Meade DS2090 from the Meade factory outlet

[jermng]

WAH!!! STEADY LAH!!!!! If you can fit your WO 80 in there, I think alot of Meg/ZS owners will be thinking of this very soon ...

[acc]

Ya its almost a perfect match. Will post a pic after I have the red concubine tested on the DS mount. Right now, I am still trying out the Meade 90mm OTA. Perfectly clear and dark skies now 8)

[acc]

Used the scope over the past 2 weeks and was quite pleased with the optics. While CA is apparent on the brightest stars, it is well-controlled and not overly distracting. I could achieve about 170x on Saturn without image-breakdown and the cassini division was clearly visible, together with a hint of a couple of cloud bands on the planet itself.

The focuser was smooth, but exhibited a lot of flop when racking in and out; objects in the FOV would dance about wildly while focusing. Otherwise, the construction of the scope is pretty good and vibrations die down with 2-3 seconds after a rap to the tube.

This is a great deal for US$178. The goto mount alone is worth this much. Heck you can't even buy an over-priced TV Starbeam finder for this price. Anyone else getting one?

I have now mounted my WO80FD on this mount. The best part of this arrangement is that I now have tracking capability, and can now concentrate on teasing out subtle details in the image instead of having to constantly nudge the scope when doing high-power planetary work.

cheers
cc

p/s: sold off the OTA and eyepieces liao

[jermng]

STOP TEMPTING ME!

Any pics with the WO on it?

I think I'll place an order for it pretty soon ....

[acc]

Here's a pic with the WO OTA. The WO is heavier but shorter than the Meade, and the mount handles it quite well. Barely perceptible vibrations when focusing at 40x and ok (<2 second dampening time) at 120x. The alt axis has a surprisingly large torque, but I will still be careful to balance the OTA correctly and not mix the use of ultra-light and ultra-heavy eps.

[chrisyeo]

Hi CC,

I didn't know that it is still available. Would I be able to get one? I'm thinking of mounting the etx90 on it, but would it track well enough for some webcam work?

btw, you WO combi looks really good. Can it reach the zenith?

Rgds,
Chris

[acc]

Hello Chris
Plenty are still available at the Meade outlet store. You will have to use vPostUSA. Airconvent wanted to get one through me but couldn't as the box's dimension exceeds USPS's size limit.

The ETX90 OTA is short and light so the mount will work very well. Only issue is that the OTA will be too large for the stock bracket so you will have to fabricate a new one.

Not sure how critical tracking is for webcam work but for your reference, Saturn essentially appears stationary for over 5-10 minutes at 120x. The tracking seems to be much better than my ex-Nexstar5.

For the WO OTA, collisions with the tripod may occur at zenith but the autostar will issue a warning beforehand. The ETX OTA is too short to cause a problem.

[VinSnr]

Hello Chris
Plenty are still available at the Meade outlet store. You will have to use vPostUSA. Airconvent wanted to get one through me but couldn't as the box's dimension exceeds USPS's size limit.

The ETX90 OTA is short and light so the mount will work very well. Only issue is that the OTA will be too large for the stock bracket so you will have to fabricate a new one.

Not sure how critical tracking is for webcam work but for your reference, Saturn essentially appears stationary for over 5-10 minutes at 120x. The tracking seems to be much better than my ex-Nexstar5.

For the WO OTA, collisions with the tripod may occur at zenith but the autostar will issue a warning beforehand. The ETX OTA is too short to cause a problem.

CC, besides your model, there is another goto 90mm refractor, but longer FL. Are they the same except for the OTA?

[acc]

That model has an older-style mount and the stripped-down version of the autostar.