Lidl Scopes from 12.12..

Is1ldur

As stated there are two in Lidl from 12-12. Any advice greatly received...

http://www.lidl.ie/ie/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20051212.index

slade_x

Is1ldur wrote:

As stated there are two in Lidl from 12-12. Any advice greatly received...

http://www.lidl.ie/ie/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20051212.index

Regarding the standard refractor, to be honest even for a beginner i wouldn't bother

However If the ETX-70 is what i think it is, a Meade ETX-70AT, although i only say this as i am only currently aware that Meade only do an ETX-70AT
The ETX-70AT is the ideal starter Astrotelescope with the addition of the go to drive of course it makes life much easier for the beginner, however to me the price doesnt seem all that great as the ETX-70 model is 4 years old now and entered the market @ $200 approx, but hey its probably a good in store price for ireland

I am actually very interested in finding out an actual msrp. on this if anyone can help me out here, all i seem to be able to find is this

Here is the Product description from Meade themselves:
http://www.meade.com/catalog/etx/etx70.html

And here is a very good guide by Weasner:
http://www.weasner.com/etx/70at_comments.html



Additional info:
To my knowledge this telescope was originally shipped with 2 eyepieces; the MA9mm (39X) and MA25mm (14X), so im not sure what the extra eyepiece that lidl seem to offer is, if any at all but a typo

Additional spec of the telescope that lidl dont mention is it also has a focal ratio of 5 (f/5.0) as you would expect

And on a final note: to use it in conjunction with your computer you will need an RS-232 to usb cable (serial port cable to usb) which im not sure is supplied

BigCon

This seems to be exactly what I'm looking for, as a beginner.
I've checked prices and it does seem to be reasonably priced (notwithstanding the fact that it has been replaced by newer models...
Compare to $349.95 and £249 (not sure how up to date these sites are) but the clincher for me is this one on eBay, still bidding at $222.49 - the Lidl one seems to be a bargain.

For anyone that buys one there a few useful sites specifically for this model listed here...

Finally, no point in going to Lidl in Portlaoise on Monday - I heard they are not getting in any *


*May not be true

Seanie M

Have both scopes myself, and I highly recommend either, for whatever budget you have, whichever use you want.

Orion

Seanie M wrote:

Have both scopes myself, and I highly recommend either, for whatever budget you have, whichever use you want.

Oh no you don't - I bought the Skylux off you remember

Gonna get me the ETX70 on Monday. Handy for travel. The one you bought was modified wasn't it? What was done to it?

And do you know if the Solar filter you made for the skylux will fit the Meade?

Seanie M

Hi Steve!
The solar filter I made for the Skylux is exactly the same diameter as the tube of the ETX-70, so, if you want to make a slight adjustment to it to make it fit - but be careful, for obvious reasons!

The modification I have with the ETX-70 is a 'polar wedge'. What this means is I simply mount the scope itself, onto the wedge (which is tilted for 52/53 degrees for my latitude, and its adjustable), and mount all that onto the tripod. The result is an equatorial motion instead of an alt-az motion - and also allows to mount a camera on the end of the tube -> something impossible to do if an object you want to view is above a 40 degree tilt with the scopes normal mount. Must show you sometime. I got the wedge from Dave McDonald.

Seanie

Orion

From the pic of it I was wondering how it would get on with a camera attached. And that's one of the reasons I'm getting one - the other reason being portability. Did Dave make it for you or was it a spare one he had? I'll give him a ring about it as well.

(btw - there's a post on the IFAS board asking exactly this question )

Seanie M

Dave made it for his own ETX-70, before he used the 70's tube and mounted it as a 'finder' on his C8 on the AP1200.... so he gave it to me! Have to tweak it a bit more though.

Orion

I see a trip down Offaly direction looming

ShayHT

Got down to Wicklow at 9am to find all the ETX-70 and Night Scopes sold out, and only a couple of the refractor ones left, actually as I walked down the ailse 5 refractor went by me!

So quick dash down to Arklow.... as i walked from the car to the entrance a guy walked out with 3 ETX-70 in a trolly.....luckily there was 3 left, but no night scopes.....

Seanie M

Macros42 wrote:

I see a trip down Offaly direction looming

Seanie.

Capt'n Midnight

slade_x wrote:

And on a final note: to use it in conjunction with your computer you will need an RS-232 to usb cable (serial port cable to usb) which im not sure is supplied

You would also need a 506 cable which has level shifting electronics in it to interface to RS232 ( $45 + postage on many web sites ). To go from RS232 to USB you can get a €25 adapter from www.marxcomputers.ie

The Autostar 494 that comes with the ETX-70AT does not have numbers and needs the $45 converter cable.

