Meade DS2114 4.5" reflector telescope with #494 Autostar and terrible tripod.

Telescopes and Mounts:
Skywatcher Evostar 150
Konus MotorMax 90
Orion(UK) Europa 250
Skywatcher EQ-6
Meade DS2114
Orion(UK) OMC 140
Meade ETX-90EC
Skywatcher Startravel 80
Synta Skywatcher EQ-6 EQ6
Photography:
Film Astrophotography
Minolta SRT100X
Canon IXUS 330
Other Stuff:
Baader Fringe Killer
My Latest Astro Picture
Star Hopping Guide
Stacking images
Bits and bobs
AWR GOTO IDS Discuss

My astronomical experience

When i decided to buy a telescope i had already been using a pair of 10x50 binoculars for almost a year. I could identify several constelations, a few double stars and a few Messier objects. I hadnt even see a real telescope let alone set one up. Come to think of it i hadnt even seen anyone set up a telescope, or looked through one !

Meade technical specification

Aperture = 114mm
Focal Length = 1000mm
Focal Ration = f/8
Aluminum tube assembly
Rack-and-pinion focuser with 1.25" and 2" eyepiece-holders
Alt/Azimuth mount with locks on both axes
#494 Autostar Electronic Control System
9-speed drives on both axes
StarNavigator (i got a crappy old version of Starry Night)
Full-length adjustable aluminum field tripod with accessory shelf
6 x 30mm viewfinder
Two eyepieces 1.25" MA25mm, MA9mm

Out of the box

Well the scope arrived next day from Telescope House as promised by thier very helpful sales man. Upon opening the main box i was confronted with a bunch of new boxes containing the component parts. Tripod, OTA(Optical Tube Assembely), Autostar, finder scope mount and a pair of eyepeices. Putting it all together took me about a quater of an hour, quite straight forward really bear in mind though, i have a degree in mechanical engineering. Maybe not every one would find it quite so easy, one downfall was the fact that one of the 3 screws that attaches the OTA to the mount stripped its thread. Never mind, thats nothing that an M6 tap and pan head screw wont sort out.

The first alignment

Amazing! the sky was clear on the exact same night i received the scope, Unbelievible! I read the manual it said point the tube north and make sure it is level ? So i did just that leveled the tube, pointed the tube to magnetic north with the help of a compass, more on that later. The moon was up that night, wow the detail i could see was a truly wonderous site. Crater walls and valleys cast in shadow (was only a half moon) mare's galore. Compared to the binos it looked like i could reach out and touch it. Meanwhile slowly but surely the moon was drifting out of sync with the eyepeice! What was going on? The nice friendly salesman i spoke of earlier said "it will track perfectly for visual observing" was he lying? I switched off the scope went indoors had a cup of tea and a smoke whilst i read the manual again.

It still read the same as it did the first time, im confused. The internet, thats the biggest library in the world, someone will know whats up. I searched on Google for "meade tracking inaccurate" the first result i go said that the tripod must be level before you put the scope on. Back to the garden to try again. Leveled the tripod, set the tube level pointed it north (by polaris this time). Still the tracking drifted in both axies, then i remebered seeing a small scale on the side of the mount(alt). Once again i killed the power re-set the scope to polaris and set the alt scale to zero, strangley the scope was not level as the manual said, it was at an front end up angle of about 7degrees. Fired her back up again done an easy 2 star align (Capella, Vega), DISCO. The scope tracked perfectly for over an hour on Ursula Majors double star ZetUma.

My first observing session

By the time i got all the alignment, re-alignment procedures out of the way the moon had all but dissapeared. That was a pity because the small amount of viewing i had a couple of hours earlier had been amazing compared to my bino's. I got about another 30 mins of lunar observing in with both the 25 and 9mm eyepieces. In the 25mm the moon practically fills the entire field, even so the detail seen is quite impressive. The 9mm turned out to be a different kettle of fish altogether, focussing this eyepiece was not easy. For a start i had to rack the focusser inwards by about 5 full revolutions to get anywhere near, then i went straight past it and out the other side. The point of focus is so small (about 15degrees of a turn on the 9) that it took a while to get used to it. Still once in focus i set the autostar to a very slow speed (32x i beleive) and had a good poke around along the terminator (point between light and dark) even though it is hard to stand steady enough with such a small eyepiece and the slightest touch on the tripod causes vibrations that take at least 10 seconds to die out i still spent my remaining moon observation time viewing many of the larger craters and valleys.

After the moon had dissapeared below the horizon i decided to have a look at some of the regular messier and deep sky objects. I started with M31, at the time it was nearly overhead and the DS told me to check the mount before slewing to the object. I simply undone the tube clamp and slid the tube forwards through the clamp towards the front as far as possible then pressed goto again. Off the scope trotted "BEEEEEP" shouted the scope once the object was (apparently)aqquired, i say apparently because i could not see M31 anywhere in the field. I started to do a spiral search pattern outwards from where the scope thought it was, as i happend it was just out of field to the top left. I centered the object in the field then pressed and held the "ENTER" key for a couple of seconds and then let go, according to the manual this will sync the field such that the scope will then track that field. It worked, for a while (5->10 mins). The view of Andromeda was to say the least not that much better than through the bino's, colour all washed out, the entire object did not quite fill the field and looked like a bird had "unloaded" on the objective. I persisted anyway, using avverted vision and other techniques that i had read up on such as not closing your other eye but instead putting your hand over the spare eye. After the scope started to track badly i decided to try another object i can just make out with the binos, Alberio the double star in Cygnus. What a truly wonderfull site this was compared to the binos i could actually see each element of the double instead of just a single point of combined colours.

