USER OBSERVATIONS Last updated: 15 September 2003

Subject:	ETX90 general feedback
Sent:	Sunday, August 31, 2003 06:12:29
From:	EddieDTS@aol.com
just a little bit of feedback here of my experience with the ETX90ec
uhtc for anyone who maybe is pondering on buying one but isnt sure, i've
had this scope 1 week being new to astronomy, at first reading all you
had to do with train drives and polar alignment etc etc sounded
rediculous but after reading as much as i can especially from the
"mighty etx" book from mike i found loads of vital info which just isnt
coverd by the manual alone, i have finally come to some understanding
about all this setup which after practising numerous times is really
pretty easy but like a lot of people i didnt want to read at first i
just wanted it to do everything it said at push of a button first time,
anyway last night on a clear night i took my scope to a deserted field
with no lights for night and set everything up carefully in equatorial
mode using the superb "high precision" setting and went on a autostar
guided tour, totally amazing, every galaxy or nebula or star cluster i
seeked was centered perfectly after matching with the nearest star
first, i even saw neptune cos i knew how well the scope was performing
that it would be almost dead centre, basically my point is IF you take
time to set everything from finderscope to doing the train drives and
not rushing to polar align etc it will do as it says and find stuff in
high precision, of course i dont get that everynight but thats because
some nights im too impatient to set up properly and want instant
results, but just goes to show it can be done, as far as scope perfroms,
i personally love it, ive found , ok autostar found, fantastic objects
like ring nebula great orion neb, double star clusters in perseus, m81
and m82 galaxies in same fov  and the andromeda and eliptical galaxy in
same fov which is pretty cool,   using just the 26mm eyepiece and a 2x
barlow #126 lens i seperated the double double in lyra, using same but
with #12 yellow filter seen mars in all its glory, polar cap and syrtis
major which with the filter stands out still very small but its very
clear too, skyandtelescope do a nice bit on "which bit is visible" on
there site to confirm what u saw, then to top it all of i saw saturn for
first time using the 26mm and 2x barlow and yellow filter (as meades
eyepiece offer is setback a few weeks so i dont have all my eyepieces
yet) and it was totally amazing, rings stretched right out and there
next to it was titan its biggest moon, what an impressive sight, cant
wait to get my high power eye pieces and look at it again,  so tnx mike
for all the info ive found on your site and book and anyone who's
thinking of buying this scope, get it but just dont expect hubbles pics,
  eddie

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