder about this rating system sometimes, I read an 04/2001 review that says check Meade out with the BBB, I guess the writer was trying to insinuate there is a problem with Meade, Yet when I went BBB website and checked Meade out the report came back satisfactory. I wish people here would be honest.

I pulled out a 1988 Sky and Telescope Magazine the other day, at the time Meade and Celestron were offering 8 SCT on wedge mounts for 1,150.00. A Televue Genesis with EQ mount was 1295.00. Celestron offered a less expensive 8 SCT on a Vixen Super Polaris mount for 895.00. Astro Physics did not have a two year waiting list and Orion was just another scope dealer. Times have changed.

Try and touch that Televue scope for 1295.00 today. Thanks to ORION that Vixen mount alone will set you back 800.00. Yet both Meade and Celestron today offer 8 SCT wedge mounted packages for 1000.00, That is 150.00 less than 1988. While niether company is perfect, they have continued to deliver and develop products which serve the hobby well. No other companies have been willing to do this. The small companies of fifteen years ago, now catering to the upper end of the market, they ones that do make mounts charge dearly for them. The Russian Mak's are here, yet even those are pricey over 6 inches.

Consider the new Meade LXD55 offering comes complete with a 10 inch scope, EQ mount and GOTO for 879.00. That is less than what ORION is charging for the Sky Sensor GOTO package alone. Is it any better, can't tell yet.

If Meade is guily of anything, it is of trying to deliver to much for less. The ETX scopes have been totally villified, yet optically they are on par with a Questar. People have called the ETX mount toylike, yet an Alt-Az GOTO mount is a much more expensive and complex item to design than a mount that just tracks mounted EQ in RA,
The Power Guide 2 option, which lets you use batteries for your questar costs nearly as much as an entire ETX-90EC
Would you pay more for a better built ETX?

Most of the complaints you read about involve GOTO systems which are extremely complex. I would venture to say that 75% or more of the problems involve motors and GOTO. Something ORION does not have to worry about, since no Chinese company is making an inexpensive system for them to stamp there name on.

My personal experience with Meade has been both good and bad. I ordered a scope from a dealer, which I suspect had been returned for having a faulty RA fine adjustment gear. I can not blame Meade for this because they are not the dealer. I do not know if the defect was from the factory or caused by the first owner. I contacted Meade after I took the scope apart, (Which will void your waranty) but that was not an issue, they agreed to send a replacement part, which was unfortunately the wrong part. The next costumer service representative Andrew personally made sure the parts department filled the order correctly and my scope now works like a charm.

On a second scope I own, I tightened a worm gear down to much and damaged the RA motor. I recieved a new motor no hassle, no problem, no questions, just great customer service.

A third call involving CCD imaging equipment info and LXD55 info was handled by a woman who was informative, professional and a pleasure to deal with.

I am glad this rating system exists, because it helps people become aware of dealers to avoid.

To the attorney who wrote an earlier post, it was nice of you to point out the "waranty of fitness" issue, that is a great way for a consumer to protect himself. But you should have disclosed that is a remedy available against the dealer, rather than use that information as a way of slaming Meade. Shame on you, go buy an Astro-Physics.

(P.S. I am not knocking Astro-Physics, I wish I owned one)

Overall Rating: 10
Price:10 Service:8
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
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Meade Instruments
Overall, a good value for the money in a beginners telescope. Once you have been in astronomy for a while you will most likely want a better quality scope. The quality of Mead scopes over the years has gone down. They need to start paying more attention to their quality control department. They send out many scopes that are defective from the factory and have to be sent back for repairs. I have purchased 2 Meade scopes in the past 15 years and have had major problems with both of them. My newest scope is a Starmaster. The custom built scope tend to have the best optics and give much better images than the Meade or Celestron scope I have looked through. Also, the customer service with Starmaster is much better than Meade. Bottom line, you get what you pay for in telescopes and in life!

Overall Rating: 5
Price:7 Service:2
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=110519

Meade Instruments
These people are really something else...

1. They got my shipping address wrong, which delayed receiving their scope, when their purchase invoice had the correct address. This happened on 2 orders I made. The same problem reported by my friend!! Called Meade and left a voice message to their Shipping Manager (John), he never bothered to even call back.

2. Ordered two electric focusers, both missing 2 cover screws each! Called Meade, and they wanted me to given them the item number for their missing screws. I told them that they should know the item number for their own products!! How are we suppose to know?? They promised to send them, and never did. Two more phone calls and finally we got our missing screws.

3. Ordered LXD 650 goto mount. Some bright fellow must have greased the RA ring at the factory - impossible to lock down, kept slipping!! Then they forgot to remove metal fillings from the tapped holes in the mount, making turning their knobs nearly impossible. Oh, they also forgot to grease the knob threads.

4. Their customer service people are worthless. Some know only a little, but others have no idea of anything. Very frustrating when the customer knows a whole heck more than their technical customer rep!!

My experiences with Meade quality and poor customer support has seriously placed a black eye on this company. I refuse to purchase any of their products in the future.

Overall Rating: 4
Price:7 Service:1
Weight: 20 (Notable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=455288

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