ETX-125EC USER FEEDBACK Last updated: 31 December 2001

Subject:	Re: Meade ETX-125 and #883 tripod
Sent:	Sunday, December 30, 2001 13:39:22
From:	sherrodc@ipa.net (Clay Sherrod)
To:	Jerod
Hello Jerod and thanks for the nice comments.

I assume you mean mounting the plate directly onto the base and then
using the base flat on a solid surface rather than onto a tripod??

If so, there is little to gain...

However, my first advice in this regard is to TAKE OFF the rubber feet
on the base as the are the #1 source of major - I mean major - vibration
and shakes in the ETX 125.  If you take those off, you will have a MUCH
more solidly mounted scope.

I suspect that the slick surface of the mounting plate would only add to
your problems as the scope would attempt to spin like a record on
whatever surface you placed it.

Of course without the feet, it may scratch furniture if you are not
careful, but for astronomical viewing, it makes all the difference in
the world.  The first step in Supercharging the scopes that come in is
to remove those darned feet!

I hope this helps!

----------------------------------------
P. Clay Sherrod
sherrodc@ipa.net
Arkansas Sky Observatory
www.arksky.org


----- Original Message -----
> Mr. Sherrod,
>
> First, I want to thank you for your many contributions to Mike Weasner's
> Mighty ETX site.  I check in there regularly to see the new modifications
> and improvements for the Meade 'scopes.  I do have a question that
> doesn't seem to have been discussed on Mike's site before.  Would just
> simply mounting the ETX-125 adapter plate to the base of the telescope
> itself, either with Velcro or longer screws going into the base of the
> scope, help things any?  Or would it introduce stability problems?  I
> have read with great interest your plans for mounting the plate to the
> head of the tripod, but I'm looking for a simpler method.  Maybe the
> answer lies in just trying it out, but I'm reluctant to stick a couple of
> big strips of Velcro on my 125 before soliciting your opinion.  Your
> feedback is much appreciated!
>
> Jerod
> Logan, Utah

From:	jerodc@juno.com (Jerod B Chatterton)
Thanks for the quick reply.  What I was proposing was to attach the
mounting plate to the base of the telescope to simplify the process of
mounting the ETX-125 onto the #883 tripod.  I feel this would simplify
things because it's one less thing to hold on to when attaching the 125
to the tripod.  The way it is now, you have to hold the scope with one
hand, hold the plate to the bottom of the scope with the other hand
while trying to line everything up with the head of the tripod.  It
seems like if the plate was already attached to the base of the tripod
with Velcro, you could just take the scope out of the case with both
hands and set it right on the tripod, no third arm necessary.  And you
could leave the little feet on there because they would still fit nicely
in the cutouts on the mounting plate (provided that Meade put the little
feet in the right place to begin with ;-))  That's what I was trying to
propose.
Thanks again!

Jerod Chatterton
Logan, Utah

From:	sherrodc@ipa.net (Clay Sherrod)
Yes Jerod...that would work fine.  I am not sure if Velcro would last
very long, but it might be worth a try.  Whatever you do, don't attach
anything permanent in case you need to get inside the base or plan on
battery operation of course!

Clay Sherrod

Subject:	new etx 125
Sent:	Sunday, December 30, 2001 10:35:44
From:	jd1318@mindspring.com (john donovan)
i recieved a new etx 125 for chrismas. one of the main reasons i chose
this model was because of all the great information and tech support
that is on your site.  the main question i have is about the updated
model with metal bearings on the fork arms.  my scope does not have
these, should i try to exchange my scope for the updated model or is it
nothing to worry about?

Subject:	Vertical Lock Broke
Sent:	Saturday, December 29, 2001 9:47:52
From:	handg@voicenet.com (Gene Salvatore)
I just recently purchased a Meade 125ETX system on eBay. After using the
vertical lock 3-4 times, it actually stripped and came loose.  There
were some plastic pieces that came out of the middle hole where the
brass, knurled horizontal rod is inserted. Is there an easy fix to this
or do I have to go back to the factory?

Thanks much,

Gene Salvatore

Subject:	Incorrectly Placed rubber feet.
Sent:	Friday, December 28, 2001 3:47:06
From:	yak01@btinternet.com (Jake Andreou)
Just to add.