Recent observing sessions

Although my prevoius comments may be somewhat crittical, i keep forgetting that this is a fully featured telescope. I think this is where its problem lies, too much money spent on the electronic/mechanical side, rather than optics. Anyway, i have now had a good chance to hone my observing skills for the scope rather than binoculars, and, to that end i can no use this cheap and cheerfull observing tool to maximum effect. No longer does M31 look like the earlier described "bird droppings". It was my inexperience of using telescopes that mad me believe i had wasted my money. I havent. This is a good scope for a beginer like me.

I recently managed to get a good (45 minute) observation of M57 (The Ring Nebulae, a favourite of mine) although the object its self is tiny when observed through the 25mm eyepiece it is big enough to see. I have been using all the tricks i mentioned earlier for observing (averted vision, eyepatch) along with rotating the object to the edges of the field and back to the center. I have found the 9mm eyepiece practically useless on anything other than lunar observation sessions. Every time i think i have enough light to try the 9mm i get let down, even with the recent apperance of the MAG -2.2 juptier and -0.5 Saturn. Although i must confess, being persistant and not giving up has brought me a couple of instances where i can see 2 cloud bands above and below the equator on Jupiter. Keep in mind though, observations such as this are undertaken after the scope has cooled and i have been in my back garden in the dark for an entire evening and i wait untill the planets are at culmination (highest point (i think thats the right word)) before i break out the 9mm.

As a genral rule of thumb i only ever use the 25mm eyepiece for observing because the scope just doesnt collect enough light to use the 9mm. Plus the quoted 1000mm focal length is not _real_ from a physical point. If you look in the bottom of the foccuser tube you will see another set of lenses (a barlow ?) that i believe is used to increase the focal length without making the scope a meter long, if you have any info on this little device please send mail explaining what its for.

See below for a list of objects that i regularly observe in detail with this 114mm reflector, under dark skies (which i never get) the list would grow much longer. I must try to talk my other half into moving to the doldrums !

• M31
• Saturn
• Jupiter
• M81/82
• M34/35/36/37
• Orion Nebulae
• Alberio
• ZetUma
• M52/57/51

I regularly set up an SLR camera on the scope with a 28mm f2 lens for wide field photographs of constellations and objects of sufficent brightness to show up on film. Once i get a negative scanner i will start to upload these pics to this site, but for the time being i cant because i rarley get anything more than a roll on negatives back from the photo shop ! I also record all observations with a set of perl scripts i wrote that run on my home web server, i will one day upload these observations to this site for all to read.

To Sum Up

For a £350 all singing all dancing scope with goto you cant really go wrong. The optics are ok as is the mount. The tripod leaves a lot to be desired and needs some work out of the box to make it worth its weight. If i had known then what i know now i would have opted for a 6" dobsonian, but then i already knew my way around the sky. I cant really say that i have anything to compare it with other than my 10x50 Russian army binos. Obviousley the scope out performs these on some objects but the binos out perform the scope on most deep sky and Messier targets. The Meade would make a budding junior astronomer the happiest in town but for someone as crittical as me, dont waste your money. Build or buy a bigger dobsonian.

Modifications i have made

I have made some modifications to the scope. See the table below for further details.

1. I built a wooden tripod from some 4x2" i had laying around.
2. I converted the power to run from expensive AA's to a 12volt motorcycle battery.
3. I extended the Meade#506 cable set to five meters.
4. I fabricated an aluminium camera mounting bracket for wide field long exposure pictures.

Modification Details

Mod Type	Image	Description
Home made tripod		After several observing sessions i finaly decided to do somthing about the horrible tripod. I cut a 10 degree angle on the end of 3 1500mm pieces of 4x2" added a door hinge to the inside of the angled edge cut a rough cirlce from a piece of 15mm ply screwd the legs, via the hinges to the underside of the ply and disco. One very stable and ugly tripod. I can now actually lean, yes lean on the tripod whilst observing with out any vibrations.
Power Conversion		Duracell AA cost £3.97 per 4 from my local Tesco, Meade reckon on 40 hours from one set of eight. I know its more like 10 hours, somthing had to be done ! I had a motorcycle battery laying around so i charged it a connected a 100watt car headlamp bulb to check it was ok and it was. A headphone plug and socket was aqquired from a local electrical retailer for the princley sum of 65p. A bit of soldering and wire cutting (10 minutes total) and i had a rechargeable battery that lasted more like the 40 hours Meade reckon. Not only that but the scope slews like a nutter.
Cable set for computer control		The #506 cable set i bought was only about a meter long. Not good enough. I cant remeber any of the details for this mod but it only took about an hour. I can now control the mead with my laptop from the security and dryness of my shed.
Camera bracket		I have tried several methods of astrophotography with this scope. Eyepiece projection with a #64 camera adaptor, prime focus with the camera adaptor and afocal projection with a tripod. I also use a tripod and a Minolta SRT100x with some good results. All the scope methods where hard, so hard that i have given up untill i have more experience with night sky pictures. To that end i decided to put a camera bracket on to the scope, it is made from a 1000mm length of aluminium and a few m6 csk stainless screws. The circumference of the OTA is 430mm so i bent one end of the bar to a right angle then measured 440mm bent and cut off that end. I was pacing around looking for a former of some kind then i realised, our worst enemy the street lamp out side. A few strange looks from neighbours and a bit of sweat later i had a near perfect circular bracket. I drilled and bolted the joint then proceeded to make the camera mount bracket. This is 4 simple rightangle bends to make an upside down U shape. I have yet to try this mount but i will update you when i do.

Do you own a DS2114ATS ?

If you own or are considering owning a new or used Meade DS2114 or any other of the DS range of scopes please add your comments to this page by either using the form below or by sending your comments by email to me rob@thegeakes.co.uk. I hope that you will all participate in building a Meade DS range infomation library such as Mike Weasners ETX site. I have found searching for usefull information about these scopes on the net a fruitless passtime and hope that we can build a web based home for all Meade DS owners.

