Telescope Reviews

Meade ETX-80AT-TC Telescope Review

May 19th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed

Product: Meade ETX-80AT-TC GO TO COMPUTER TELESCOPE (MODEL 0805-04-21)

Price: Under $300.00

Consumer: Beginner Astronomers

This is Meade’s newest ETX telescope – the ETX-80AT-TC Go To Computer Telescope Model 0805-04-21. Meade’s new, larger 80mm diameter ETX telescope is a real prize package. It delivers more light-gathering which results in increased image brightness and much greater detail.

The manufacturer’s hi-tech AutoStar computer can solve the amateur astronomer’s 2 biggest challenges with the navigation of the nights sky with a computer telescope:

Alignment of the telescope with the night sky
Locating celestial phenomenon in the star filled heavens.

Once initialized, which is a simple step-by-step process, AutoStar will make locating the heaven’s elusive jewels virtually as easy as pushing a few buttons. You can observe land or over 1400 celestial objects in high resolution, as well as, learn about the sky with Meade’s comprehensive astro-library.

Pros:

An internal Time Chip (TC) keeps precise factory calibrated time and date.

A built-in Barlow Lens flips into position when needed. This highly desirable feature provides more power when studying lunar and planetary surface features.

A Bubble-level/Compass is provided to make initialization faster and easier.

Includes a sturdy, adjustable, aluminum tripod

Now includes two premium 4-element 1.25″ Super Plössl eyepieces (SP9.7mm, SP26mm) for more comfortable long viewing eye relief and an expansive wide visual field.

AutoStar Suite Astronomer Software on DVD for PC, now with instructional DVD.

Cons:

The Meade ETX-80AT-TC telescope is a beginner telescope and geared toward the beginner or low intermediate skill level astronomer. So, if you are more of an advanced stargazer, you may wish to upgrade to a more advanced model.

The Bottom Line: This is a great beginner telescope for novice astronomers who want more than just a basic model. Packed with many attractive features, the value is here with this telescope. Any experienced astronomer will tell you that it is light gathering, and not power, that makes all the difference in stargazing. Meade’s 1.25″ diameter Super Plössl eyepieces provide wider fields of view, allowing you to see more of the sky at greater magnifications. This telescope is a winner!

Sample User Reviews:

ETX-80AT-TC Astro Telescope with AutoStar - B. Dermont
“A good beginner’s telescope for the price. Do not expect to see the large and detailed images of planets such as the images of Saturn or Jupiter prominently displayed on the shipping box. But they are easily observed using the ETX-80AT. The soft case provided for the tripod probably won’t be used much if at all. Better Meade should throw in some other useful item in place. Perhaps a beginner’s guide to astronomy or LED Flashlight with red lens. The instruction manual and CD go a long way towards helping a novice set up their scope for “first light”. BUT they leave out one crucial part of aligning the telescope. A combination bubble level/compass is provided to set the scope level and to magnetic north. The instructions fail to tell the user the scope must then be adjusted for magnetic deviation to true north. This will result in the telescope pointing frustratingly far from the target stars needed to align the scope. Once the scope is aligned it tracks very well. Some people complain the autostar tracking system uses up batteries very quickly. I have not found this to be a major issue. But be sure to have spares on hand as they will die in the middle of a viewing session. All in all you get what you pay for. This is an inexpensive refractor that appears to have pretty decent optics.”

ETX-80AT-TC Astro Telescope with AutoStar - Jamie Mazurowski
“I like the telescope very much. It’s my first telescope. I had a little difficulty getting it lined up because I didn’t know the names of the stars it was trying to line up to. Even though I had it pointed north and had it level, I always have to slew the 2 motors to get the alignment star in the field of view. I also found it is easier to get it lined up in the early evening when there aren’t so many stars out. The alignment stars are usually bright and easier to pick out in the early evening. You still need to know the alignment stars’ names and where they are or you won’t know where the telescope should be pointing. I had to get a star atlas to get familiar. It was pretty easy to get it lined up when I learned a little bit. Also, this telescope doesn’t have a dew shield out yet. I just wrapped a sale flier (plenty of them in the mailbox everyday) around the scope and taped it. Seems to work fine and blocks out some of the street light as well. I hope they come out with a dew shield for this model soon. I also trained the scope on my bird feeder and got some pretty awesome views. The moon looks pretty good as well.”