I purchased an ETX-125 in October which also had the feet in the wrong
place.

They were placed over the screw holes (probably to stop people opening
up the scope) instead of in the correct locations marked on the base.

When I removed the feet, I could not reapply them as the adhesive stayed
where it was and I managed to rip one in half.

If you are careful you can reuse the feet with double sided tape or with
a drop of glue in the correct location.

Luckily I had some spare feet from a switch box which were the perfect
size. Or you could buy some from an electronics store.

Jake Andreou
(UK) 

Subject:	New ETX 125 problems
Sent:	Wednesday, December 26, 2001 21:57:20
From:	wayneh7974@earthlink.net ( Wayne Hale)
Purchased a new ETX 125 at a local Discovery store. Found the following
problems that I'm sure others will find also.

Mounting feet on telescope base are incorrectly positioned making it
impossible to use the tripod mounting plate in the manner it was
designed. I checked three brand new scopes at the store and found all
had exactly the same problem. I called the MEAD factory and spoke to one
of the support techs who suggested just pulling the feet off and
reposition onto the smooth circles molded into the base. Unfortunately
the double sided adhesive pads do not lend themselves to being used more
than once. The factory support person offered to send a new set of feet.
After peeling the original feet off, I noticed that the feet had been
installed so as to neatly cover the three phillips head screws that
secure the base assembly. Perhaps a new assembly person thought they
were doing a good thing in covering up the screw heads?

On the first of three scopes I brought home, the front lens cover was so
tight that I unscrewed the dark ring securing the front corrector plate.
By holding the ring and applying steady pressure to the lens cover, it
finally came loose.

The Dec lock was also excessively tight and I was afraid I'd break
something applying enough force to break it loose.

The white foam inserts that hold the OTA assembly were extremely tight
on the first unit. The little warning lable telling you which direction
to move the OTA to remove these pieces should be much more prominent.
From looking at the way the foam is cut, logic would dictate it comes
out the opposite direction than it really does.

The RA lock on all three units have very little motion between off and
lock. Even in the unlocked position, it takes a fair amount of force to
move the OTA in RA. The RA Motor easily moves the OTA even it it is in
what you think should be the unlocked position.

I returned the first unit to the store and exchanged it for a second
unit. Unfortunately the second unit was in worse shape than the first.
In additon to the mounting feet being in the wrong position, one of the
six adjusting screws for the finder scope was bent at about a 30 degree
angle. I did not attempt to straighten the screw. Since the screw is
inside the mounting ring, someone must have accidentaly put their finder
in the ring and bent the screw. The RA Lock was also what I thought to
be excessivly tight. The focus knob was fairly tight and a JMI Motofocus
motor had some problem in moving the focus assembly at slow speeds. I
did not feel the optical performance of this scope was up to par either.

The tripod mounting plate for scope two had numerous scratches
indicating that it had been on a tripod. The store assured me that the
box had been unopened and they considered it to be factory fresh. I
suspect this second unit had been returned sometime in its life and then
returned to stock without being closely inspected. One could hardly miss
the bent finder adjustment screw.

I returned this unit and tried for a third. I must comment that the
staff at the store were very apologetic for my trouble and were very
anxious to make me happy. I took the third unit out of the box in the
store room of the store and inspected the unit for the problems seen in
the first two. Here again, the mounting feet were installed in the wrong
position. The focus knob on this unit was even tigher than on the first
one, the JMI MotoFocus could not move this one at all.

By this time I had read all of the postings on this site regarding
various problems with the 125. I elected to keep the third unit but
immediately contacted Clay Sherrod and made and appointment for his
Supercharge service. I'm waiting for a report from Clay to see what kind
of mechanical and optical problems this third unit may have.

I'm sure more units will surface with the mounting feet incorrectly
installed and hopefully by now someone at the factory has made sure they
are installed correctly. How QA could miss this oversight is somewhat
disturbing as the circles moled into the base are very easy to see.

I'll post the results of Clay's inspection as soon as I receive it.

