HOT!! Buy a Meade Telescope and Recieve $650 worth of eyepieces for only $99!!

[yhelothar]

Meade's 30th anniversary promo
buy any of the ETX 90 or higher models
LXD55 models
or LX90 LX200 models, to be eligible for this deal

you get the entire Meade Super Plössl eyepiece set including the
SP6.4mm
SP9.7mm
SP12.4mm
SP15mm
SP20mm
SP32mm
SP40mm

the 6.4-20mm is worth $79.95 each if bought seperately and the 32 and 40mm are worth 99.95 if bought seperately..
and you get a foam fitted aluminum case for all of the eyepieces, worth $50

I personally owned the 6.4mm for my celestron dob, and it was great.. though the eye relief could have been better.. but still a good deal! The quality was comparable to televue plössls..

you can possibly get the ETX90, which costs $4999EDIT: including autostar and deluxe field tripod), and sell the eyepieces except two if your favorite ones, for $450 on ebay
then you get the excellent telescope with $199.95 deluxe field tripod and $149 autostar controller, and two great eyepieces worth a total of $1050 for just $50
SAVE 1 grand!!

 

[Jimmy]

Thanks for the heads-up. My boss just bought a Meade for his wife for Christmas. Maybe he can chaulk up a few bonus points by getting her some nice lenses.

Jim R.

 

[fyrgoose]

Meade ETX90EC w/ Autostar Controller (497) and Tripod (884) found this at Amazon.com

Going for 499.99, For a limited time, you can get a free Autostar computer controller and deluxe field tripod with this ETX-90EC--a value of $349.

Then spend the 99 on the eyepieces worth 650, guess you could keep them all, or sell them on ebay, sounds like a good deal to me, but I don't know anything about telescopes.

Man this would make a sweet present for my Dad though, he's been talking about wanting a telescope for a few years now.

found this scope going for 650 on ebay right here


--

According to the site given, Meade's 30th anniversary promo .

Buy any qualifying Meade telescope from an authorized Meade dealer in the U.S.A. between August 1, 2002 and April 30, 2003.

The ETX-90EC qualifies. And according to Meade Amazon.com is an authorized internet dealer. Authorized Meade Dealer

So way I see it, you can buy it at amazon.com and you qualify for the promo. And I was showing the ebay auction, just to show what some person is crazy enough to bid on it.

 

[vegetation]

Some stores are offering the autostar ($99 value) and a tripod for the ETX-90EC and some other models as well. I imagine the eyepiece deal is a separate offer and thus combineable.

 

[SoylentGreen]

Originally posted by: fyrgoose
Meade ETX90EC w/ Autostar Controller (497) and Tripod (884) found this at Amazon.com

Going for 499.99, For a limited time, you can get a free Autostar computer controller and deluxe field tripod with this ETX-90EC--a value of $349.

Then spend the 99 on the eyepieces worth 650, guess you could keep them all, or sell them on ebay, sounds like a good deal to me, but I don't know anything about telescopes.

Man this would make a sweet present for my Dad though, he's been talking about wanting a telescope for a few years now.

found this scope going for 650 on ebay right here

Oh wow oh wow oh wow. That's an awesome deal.

I don't see that you can apply for the 99 buck plossl set with that.

I have 4 tele-vue plossls.

Oh boy oh boy. I want to buy it. I want to buy it, but I have two telescopes already.

Maybe I can sell one. Oh boy oh boy.

 

[yhelothar]

well according to my sky&telescope magazine, it says..
Fax or mail a copy of your dealer's invoice, plus the completed warranty card packed with the telescope, along with your payment of $99 to Meade Instruments/Atten: Customer Service, and request the "$99 Eyepiece Offer"(California residents must add $7.67 sales tax)

3. We will ship your eyepiece package to you within 30 days of our receipt of your request. Meade Instruments will pay for all shipping and insurance charges; safe arrival is guaranteed.

looks good

 

[yhelothar]

guess not a lot of star freaks here

 

[AlanS]

Actually the best deal (cheapest) would be to get the ETX 90 (standard coatings) from Berger Bros. I don't think they charge alot for shipping. They are an authorized retailer making you eligible for the eyepiece offer. They include the tripod and autostar free. I think they've been around for awhile but I haven't bought from them before. They should be OK. They also have the ETX 125 for $700 but I would get the ones with high contrast coatings. They probably add the equivalent to an extra inch to overall performance.

