Meade DS2090 from the Meade factory outlet

Post by **acc** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 1:01 pm

It arrived today! Less than a week after I placed the order. It came double-boxed and very well-packaged, and with a sigh of relief I found there aren't any damaged parts, save for the autostar which has a slight dent just above the LCD. Everything fits together very nicely, and I was mildly surprised at the decent quality of the tripod and mount. There are no loose or rattling parts and the scope damps within 2 seconds after a sharp rap to the OTA. Another surprise is that the Autostar is the version with the full numeric keypad, despite the outlet's claim that it comes with the economized version that has a bare-bones set of keys. The full version is definitely much easier to use when keying in meisser or NGC catalog numbers.

Inserted 8x AA batteries into the built-in battery-holder and held my breath when I turn on the scope. The autorstar slewed the scope in az in a self-test process, and after what seems like a long time, it slewed the scope in alt. Ok, this is good. At least the scope doesn't seem to be Dead-On-Arrival as I have feared. The scope comes with a built-in clock, so it only asks for my postal code and then I am all set! I always find the Autostar software to be better thought-out than the Nexstar's. Of course, the skies are cloudy (for the first time in a week). Oh well. At least a trial alignment indoors seem to indicate the Autostar is finding its way around the sky properly. It sounds just like my ex-ETX90EC, from the way the motor grinds and the way the autostar beeps; brought back fond memories of my initial years in astronomy!

I may bring it with me to Yosemite national park over the weekend for some dark-skies treat. Hopefully the sky clears up soon and I can report back on the GOTO and optical performance.

cheers
cc

Post by **acc** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 1:06 pm

Oh, the scope even come with a compass+bubble-level. Nice touch!

Post by **acc** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 5:39 am

So far so good! The goto is achieving a 100% hit-rate so far, usually placing the objects in the center two-thirds of the FOV using a 20mm 60deg ep. It also consistently put the alignment stars within the FOV of the viewfinder, and many times within the ep as well. Tracking is excellent, maintaing Saturn in the EP fov at 170x for an hour with minimal drift. Extremely impressive for a US$178 scope!

More about the optics next time.

cheers
cc

qu1xs1lv3r · Post by **qu1xs1lv3r** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 8:50 am

where did u get it from?? hehe

Post by **acc** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 9:20 am

I bought it from the Meade's outlet store on ebay. That's where Meade gets rid of their left-over stock. The scope that I received was returned to Meade from Costco, a large retail chain here in the US.

Post by **VinSnr** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 9:32 am

Thanks CC. I always wonder how accurate these scopes are and you have just confirm that they are good.

Hopefully their QC are all consistent

qu1xs1lv3r · Post by **qu1xs1lv3r** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 9:56 am

il be in new jersey soon!! harhar i didnt know costco had scopes!! well i dont notice them when im at costco!

Post by **acc** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 10:14 am

Vincent, I may have lucked out and chance upon a good unit.

Other users on cloudynights report problems with gear slippage on the az axis.

qu1xs1lv3r: Costco sells entry-level GOTOs from Meade or Celestron once in a while, but the prices are usually $250 or more.

jermng · Post by **jermng** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 10:35 am

CC,
Can the OTA be removed and replaced easily? What's the internal diameter of the ring? Sounds like a good option for my Megrez ... hee hee ... Thanks to AirConvent's idea ...

Post by **acc** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:28 am

The tube-ring is of a clam-shell design so it is very easy to remove the OTA. The clam-shell is juz a few mm larger than the diameter of my WO 80mm FD OTA, so a thin layer of rubber padding is all that's required for a snug fit