Forgot to mention that two of my three ETX-125's exhibitied a random
slew in RA while using the Manual hand controller. I've seen several
postings about this problem with the Autostar but mine would randomly
respond to a movement in RA in one direction. After releasing the arrow
key, the unit would pause then the RA motor would start again slewing
the OTA back the opposite direction several degrees, certainly enough to
be noticed.  Units 1 and 3 do the same thing. I didn't even take the
second unit out of the box when I noticed the damaged finder mounting
screw and incorrectly installed base feet.

I also experienced a great deal of difficulty in unplugging the Autostar
from the base unit and the coil cord from the Autostar itself.  I
finally resorted to a thin bladed screwdriver to put a considerable
amount of downward force inside the connector on top of  the latching
lever to get it to release.  The connector on the cord looks ok, suspect
there is a tolerance problem with the female socket itself.

Subject:	125 and rubber feet.--a response.
Sent:	Tuesday, December 25, 2001 15:02:55
From:	dgriff@ciso.com (dgriff)
I too have this same configuration. My first 125 had large feet which
fit into shallow recesses on the base. I replaced my 125 and the second
did not have feet, only felt tabs covering the base screws. The up-side
is that using the tripod and base mount means "Who cares about
orientation. Just line up the holes and go!" There are no feet to align
to the plate.

I will contact Meade about my new ones and I'll put them on if I need
to.

Don Griffith

Subject:	ETX125 rubber feet don't align with slots in mounting plate
Sent:	Sunday, December 23, 2001 18:56:48
From:	bkspero@attglobal.net (Barry Speronello)
I understand that the rubber feet on the base of my brand new ETX125EC
should fit into the slots cut into the circular metal mounting plate
(that came with the 883 tripod) when the scope is mounted on the tripod.
 Mine don't.  I've tried every variation on the orientation of the plate
(both inversion and rotation), and they don't align.  When I mount the
scope on the tripod with the plate, the rubber feet are pressed against
the plate instead of fitting into the slots.  So instead of the scope
base resting solidly against the plate, the scope is free to wiggle as
the rubber feet flex.

I can reduce the amount of flex by tightening the mounting screws and
compressing the rubber feet.  My concern is that with all the stress
concentrated through the feet instead of being spread across the full
flat face of the base, I may crack the plastic of the base near the feet
if I tighten the screws too tightly.  So in addition to the recognized
instability of the '125/883 combination, I have the added problem of a
flexing mount.

I think the rubber feet are located in the wrong places on my scope. 
There are circular depressions molded into the base that are the same
size as the feet, and they line up just fine with the slots in the metal
mounting plate.  I think the rubber feet should have been located in
those depressions.  Instead, one foot is located directly behind the
south mounting screw hole in the base, and the other two feet are
mounted 120 degrees offet from there.

My dealer told me that the location of the feet on my scope is normal
and that there's nothing that should be done unless I take it on myself
to reposition the feet.  But then I might damage the base when I connect
it to the tripod.  Or I might damage the feet removing them.  Or the
adhesive might not hold after it was repositioned.  So I am reluctant to
take matters into my own hands.

Please advise?  Is this arrangement normal and proper?  Would you
operate it this way if the scope were yours?  Are my only options to
either do it myself or return the brand new telescope cross country to
Mead and wait a month to get it back?  Thanks in advance for your help,
and I apologize if this issue is already addressed on your great web
site.  I spent a solid couple of hours looking through the site and
archives before bothering you with this question.  Learned lots, but
didn't find the answer I needed.

Subject:	Re: 125 fork index marks
Sent:	Sunday, December 23, 2001 0:44:04
From:	sherrodc@ipa.net (Clay Sherrod)
Hello Don - 
You are absolutely correct in this.  I have found two additional ETX
125's that both have the right fork arm index as well....so apparently
they have some out there (depending on date made??) with the index on
the "fake" setting circle and some without.

I am notifying Mike Weasner of this as for the present time, I think we
can expect to see others with the index mark, but WITH the new
mountings.

You are also correct in that removing the setting circle and clamping
knob WILL reveal a new metal trunion extension and bearing clearly
visible immediately upon removal; this steel will NOT be seen in older
models.

Clay Sherrod
----------------------------------------
P. Clay Sherrod
- sherrodc@ipa.net
Arkansas Sky Observatory
www.arksky.org

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  RE: Your article on the newer production ETX-125EC's having only one
  index mark.