Visitor added comments

From: Tom Delery
I have a DS2114 and I have struggled with many of the same things you have experienced.
1) A dealer sold me a 505 cable kit for my autostar 494 in order to connect to a PC. I discovered later that the 506 is what I really need to control the scope from a PC. I’ve yet to buy that.
2) I have tried to read information off the web regarding astrophotography with this telescope. Here is what I can determine from those web sites and your web site:
1) The tracking of this scope is not accurate enough for long exposures.
2) you can use a digital camera to take avi shots that are then merged together with a computer program and this gives some pretty good results.
3) this autostar has great capability, but can also be complex if it is not tracking properly because you have options of resetting, retraining, recalibrating etc.
I liked you comment about getting a 6" dobsonian. One scope that looks appealing is the 10" Meade Newtonian with an equatorial mount Model SN10 Schmidt-Newtonian for $995 (US) + $150 UHTC special coating. This blends the autostar reatures with an equatorial mount that would aid astroimaging for what I can tell from the web sites. Silly as it might seem, I have yet to see a galaxy that I am aware of even though I’ve had the scope for 10 months. Seattle is sky challenged during the winter. I would have been nice to have a better manual for the DS2114. Mike Weasner’s web site is helpful. I hope your get to include a lot of comments on your site as well. Keep up the good work.

my garden is very light polluted but i have still managed to see most of the messier objects (81/82 being the hardest). Check your collimation when i collimated my scope the views improved quite a bit, although ti was quite nerve racking to do, it well worth it, especially if a courrier brought it to you, they can be a bit heavey handed.

From: Stacy Renee
I am purchasing the Meade Polaris DS2114ATS w/ autostar computer controller locates.. for my father as a christmas gift...is this telescope any good or is it junk ? I’d really would love to know before i puchase it in the next three days.
Highly appreciated

Its not as good as you might expect but its not junk. If your father know his way about the sky i would suggest a 6" dobsonian, that will cost less than the 2114. If he is a complete novice it is a good scope to have because of the autostar, this will help him learn the sky. Just dont expect to see images like the ones you see on the web. It takes practice to get the most from the scope.

From: Lisa Walker
I felt compelled to e-mail you regarding your telepscope for sale! I am currently looking to purchase a telescope for my partner who has little previous experience in this area and so looked on the net for some ideas and reviews to assist me. I came over this site that was a gentleman reviewing the telescope that I was looking at purchasing. Thanks to this gentleman and his honesty i have decided not to purchase the Meade DS2114. I then saw your telescope for sale and now realise that it was your review.

Thank you for your honesty!!!!!!

I wont stick my nose in too much because im not really qualified to comment on what scope to buy not having had much experience with these things but..... If he knows his way around the sky already get him a 6" dobsonian http://www.beaconhilltelescopes.mcmail.com/ do one for under 300 quid. If he does not download sky charts from the url below and buy him a 6" dobsonian from beacon hill !
http://www.stargazing.net/astropc/download.html

Thanks for your advice I have now purchased a Meade ETX 90 as there is a very good Christmas deal on and an anniversary offer too.

From: Larry Postell <carvoperro at msn dot com>
Thanks for the site, I hope to see it grow as well. I just opened my new DS-2114 so I have nothing to report as yet.
I’ll pass along any useful information I aquire

From: Caroline <Reviews at telescopehome dot com>
Hi Everyone,

I have just come back from testing both these scopes and have a few tips which may help. The tripod is the typical Junk that Meade spits out with its cheaper scopes. Autostar will
never have a chance to work well if it is balancing on match sticks. If you can not afford
a good tripod try this. First Put rubber stoppers on each leg, then to make the tripod more
sturdy and stop the shakes, hang a bag of sand underneath from the center of the trpod. This
should help.

From: <dotnet_dev at hotmail dot com>
I just baught the telescope after returning my ETX 70AT. Regarding the moon, the telescope typically turns using the
sidereal rate i.e. Rate which the earth moves however for the moon, you need to use another rate mentioned as the "lunar rate".
Hopefully this would track the moon. The way to get to it is:
Setup->Telescope->Tracking rate
As of now, I am pretty delighted with it and so are my kids! As such I hope to make a site for this telescope in time!

From: Greg Rogers

Hi Rob,

We’ve just purchased a 2114 for Xmas... and we were wondering if you have any advice regarding better eyepieces ?... I noticed that you have/are selling your 2114 on one of the sites I looked at prior to the purchase of ours. Originally we were in line to get a DS90 but that got ’lost’ in the post !.

Since the 25th, we have had a look at Saturn and Jupiter using the 9mm eyepiece.. I was a bit dissapointed as I thought they would appear larger, but at least I can see the rings around Saturn and some colouring on Jupiter I suppose. Andromeda was a haze, M32 looked like a few specks of light so far. One thing, we did manage to at least see our first meteor shower (Quadrantids) between 11pm and 2am in the morning on Jan 4th. The moon as yet is to appear on a cloudless night.

We are still trying to make sure the tripod is level in order to get the autostar to run well.
Any advice welcome. Rgds
Greg Rogers

From: Aaron Baker <aaron9999912002 at yahoo dot com>
I DID PURCHASE A DS2114 A WHILE AGO AND AFTER READING THE MANUAL FOR A WHILE IT’S BECOMING EASIER TO USE. MY TRACKING SKILLS ARE POOR THOUGH. I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SEE THE ORION NEB, TRIFID NEB,SOMBRERO GAL,MOON,MARS,SATURN,JUPITER AND A FEW OTHER MESSIER OBJECTS.I LIVE IN PA.(USA) AND THE WEATHER IS HEART BREAKING AT TIMES AND THE MOON TENDS TO WASH OUT SOME OF THE GREATEST SITES TO SEE BUT ALL IN ALL I THINK FOR THE PRICE THIS SCOPE IS WORTH THE MONEY.

