Bill from United States, CO Public Profile

I bought this product primarily because it was the only truly portable SC telescope with a double-tine fork mount that I could find. I have not had it long, but so far it has met my expectations. It tracks well, and I slightly prefer the Meade AudioStar system over the Celestron NexStar. Alignment is straightforward -- level the telescope and point it north. The Easy-Align process worked well, with the telescope selecting the two alignment stars. The GPS does not include a compass or any "true-level" sensors; it simply provides date/time and location information. I use my iPhone to find true north, and a bubble level. The tripod is high-quality and heavy duty. I use 8 rechargeable C-batteries, and they seem to work well. I have used Meade email customer support on two occasions, and the answers were prompt and accurate. I purchased the product via Opticsplanet Chat. Ordering was easy, the price was reasonable, and shipping was fast. I received an 8x50 viewfinder, but not the additional red dot Smartfinder mentioned in the product description (I prefer my Telrad anyway). I knocked one star off my rating because:
1. The provided diagonal is average at best.
2. Tripod setup is more complicated than it should be. One would think that extending the tripod legs on a level surface would result in equal distances between the legs. But that is not the case, and you have to adjust the tripod so that the spreader is positioned directly under the tripod head. Without