The Autostar 497/495 that comes with the larger scopes have rs232 ports - they seem to be priced at $199, and for another $50 you could get a wireless Autostar.


There were about 6 left of each scope in Lucan at 7pm, would have been one less if I could have interfaced by serial for remote control

Is1ldur

I picked up an ETX at uchtime today. Just set it up a while ago and not all that impressed tbh. However it is my first real scope so maybe I was expecting too much/don't know enough about prevailing conditions, etc. I will give it a fair chance and need to spend some time fiddling around with it.

Orion

Seanie - I just remembered what the mod was that I was talking about. It's the focusing knob - they guy you bought it off put an extension on it. And it does need one - pita to focus it atm. Nice scope though. Had a quick look at Mars and the Moon before the cloud rolled in tonight - nice and crisp.

DubOnHoliday

Does anyone know if any Lidl still has the scope still in stock in Dublin or Wicklow? I was at Moore street yesterday lunchtime, no joy unfortunately.

paulj13

Hi

Wondering if I could get a answer to an initial problem I’m having.

Picked up the ETX-70AT yesterday at lidl. Haven’t really had the time to go through it extensively yet but I’m having two initial problem with the scope that I hope someone can help me with.

On take the scope out of the box the scope swung feely on its vertical folks. The vertical lock was not on and I found that a little odd. On starting the scope it ran through it axis check and spun the scope on the horizontal axis a few degrees. It then paused (as if it was trying the same thing with the vertical axis??) but then showed an error message staying that that was a problem. Is the vertical motor broken or am I missing something? Admittedly I have yet to read the instructions in detail so there maybe something I’m doing incorrectly however it’ll be the weekend before I and spend time reading through it in detail.

Also the 9v battery connection seems a little loose. When I connect the battery the LED comes on but when I place it in the battery compartment it flickers and then goes out. Is this common, could both problems be related (faulty power not supplying enough power to run the vertical motor)?

Any help greatly appreciated.

Orion

Paul - if it said Align Failed (or something like that) then replace the batteries. One of the guys on the IFAS board reported that the supplied batteries were leaking and causing this error. I'm gonna replace mine tonight with some Duracells.

Don't let a problem with the batteries make you think the scope it bad - it isn't.

paulj13

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the quick response.

Yes the message is Align Failed. Versions other thing scroll up including check batteries so you could be on to something. However the fact the vertical lock was not tight out of the box and I don’t seem to get anything from the vertical motor is my biggest worry. If I can't get this working the motor drive is effectively useless.

Any help on this?

slade_x

paulj13 wrote:

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the quick response.

Yes the message is Align Failed. Versions other thing scroll up including check batteries so you could be on to something. However the fact the vertical lock was not tight out of the box and I don’t seem to get anything from the vertical motor is my biggest worry. If I can't get this working the motor drive is effectively useless.

Any help on this?

From out of the box the motors seems to be labouring a bit, however for most users connecting a mains power source is a must, and neccessary for some to get the GO-TO drive to work the way it should, until the internal parts can free up with use.. after a while you may notice the drive wont seem to struggle anymore with the battery pack, call it "breaking in the telescope" if you will

You can also try opening the base up and lubricating it a bit more, but im sure the majority will not want to attempt this

The easiest thing for you to try would be to just ditch the 6x 1.5v battery pack and throw in a single 9v battery

Otherwise you can buy a variable power supply, which are basically the big plugs with the different voltage settings on them, specifically look out for the ones with the 9v connectors on them to correspond with the 9v connector for the ETX70 so you can plug it on easily, if not you can always salvage a 9v connector off of some other appliance and connect it to plug, Remember to ALWAYS switch the power supply to the "9V SETTING" - such plugs can range from €10-20 but im sure you already know what im on about, one may easily find one in the argos catalogue

If either solution doesnt appeal to you, you can always buy a certified meade power supply

You may also want to check out the "Train drive" utility in the autostar menu

Another recommendation i have for anyone who bought this scope is to buy a Flexi-Mate focus knob so the telescope can be used on all range of the zenith, you might have noticed that if you point the scope directly upwards that you will have a very hard time getting to the focus knob
Here is what one looks like:


Here is a link for meade ETX70 accessories including power supply and a flexi focus extension:
http://www.greenwich-observatory.co.uk/acatalog/Meade_ETX_70.html

Orion

slade_x wrote:

The easiest thing for you to try would be to just ditch the 6x 1.5v battery pack and throw in a single 9v battery

Another recommendation i have for anyone who bought this scope is to buy a Flexi-Mate focus knob

Thanks for that slade. I'm gonna get me one of those FlexiMate knobs. It is a pain focussing even on the horizon. I'll probably be using this mainly for photography anyway but when I'm away I'll be using it visually so focussing is vital.