I FEEL THE KEY IS HAVING PATIENCE AND ALL THE WONDERFUL SITES TO SEE WILL COME TO YOU.

From: Gary Hood <gary at hood8665 dot freeserve dot co dot uk>
Telescope bought in july 2002. Had several good sessions with it, providing me with all the views I require, excellent set up and optics, a real bargain.
G. Hood.

From: Kathy R <gm_tarkin at hotmail dot com>
I got a DS2114 for Christmas from my parents, and I didn’t have very much astronomy experience. I think that the telescope is not the greatest in the world, but I’ve had a lot of fun with it. It has been great learning my way around the night sky. It didn’t take me to long to learn how to align it, and I have seen tons of cool stuff. I like the Orion Nebula the best, I think. Anyways, I think that it is a great scope for the beginner who wants a fairly good quality and fairly compact telescope but if you have a lot of experience, you might be disappointed.

From: Rich Bryan
Rob,

I’m getting the hang of this DS-2114ATS......saw Jupiter last night! Still a little too cold here to spend a lot of time outside. I think I’m going to try to buy a lens a little stronger than my 25mm, but weaker than my 9mm(which is the next one in my kit)....trying to split the difference. I have a question though..... I have an adapter for the larger lenses. The kit says it’s a 2" adapter. Are there quality eyepieces in this large size? And do they help?

Thanks,
Rich Bryan

From: Ian Thomas
Hi Rob
good site - although I’m afraid I didn’t heed the advice on purchasing the DS2114 telescope - I did however get an ex-demo from the telescope warehouse for £270 so I think it should be ok at this price.
 
I was wondering however if you could give me a couple of tips as I’m a complete beginner ar astronomy and failed dismally on my first attempt at viewing using the autostar computer.
 
firstly - when it asks for the time ie. 00.00.00 AM - is this hours, mins, secs
also, when it asks about daylight saving - are we currently yes or no
also, when picking out a general bright star (complete novice remember) what would I expect to see using the 25mm and possibly the 9mm eyepieces
also, what additional eyepieces/accessories would you recommend - if any
Lastly - do you think a standard 240V - 12V transformer plugged into the mains could be used to power the motors

 
Many Thanks
 
Ian Thomas

From: James Jacobson
Hi -
 
This email is being sent to you because you are an owner of a Meade-DS telescope, and have recently posted questions on Mike Weasner’s site.
 
I just wanted to inform you that there is now a discussion group for Meade-DS telescopes at:
 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Meade-DS-Telescopes/
 
We are an active group with several members who are ready to assist and share advice regarding DS telescopes. We also have massive archives of information, downloadable files, and links. This is a great place where you can download that missing manual, ask a question, or find out how to tweak your telescope to get the best performance. We also have much information on controlling other non-meade telescopes using DS-motor kits.
 
Autostar expert Dick Seymour monitors our group, and is ready to assist in any Autostar-related questions.
 
If have already received a prior notice regarding this group, I apologize. We had a site crash, and have had to change addresses, so I am trying to get the word out as to our new location.
 
I look forward your input on our e-group!
 
Sincerely,
 
J. Jacobson (Meade-DS-telescopes Moderator)

From: Will Stewart <skyemoor at hotmail dot com>
I agree with your recommendation about buying a bigger dob. I did a minor amount of research when the astronomy bug hit me; I was fascinated with the GOTO capability (thought it would keep my kids interest level up) and assumed a 4.5" reflector would be sufficient. However, when I took it out for a spin, I was disappointed, as was my daughter (whom the scope was mostly intended for). The planets did not appear at the size I desired (even using a 6 mm Meade Plossl), nor did they resolve well.
 
I then started looking at various "How to Buy a Telescope" sites on web and learned what I should have done first; learn the sky with binoculars, go to star parties to become better acquainted with the equipment, and evaluate what I really wanted to see.
 
So I proceeded to learn the sky with binos and software (free Cartes du Ciel, lots of features), joined a couple of Yahoo astronomy groups, joined the local Northern Virginia Astronomy Club, and just dug much deeper.
 
It wasn’t long before I turned my DS2114ATS back in before the return date expired. I have since purchased a used Discovery dobsonian mount newtonian reflector and am amazed at the difference in size and clarity of objects. Nebulae, clusters, and galaxies resolve clearly, no longer smudges but sharp images that jump out at you, rekindling my awe and interest in the Deep Sky. I now feel I actually know a lot more about the sky after 4 weeks than I would have if I had stuck with the DS2114ATS for 5 years.
 
I now firmly believe the adage, "Aperature Rules". If its not too late, turn that DS2114ATS back in (or sell it on eBay) and get a larger aperature Dob (6" minimum, 8" more desirable); you’ll be glad you did. An 8" Discovery Dob costs the same as the 4.5" DS2114ATS.
 
To Tom D; Higher cost UHTC coatings lose their extra reflectivity in a short period of time, and need resilvering sooner. Spend the money you would have spent on UHTC on the next higher aperature size. Equatorial mounts are nice, but if you spend that money on aperature on a dob, you can build an inexpensive dob EQ mount later as you gain experience.

From: Steven <smturvey at yahoo dot co dot uk>
I have recently got my scope (?249 on special offer from www.telescopehouse.com) and was amazed at how easy it was to put together. The only problem I had was scroll speed on the display was very fast and me being me did not read the manual on how to slow it down. I just have the following thought.
 
1 - Is there anywhere that does a mains adaptor for the scope?
2 - Why is it that when I get the scope the next 5 days are expected to be cloudy/rainy?
3 - Can someone transalate the section on how to align the secondry mirror as I think mine is out.

