Meade ETX90EC Telescope w/Electronic Controller

Improvements to this model include a new forkmount with dual-axis drive system. The ETX-90EC also includes hightorque DC motors on both telescope axes, permitting electronicoperation from the hand-held controller. This push-button electroniccontroller has four dual-axis drive speeds: slow, 8x for imagecentering at high power; medium, 32x for image centering at lowerpower or for pushbutton tracking in altazimuth mode; moderate, 0.75degrees per second for image centering in the viewfinder or forterrestrial tracking; and fast, 5 degrees per second for fast scanningacross the sky.

The Meade ETX-90EC is specially designed to beportable and used in the field. It offers cordless operation, allowingyou to use the telescope's dual-axis drive system for more than 40hours on eight AA batteries. At approximately 8 pounds and 15 inchesin length, it packs a lot of power into a compact unit.

TheETX-90EC uses a 90mm Maksutov-Cassegrain optical design, and Meadeactually warranties the optics of the ETX-90EC "to equal or exceed theoptical performance and resolution of any Maksutov optics of similaraperture ever manufactured at any price." The ETX-Series optics offersuperb contrast, image brightness, and resolution; Meade claims thetelescope consistently outperforms many instruments of largerapertures. Meade also uses EMC super multicoatings on all opticalsurfaces to maximize light transmission through the corrector lens andreflectance from the primary and secondary mirrors. The flip-mirrorsystem allows for 90-degree observation of land and sky objects,straight-through observation using the optional #932 45-degreeErecting Prism, or photo-ready imaging using the optional #64T-Adapter and your own 35mm camera.

Overall, the Meade ETX-90EC isa fine piece of craftsmanship at a surprisingly affordable price. Forthose of us who spent our childhood peering through old-style consumertelescopes, using the ETX-90EC is like getting time in the PalomarObservatory. From shifting cloud belts on Saturn to the glowingfilaments of the Orion Nebula, this instrument lets you observe theheavens in extraordinary detail.

It was a thrill to see Saturns rings and view Jupiter. The moon comes through bright and clear. You can see other heavenly objects (even galaxies!) with it. You won't see galaxies and nebula in the same detail as you do in books - but you'll see the dim shading of them in parts of the sky.

It's compact and portable - so you can bring it to the beach, etc. Our neighborhood is way to bright to use it for much night-sky viewing - so portability was a must.

A scope that gave a better view, at the same price, would have been too big. And a better portable would have cost too much. This one was just right for us. If price is not a problem, get a better portable scope. If size is not a constraint, then spend less on a larger scope. Otherwise, this one will do fine.

MUST HAVE ADD ONS: A tripod (see my review there). The computer controller (you'll NEVER find a lot of the night sky objects without one). One or two good night sky books (to help you find cool objects like binary stars and galaxies).

COMPLAINTS: It would be nice for this (and all scopes) to see some pictures of how night-sky objects will really look with it before buying.


A good **portable** scope: Read This   August 27, 2002
Christopher B. Hoehne (Columbus, OH United States)
77 out of 79 found this review helpful

I am the president of a large (300 members) astronomy club in Columbus, Ohio and have looked through thousands of telescopes in my life- including, perhaps, 20 Meade ETX-90s. I find the views of the planets and the moon through the ETX-90 to be consistently good- though not overwhelming. Due to the limited light grasp of this scope, high power views of deep-sky objects (galaxies, star clusters, nebulae) are relatively anemic and uninspiring. However, the scope gives very nice "rich field" (low power) views of the Milky Way and brighter comets.

To explain: More than any other factor, it is the aperture of a telescope that matters. In general, aperture dictates portability, cost, resolution (sharpness) and, most importantly, light gathering ability. A telescope is like a bucket for gathering light; the larger the bucket, the more light it gathers. With its 3 and a half inches (90 millimeters) of aperture, the ETX-90 is not a very large bucket.

Why is this important? Other than the planets, the moon, and the brightest stars, astronomical objects tend to be very faint. Views through a scope of any size will look nothing like astro-photos. Nebulas, star clusters, and galaxies will, instead, appear to the eye as delicate, cottony, wisps of light.

To make these delicate wisps of light more perceptible, most experienced amateur astronomer use scopes with 8 inches of aperture or more. Such a scope will gather 5 times more light than the Meade-ETX 90. What difference does this make? A view of the spectacular M13 globular cluster through an 8 inch scope will reveal dozens of its brightest stars swarming about its "nebulous" center like a swarm of bees. Through the 90 mm of the ETX, one might, under the darkest skies and with a bit of practice, just barely be able to make out that the object is made has stars in it, and is not, in fact, just a fuzzy "nebula".

For this reason, I generally steer first time scope buyers to an inexpensive, but larger aperture, "Dobsonian". Those looking for something more portable I steer toward a nice pair of binoculars.

On the other hand, this scope is exceptionally portable and convenient to use. It does fit a niche. It is the perfect scope for travel or those quick "gotta' look" moments. It's small size means that it cools off quickly, and can be used almost immediately. With its fixed "Maksutov" design, it never needs collimation (mirror adjustment). I've found the computerized GOTO system relatively easy to use, fairly precise, and programmed with more and fainter objects than one can reasonably expect to see with its small aperture. (Recommendation: learn the names of the brightest 20 or so stars in the sky. You will need them as guide stars to align the scope with.) After a few minutes of setup by an experienced user, sought out objects fall within the low power field of view 90 percent of the time. Finally, some skilled star watchers find delight in "bagging" faint, difficult objects with minimal aperture. It's a source of pride for them to be able to say: "I saw Pluto (as an amost imperceptibly faint dot) in my ETX-90!"

NOTE: I have stood next to many first time users of the Meade-ETX and watched them fumble in the dark for hours with the system of computerized menus in the GOTO system that comes with this scope. Learn to use it in the daylight or during the full moon and not while you're cutting into your observing time. In addition, I have one experienced friend whose Meade-ETX 90 simply refused to function properly, but I believe this to be an exception.

The 24 millimeter finder is useless for finding anything but guide stars and the planets. It is difficult to align, and is so small that very little can be seen through it.

I would recommend getting a dew shield in addition to this scope.

The Bottom Line: If your only experience with a telescope is looking through a rickety "department store" refractor, you're liable to be very impressed with this view through a "real scope". If you like to look at the moon, planets, and to surf the star fields of the Milky-way, you will find this scope convenient and enjoyable. However, if you expect glorious views of galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters, either buy a larger aperture scope, or join an astronomy club that owns one.