USER OBSERVATIONS Last updated: 14 May 2005

Subject:	ETX-105 User Report
Sent:	Wednesday, May 11, 2005 14:15:38
From:	rdl (rodelaet@yahoo.com)
I have my 105 for over 10 months now. A technical problem with the
drives occured after 4 weeks. Meade repaired my scope, but it took them
3 months!! Since then, everything runs fine.

The 105 surprises me every night I take it out. I have been inspired by
Stephen James O'Meara's book on the Messier Objects. I don't live under
the perfect Hawaian sky, but the 105 gives me nices images of the
Messier objects. The last weeks, I have made plentifull of scetches. The
autostar is such a help when browsing through the Virgo Cluster. I enjoy
more time scetching and less time searching. I mostly use a 15 mm LER
(yes, I wear glasses) as an optimum between contrast and power. Seeing
and skyglow are mostly average here in Belgium although I glimpsed stars
of mag 12.5 ! Not bad for a little 105 under mediocre skies. I also own
an 8" dob. But since I have the ETX, the dob stays in. Even on weak
galaxies, I prefer the smaller ETX over the dob for several reasons :

1) Portability, you can take the ETX in one hand, and go where you want.

2) Plug and play, key in the object and observe. No stress when an
object gets lost.

3) Comfort, watch several objects in the same region, and you hardly
have to move your seat. Plus the fact that you can look down in the
eyepiece avoids neck pain. And you can keep your hands on pencil and
scetchbook instead of guiding the scope on the object.

4) Optical quality, the images viewed through the ETX are so crisp that
they rule over the pure aperture of my dob. One night with good seeing I
managed to watch the moon at x200 (that is 50x per inch!). Amazing what
views this ETX can handle when the sky allows it.

5) Average skies. I hardly see the advantage of larger aperture under
mediocre skies.

I can only but recommend on choosing for the ETX.

But I also have some advice for others.

1)The focus knob is a mess : when wearing gloves or looking near the
zenith is a pain. Try to replace it with a flexible one.

2)The viewfinder is not bad, but it allways gets in the way with my
nose, try to turn it away.

3)Batteries, It's frustrating getting low on power in the middle of a
session. Try on of those Energy Stations. They go along for weeks
without recharging.

4) A dew cap is a must and it enhances contrast in suburbian regions. I
made one myself of black foil.

5) A support for the Autostar : While scetching, where to put the
Autostar? I use the adhesive velcro tape on the three legs of the base
and on the back of the Autostar. Just push the Autostar on a leg and it
sticks!

Best Regards from Belgium.

Rony De Laet
rodelaet@yahoo.com

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