1) Meade dont sell one. One thing to bear in mind is that almost any 12v DC power supply will do as long as
it can give equal ampage to the scope as the batteries (9104maHrs (about 1amp minimum) for duracel). Then you can
simply source a 9v battery clip and use that to supply the scope with as much power as it wants.
2) Why do babies whine ?
3) In very simple terms you ar trying to acheive perfect alignment of all reflecting surfaces in a tubular sence.
Try have a gentle twist of a screw while looking though the mirror, you will soon work out what does what. Must warn you
though, i tried it with mine and it made no difference. I think its the trick focusser lens that ruins the scopes optics.

From: <suffocate_V at hotmail dot com>
Subject: beep
Date: Sat Apr 26 07:04:18 2003
i have a sky-watcher 114mm X 900mm and you have meade which has 1000mm... MY TELESCOPE SUCKS i only used it a few times and got bored of it now its sitting in the corner for almost a month now >:( any suggestions for mw ;(

Must be real bad. I still persevere with mine...!

From: SHANE <PAPASAN70 at JUNO dot COM>
Subject: TRIPOD...CORDS
Date: Sat Apr 26 15:38:02 2003
DS114EC...For high altitude observations, found it nearly immposible to view through spotting scope. Leg of tripod was in the way of my feet and telescope constantly upsetting my alignment.
Electric cords wrapping around base was also irritating.
Did make a battery supply with Metal Hydride batteries that fit nicely in the base opening, using Radio shack battery holders (part number 270-409 and 270-408) and power plug.
Mounted compact level on scope using Velcro..not perfectly accurate, but better than eyeballing.

I gave up with the standard tripod. I made a sturdy wood one for in the garden at first, then i built a fixed, real heavy one. Now i use the wood one for "outings". Good job with the battery, i use a motocycle sealed gel pack for out and about and a car battery charger for home (runs the laptop too).

From: Shane <Papasan70 at Juno dot com>
Subject: reply
Date: Sat Apr 26 21:20:51 2003
Hi,Rob
You mentioned that you used a motorcycle battery
for your power source (Scope & Lap top)...I also use a 12V Car battery in the back yard, with an extended power cable (fully charged, last forever) (almost) ...also have the AC adapter, which became annoying (extension cord for setup etc) ...should have mentioned in previous comment, that I used Velcro to hold the batteries together, and added Velcro to the base platform (that hollow part of the Meade Telescope tripod base) ...hope this makes sense.
Thanks for your home made tripod comments

From: Europa <Not Supplied>
Subject: Tracking problem
Date: Thu May 8 03:14:53 2003
Hi,
I’ve experienced with Meade autostar 497 before and just bought Meade ds-2070 for a ’grab and go’ telescope. The problem is when I just want it to track in ’astronomical’ target mode, the image drift out of the field faster than not being tracked at all. However, if I do two-star alignment and go to the same object, it tracks wonderfully.

I’m not sure what is the real reason. I found this out in the same observing sesstion.

Thanks

This scope is alt/az, it doesent really track that well with out adjustments in both axes.

From: SHANE <>
Subject: 6 inch scope
Date: Thu May 8 15:25:58 2003
Hi everyone,
I hope other comments are welcome, not pertaining to the DS114 only.
I recently gambled and purchased a 6 inch equatorial Telescope that was advertised for ($148.00)..by (SYLVAN.COM)Company. with (2) Plossi eyepieces and tripod. (I know, I stuck my neck out)..Haven’t had the chance to really try it out other than MOON and JUPITER. optics look OK..tripod was somewhat cumbersone (use to ALT AZ scope)not Equatorial mounts. Like to make it clear that my opinion of the scope is mine only, and am not recommending it one way or the other. Does come in a new never opened box with manual and eye pieces...maybe a good buy, for low budget. Shipping is ($38.50) anywhere in U.S

You can have this one but its a bit ot.

From: Horse <jimhorsey at hotmail dot com>
Subject: DS2114ATS Help
Date: Sun May 18 01:56:08 2003
I have had my DS 2114 for about one year and I have had some difficulty clearly seeing objects that I would expect to see with this scope. When I look at Saturn, I see no rings - just the same fuzzy ball of light that I see when looking at Jupiter or pretty much anything else but the moon. I have tried all 3 lenses, with and without the 3x Barlow. I have (seemingly) followed the instruction manual and it appears to be optically aligned.

How clear are the above objects when you view them? Do you have any tips on how to improve my viewing or does this sound like a manufacturing issue.

Depending on the seeing and cloud cover all the objects in the list above can be seen quite clearly (keeping in mind its only a 114). When i used the scope last i found that keeping the tripod as low as it will go and adopting the seated postition will make the scope a whole world more stable.

From: henry <judyhenry at 3b dot com>
Subject: carrying case
Date: Tue Jun 24 01:20:34 2003
anyone have any ideas about a carrying case for the 4.5 inch reflector DS-2114ATS?

From: Irene <ilamb2 at doglover dot com>
Subject: Meade
Date: Thu Jun 26 04:30:56 2003
I bought a Meade DS2114ATS and it is very confusing as far as the goto feature. I’m new into
sky watching and I’m trying to read the manual and learn how this scope works. I’m a member
of an astronomy club and was told to bring scope to outing and they would help me. I guess
that is what I’ll have to do.

