Reviews - Meade ETX-80 AT-TC-BB Astro Telescope Autostar w/ Light Tripod, Backpack and No Case Reviews - ME-TS-ETX80-0805-04-20

Author: Peter Tos (verified customer) , Sky & Bird watcher, from Oregon on Feb 6, 2012
Pros:  Accurate Go-To, Compact
Cons:  Noisy
Would recommend:  yes

Peter Tos wrote:

This Telescope is the ultimate solution for compact & feature packed entry level telescope. Has a 80mm objective that can show quite an extensive details of messier object with ease. Viewing planets with high contrast, but there is present of chromatic aberation. Go To is quite accurate & has internal battery that can store time. Great deal for the price

Author: lissy65 (verified customer) from Lakeview, OR on Jan 10, 2012
Would recommend:  yes

lissy65 wrote:

An excellent telescope for amateur astronomers.Difficult to use at first but overall good for the price.

Author: Sebastian (verified customer) , Casual Sky & Bird watcher, from Malaysia on Jul 26, 2011
Pros:  Good Optics
Cons:  Tends to vibrate while focusing
Would recommend:  yes

Sebastian wrote:

This scope is great. It has 80mm achromatic refractor which gather decent amount of light. Only problem is the tripod is vibrating a lot while focusing the telescope. Maybe because of the small travel tripod version. Hope this is not an issue with HD tripod. Overall a good scope

Author: BehnZarecky from Bloomington MN on Mar 10, 2011
Would recommend:  yes

BehnZarecky wrote:

the shipping was very fast, carefully packed and clearly marked that it contained something very sensitve. had my telescope up and running the night i recieved it.

Author: BBTraveler (verified customer) , Science Specialist and Amateur Astronomer, from Copiague, NY on Feb 24, 2011
Pros:  Compact, light, nice optics, super value, fun!
Cons:  None
Would recommend:  yes

BBTraveler wrote:

I have had this scope for over two years and it has been so much fun to use. Very nice optics, super light and great accessories. Autostar is wonderful and the instructional videos make it a breeze to get familiar with its features.The wide field of view with the 26mm eyepiece makes "set-up" alignment very easy. Battery life is exceptional. The number of turns on the focusing knob takes a while to get used to when you use the internal flip Barlow. It comes with everything you need to get going though I've added Meade Series 4000 40mm and 6.4mm eyepieces, as well as moon filters. You are not limited to just the moon and planets with this little scope either and the "Tonight's Best" guided tour is a great feature. The scope packs up in the quality backpack beautifully and I have recommended this scope to educational organizations for their Astronomy programs. It also make a great spotting scope.

Author: pijin (verified customer) , New to astronomy. First substantial scope., from Destin, FL on Feb 3, 2011
Pros:  Fairly simple setup, great portability.
Cons:  Design prevent pointing above 80deg. Cheap/poor battery pack design.
Would recommend:  yes

pijin wrote:

Scope presents good magnification and is fairly easy to use. Was able to see Jupiter's moons (as dots). A few drawbacks that could be improved: 1. The supplied 9v (6x1.5AA) battery pack. The connections are recessed and just putting the batteries in did not work. They have to be nudged and rolled in 3 of the seatings. When I first received the scope it took me a voltmeter and 20 minutes to make the battery pack work. 2. The eyepiece on the back of the scope prohibits it from tilting above 80 deg. Although the scope and mountings are compact, I wish the designer had developed a way to provide sufficient clearance for this. So I have to wait a little while for object directly overhead. No biggie, but a nagging irritation. 3. Instructions could be more clear/detailed. Especially regarding the allignment/calibration. 4. A bit noisy. For a scope this price no big surprise, but when tracking it makes CONSTANT noise, instead of adjusting every 5-10 seconds. 5. Focus is ...
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Author: Patrick Nagel (verified customer) , Teacher of multple subjects at an alternative high school., from Ukiah, CA on Mar 26, 2010
Pros:  compact; quick set-up; auto-star
Cons:  focus takes a while
Would recommend:  yes

Patrick Nagel wrote:

I'm a novice, so I really shouldn't be rating this product, but it's easy to set-up and it's compact. I've only used it a couple of times but I like the auto-star feature because I've used other telescopes and couldn't find much of anything by myself.

Author: Steve (verified customer) , Beginner, from Melbourne, Fl on Mar 2, 2009
Pros:  Super Idea & Overall Set-Up & Price
Cons:  Unreasonable expectation for neophyte set-up
Would recommend:  yes

Steve wrote:

I think it is a exceptional idea & overall product but needs improvement in implementation. The autostar alignment began way way off and no finder scope. I want to end on a positive note because I believe the drawbacks can be overcome by a good manual & not over-selling the GOTO features. Super idea & overall price.

Author: NiteLooker (verified customer) , 68 yr old beginner, from Monett, MO on Nov 9, 2008
Pros:  portable, easy to use
Cons:  Leaves you wanting more power
Would recommend:  yes

NiteLooker wrote:

If you want to look across a valley or at the moon, this will do it. If you want a good look beyond the moon, go to a larger scope. I really like the ease of use, but wanted the ETX-75 the second night I used this.

Author: Ken (verified customer) , Beginner, from Suisun City, Ca on Jul 26, 2008
Pros:  Easy to use, Autostar computer keep family interested.
Cons:  Eats batteries,
Would recommend:  yes

Ken wrote:

This telescope is solidly contrusted and is very portable. The instructions are very easy to understand and setting up the Autostar computer is just as easy. Once you are familar with which two stars to align with setup becomes very quick. I realy like the Guided Tours. I live in a mildly light polluted area there are not many stars to get refference as to the location of many deep sky objects but once programed finding the Butterfly Cluster, M22and many more on the Guided tour keep us out for hours. I realy like the automatic tracking because it keeps the object in view when we switch to let other family members take a look. Buy the battery adapters it eats batteries. It packs up nicely in a backpack and does not take up alot of space. This telescope opened up the skys for us and is keepping us interested. For the money this is a good one to start with.