  Just checked my 125EC forks for the index mark for the setting circle
  and its naked twin. Both arms have the index, but removing the dec
  clamp and the setting circle clamp reveal metal bearings. Are there
  other bearings to which you refer that are hidden farther to the
  inside of the axle and outer bearings? Perhaps there was an
  intermediate production run where both arm and bearing conditions
  existed at the same time. JPG image of my forks available if there is
  a question.

  Any other changes made on newer 125"s that I may look for on mine??

  Sincerely,

  Don

Subject:	ETX-125 Mechanicals vs. Serial Number
Sent:	Thursday, December 20, 2001 6:07:37
From:	sherrodc@ipa.net (Clay Sherrod)
All of the newly-fitted Meade 125's were produced AFTER September 10,
2001, and that date code is on the outer shipping box.  However, there
are some with new dates than that which still have the old
configuration.

Short of taking apart the fork arms to look for metal bearings (they are
quite obvious), there is ONLY one way in which you can quickly spot a
NEW ETX 125 over an older one.

In order to accommodate the new bearings metal reinforcement, the 125
had to have new castings made for the fork arms.  OLD models had  a
"setting circle indicator arrow" (pointer) on both fork arms, even the
right one which was a "dummy" setting circle.  NEW ETX 125s do NOT have
the arrow pointing to the fake setting circle on the RIGHT fork arm, or
the one with no actual numbers on it!

If it has a pointer for the fake circle molded into the plastic...that
is an OLD telescope!

Clay
---------------------------------------
P. Clay Sherrod - sherrodc@ipa.net
Arkansas Sky Observatory
www.arksky.org

Subject:	RE: RE: Meade EXT 125 Problems
Sent:	Friday, December 14, 2001 17:54:50
From:	john_clendinneng@videotron.ca (John Clendinneng)
Hi Mike,  I sent my EXT125 back for replacement.   I received it today
and it is also defective.

The focus nob turns but does not focus. the rod does not move outward or
inward (feels very loose), is this something I can fix or should I send
this one back to.

Regards, John Clendinneng
Montreal, Quebec

And:

The set screw is firmly set, so I would have to say that it disconnected
from the mirror.

And this tip:

I had something else to add, I made a small 0 dollar modification to my
deluxe 833 tripod that may reduce the vibration considerably.

I removed the tripod head by removing the 12 screws that attach it to
the struts and I then filled the struts up with sand just below the
screw holes. I then remounted the tripod head and checked for sand
leakage.  There was none,  I then filled the tripod legs with sand by
removing the bolts that hold the feet on.

The result is a tripod that weighs 25 pounds and one I think will absorb
vibrations very well due to the fact that sand is very good at absorbing
vibrations.

I have not had a chance to try my tripod as yet due to my earlier
reported problem but I will provide you with the results when I receive
a telescope that works.

Regards, John Clendinneng
Montreal, Quebec

P.S.   I got this idea from a friend who filled the legs of his patio
table with sand to stop it from blowing away on windy days.

Subject:	ETX Battery Power Failure Question
Sent:	Thursday, December 13, 2001 15:21:31
From:	MCB1@aol.com
I've got an ETX125 trouble shooting question that perhaps you might have
information on, or if you could steer me to someone who might.  I called
Meade, and as usual they were very pleasant, but they weren't able to
actually help me.  They suggested bringing the telescope in for service,
which means it would be out of service for 3 to 4 weeks judging by past
experience.  Apparently Meade's service capability for the ETX125 is in
Mexico, where the scopes are built.

The internal AA battery power for my ETX has died.  The telescope still
works fine with an external battery or the AC adapter, using the 12Volt
input jack.  However, when I use only the AA batteries and put the slide
switch in the "On" position the red LED on the telescope's control panel
does not come on and the AutoStar does not get any power.  Do you know
of other people who might have had this problem?

I checked all the usual things - batteries, loose connections inside the
telescope base, etc.  The voltage is getting from the AA batteries to
the slide switch, and through the slide switch, but the ground signal
(the black wire from the internal AA battery compartment) is not making
a complete circuit with the positive voltage (the red wire.)  The
problem is on the small circuit board (Meade part number 15-6305-00 Rev
B) that attaches to the connectors on the control panel.  Only one side
of this circuit board is visible and accessible, and I can't see if
there are any active components on the other side.  I used a digital
meter to check out the connections, and I can see that the problem is
that the ground from the internal AA battery compartment isn't
completing the circuit.  I was wondering if you might suggest where I
might get a schematic, or if there is someone in Southern California who
can service the ETX125.

