Rating: 
Summary: Must have for ETX-90EC
Review: This controller really became valuable to me after the first 3 or 4 viewing sessions with my new ETX-90EC. After the newness of just pointing the telescope at the brightest object in the sky wore off, the controller assisted me with finding all kinds of new objects to look at. It took some work for me to get the telescope aligned with the controller. I had to learn the reference stars that the controller uses to align the telescope. Once I learned the reference stars, the unit becomes essential for me to really enjoy this hobby. I cannot imagine using my telescope without this controller!
Rating:
Summary: Powerful and inexpensive, but it's a computer - be prepared
Review: This is a handy accessory. Had I bought it at the list price, I would have been a bit disappointed. This is an example of how things are not as simple as you read. That can be a good thing. You DO have to know the sky to use this and the scope together! Also the setup requires knowing true compass direction, the bright stars overhead, and it helps to have a GPS or at least a good guess at your lat. and long.. I have a Star Atlas 2000.0, but do not have all the names of the stars requested by the Autostar during setup. I recommend picking the 2-star mode (NOT the EASY mode) and select widely separated stars that 1) you can recognize and 2) are near the area you want to view... This about doubles the accuracy. Lastly 3) center the alignment stars in THE SCOPE not just in the view finder. This is VERY IMPORTANT in the higher power ETX125. Overall, it is great how it will maintain a track in the level alt.azamath mode. That alone is worth the [price].
Rating: 
Summary: Alignment Critical!
Review: This is a handy accessory. Had I bought it at the list price, I would have been a bit disappointed. This is an example of how things are not as simple as you read. That can be a good thing. You DO have to know the sky to use this and the scope together! Also the setup requires knowing true compass direction, the bright stars overhead, and it helps to have a GPS or at least a good guess at your lat. and long.. I have a Star Atlas 2000.0, but do not have all the names of the stars requested by the Autostar during setup. I recommend picking the 2-star mode (NOT the EASY mode) and select widely separated stars that 1) you can recognize and 2) are near the area you want to view... This about doubles the accuracy. Lastly 3) center the alignment stars in THE SCOPE not just in the view finder. This is VERY IMPORTANT in the higher power ETX125. Overall, it is great how it will maintain a track in the level alt.azamath mode. That alone is worth the [price].
Rating: 
Summary: Autostar (Partial) Computer Controller
Review: Unfortunately, unless one heeds this message, one will be as disappointed as myself after purchasing the Autostar. The handheld unit seems to function properly, however, all of the components required for computer control do not come with this unit. The computer control functions must be accessed through the Astro Software (or similar program)and a computer serial cable that is not a standard cable, therefore one must purchase these items separately. That's not a problem, I have the money, where can I get these items? If that wasn't disappointing enough, emagine shopping around at 5 or 6 electronic stores that sell (and where I purchased the ETX)only to find that none of them carry the accessories. Then try to find a nearby merchant that does in fact carry the accessories - (what a nightmare!) Don't get me wrong... I love the ETX telescope. And I expect that I will love all of the accessories - once I have collected them. I just don't understand why such a reputable manufacturer makes it so difficult to purchase product. Even some of the links on "Meade" WEB site reflect merchants that sell the telescopes but not the accessories.I can hardly wait until my accessories get here...
Rating:
Summary: Autostar (Partial) Computer Controller
Review: Unfortunately, unless one heeds this message, one will be as disappointed as myself after purchasing the Autostar. The handheld unit seems to function properly, however, all of the components required for computer control do not come with this unit. The computer control functions must be accessed through the Astro Software (or similar program)and a computer serial cable that is not a standard cable, therefore one must purchase these items separately. That's not a problem, I have the money, where can I get these items? If that wasn't disappointing enough, emagine shopping around at 5 or 6 electronic stores that sell (and where I purchased the ETX)only to find that none of them carry the accessories. Then try to find a nearby merchant that does in fact carry the accessories - (what a nightmare!) Don't get me wrong... I love the ETX telescope. And I expect that I will love all of the accessories - once I have collected them. I just don't understand why such a reputable manufacturer makes it so difficult to purchase product. Even some of the links on "Meade" WEB site reflect merchants that sell the telescopes but not the accessories. I can hardly wait until my accessories get here...
Rating:
Summary: Not Optional for Beginners
Review: We just purchased the Meade 90 ETX telescope and decided to get the computer controller too - and man are we glad that we did. We're novices with the telescope, so finding specific objects in the night sky is a challenge. With the autostart, after taking about 15 minutes to go through the alignment process, we can just tell the Autostar what we want to find and it moves the telescope to the object for us. Without this, the only thing we would probably look at in the sky is the moon. NOTE: If you're not planning to use your telescope to look at objects in the night sky (i.e. planets, etc), then you don't need the Autostar.
Rating:
Summary: Not Optional for Beginners
Review: We just purchased the Meade 90 ETX telescope and decided to get the computer controller too - and man are we glad that we did. We're novices with the telescope, so finding specific objects in the night sky is a challenge. With the autostart, after taking about 15 minutes to go through the alignment process, we can just tell the Autostar what we want to find and it moves the telescope to the object for us. Without this, the only thing we would probably look at in the sky is the moon. NOTE: If you're not planning to use your telescope to look at objects in the night sky (i.e. planets, etc), then you don't need the Autostar.
Rating:
Summary: necessary accessory
Review: We purchased the ETX 125 and we found the Autostar to be necessary. It was very easy to plug into the telescope and turn on, but getting the telescope aligned was another story. The first night we went out with just the Autostar and the telescope, assuming that we would have enough to get started. We were very wrong. In order to align the telescope and get the Autostar working, the unit first asked us to find true north. Yikes! We gave it a rough guess. We were off compleetely, we would find out the next evening. Next was the exact time, which we also guessed on our inaccurate watches. Then we picked the nearest city, which is about 30 minutes away. Then the unit asked us to find two stars in the sky and identify and align them in the telescopeÕs eyepiece. The stars that the Autostar gave us to find were not exactly well-known stars, and they werenÕt in a part of the sky that was devoid of other bright stars. Without a map of the sky, we were lost. Pollox, Rigel, Castor were some of the stars we have come to know well through the Autostar. Needless to say, we did not get the Autostar working that night. The next night, we went out equipped with not only the scope and the Autostar unit, but also a compass (to find north), a detailed map of the sky (to find the stars it was asking us to), and a watch that had accurate time on it. Before we headed out, we took the time to enter in our exact latitude and longitude into the Autostar. That night was a great success. After a short time spent aligning our two base stars in the scope, we were off to explore the universe and beyond. We saw Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, the Pleiades, the Orion Nebula and several Messier objects that evening. I highly recommend the Autostar, but wish that the booklet would have warned us that we needed to be prepared with the compass, star map, latitude/longitude, and exact time to make our experience with it successful. The only drawback to the unit was that it needs to be aligned and reset every time it is used, but itÕs not like there are other competing units to use. ItÕs well worth the money, and enhances the experience with any Meade scope.
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