Reviews - Meade 114EQAR 114mm Telescope 4.5 inch Reflector, Red Dot, Tripod, 2 Eyepieces, 04067 Reviews - ME-TS-04067-1

Author: Krywolf (verified customer) , Casual user, from Wimberley, Texas on Mar 2, 2012
Pros:  Average for the money
Cons:  Missing parts from the manufacturer - terrible response from Meade
Would recommend:  yes

Krywolf wrote:

Upon receiving the item, I was anxious to get this set up for use since I was having visitors to my new home. The night sky here is unbelievable, but we were left to looking through binoculars since all the adjustment knobs were missing with the shipment. It took several phone calls and 3 weeks to finally get the parts from Meade. Since it has been cloudy the past two weeks, I still have not been able to use the telescope. Not the fault of Optics Planet, but Meade support has really missed the mark on this one. I'd buy from Optics Planet again, as they have been great on other products, but if you have product problems that involve Meade, expect some difficulties!

Author: mickensd (verified customer) , Astronomy Hobbyist, from HH, TX on Dec 12, 2011
Pros:  viewing objects
Cons:  excessive play (looseness)
Would recommend:  yes

mickensd wrote:

I understood this t'scope is recommended for novices like myself. Setup was ok, but I found that when the unit was aligned,over a short period of time,it would go out of alignment.The most significant issue was the optical focuser:on cooler nights (30-40 deg.F),the plastic gears on the adjustment knob contracts and slips resulting in not being able to adjust the focus. I would recommend this unit for use in moderate temperatures above 40 deg.F.

Author: newtotheskyguy from Los Angeles, CA on May 5, 2011
Would recommend:  yes

newtotheskyguy wrote:

I recommend only if you are new to telescopes. If you are not, you won't want to bother. This will teach you how to set up an equatorial mount, spot and track objects, and get you familiar with the general process of exploring the sky. I'm not an expert on the technical details yet, but someone close to me who is a telescope nut wasn't impressed with the optics. The eye pieces it came with are junk. Generally speaking, if you've never seen the rings of Saturn for yourself or the deep craters on the moon, you won't regret this purchase. I took it camping and built it for the first time. People from other sites kept wandering over to my site. Took me about an hour and a half to set it up (I'm much faster now) and align it properly. My first telescope was a small dob mount.

Author: slipskid (verified customer) , beginner astronomer, from Columbus, OH on May 13, 2010
Pros:  Good quality for price
Would recommend:  yes

slipskid wrote:

This is a very nice telescope for the price. I recommend for beginners.

Author: Craig Smith (verified customer) , service tech, from South Milwaukee WI on Dec 24, 2009
Pros:  optics/mount
Cons:  various hardware
Would recommend:  yes

Craig Smith wrote:

Most bang for your buck on optic preformance. Had to add bushings to tube clamps as tube was still loose with threads tight all the way. Also would like to replace wing bolt with regular bolt on mount, as loostening wing bolts on axis for hand maneuvering is easy to accidently loosen mount bolt.DVD is a must for learning balencing and aligning to north star.

Author: Craig Smith from South Milwaukee, WI. on Dec 2, 2009
Pros:  optics
Cons:  1 or 2 hardware issues
Would recommend:  yes

Craig Smith wrote:

Optics awesome. Best scope for the money. DVD tutorials a must to understand mount/tracking and balancing the unit. TIP; have the unit aligned sideways so you have the short-throw adjustment for up-down fine tuning, and the other 360 adjustment tracks object across sky. That up/down issue had me baffled for awhile. Two issues with hardware; (1) knobs tightening the bands around tube. As tight as threads allow, bands are not snug around tube, one band has 1/8" of slop. Had to find thick washer bushings to insert to get a bit more clamp-down to the band tightening. (2) the wingbolts to loosen the axis alignment for hand adjustment looks the same as the wingbolt that holds scope to the mount. Loosen the wrong one and the scope will fall to the ground. Should be a hex head bolt for that one. Going to Ace Hardware soon.