From: Hugh Sisson <tosem dot drywall at verizon dot net>
Subject: It grew on me
Date: Wed Jul 2 15:22:37 2003
I agree with everything you said

I bought the DS-2114 about 1 1/2 or two years ago and did night use it much until recently

Mostly because of the tracking problems like you said

But now I have GPS and that helps
What really helped me the most though was adding a 3x9 zoom Riffle scope to the top of the tube

Makes it much easier to sight in objects and don’t have to touch it

I had a hard time looking through the little viewer without bumping the telescope

Also I bought the Starynight Pro which tells me where to look

I like using the camera that came with it and hooking it to the 57 inch TV

I ordered the 505 cable which should be here today but just saw someone else said I need the 506 so I just ordered that

The camera is great for the moon but I was wandering if you can see anything else with it
I was hoping maybe to see the Andromeda galaxy
now that I found my 3x Barlow lens again

I’m hoping to video tape the Lunar eclipse on
11-9-03 I wrote down all the times of the different stages

In about a year I’m hoping to upgrade to something better If you get something you really like let me know

From: David Gilbert <chopperdog2 at yahoo dot com>
Subject: I got one
Date: Fri Jul 18 04:36:54 2003
Hi -- I got my DS about a month ago, it is our second scope, we also have a Meade 4504, it is also a 4.5 newtonian, with focal lenght of 970mm, but that is true, no corrective lens magic...it is also on a German Equatorial mount. We saw this scope in Discovery store for half off, made a quick decision to snap it up just for user friendlyness and portability...the shorter tube and lack of counterweights and what not make it MUCH easier to grab and go. I have struggled with collimation and poor skies, and am somewhat concerned about the images we will get with it...only a little more time will tell. The good news is, for viewing at home, I can always put my 4504 in the alt/az mount and have the best of both worlds. :)

Later,
David

From: Jon <jjinx at pacbell dot net>
Subject: The 505 cable
Date: Thu Jul 31 06:54:44 2003
I have what it takes to make a 505 of my own...anyone have a pinout chart?

Looks like a simple 9-pin to RJ-11 arrangement.

I can cobble that cable for 29 centavos American.

From: JACMATUTE <jacmatute at yahoo dot com>
Subject: Collimation
Date: Wed Aug 6 21:35:13 2003
Hello. Great site you have here. Have you ever had to collimate the ds-2114?? can you give me some tips on that matter?? I am totally beginner. I purchased the ds-2114 a week ago, and following instructions manual, realized that the optics need to be collimated (i think because of some rough handling perhaps...). I have looked for laser collimators but i´m not sure if they are totally necessary, instead of perform a manual collimation...
Thank you

Collimation....Now there is a nasty word!
I wouldnt go as far as a laser collimator, have a little fiddle with all the screws to get a good feel for the directions the mirrors will move when each screw is turned. Thats a good start. You can also point the scope level, stand about 10feet away and see roughly how well the scope is collimated. I dont like to do it myself, allways worride i will make it worse...Sorry!

From: John Bauman <Baumanjoh at juno dot com>
Subject: ok from here
Date: Sat Aug 9 15:37:44 2003

From: John Bauman <Baumanjoh at juno dot com>
Subject: ok from here
Date: Sat Aug 9 15:42:52 2003
Never really got to use the telescope much.Did find out that I had to change the eyepiece to 1.25 so i could attach my camera.
I purchase the meade at BJ’S and I thought the price was good.For what I was using,this was a good upgrade.Maybe I should have spent more money,but it looks good for what I want to do.
I would like to be able to see Mars a little closer,but
Looking for a case for it,maybe someone might know where to purchase

John

From: bill turney <oldmamu at aol dot com>
Subject: collimation
Date: Tue Aug 26 12:52:45 2003
instructions for coll. of this scope have been of little help. either my eyesight is terrible or i’m not understsnding inst. cannot get images to jive with pictures in manual at all.
is there a simplified way to coll.? any help greatly appreciated.

Bill

Whaaaa......
I now have a 250mm reflector and i still cant collimate it to save the world. I dont jknow if you have already been there but you could try the collimation guide that is linked from the front page of the astro section of my site. Stuff i believe it is called. I have only one tip......Stand afront the tube such that you can see the whole mirror and simply make sure the reflection you see is even on each side!
Sorry i cant be of more help, collimation is the same for all reflectors so anything you find on the net will be of use.

From: marlene <ddob at mindspring dot com>
Subject: need help
Date: Fri Aug 29 13:03:16 2003
I just bought the meade ds-2114 telescope and put it together last night. I must be the biggest idiot in the world because I cannot make the autostar work. I did exactly what the directions told me to do. It did not even track mars which was right in front of my face.
Any comments for a beginner?

Keep Trying....
Rob

From: CigTech <CigTech at verizon dot net>
Subject: AutoStar
Date: Mon Sep 1 04:01:40 2003
Hi all,

I own the Meade DS-114 ES,It’s a step down from the AT. It came with the .965" eyepieces and the 2" adapter. I got theAutoStar for it after I bought the scope.

The mount is a Altitude/Azimuth. It’s needs a lot of work to make it right. The Tipod is realy bad. I have got Meade to replaced the AutoStar becuase it would run far off objects thatitwas tracking. Now the new one is doing the same thing after two years. Oh well,I’ll have to eat the replacement cost this time.

I have had no problems with the scopes it self. In fact Ilove this scope. The extra have all the problems the problems. Going to build a 2"x4" peir mount for the scope mount.

I would like more info on the camera mount you made,if you could send it. Thanks

CigTech

From: Dan Grimes <Danielgrimes84 at hotmail dot com>
Subject: DS 2114
Date: Tue Sep 9 01:02:42 2003
I bought the DS 2114 on Aug 27, upgrading from the telescope I have had for nearly 3 years.(Tasco 60mm refractor). I agree with the comments made on this site especially on the tripod construction and the collimation of the scope however these problems were overcome. I have had to send my mount away for repair as one of the motors is playing up. It makes a sound as if its going but won’t acctually move the scope.(batteries arn’t the problem as I placed in fresh batteries and it was still the same). On the plus side I am pleased with the overall performance of the scope the alignment and goto features are a vast improvement on my old scope and the goto has enabled me to see all sorts of deep space objects for the first time. I hope to get out and into the Pennines with it to get some clear skies away from the lights of Manchester and I am currently thinking about my first forrays into astrophotography. Anyway nice site and your piece ellaborating on the collimation of the scope is much more understandable and comprehensive than the guide offered in the telescopes provided mannual.

cheers!