 

[SoylentGreen]

Originally posted by: AlanS
Actually the best deal (cheapest) would be to get the ETX 90 (standard coatings) from Berger Bros. I don't think they charge alot for shipping. They are an authorized retailer making you eligible for the eyepiece offer. They include the tripod and autostar free. I think they've been around for awhile but I haven't bought from them before. They should be OK. They also have the ETX 125 for $700 but I would get the ones with high contrast coatings. They probably add the equivalent to an extra inch to overall performance.

Wow, that's within driving distance. No shipping but tax.

Aww crap!

 

[de8212]

i bought the lx90 w/uhtc for my dad in feb. I called meade at the time of purchase and they told me the eyepieces were on backorder.

PLease post to this thread when you get yours.

thanks.
de

 

[fyrgoose]

Wow, at berger bros, comes to $412 something with shipping for me, that beats the heck out of amazon.com. Now I'm really debating wether I should buy this or not.

 

[durracell]

I called Berger and they had no 90ec's in stock.

 

[Murf300]

Look out, I have a friend who tried to take advantage of this offer and for some reason paid by check. He has been waiting over 2 months and has not received his eyepieces. He keeps calling, and they keep giving him a different story. One time the order was being processed and shipped, and the next time it will be two weeks. Shoulda used a credit card!!

 

[LotusNotesGuy]

Actually the best deal (cheapest) would be to get the ETX 90 (standard coatings) from Berger Bros. I don't think they charge alot for shipping. They are an authorized retailer making you eligible for the eyepiece offer. They include the tripod and autostar free. I think they've been around for awhile but I haven't bought from them before. They should be OK. They also have the ETX 125 for $700 but I would get the ones with high contrast coatings. They probably add the equivalent to an extra inch to overall performance.

Alan S:

I want to buy one, its my first scope though I have been a sci and astronomy fan for years and read books on it at night to fall asleep.

two question:

I found the scopes with the high contrast coatings. looks like the 125 is around 899$.

Also does this scope include the ability to lock in and search and find specifc items, it looks like does once it is aligned.

Some people recommend home made scopes for more /bigger view/optics, but it sounds like the optics, tripod and computer maket this worthwhile. How about the electronic focusing motot? Anyone have the downside on these meade scopes or a brand/model to contrast them to?


Whats your opnion of the detail and the colors in what you see?

I am looking at the 2 you mentioned, since I want detail and to be able see alot of items far out there the larger model sounds like the better investment.
thanks much

 

[yhelothar]

the high transmission coatings are definately worth the money.. i'd pay the extra $100 to get them.. hell you are getting eyepieces that are worth $100 a piece that has ultra high transmission coatings...

i think without the light transmission is like 85%, and with it's like 98%... around there...
amazon's deal is better

except by the time they ship it to you, the deal is over(unless you pay super premium for their fast shipping, they will take like a month for the standard)
large model would be better.. but you'd have to sacrafice a small bit of portability... plus many of us lives in urban areas where the sky is almost red from the light pollution..
i would DEFINATELY pay the extra if i lived in a light pollution free area.. though for astronomy, bigger telescope in light polluted area will just wash out stuff even more...
well you can say the bigger the telescope, the higher the resolution too, but the air where i live is soo bad, you can't see any higher resolution than you can see with a 30mm telescope.. seriously, when i looked at sirius with my 8" dob, that thing was like 5 colors and was twinkling so hard.. didn't look anywhere close to a star...

i guess if you were gonna look at terrestrial, a bigger telescope could see a lot more at night.. with my 8" telescope, i could look into people's houses 3 miles away i could see them doing their family things.. almost like a sitcom.. having dinner, wife goes to wash the dishes, dad reads the mail, kids go in their room... bah you could say it's wrong , but i didn't see anything private anyways ..

de: LX90 looks nice!! did you take any astrophotos yet? such a good mount sould be put to good use!

 

[Cybordolphin]

You guys know you can build your own 8"-10" Newtonian with a Dobsonian mount for around $400.00 - $500.00.

Not as sexy... but you will be amazed at what you can see with a large aperture scope. I'm currently building a 21" similar to an "Obsession, but the mirror alone weighs almost 300 lbs... , and I have to use a step ladder to see through the eyepiece..... but hey.

They are much more expensive to build when you get above 10".

An 8" - 10" Newtonian with Dobsonian mount will give you a really super scope, that will blow away most smaller aperture "sexy" scopes out there. And you can even get "go to" drives for them now.

Here is an Obsession:
20" Obsession

Oh..... one more thing... if you are going to go with one of the Meades with the "go to" computer, etc., pay the extra for the ETX125. If you find one, the aperture difference is supposed to be very worth the extra $$. Also be careful that you don't end up with one of the "table top" versions that don't accept the "go to" computer. They look almost exactly alike.

