Meade ETX-125EC

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Meade ETX-125EC
The ETX-125 is my first telescope and so far I have absolutely no problems with it,the optics in my opininion are great the Autostar is fantastic.The mount is pretty unstable that is actually the only thing that boders me all in all for a first telescope its absolutly great.I,ve read much on the i-net about all sort of problems but if the scope is al right I'm sure it will deliver for most people especially for amateurs like me

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39670

Meade ETX-125EC
nice scope.not alot of power but very crisp images

Overall Rating: 8
Optics:6 Mount:6 Ease of Use:9 Value:6
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=102441

Meade ETX-125EC
Great optics!! i had the table top mount which was plenty ok, this scope was really easy to use, the goto was excellent & the tracking was really good also. highly recommended!

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:10 Mount:9 Ease of Use:9 Value:9
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=109135

Meade ETX-125EC
Unbelievable optics. Mine is certified at 1/12th wave ptv. Meade needs to sell this scope as an OTA only if they want to mop the floor with the Synta crap. Put one on a real mount and prepare to have your world rocked!

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:6 Ease of Use:6 Value:8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=116029

Meade ETX-125EC
This scope sure gave me problems, 3 went back to the factory and the 2nd one they sent me back appeared to be a used scope and it failed. The autostar also had to be replaced when I purchased the first scope. I hung in there and finally got a good one with a home repair. The RA lock broke on one and the next two had dec problems, a plastic piece holding a bushing. I told meade that they should fire the guy that designed that part of the scope. They did say they are working on a solution and sent me the part to change out (I was not going to send it back again). Once I got the scope going, it worked very well. The autostar now and then would glitch out, but no real problems. YOU HAVE TO TRAIN THE DRIVE FOR THE AUTOSTAR TO WORK CORRECTLY! {You do this in the day time}. The optics were great and the scope took about 2 hours to cool down in extreame conditions. Stars are pinpoint and this thing can split some tight ones if their bright enough.The alum field tripod need work to last any time and I would suggest to buy a LX-200 tripod if you must have this scope. There was some RA backlash but not too bad. Someone said they used a 7mm eyepiece??? Saturn (for me) was best in a 14mm radian most of the time and the moon I could drop to an 8mm but that was really pushing it. By the time I bought the scope, tripod, elect focuser and case I had about 1500 bucks into it-WAY TOO MUCH- buy an LX-90 and it comes with a great tripod! Yes I sold my setup for 1000 dollars, a good deal for someone but if you cant find a free tripod and case add a couple hundred and get the 8". We did a side by side at a dark site and the ETX won out on shapeness but the LX-90 smoked it on deep sky objects. At least if you get an ETX-90 you can pull the OTA out of the forks when you want and use it as a spotter- (I piggy back a ETX-90 on a 10" sct) the 125 is alittle big for that. But the optics are very good even compared to my 7" Lx-200 (Mak) and they cool down quicker. A great grab and go scope But alittle pricey.

Overall Rating: 7
Optics:9 Mount:4 Ease of Use:8 Value:6
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=128193

Meade ETX-125EC
A pleasure to use. Alignment was easy with first object nearly dead center in field of view. Sidereal tracking almost completely silent--Knelt down to see if it was really running. Flawless tracking for over 2 hours.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:10 Mount:8 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=168050

Meade ETX-125EC
After buying several different scopes (some of which I have kept, and others of which I have sold), I finally settled on the 5" GOTO Mak as the ideal for my tastes. I like refractor-like images in a portable package, and a 5" is about the largest size I can handle for quick setup and protability.

And so while the ETX-125 is the only 5" GOTO Mak on the market, it would probably be my first choice even if there were competition. I have had mine for nearly two months as I write these comments, and I have to tell you I like this scope better than anything else I have owned.

The optics are outstanding! I love seeing pinpoint stars with well-defined diffraction rings, and the 125 delivers that type of image. Planets, open clusters, globular clusters, and even nebulae look very nice thanks to the sharp, contrasty views.

The ETX's GOTO capabilities are excellent. Properly aligned, it will flawlessly point to the objects you select from Autostar. Tracking is also excellent - I can leave an object in the scope, walk away for an hour or so, then come back and find minimal drift. The mount is rock solid with the included tripod - absolutely no vibration!

Autostar is a joy to use, with the ability to upgrade it and to download tours, object lists, etc. If you know nothing about astronomy, Autostar is a wonderful teacher, with it's extensive help system.

Naturally, there are some negatives that need to be mentioned. The clutches on the mount are not the best - I had to dig into them and roughen up the surfaces so the scope would stay in position - the tube is front heavy, and there was a tendency for it to slowly fall forward. The focuser is also marginal - it is hard to achieve a fine focus because the movement is quite coarse. Like many other owners, I invested in an electrical focuser, and that solved the problem.

