Amazon.com Review

The Meade ETX90EC is a compact telescope with excellent optics, packaged with a sturdy tripod and the remarkable Autostar computer control. Even though I own several telescopes and belong to an Astronomy club, the first night I took out the ETX, it showed me objects I'd never seen before. The ETX90EC is the computerized version of an affordable Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope first introduced by Meade in 1996. Every reviewer since then has commented on the excellent optics. How excellent? When I presented a session on optical testing at my local Astronomy club, I brought my ETX90 so that everyone could see what a "textbook" star test actually looks like.

What can you see with an ETX90? You won't see the flag on the Moon, but you will see sharp, color free views of mountains and valleys, craters, and lava flows. The planets are also a delight. I'll never forget seeing Saturn's rings with my own eyes for the first time. Although you can see the rings of Saturn and the cloud bands of Jupiter with the included 26mm Plossl eyepiece (about 48X magnification), you'll want to increase the magnification to bring out more detail. I find that a magnification of about 100X is ideal on most nights. You can reach 100X by using a Barlow Lens, I like the Celestron Ultima Barlow, or a smaller eyepiece such as the Celestron Omni Series 12.5mm . It's tempting to crank up the power to 200X or more, but on most nights I didn't see any more detail.

The Autostar controller makes it easy to find 30,000 celestial objects.

As good as the optics are, however, the most amazing feature of the ETX90EC is the Autostar computer. The ETX90EC with Autostar was the first computerized "go-to" telescope for under a thousand dollars. While bright objects like the moon are easy to find, the Autostar excels at finding the galaxies and star clusters that make space so fascinating. Maybe it's because I play with computers anyway, but I found the Autostar easy to use. The owners manual instructs you to begin the alignment by pointing the telescope North and tilting the telescope to level. I don't use a compass or a spirit level to do this, I simply point the telescope at the North Star, Polaris, and lower the telescope 44 degrees using the setting circles. This works because my home is near 44 degrees latitude. Don't know which star is Polaris? You'll want some kind of star chart that identifies the stars by name, NightWatch by Terence Dickinson is one of my favorites.

Many of the best galaxies and star clusters were discovered by a French comet hunter named Charles Messier. These so-called "M" objects looked to Messier like comets in the small telescopes of his day. My first night with the ETX, I switched on the "tour" mode. After looking at a few favorites, the cluster M52 came up on the Autostar. I pressed GO TO, and the telescope aimed itself at a cluster I hadn't looked at before. And darned if it didn't look just like a distant comet passing in front of a few small stars! I was so impressed, I bought an ETX for my step-son who works for the Air Force.

It's only fair to warn you, however, that if you find yourself enjoying Astronomy, you may start wanting a bigger telescope! --Jeff Phillips

Pros:

• Excellent optics
• The Autostar computer finds objects and describes them for you
• Small and easily portable

Cons:

• It's small--the only way to see more detail is with a bigger telescope
• When using small eyepieces, you might bump the finder scope with your nose

... Read more

Features

• Includes Autostar controller and deluxe field tripod
• Cordless motor drive for fully automatic tracking
• Equatorial fork mount, flip-mirror system
• Maksutov meniscus corrector lens of Grade-A BK7 optical glass
• Includes a Meade Series 4000 Super Plossl 26 millimeter eyepiece for 48 times magnification

Reviews (3)

Meade Does It Right
The Meade ETX90EC lives up to its billing. It's a high-quality piece of gear that exudes craft and workmanship. The bundled package w/Autostar and Tripod gives you most of what you need. If you have any intent of doing terrestrial viewing, you should consider the 45 degree erecting prism. Also, the package does not come with any power adapters. If you plan to be out for a long evening of star gazing, you will probably want the adapter that lets you plug into a cigarette lighter. I wish Amazon had the UHTC version available, but no luck. Finally, I haven't been able to find the correct T-mount adapter for this scope on Amazon. I do want to use it for photography eventually. The main thing I would say is that this is not a toy, but it is ideal for beginners to intermediate enthusiasts. I've had more fun in just a couple sessions than I've ever had before.

Disappointed in Meade
This was my husband's big present for Christmas, something he has always wanted. While unwrapping and unpacking, he heard a rattle in the spotting scope. Upon investigation, he fished out a broken set screw and discovered that it had sheared off the outside of the spotting scope. Another screw was badly damaged. The eyepiece covers had all been left off when shipping. Also, all the settings were loose and had to be reset. Meade does not have an 800 number and you are put on hold interminably when you try to contact them. All in all, he likes the scope BUT was very disappointed in the quality of the manufacturer and lack of customer service. What a disappointment for Christams day!