From: Allanp <akaalp at aol dot com>
Subject: Collimation again
Date: Tue Sep 16 23:14:06 2003
I am at my wits end. I have tried to collimate my DS2114 for 2 weeks. I have turned every screw, moved every bit and still I cannot get a clean image. Everything looks like a comet with the tail at about 3 o’clock. If anyone has ideas/recommendations before I give up completely I’d appreciate knowing.
Allan.

From: David Gilbert <dgilbert at cortechs dot com>
Subject: Collimation of this beast
Date: Wed Sep 17 00:39:27 2003
All -- a while back, I got a DS2114ATS to go with my 4505. I was
very frustrated with the collimation, and ultimately probably made
things much worse than where I started. To completely reset and
begin again, this is what I did. Having seen other posts about this
particular scope, and about how to collimate when things have gone
very very badly for whatever reason, I present this somewhat
unorthodox procedure to all, in hopes that it might help some other
poor soul.

I am by no means an expert, so anyone who feels compelled to correct
or comment on my procedure, please do. Most of this should apply
equally to any newtonian. That being said...


The basic steps I used were:

1. Reset the Primary
2. Reset the Secondary
3. Align the Secondary to the Primary
4. Star test to fine tune

Details and comments

1. Reset the Primary -- after tweaking it to death, I felt there was
no other choice. First, a word about the primary, since I have seen
others ask about this; there are six screws on the back of the
primary, three adjustment screws and three locking screws that are
supposed to hold the mirror in adjustment once you have it there. It
has been my experience that the locking screws just mess up the
adjustment, so I no longer use them, they are permanently backed out
about a quarter inch from my mirror.

To reset the primary, first I took it off the OTA. Assuming that all
mounting surfaces are perpindicular and straight and true (a stretch
I know, but what else can you assume?), then to align the primary
parellell to the OTA should be synonomous with leveling it in its
casing, which should make it perpindicular to the mounting surface.
To do this, I laid the mounting ring on a flat level surface, in my
case my kitchen counter, shiny side up. Then, using a simple 6"
level from Home Depot, I checked level in three directions. Thinking
of the adjustment screws as a triangle, use the screw at the top and
measure in a straight line down, bisecting the line between the two
screws on bottom. By doing this, you make adjustments easy...If the
bubble runs toward the screw, screw it in, bringing the mirror down.
Once that plane is level, rotate another screw to the top, and
repeat. Only adjust two of the screws...if you adjust all three, you
can chase yourself around in circles all night. So when the third
screw comes to the top, if the bubble runs toward it, you should
adjust the other two screws in equal amounts. Then, start the
process all over...a few rounds should result in a perfectly level
primary.

I also took this opportunity to spot my primary. In order to get
this right, I took some black string, and tied it into each of the
three mounting screw holes, then pulled it straight across the
primary and taped it to the other side. When all three strings
crossed at a single point, that was center of the primary and the
spot went there. I opted for a black marker spot, small, dead
center. In retrospect, that was not the best choice, it was very
hard to see a black spot that small, especially in the reflection of
my pupil!! If I had to do it again, I would go with the paper
binder ring.

2. Reset the secondary -- I have noticed in many posts about the
2114ATS, mine included, that this seems to be a big problem out of
the box, not sure why. But here is how I reset mine. With the
primary still off from step one, I took some more black string, and
tied it to the three mounting screw holes in the OTA, pulled it
across the primary opening, and taped it to the other side, adjusting
it until all strings crossed at a single point. This is the center
point of the OTA. Now, point the BACK end (the one with the strings
instead of the primary now) at a wall, preferably a white one. Now
look through the focuser with no eyepiece. Since the primary is
gone, rather than seeing the traditional view out the front, what you
should now see is the view out the back, with a three pronged
crosshair against the white wall. Using that as your target, align
the secondary under the focuser and centered on the crosshair. This
is very similar to the basic eyeball collimation we all know, I wont
go over all the rings within rings details or try to recreate the
diagrams..the trick here is that you have a great visual reference
with the crosshair out the back, and you are only doing about half
the job here which cuts down on the visual confusion.

3. Align the Secondary to the Primary-- Now, take all the strings
off, and reattach the primary to the OTA. In THEORY, (as far as I
know), things should be perfect now. The difference between theory
and reality is greater in reality than it is in theory. NOW do the
total eyebal collimation...you should be very close now.

Also, with the funky lens at the bottom of the focuser, vignetting is
awful...I found that focuser all the way in was much easier to work
with than focuser out.

Oddly enough, my spot was not centered under my focuser at this
point...but I opted to trust my theory rather than the spot, and left
things alone. On to step 4.

4. Star Test to Fine Tune -- Start test is definitely the final word
on collimation. I start with a low power lens to get close, then
finish up with the 9mm. Pretty simple process...find a nice bright
star, put it in the center of the field of view, rack slightly out of
focus and see what you get. If all is well, you should see
concentric rings around a dark spot. Likely, the rings will pull in
one direction.

With the short tube, what I found really helpful was to stand
directly behind the scope and look over it into the eyepiece, which
was situated top centerline of the OTA. By doing this, the image
correlates properly with what I see when I step back and look at the
adjusting screws in the back. Now, think of the light just like the
bubble when we leveled the primary; if the light pulls toward the
screw, screw it out which should push the primary in, which should
push the image back down in the viewfinder. Again, you only want to
adjust two of the three adjustment screws, a little advanced planning
can be helpful here.

