USER OBSERVATIONS Last updated: 3 July 2003

Subject:	ETX105 First Impressions
Sent:	Wednesday, July 2, 2003 15:14:06
From:	rendelius@rpgdot.com (Bernhard "Rendelius" Rems)
after 6 weeks of waiting (during which I used a ETX90), I finally
received my ETX105EC with UHTC and I thought I should give you my
initial impressions.

First of all, I am using this telescope from an urban location with
pretty bad skies. The ETX is used in conjunction with a laptop and
Astroplanner (after a lot of evaluation, I decided to use this software
instead of Deepsky2003). This combination lets me actually SEE a lot of
objects I wouldn't have found without it. When all you see is app. 50
stars with your naked eye, GOTO is a gift from god.

I have calibrated and trained the drive with a lot of care, and my first
impression is that the GOTO is more accurate than it was with the ETX 90
(and that was quite good already).

For first light, I prepared a plan with 190 objects between RA 16 and 18
in Astroplanner. From these 190 objects, I have seen and recorded 25 in
70 minutes. After the initial setup, each and every object was in the
FOV of the 18mm Ultima (37'). The scope performed flawlessly and gave me
great views of some globular clusters, a planetary and a lot of my
favourites: double stars. The optics are excellent, splitting close
doubles is a joy. I have nothing but praise for the overall performance
of the ETX105. The drive is quiet, accurate, and the mechanical quality
is very impressive.

Here's a little advice from me: Most people will find the finder placed
less than convenient. I corrected that problem by simply turning the
eyepiece of the finder to the left, so I have a little space between it
and the main eyepiece for my nose.

Compared to the ETX90, the ETX105 is expensive, but it shows in the
quality of the product. The 105 is much more mature than the ETX90, in
my opinion, it is less of a toy and more of a serious instrument (and
again: the ETX90 is a nice telescope as well). Compared to the Nexstar 4
I used for a day: there is no comparison. The Nexstar 4 might be a good
telescope regarding mechanical stability and optics, but the electronics
are really inferior, in my opinion.

I cannot stress enough how excellent the Astroplanner software is. It is
an extremely convenient way to organize your sessions, to slew the
telescope and to record your observations.

My conclusion: The ETX105 is an excellent scope. Very portable, very
accurate, and excellent optics. It gave me wonderful first 70 minutes,
and it will open the urban sky for me.

  _____  

Best regards,
Bernhard "Rendelius" Rems 

CEO  RPGDot Network 
 http://www.rpgdot.com

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