 

[yhelothar]

the old versions are discontinued...

though there's some places still selling them, there was this period of time where a lot of retailers were accepting trades...

dobs are too big to be good.. they weigh too damn much.. i almost never got to take it anywhere because it was too big..

with the ETX, you can carry that anywhere with ease..

btw nice price for the 20"

well read my post.. i explained the disadvantages of having the larger aperture..
some people like me doesn't benefit from it at all...

 

[Cybordolphin]

Lol... yeah.... not if you are going to use it to spy on peeps I spose. We used to do that in Hawaii from highrise to highrise. IT was funny cause you would inevitably find someone looking right back at you through their scope!

Sure is an awsome deal on the eyepieces!

 

[yhelothar]

damn i miss my telescope now.. i still remember seeing saturn and jupiter for the first time... it was pretty cool! but those were the only thing is can see in my area...

i ended up selling my 8" dob to get my comp..

 

[vtqanh]

The eyepiece set wouldn't make it to $450, i just did a search, and I think it would be aroung $200-$300. I have some questions though (silly ones, since i just started taking astronomy this semester and i love it!) If you were gonna keep 1-2 of the eyepieces, which pieces do you recommend?

 

[AlanS]

Vtqanh,
As to eyepieces, you just want a variety of magnifications. You don't really need them all. Keep the 6.4mm, 15mm, the 26mm comes with the scope and keep the 40mm. Sell the rest. That should be enough. Should give you enough magnifications to work with.

Lotusnotesguy,
Kind of alot of questions.
>> found the scopes with the high contrast coatings. looks like the 125 is around 899$

yes, that would be the best one of the ETX's. Least portable.

>>Also does this scope include the ability to lock in and search and find specifc items, it looks like does once it is aligned.<<

Yes these all come with the free autostar to find objects for you. Seeing them is something else (more below).

>>Some people recommend home made scopes for more /bigger view/optics, but it sounds like the optics, tripod and computer maket this worthwhile. <<

I'm in that camp. Bigger is better. This is a good "deal" for this scope but that's not to say the same money on another scope wouldn't allow you to see more. These are popular for their portability and the ability to find objects for you. You won't see as much with the same money spent on a different scope though. Larger scopes give better views.

>>How about the electronic focusing motot?<<

It's a good touch if you want to spend the money. Basically the scope shakes when focusing by hand making it a little more difficult to focus. You can live without it though. You can always buy it later.

>>Whats your opnion of the detail and the colors in what you see?<<

OK, here we go. You won't see much. Forget those hubble pictures. Dark adapted eyes are very insensitive to colors. Other than the planets (3 of which show any detail, plus earth), you hardly see any color. Most objects are whitish blobs. It's one of those things you just have to like.

I side with cybordolphin in the dabate. Bigger is absolutely better. The only real justification for these is portability. In two ways, getting far from the city to find dark skies (at least 100 miles from a major city, less from a smaller one). Or just setting up in your yard for a quick view. They're lighter and easier to deal with.

I'm only looking at these at all because of the free stuff and it's a "deal". I have the ETX 90 which I only bought for a trip to New Zealand. Couldn't take a big one on the plane. I wouldn't have bought it otherwise.

As an example of what else you could get.
8 inch scope

This is by the same company (meade) for about the same money. It also can be used with the autostar to find objects. Yet at 8 inches you'll see alot more than with the 5 inch ETX. As you can see what you give up is lightweight and portability.

 

[vtqanh]

AlanS, so the point of buying these telescopes is just to see the planets in the solar system only?
Actually, one more purpose: to spy on people

 

[AlanS]

I guess I was trying to take down people's expectations. Alot of the objects you view are rather subtle. The 5 inch under truly dark skies will give views of quite a number of objects that will impress *some* people. Others will walk away with a "is that it?" look on their face. It's like looking at art. Some people are impressed and others aren't. There aren't alot of objects that will impress people in general though. They don't look at all like the hubble photos.

Actually one way to look at it might be to just buy one if you have interest. Since you get the free tripod and autostar and cheap set of expensive eyepieces, you can try it out. If it's not for you the deal is probaly good enough to sell the whole lot on ebay and get your money back or thereabouts. It will help more on ebay once (if?) Meade stops these free/cheap giveaways.

 

[TheeeChosenOne]

I have a firend who took his CCDA and got a free Xbox as a gift from the company that taught him. :Q

 

[Dave101]

and remember there is very little color to be seen out there just subtle color on planets and some stars. I got the Lxd55 10" SN and I love it!



-David