Great Telescope
I've only used my telescope a couple times, but it has been great. It takes a little while to get used to it, and I highly recommend reading the manual. Also, Meade has a deal going on that you will probably want to check out (http://www.meade.com/promo.d/plosslpromo.html). You will definitely want to take them up on this offer. ... Read more

Features

• Computer controller to help locate celestial objects
• Great for terrestrial and space viewing
• 2 eye pieces (78x and 28x)
• 700mm focal length
• Aluminum tripod with accessory tray

Features

• Altazimuth mount for smooth movement
• Great for terrestrial and space viewing
• 2 eye pieces (78x and 28x)
• 700mm focal length
• Aluminum tripod with accessory tray

Amazon.com Product Description

Meade finally brings a serious telescope into thecasual-consumer price range. The ETX-90EC Astro offers extraordinaryoptics at an affordable price. It combines a high-resolution opticaldesign and diffraction-limited imaging with microprocessor-controlled,precise celestial-object tracking, all in a nicely styled, highlyportable package.

Improvements to this model include a new forkmount with dual-axis drive system. The ETX-90EC also includes hightorque DC motors on both telescope axes, permitting electronicoperation from the hand-held controller. This push-button electroniccontroller has four dual-axis drive speeds: slow, 8x for imagecentering at high power; medium, 32x for image centering at lowerpower or for pushbutton tracking in altazimuth mode; moderate, 0.75degrees per second for image centering in the viewfinder or forterrestrial tracking; and fast, 5 degrees per second for fast scanningacross the sky.

The Meade ETX-90EC is specially designed to beportable and used in the field. It offers cordless operation, allowingyou to use the telescope's dual-axis drive system for more than 40hours on eight AA batteries. At approximately 8 pounds and 15 inchesin length, it packs a lot of power into a compact unit.

TheETX-90EC uses a 90mm Maksutov-Cassegrain optical design, and Meadeactually warranties the optics of the ETX-90EC "to equal or exceed theoptical performance and resolution of any Maksutov optics of similaraperture ever manufactured at any price." The ETX-Series optics offersuperb contrast, image brightness, and resolution; Meade claims thetelescope consistently outperforms many instruments of largerapertures. Meade also uses EMC super multicoatings on all opticalsurfaces to maximize light transmission through the corrector lens andreflectance from the primary and secondary mirrors. The flip-mirrorsystem allows for 90-degree observation of land and sky objects,straight-through observation using the optional #932 45-degreeErecting Prism, or photo-ready imaging using the optional #64T-Adapter and your own 35mm camera.

Overall, the Meade ETX-90EC isa fine piece of craftsmanship at a surprisingly affordable price. Forthose of us who spent our childhood peering through old-style consumertelescopes, using the ETX-90EC is like getting time in the PalomarObservatory. From shifting cloud belts on Saturn to the glowingfilaments of the Orion Nebula, this instrument lets you observe theheavens in extraordinary detail. ... Read more

Features

• Cordless motor drive for fully automatic tracking
• Equatorial fork mount
• Flip-mirror system
• Maksutov meniscus corrector lens of Grade-A BK7 optical glass
• Includes a Meade Series 4000 Super Plvssl 26 millimeter eyepiece for 48 times magnification

Reviews (31)

Having fun...
I recently purchased this scope and I am pleased with it.

It's a great terresterial scope as well as a very good astro scope.

I would recommend these accessories. lenses - 9.7 Super Plossal, 15 Super Plossal, 2x Barlow, 6.7 UWA auto focuser, field tripod, polarizing filter (look at full moon with contrast), auto-controller is great too.

Buy yourself at least a simple star chart so that you can find the right star to align it by and remember that that 26mm Super Lense (comes with scope)isn't parfocal with any others. So, be prepared to focuse when switching.

The auto focuser is a definite must as hand focusing can move the scope too much at high magnification.

Aviod getting lenses that will take the magnification above 200x. While it will do it... unless you buy the UWA 6.7, the extra magnification won't be worth it.

Avoid all series 3000 lenses as they are just junk except for terresterail views.

That's about it, hope this helps.