In spite of these negatives, my overall experience with the ETX-125 is overwhelmingly positive, and I have to give it a '10' overall.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:9 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 7 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=322550

Meade ETX-125EC
Ihave owned many scopes in my time, I'm now 46. On average about 1 every 2 years since i was 13. that's right I started on an old 60mm jason empire. there wasn't much more available in those days. But my taste in scopes has greatly Improved thru the years. I watched meade during It's birth as well as celestron. and have watched them grow into fine manufacturers of telescopes and accs. I have owned up to 8" scopes by both manufacturers. And can truley say the meade etx 125ec surpassed even my sceptical outlook on what a 5" mak. could do. I've had mine a little under a year. But have used it at least 25 times already. And the optics are truley superb for an instument of this size. It has routinly outperformed my 8' scopes in urban light observations and it's portability is unmatched to the same degree. This goto system works very well if one takes the time too set the unit up correctly, if you don't have the time then find another hobby because astronomy takes patient's and fortitude. this scope takes little of both. But if your a seriously into astronomy this is a fine instrument for the money. I have never seen razor sharp images like I get from this little mak. I reg. use mine at 300 to 350 power every night and the images are stunning. much better than my 8' scopes meade and celestron. So if anyone is looking for a good deal on a portable powerhouse without breaking the bank or their back I recommend the meade etx 125. But don't just take my word for it, many proffesional astronomers own this scope themselves. So please don't take advise from kid's who have maybe just maybe have owned 5 scopes in their lifetimes.And truely don't know the difference between Quality optics and milk. You will find more scopes like this little mak. at star parties than any other scope on the market. By the way if you need more info please check out weasner's mighty etx site. It's loaded with information, and astronomers, who love to look up at night. thanks, mike n.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:9 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=324615

Meade ETX-125EC
Save your money, better wait and buy a televue!!! this telescope sucks!!, does not performed as advertised!!, just a cheap excuse for meade to make a quick sale!!, "can take up to 500X", yeah right!!!, 50X is a challenge for this trash scope!!!, do not be deceived by the looks!, otically mead's greatest mistake!!

Juan Carlos
Guatemala

Overall Rating: 1
Optics:1
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=342283

Meade ETX-125EC
I was never really happy with my etx-125. Focusing was difficult as the little knob is very touchy.
The mount is cheaply made. Many, many times it would slip and scope would come crashing down.
The views can be spectacular at times, but for my money a small TeleVue (pronto, ranger, 76) is better worth the money.
My computer broke the moter with in the first year. Meade did replace, but it was a hassle. I would rather spend the money for the computer for better optics.
I ended trading mine in for a used TeleVue Solaris and I never regretted it.

Overall Rating: 5
Optics:6 Mount:4 Ease of Use:5 Value:2
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=368498

Meade ETX-125EC
Overall this telescope has worked well and we have been pleased with the images we have seen through it. The auto star hits the mark pretty well in locating images. Had a couple of problems, one was the right ascension drive failing, Meade fixed it under warranty promtley.

Overall Rating: 8
Optics:9 Mount:7 Ease of Use:8 Value:8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=402098

Meade ETX-125EC
Hello i am an astronomy hobbiest from kuwait/middle east, i've been in the hobby for 20 years.
i've looked through many telescopes, meade 125 ETX is highly recommended for proffessionals and hobbiests.
optics are amazing, it even reveals the true colour of the moon, which some telescopes don't.
you can scan the whole sky manually or using the GoTo device , and you'll never get bored.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:10 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=404322

Meade ETX-125EC
I had this scope for about 3 years but had only used it twice until a few weeks ago when I purchased an Autostar for it. The optics are good for the price but the mount and drives are pretty bad. I had been using the scope on weekends for the last month most of the time struggling with alignment and tracking problems. This last weekend I had the scope well aligned and used the GOTO to observe M31 which at the time was very close to the zenith. The scope put Andromeda close to dead center. I was impressed. It was very cold out so I went inside waiting for Saturn to be higher in the sky. When I went to check on the scope, to my horror it had locked up and one of the motors no longer worked. The scope also had a burnt smell to it. I took it apart the next morning and found that the circuit board controlling the DEC motor had melted! I've decided to mount the OTA on a heavy duty camera mount and forget about the electronics and use the scope manually. I would not buy an ETX again.

Overall Rating: 4
Optics:7 Mount:2 Ease of Use:3 Value:5
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=473976

Meade ETX-125EC
The telescope is my "grab and go" scope. Great views of the Moon and Solar observing. The Autostar is easy to use (and fun). The tripod it came with is not worth much, however. Look at getting a better tripod.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9 Mount:2 Ease of Use:7 Value:5
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=548831

Meade ETX-125EC
Nice pictures. I've only just sttared astronomy as a hobby, with an Orion XT10i Intelliscope. Its a Newtonian Reflector on a Dobsonian base, which I am starting to discover makes astrophotography a little difficult since it does not have motors to enable equatorial tracking. Still I am able to take some photos and use K3CCDTools to take AVI's and Registax to stack the frames and improve the photos. They are not bad results, but your photos of Mars and Jupiter are very nice, some good detail in Mars particularly, which I understand can be a bit difficult to photograph. I too use a webcam, a Phillips SPC900NC which is a similar spec and sensitivity to your Toucam, except I think mine allows the modification for the Steve Chambers long exposure mod to be made even easier, due to a redesign of the circuit board which brings the required connections away from the chips which are so tiny it makes soldering to them difficult on the Toucam. I have yet to make the SC LX mod, but I chose this webcam because of the ease of doing it.

Overall Rating: 2
Optics:2 Mount:3 Ease of Use:7 Value:1
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=600169

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