Thanks for any help you might offer with this.

Mike Bertin

From:	sherrodc@ipa.net (Clay Sherrod)
Short of taking it upon yourself to rebuild the circuit board there is
little that can be done, except send the scope in to Meade.  You cannot
buy just the control panel circuit board as Meade will not sell them,
even if you are highly competent enough to replace yourself.

There are a bunch of "bad" control boards out there right now, but this
is the first I have heard of this symptom....I trust when going back to
battery power you ARE remembering to remove the AC power plug from the
jack on the front of the control panel?  Leaving in would give you the
SAME results you are seeing.  In addition, I would highly suggest that
you take a toothpick and probe the tension-spring contact that engages
with the AC plug when in use; many times that will become stuck in a
position as to deactivate the circuitry through the battery, even with
the plug removed as it should be.

Normally I keep spare control panel circuit boards and others, but the
demand for the control panel board has eaten my supply away completely
and I am likely not to get anymore for some time.

I would certainly suggest you check the adapter contact spring to make
sure it is not stuck in the default position for the AC plug to be
inserted....happens all the time.

P. Clay Sherrod - sherrodc@ipa.net
Arkansas Sky Observatory
www.arksky.org

Subject:	Meade EXT 125 focusing
Sent:	Wednesday, December 12, 2001 16:24:26
From:	cfreed2@bellsouth.net (Charlie Freed)
I added the electric focus to my EXT-125, and the results were fantastic
- no vibration and several focus speeds.

Charlie Freed

Subject:	ETX 125 EC
Sent:	Monday, December 10, 2001 13:31:45
From:	Don.Spain@iccnet.com (Spain, Don (InPeake))
Got this scope at a bankruptcy sale for $100. It was a demo unit and was
marked as the right and left drive did not work. I bought it for the OTA
and mounted in on a German equatorial mount. Optically it is great. The
large central obstruction is a minor drawback and planetary detail is a
little less shape than I would like, but the Cassini division in
Saturn's rings is easy, the double double is difficult but fairly easy
under good seeing conditions. The moon (my favorite object) is
fantastic. I live in a suburban location so deep sky observing is pretty
much out, but saw many M objects this fall and even under the poor
conditions they are easy objects.

I checked the mount later and found a piece of plastic in a gear. After
removal the drive worked just find. (I will say that the gears are not
the best quality, they are plastic and the overall construction leaves
something to be desired.) In any case I put the telescope back on the
fork mount and tried it out. With accurate polar alinement it worked
fine. Even with a 4mm eyepiece the star or planet held steady in the
field of view for several minutes. It took only very minor tweeking with
the hand controller to bring it back into the center of the field of
view. I don't have the autostar and the little 6X23 finder is not much
to work with. However, saying that, I did locate Uranus and Neptune in
it and in the main telescope Uranus was a pale green disk almost 4
seconds across. Neptune was seen as a small blue disk, about 2 seconds
across at 475X. I made a wedge of plywood for my latitude and now mount
the scope on it. The space inside the wedge is great for eyepieces,
books, maps, flashlight. If you like I could send a picture of this
homemade wedge. It works great. I set the wedge on an small table
outside and have had no problems with vibrations.

Overall the opticals of the scope are fine. I wish Meade had used better
components in the mount though. I love the 40 hours I get out of the 10
double AA batteries it takes to run this scope. If you like a relatively
lightweight scope, easy to set up and observe, this scope will serve you
well.
                    
                     Don Spain
                     tiphiid@yahoo.com

Subject:	Meade EXT 125 Problems
Sent:	Sunday, December 9, 2001 17:12:21
From:	john_clendinneng@videotron.ca (John Clendinneng)
Great web page.  I was hoping you could help me out with a couple of
issues that I have encountered with my EXT.

I recently purchased a Meade EXT 125 telescope with the autostar
controller and deluxe field tripod 883 and have experience certain
problems at least I think they are.

