tmehrkam Loc: Houston,Tx

Saturday I came across an Mead Etx-125 with autostar and tripod for $50. :shock:

I was into Astronomy about 40 years ago. I had a nice 8" reflector on a horrible mount. It did not take me long of getting frustrated with that scope.

I have been wanting a better scope for 40 years but other hobbies got in the way. Hunting, Fishing, Shooting, Model Airplanes, Computers, Photography, Reloading Woman. You get the picture. I could never justify the cost of a better telescope.

I figured for $50 heck why not.

Now I have to figure out how to use this beast. The declination clutch is slipping so I see disassemble and repair in the future. I will likely combine Astronomy with Photography. I need to figure out how to mount my 60D to the scope.

So far I have spent about $100 for essentials. Scope Case, battery, level etc. Going Camping this weekend and if the sky's are clear I will try out my $150 investment.

Hopefully I can get some pointers on mounting the 60D and the care and feeding of the ETX-125. I have being researching things the last week and have discovered some of the issues but not all.

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Oh you are on the road to your demise now.
What is the eyepiece size? (Normally 1.25" )
If so, there is all the paths available to mount your camera.

Here is one:
http://www.amazon.com/Deluxe-Telescope-Camera-Adapter-Canon/dp/B0053ZJW5G

Have a ball with your new scope! :-D

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

That is a really great deal, good luck and welcome to the Astronomy Forum.
Craig

tmehrkam Loc: Houston,Tx

There is a camera port at the back or the scope. Mead makes a T mount tube so I would need a T Mount adapter for my camera and the Mead accessory.

There is a switch to move a mirror which will switch from the eye-peace to the Camera port. You can leave the camera attached. Use the eyepiece. Switch the lever to open the path to the camera. I assume you have to refocus for the camera.

See photo. Camera port is on the back.

tmehrkam Loc: Houston,Tx

The camera port should be prime focus.

Any advantage in eyepiece projection setup. The adapter tube set from Mead is like an extension tube. Two pieces. Using a full frame one tube causes does not fill the sensor vignetting. Two tubes fill the frame of a full frame camera.

1 tube. 1900 mm at F/15
2 tubes 2310 mm at F/18

My camera is not full frame so one tube might fill the frame without vignetting.

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Looks like a Shmitt-Cassgrain Telescope type. (In my very limited experiance)
Prime focus, I'd say yes.
One immediate advantage of a mirror-eyepiece is the image is righted. (At least it is in my refractor scope) So what you see with the naked eye, is the same in the mirrored eyepiece.
Focus, yes, always needs fine tuning.
Do you know what the thread size and pitch is of the prime attachment? It seems mostly it is a 42mm, but no doubt you should be able to get what you need.
Check this out: http://www.telescopeadapters.com/
Scroll down and you will find ETX adapters. Good start!
Some of the fellers here are Mead enthusiasts and might be of more help than me.
I have gotten a 2" extension tube, and a 1.25" extension tube, and I have used both on occasion to attain focus. (One or the other)
One thing that may or may not hinder your endeavors is elevating the scope with a camera rigged off the back. It appears the camera might limit elevation.
If the camera was rigged as an eyepiece configuration, I think you could go straight up if you wanted to.

I have the Orion Imaging Flip Mirror on mine and can flip from eyepiece (or eyepiece camera), to a camera mounted to the rear.
(DSLR or G3c CCD)

The waters can get really deep, really fast. :shock:

Algol Loc: Georgia

Try Oceanside Photo and Telescope, they have the declination repair kit from Peterson's. I just replaced one in a 12 inch Meade LX200 at a cost of $30. They also have all of the t-mounts and adapters plus a very informative staff that will answer all of your questions.

tmehrkam Loc: Houston,Tx

Yes it does limit Elevation. That might be a reason to have the option to mount the camera on the top.

tmehrkam Loc: Houston,Tx

Thank you that looks like a great site.

skylane5sp Loc: Puyallup, WA

$50? Nice find! The OTA is pretty good if it's been taken care of. The ETX mount is the weak link.
Here's a link to everything you ever wanted to know...

http://www.weasner.com/etx/menu.html

(I've had an ETX-90 forever.)

tmehrkam Loc: Houston,Tx

I was doing some research in Meade and was surprised to find the following.

http://www.astronomy.com/news/2013/10/meade-instruments-corp-completes-merger-agreement-with-affiliates-of-ningbo-sunny-electronic-co-ltd

You guys probably know this but Meade was forced to merge with a Chinese company to avoid bankruptcy; This happened in 2013.

Celestron went bankrupt in 1995 and was eventually sold to a company in Taiwan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestron

tmehrkam Loc: Houston,Tx

Weekend trip with ETX-125

I am a little frustrated. The weather did not cooperate this weekend.

1. I could never get a clear view of Polaris and there was a local Magnetic Anomaly. My compass wanted to point anywhere but north.

I was able to get the spotting scope aligned and train the drives. The positioning was repeatable. Hopefully we will get some clear sky's in the near future. But with the topical depression in the Gulf it is not likely.

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

It's Hurrycane Season.
Best viewing would be when the eye blows over. :?

Damn the luck! :roll:

tmehrkam Loc: Houston,Tx

Depending on the storm the eye is over 10 to 20 minutes. You do not get much eye time in a tropical storm.

I am not that fast setting up yet. ;-}

After the eye passes over and the wind shifts that is when all hell breaks loose. Trees snap, Roofs finally fail.

Hopefully all this is is a tropical storm and all we have to worry about is keeping our heads above water. I have my canoe ready just in case.

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

It's classical.
Buy a telescope and the weather will always go bad.
We have clear days for 10 days forward. I have no mount, yet. Nor any sign of it being shipped from Celestron.
Figures.
The day before it arrives I expect it will decide to cloud up. :?

I got real familiar with aiming at chimney caps and pole top insulators during my initial wait period. :hunf: