ETX PREMIER EDITION TECHNICAL TIPS Last updated: 25 July 2005

PE Edition SmartFinder Design Change and Documentation

Sent:	Saturday, July 23, 2005 08:16:53
From:	Robert C. Maples (rcmaples@sbcglobal.net)
Just thought you might want to add this to the SmartFinder information
to (maybe) help avoid some confusion as it appears that the design of
the SmartFinder Lens mounting has been changed, but there is no mention
of it on the Meade website and the documentation currently available on
the Meade site shows only the older version of the documentation.

In early February, Jeffery Butcher sent in some information about the
SmartFinder addendum that was included with his ETX-125PE. The document
he referred to was part number 14-1010-37  ver. 1-05, and if you do a
Google search on "14-1010-37", one of the hyperlinks it will give you is
this one http://www.meade.com/LNT/ETX90PE%20_smartfinder.pdf. I went to
this link because I couldn't figure out what he was referring to in his
message when he referred to the "Lens Locking Knob" and the "Lens
Adjustment Screw". It became clear once I looked at the document and I
was very surprised at what I saw, because the SmartFinder that came with
my ETX-125PE (purchased in early July 2005) does not have the Lens
Locking Knob or the Lens Adjustment Screw on the front of it at all,
even though they are clearly depicted in the document Mr. Butcher
referred to.

The addendum that came with my ETX is part number 14-1010-46  ver. 3-05
and Meade does not have this newer version of the documentation on their
website (at least that I could find). I have attached a scanned pdf file
of this new addendum to this message to maybe include on your website.
The front of my SmartFinder module looks like what appears in Fig. C in
this new documentation. It appears that the effective difference is that
now the SmartFinder lens just snaps into place instead of having the
locking and adjustment screws, with the dimple in the tongue of the
SmartFinder lens fitting snugly onto the post being what holds it
correctly in its place. This would also seem to help the newbie (like
myself) mount the lens correctly as it indicates that the concave side
of the Lens face backwards toward the eyepiece, as the dimple in the
tongue of the lens is on the same side as the concave surface.

Like all of the other new users, I had a little trouble getting the
SmartFinder Lens correctly mounted (it simply snaps into place and you
"know" when it does), but once it is properly in place, it aligns fairly
easily and is actually fairly accurate for what appears to be a low tech
approach by Meade to making sighting and aligning the scope easier.

Again, Thanks for the wealth of information on your Website.

Sincerely,

Robert C. Maples

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