1) The R.A lock does not seem to do anything. What I mean by that, is
that when the lock is in the off position (to the right from the rear of
the telescope) it still feels locked.  I also performed a test with the
lock in the off position using the hand controller, I slewed the
telescope horizontally and held the telescope back with my finger. The
telescope motor started forcing.  Am I correct in assuming that the
motor should not be engaged in the off position.

2) I set up my telescope in my back yard on the grass using the 883
field tripod and plate assembly. (the rubber feet on the base of the
scope were removed and all controls on the tripod were firmly tightened)
Using the standard hand controller I put Saturn into view. So my
question is this, when using the standard 26mm eyepiece (73X)is it
normal to get a jiggle when attempting to focus.  No matter how lightly
I touch the focus knob it jiggled making fine tuning difficult, is this
normal?  I was expecting jiggles at 200X plus but not at 73X.

In closing I am not to pleased with this telescope I was expecting more.
The autostar works just fine, every object appears pretty much centered
in the scope. Other issue I've had with this scope, the 825 right angle
finder was defective, its being replaced as we speak and the icing on
the cake there was a rattling sound in the base I noticed when putting
the telescope away after it's second use.  I managed to remove a piece
of blue plastic and a 5mm machine screw from the inside of the base. I
accomplished this by removing the batteries and inverting the scope
about 15 times.

I have had this telescope for 7 Days now and I have a choice to make get
the ext125 replaced or get a Celestar8 my final decision will rest on
the focus knob issue. I love the Autostar system but I don't feel I can
live with such an unstable telescope.

I am Just the recipient of a lemon, any feedback would be Greatly
Appreciated

Regards John Clendinneng
Montreal, Quebec
Canada
1-514-425-0427

And:

In answer to your questions regarding my problems. The R.A lock will
only move half way to full lock position, as for the tripod, the legs
were totally unextended and placed on the lawn when I performed my test.

I did another test with the tripod that I failed to mention.  I taped
the tripod and observed the vibration that was caused. The result I
deemed acceptable but when I tapped the telescope it created a much
larger and pronounced vibration.

Thank you very much for the info I'll try a close pin Tomorrow evening
and let you know.

Your help is Greatly appreciated

Subject:	ETX 125 Rear Port Loose Cap Problem
Sent:	Friday, December 7, 2001 8:35:35
From:	berg@ans.net (Kevin Berg)
For anyone affected by the loose cap on the rear port and the
consideration of glueing it in place using locktite, you may want to
think again. I would strongly take Clay's advice and just leave it
alone. Why? Because even though you may never use a camera, remember
that the nifty 45 degree erecting prism also uses that port for some
awesome terrestrial observations, if you are ever so inclined.

Kevin

Subject:	ETX 125 
Sent:	Wednesday, December 5, 2001 21:18:09
From:	RotunnoRon@aol.com
I've had my ETX 125 for about 6 months (it seems to work fine based on
my skill level) but I do have one question. At the rear of the tube
where the cap goes for where you would attach the camera adapter, I
noticed that the fitting that the cap goes onto (between the cap and the
tube itself) does not tighten into the tube. while its not really loose,
it's not really tight either. Do I have a problem or is this just
something I never noticed before?

Best Regards,
Ron R

From:	sherrodc@ipa.net (Clay Sherrod)
I am seeing an awful lot of these lately....a bunch.  I would suggest
that if the user is NOT going to be using a camera off the end of it to
leave it alone.  Unfortunately there is no sleeve nor jam nut on the
other side of this unit....it merely self-threads into the read housing
of the scope and if loose there is only one way to tighten, short of
sending the scope back for replacement or repair....GLUE.

Red Locktite (not any other color) will take care of it, BUT, I do not
recommending repairing unless the scope is out of warranty or if the
person actually needs to use that rear port.  All one must do is to
carefully apply very sparingly, several drops that are allowed to
penetrate into the tiny seam made by the internal (threaded) fitting)
against the plastic OTA back. This red Locktite will get in there and
seal those threads and take that problem away.

You MUST be very careful to no get the Locktite on the external threads
and for this reason I do not recommend this unless necessary; also never
use so much of this that it can actually penetrate so deep that the
liquid will come out the other side.  One drop is all it takes, and I
always apply about every 30 degrees around the unit until completely
done around the circle.