Excellent amateur telescope
Although I don't have this telescope, I know that catadioptric telescopes are an excellent type of telescope. Well, this particular catadioptric is an excellent amateur telescope. It provides sharp, clear, crisp images of mostly anything you would want to see. With it is included a Meade Autostar Electronic Controller, which enables you to track celestial objects and move the telescope on both of its axises easily and smoothly, thanks to the built-in motors. Also included is the Meade StarFinder computer software, which has an enormous databank of stars, constellations, nebulae, galaxies, etc. Optionally, you can buy the Meade Autostar #497 Controller, which also has an enormous databank of celestial objects and constellations, the legends behind them, and their coordinates. What's more, you can actually "dial up" a celestial object either by its name or by its coordinates (RA and Dec.). All in one controller, which is sold on Amazon.com also. For more information and more telescopes, email me. I have documents about telescopes and astronomy, including some astronomy terms if you aren't familiar.

There's nothing out there...
Either there's nothing to SEE out there in space or this telescope is ... My brother got it for Christmas (about two weeks ago) and all we have been able to see is the moon and Jupiter. And they are NOTHING like the pictures on the box. With the 26mm eyepiece included, (and I assume that if you're reading my review it means you have researched this product, enough to know that you must purchase many, many other ... accessories just to get this scope working), Jupiter looks about the size of a 12pt. asterisk (*). Buy the $... (Discovery Channel store price) 9.7mm eyepiece, and the $... 2X Barlow, and Jupiter looks about the size of the top of a pencil eraser. Oh WOW. Hmmph! And yes, you can see 3-4 moons around it, tiny tiny white dots. The first five seconds of seeing this are pretty cool. But the novelty wears off quickly.

About the moon-- yes, you can see the craters with some detail (only when the moon is not full) with the 9.7mm and a 2X Barlow. But again, never like the pictures on the box. I feel I have been cheated, I thought things would look like the pics on the telescope manual. Larger and more detailed. More colorful. Neat. If you expected to see tracks or footprints on the moon, this is not the telescope for you. If you want to see galaxies or something extraordinary, get a BOOK or watch the Astronomy Channel. Much better images.

Apart from those two items, I have been unable to see much else. Up close, stars are larger white dots. I have gotten some views of the people in the building opposite mine. That type of excitement, too, wears off fast and you are left with a ~$1,000 investment gathering dust in the broom closet.

As far as performance goes, boohoo. The viewfinder is virtually impossible to align with the eyepiece for more than a couple of hours. And forget it if you've gone out of the city (who can find a distant terrestrial object to focus on a dark lonely night in the countryside?) Once you have it set (satisfactorily, at least), even the tiniest jarr will set everything off and make everyone angry. After 1am the lenses get all dewy and then you can see even less. Even with low magnification the scope vibrates and jitters like crazy. The motor is slow to shift gears, and loud. The batteries don't last more than a couple of days.
SUMMARY- This is a great thing to RENT or BORROW, not own. You see a small circle that might be Jupiter. OK. The moon up closer, OK. It's fantastic for 3 minutes. Then the novelty wears off and you want to see more, and there is nothing more to see. Oh Oh and yes I did shell out more dough and bought the AUTOSTAR. If anyone out there actually got it aligned give me a call. It's FRUSTRATING and time-consuming. The manual is not specific where it should be. Which fork arm above the computer control? I got the electronic eyepiece. Hmmph!
I say try before you buy! And if you already ordered it-- expect NOTHING, so when you see what is to come, you will rejoice. I had sky-high expectations and was deeply disillusioned.

The ETX 90 EC is best little telescope for the Price!
I got it, I like it, and it works fine. If you want a fine little telescope this is the one....

This is a must have Telescope for people new to astromony
I've had my telescope for over six months and wouldn't trade it for anything. This is a great telescope and it is very crispt in the viewing of stars and planets. I love it and for the money it can't be beat. If you are new to astronomy you need this scope. I saw Saturn a few nights ago and saw the rings very clearly. I brought a dew shield and two more eyepieces for it and they helped make the scope even more fantastic. I got a 18 mm wide and 13.3 mm super wide Meade eyepieces. You will also need autostar for a tour of all that is in the sky at night. You can see 14,ooo objects and hundreds more if you download them from the internet with an adapter which cost a few extra dollars more. I bought a deluxe field Meade tripod. You need this one because it keeps the image that you are looking at stable. This is the best telescope you can buy for the money and the best type too. I love my ETX-90 EC and plan on keeping it for the rest of my days of viewing the universe. ... Read more

Features

• Includes an electronic eyepiece that allows you to display telescope views in monochrome on a television screen
• Video output for direct connection to monitors, VCRs, and camcorders
• View and record astronomical and terrestrial images in real time
• Compatible with most "frame grabber" software
• Built-in contrast control adjusts for varying astronomical and terrestrial lighting conditions

Reviews (1)

wow
This is a great telescope it is able to see the moon.I feel no need for any more of these. ... Read more