Meade ETX-70

Posted by Kevin Dolan   02/14/2005 08:00AM

Now I am by far no scope or astronomy expert so bear with me if I don't sling the proper terms around related to astronomy smile

After setting the ETX-70 up on the tripod I took it outside to cool down. After lugging the LX200 outside all these times- the ETX-70 is a feather (I'd guess around 10-12lbs w/ the tripod).

Of course, it's not GPS-equipped with LNT (one doesn't realize how handy those things are until they're not there) so I had to bring out the compass (Polaris is blocked by my house) and the level. Setting it up was very simple.

Once it was aligned I went right to Saturn. I quickly abandoned the MA eyepieces that come with the scope and used my series 4000 plossls. The MAs are not even close to being parfocal so it was a pain swapping from the 25mm to the 9mm because it required many twists of the focus knob.

The image of Saturn was, um, fair. Saturn's moons focused to pinpoints but Saturn's brightness coupled with the poor seeing last night caused a bit of a halo around the planet. Even dropping down to my 6.4mm plossl didn't show any details on Saturn.

I checked out Jupiter with slightly better results. Using the same 6.4mm plossl I was just able to make out the two dark bands on either side of the equator. All 4 of the large moons were also clearly visible.

I slewed over to M42 and wasn't disappointed. I think I read somewhere that poor seeing doesn't affect nebulae (or is it nebulas?) as much as other astronomical objects. All of the detail I can see in the LX200 was visible with the ETX70. I used my Thousand Oaks OIII filter to get a better view of the nebula and I noticed something peculiar. I had to refocus quite a bit again with the same eyepiece.

I tried to check out M31 but my neighbor had his backyard spotlights on so I could barely make it out- and I couldn't even see it well enough to be sure it was focused.

The focusing knob on the ETX-70 leaves much to be desired. If you're looking at something high in the sky, you have to do some finger contortions to focus it. I strongly suggest that you go on EBay and buy one of the focus extenders sold there.

One other item that the purchaser of an ETX-70 may want to buy is a 3x or so barlow. It should aid greatly in any planetary observations by upping the magnification and cutting down on the brightness of the planets. I ordered a University Optics 2.8x Klee barlow- but alas, the current and projected cloud cover will not allow me to post a review of it for a few days.

Anyway, the ETX-70 can be found refurbished or used for between $125-$200 on the internet (I bought my refurb from Scopetronix, who sell through the Anacortes site also). I also bought the Meade #73 hard case for it. The deal I got on the scope came with the Meade #82 field tripod and a carrying case for the tripod. For a grand total of under $250 (including the purchase of the case) I feel the ETX-70 is a great deal for either the beginner or the established astronomer who just wants a small scope to run outside with for a quick view. As long as the buyer isn't expecting to see objects like they would with a large aperture scope, I rate the ETX-70 as an 8/10

Click here for more about the Meade ETX-70. -Ed.