It is not that difficult to do.....but if you are not going to use the
port, I would say "just stay away from it!"

Clay Sherrod
P. Clay Sherrod - sherrodc@ipa.net
Arkansas Sky Observatory
www.arksky.org

Subject:	ETX125 vs. LXD55 10" Schmidt-Newtonian
Sent:	Tuesday, December 4, 2001 11:56:54
From:	TArman@rational.com (Arman, Tom)
Hi, I have borrowed and used both a ETX90 and an ETX125 and love them
both. However, for the same or less money as the ETX125, I can get the
new LXD55 10" f/4 Schmidt-Newtonian, both with Autostar and tripod.  Any
thoughts as to pluses and minuses of such a choice.

Thank you. 

 Tom

Thomas D. Arman
Manager of Software Development
Rational Software

Subject:	Greeting from Bratislava, Slovakia
Sent:	Tuesday, December 4, 2001 11:12:28
From:	kvetoz@netax.sk (Kvetoslav F. Zavodsky)
Dear Mr. Weasner! (Excuse me, if you find in Your name some mish-mash).

1./ I dont know, where are you staying, but if we can speaking German,
itll be a little easier for me. Please let me know, where are you
staying. My place Bratislava is 80 km from Vienna.

2./ As I allready wrote you, my experiences with the MEADE ETX 125 EC
with AutoStar are limited for the first month only, but with the MEADE
LX 10 and ETX 90 RA I was working for the late two Years. In comparison
with LX 10, the ETX 125 EC is so far to mechanical construction of ETX
125 EC - very weak, almost as a toy for children. I  have a problem to
tight the RA and DEC for a practical use with the AutoStar: The tubus of
the ETX is "falling on the nose" although the DEC screw is very tight.
The same problem with the RA: The Autostar, after a few moves from East
side to another object on the West side - cannot find again the object,
which was found as a first object. The ETX 90 RA has much better holding
in both axes. I wonder, why the producer MEADE (in other way very good
telescope) had for the ETX 125 EC made worse mechanical construction as
for the ETX 90 RA.

3./ I have adapted a WEB camera to this telescope and Im surprised with
the quality of the moon-photos. Thanks for your informaions, Ing. F.
Zavodsky, Bratislava

And:

Thanks for your advices Mr. Weasner !
1./ My ETX 125EC is is a new one and it is indeed in Warranty yet, but
MEADE limited Warranty is no help for the customer in my case: My
delivery and service place is 900 km away from me (in other state -
Germany) and MEADE Europe is that opinion, that I am ought to sent it
per post (perheps for a month) for Warranty service. They are not ready
to change it for a new one. Thanks for such a warranty! I am not ready
to let it for a month in other country, because of that time I have no
scope and no money too... As you see, I must find out my own help for my
problems in your "Mighty ETX 125EC site". Perhaps I find there some good
advice how can I better brake the RA and DEC too.

2./ I sent you a picture of my telescope polar/alt.-az.mount (speciall
made alike the MEADE LX 10). Because of my not the best experiences on
the sky object identifikation I mounted on the tubus of the ETX a
gun-wiever, which let me see the place around the searching object in
life-really position.

Thanks - Ing. F. Zavodsky, Bratislava

Subject:	Greeting
Sent:	Monday, December 3, 2001 10:33:31
From:	kvetoz@netax.sk (Kvetoslav F. Zavodsky)
Im a newcommer to MEADE ETX 125EC together with AutoStar and SW Starry
Night. I hade before the MEADE LX 10 an the ETX 90 RA too, and I see a
few problems with a brake of the RA and DEC stability. What can I do
with the free state of that? Please, help me if you know: 
ng. F.Zavodsky, Bratislava,Slovakia

Subject:	ETX 125 Vertical Axis
Sent:	Sunday, December 2, 2001 16:47:11
From:	jaidev@ihug.co.nz (Jaidev)
Hi, I have a ETX125 which is about 3 months old, recently I have noticed
when using the scope and it is targeting a object, sometimes when it
lews up (the vertical axis) the tube stops moving, but the motors keep
whirring, like its trying to still slew up but cant??  This also happens
when Im manually, trying it with the autostar hand controller.

Cheers,
__________________________________________ 
Jaidev Patel 

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