Astronomy Equipment Reviews

Need to get an independent opinion of a piece of equipment you're interested in?

These are the pages to check. Reviews are from real users of the equipment and not like the arguably biased reviews you see in the magazines.

Equipment Reviews

Telescope Reviews Eyepiece Reviews Binoculars Reviews Accessory Reviews Mount Reviews CCD Reviews

Telescopes And Binoculars and Accessories Equipment Reviews

Meade Mysky Personal Planetarium Meade is introducing the $399 mySKY, a GPS-based point and shoot personal planetarium that can locate and identify 30, 000 celestial objects and display sky maps, videos, images, and multimedia presentations about them on a built-in full-color LCD screen... Read more... Meade Lx200r 10 Inch Telescope Review I've had a Meade ETX-125 for about 6 years, but it is only within the last 2 years that actually I found time to use it. Although it is a very capable telescope for its size, I wanted a bigger light bucket that was better suited for deep sky objects. Read more...

High-End Observatory Systems

Meade 16 Inxh LX400-ACF on MAX Robotic German EQ Mount Meade engineers have developed a radical new Advanced Coma Free design by combining a hyperbolic secondary mirror with a corrector-lens-and-spherical-primary-mirror combination that performs as one hyperbolic element. This ACF design produces a coma-free, flat field of view that rivals traditional Ritchey-Chretien (RC) telescopes at a fraction of the cost. The design even eliminates diffraction spikes and improves astigmatism, both of which are inherent in the traditional RC design. Meade 16 Inch LX200-ACF with EQ Pier: The most widely used research telescope on earth now comes with the most advanced optical system. Meade's LX200-ACF brings Advanced Coma-Free (ACF) optics within reach of aspiring astronomers everywhere. Nearly every observatory reflector in the world uses an aplanatic (coma-free) optical system like the Ritchey-Chrétien (RC), including NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Now you can own similar optics to what the professionals use.

Meade Telescope Links

Weasner's Mighty ETX Site Created by a dedicated user of the most popular amateur telescope in history, this site has lots of general astronomy resources as well as a wealth of practical info for ETX users and prospective buyers. ETX-90/EC Instruction Manual Comprehensive online manual, provided by Meade, for the ETX 90/EC telescope. Meade Autostar Downloads Official site which contains the latest Autostar firmware releases and links to sites with orbital elements for use with Autostar. Autostar Instruction Manual Comprehensive online manual, provided by Meade, for the Autostar Computer Controller. Mall Astrophotography This site presents images taken through an ETX 90/EC with a colour QuickCam CCD camera. The LX200 Command Set The LX200 Command Set may be used to write custom software for remote operation of an LX200 telescope with a personal computer. ETX WebRing Lists all the sites that are currently on the ETX WebRing.

Celestron Telescope Links

The Unofficial Home for Celestron 5" SCTs A site chock-full of resources and information for Celestron 5" SCT owners. NexStar Discussion Group Discussion forum for NexStar owners. You have to join the forum before you can read/post messages.

Vixen Telescope Links

Vixen VC200L Discussion Forum Discussion forum for the Vixen VC200L refractor. Non members can read messages but you mest become a member to post. Sky sensor 2000 User List Discussion forum for the the Sky Sensor 2000 digital setting circles. Improving the CG-5 Equatorial Mount Despite the name, this is in fact a description of how to get the most from a Vixen GP Mount. Polar Aligning a GP-DX Mount A relatively simple procedure for getting good polar alignment using this mount. Adjusting Backlash Compensation on a GP-DX How ro adjust the Backlash Compensation on a GP-DX mount. The Skysensor 2000 Page Everything you ever wanted to know about the Skysensor and how to use it (esp. for autoguiding CCD images).

Losmandy

Losmandy Users Group With more Losmandy Mounts being used and the new GoTo control soon available, this discussion group is intended for owners of Losmandy Mounts, or prospective owners, to share views and tips, ask questions and promote solutions to problems encountered.

Amateur Telescope Making Resources

Building a Dobsonian Telescope It may look like a cannon but this is really a ten-inch Newtonian telescope that almost anybody can build. 13" Travelscope Plans Plans and Construction Tips for Building a 13" Airline-Transportable 'Travel Scope' Construction Notes For a German Equatorial Astronomical Telescope Mount A step-by-step article on the construction of this mount. The design and plans are free for personal use only. Amateur Astronomical Observatories A long list of backyard observatories (dome, rolloff and miscellaneous) compiled by Bill Arnett.