Nice tip about the battery as well.

slade_x

Macros42 wrote:

Thanks for that slade. I'm gonna get me one of those FlexiMate knobs. It is a pain focussing even on the horizon. I'll probably be using this mainly for photography anyway but when I'm away I'll be using it visually so focussing is vital.

Nice tip about the battery as well.

naturally though the 9v battery wont last as long as the 6x1.5v batteries, but at least you will know it is making a good connection, it was really only a recommendation for pauls problem

For long term use i would suggest 6 x rechargeable Nimh batteries rated @ 2600mAh, which you can get from argos for maybe €20-30, if you do dont forget to pick up a good quality battery charger,

Oh and dont buy Ni-Cad batteries

Capt'n Midnight

slade_x wrote:

For long term use i would suggest 6 x rechargeable Nimh batteries rated @ 2600mAh, which you can get from argos for maybe €20-30, if you do dont forget to pick up a good quality battery charger,

Oh and dont buy Ni-Cad batteries

Why not NiCAD's ?
usually when someone says this it's because their 1.2 Volts may be too low for a device expecting 1.5 Volts per cell. ( If this is the case look at rechargable alkaline batteries or an external battery pack holding more batteries perhaps)

But NiMH have almost the same discharge voltage profile so I'm trying to figure out why one over the other. Is it because of the higher charge capacity of the NiMH's ? ( but they cost more so )
or because of their lower toxicity because they don't have Cadmium
or just curious to see if there is another reason

slade_x

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

Why not NiCAD's ?
usually when someone says this it's because their 1.2 Volts may be too low for a device expecting 1.5 Volts per cell. ( If this is the case look at rechargable alkaline batteries or an external battery pack holding more batteries perhaps)

But NiMH have almost the same discharge voltage profile so I'm trying to figure out why one over the other. Is it because of the higher charge capacity of the NiMH's ? ( but they cost more so )
or because of their lower toxicity because they don't have Cadmium
or just curious to see if there is another reason

In my experience Nimh batteries have lasted longer for me, even for low energy devices such as my old microsoft wireless explorer, i had to charge the batteries a lot less when i bought Nimh batteries..

and there's no special disposal requirements..

Besides, if you look in the argos catalogue you will find you only have one choice of Nicad batteries, the 1 uniross 2 pack, all other rechargeables are Nimh

From Argos
a 2 pack of Nicad 800mAh batteries are €4.99 = €9.98 for 4
a 4 pack of Nimh 1300mAh batteries are €7.49 = for 4 or save €2 when you buy 2 packs - so 8 Nimh 1300mAh will cost you €13

Capt'n Midnight

Fair enough, thought there might be some weird electrical reason !

I can remember buying 500mAh NiCADs.
Aldi and Lidl have chargers with 1,700 mAh or 2,000 mAh batteries every so often. Charger and 8 AA's for €20. So they would hold 3 or 4 times the charge as the NiCADs. Also seem to hold a charge longer too for.

They are more environmentally friendly too.

ISAW

Macros42 wrote:

Thanks for that slade. I'm gonna get me one of those FlexiMate knobs. It is a pain focussing even on the horizon. I'll probably be using this mainly for photography anyway but when I'm away I'll be using it visually so focussing is vital.

Nice tip about the battery as well.

Macros42 wrote:

Thanks for that slade. I'm gonna get me one of those FlexiMate knobs. It is a pain focussing even on the horizon. I'll probably be using this mainly for photography anyway but when I'm away I'll be using it visually so focussing is vital.

Nice tip about the battery as well.

I tried the battery thing ages ago but it still doesnt get bang on on the align. doesnt it correct if you focus on an object and press mode? I think it corrects.

If you are going for photography consider making a wedge. heres one:

www.weasner.com/etx/techtips/etx70-wedge.html

Orion

ISAW wrote:

If you are going for photography consider making a wedge. heres one:

www.weasner.com/etx/techtips/etx70-wedge.html

I was planning on making a wedge for it alright but had no idea how to go about it. Thanks for the link

slade_x

ISAW wrote:

I tried the battery thing ages ago but it still doesnt get bang on on the align. doesnt it correct if you focus on an object and press mode? I think it corrects.

if its not centering or even remotely coming close to picking out an object try using the "Train drive" utility to increase pointing accuracy, on a distant terrestrial object for example

ISAW

slade_x wrote:

if its not centering or even remotely coming close to picking out an object try using the "Train drive" utility to increase pointing accuracy, on a distant terrestrial object for example

Ahhh! Good. thanks. I will try that.