When I was all done, here is what I ended up with. With the image
dead centered, collimation is pretty good, although not perfect.
However, the imperfection is inconsistant moment to moment, leading
me to believe the issue is not mechanical, and therefore I should
stop tweaking. However, as the image approaches the edge of the FOV,
it deteriorates badly. This fits the description of Turned Down
Mirror perfectly...also, I get different aberations on either side of
the focus point, again, agreeing with the definition of turned down
mirror. I am concerned that this is simply an effect of the funky
corrective lens they are using to get a focal length of 1000mm out of
an 18" OTA...otherwise, I have a defective primary. I would
appreciate any and all feedback on both my collimation process, and
the ultimate results of other ATS owners, as I hate to think I threw
my money away on this.

Well, I hope this helps someone. Thanx to all that have helped me.

Happy Skies,

David

I will have to try this oneday!
Rob

From: Steven <smturvey at yahoo dot co dot uk>
Subject: help
Date: Thu Oct 9 09:55:06 2003
I have been using the telescope for a while now and have a few queries.
1 - I have been trying to use prime focus projection and would like to know how to calculate the maginfication.
2 - Is there an electronic focuser which can be used with the DS2114 or how would one be made?

From: GarryB <garry dot batt at blueyonder dot co dot uk>
Subject: Collimating the DS2114
Date: Fri Oct 24 15:51:17 2003
Has anyone tried to collimate this telescope. Are there any good tips for getting this right. I have followed the manual but it’s not too helpful for a novice.

Any clues would be much appreciated.

Regards
GarryB

From: David <kcchieffan31 at hotmail dot com>
Subject:
Date: Thu Jan 29 01:52:26 2004
Dan,

I have a question about the DS-2114ATS? Since meade does not make a carrying case is there any other case(Maybe a celestron case) you can use.

Ive never bothered with a carrying case cos im to embarresded to take it out anywhere ;-)
Rob

From: Ron <rcsmathers at ford-city dot us>
Subject: DS2114ATS DC Power
Date: Sun Feb 22 14:11:35 2004
I just bought and assembled this scope. I tried to power up the Autostar and I can get no responce. I am concerned that the power may be backwards. The red wire is the DC- connection and the Black is DC+. Opposite from what I expect. I do not want to have to send the unit back. Any help on the DC polarity or how to open it up to check the circuit board ?

Red is +, Black is -.

From: Andrew Davidson <andrewcomputerking at hotmail dot com>
Subject: DS207At
Date: Mon Feb 23 11:27:06 2004
I ordered a Meade DS207AT from Southwest Optics because of an offer I saw in Astronomy Now magazine. It came in two days but the Autostar and Motor Drive weren’t working! When a man from Southwest Optics came and fixed it I took it outside. Although it took 5 minutes to align I found that the database wasn’t very accurate. But the actual telescope more than makes up for that. The DS207AT is a 70mm refractor with a 700mm focal lenght. Saturn through it was small but the rings were fantastic. I couldn’t make out the Cassini division though. You can clearly see the Galileon moons and cloud belts on Jupiter. For the £200 I spent on a small but good quality telescope I love it.

Andrew, seemd like your another chappie. Ive never go a look through either of the DS refractors. Would be nice to compare.

From: Wayne Hamilton <jetdoctor0 at yahoo dot com>
Subject: New DS2114ATS Owner
Date: Fri Feb 27 02:12:34 2004
Hey There guys,

I own a DS2114ATS. Had it little more thana a week. And Other than trying to decipher Meades manual for Aligning yet worse Training it.

I Believe I discovered the Alignment Problem.

I went to setup and picked my Country/State/City so on so forth. Haven’t tried it yet thanks to Mother nature.

The Training part I’m Puzzled about. I Pick On object and center both viewfinders on it and start the train Brogram for the proper mount that i have and I continues on Askingto center and so on. How many times or How long should this take? I’ve done it for what seems to be 5 minutes but it just does’nt find the center by itself.

Also What’s a good filter to see Saturn a little less bright? I had a telescope years ago and it came with a "Moon" filter. What about Venus? It looks like very close up star than a planet. Jupiter is also far too bright to see any detail, Filters again? Saturn is another Bright planet.

I never did train my scope, just used it. As for the bright planets, get a pieice of card and hold it over the front of the scope. Effectiveley you are reducing the apeture and there fore, light grasp. This should dim the objects.

From: Eric S. <schatzy at net1plus dot com>
Subject:
Date: Mon Mar 8 12:16:09 2004
Received the Meade DS2114 for Christmas and have used it 10-12 times as it has been very cold in the northeast us since xmas. I have enjoyed the scope as a beginners unit. Used to have a 60mm Tasco and got to know a little about the skys but never had much luck seeing anything very well as the amount of light coming into the scope was very little. Could not even see the Rings of saturn with the Tasco, but have been able to see the rings very well with the DS2114. Now about the Focal Length on the DS2114. The one I have in Marked 910mm NOT the 1000mm that every one is talking about. After measureing the scope and doing out all the calculations I came up with an actual of 912.5mm at the center of the primary mirror. As for my experience with the Tracking it is not the best but it does work if the alignment is done well. I find it works better if you use two stars on opposite sides of the sky. Definately do not use two stars that are with in 40 degrees of each other in the sky it is just not enough distance between them to give the tracking software enough to go on. I think it is a great scope for the little money that it cost ($249 at BJ Wholesale) and it will allow the begginer and lower intermidiate folks to get a better understanding of the sky and what is out there. As for getting a better scope - someday when I can aford a $16,000 dolloar scope and live in an area that has a lot less light polution then I will get one. Until then I will use my DS2114 and continue to go to the local astronomy club outtings and view thru others scopes as well.

A satisfied customer!
Rob

From: Jonathan Smith <JonathanUK007 at aol dot com>
Subject: DS2114ATS
Date: Thu Mar 18 18:46:19 2004
I have just bought a meade DS-2114ATS and i have had it up in the garden but i cant see anything good about it, what i think are planets is just a white fuzzy dot, i am hoping and praying i have not wated my money, though i am near a light area, would i see a planet for definate if i were in complete darkness? i wonder.

You can see the larger planets in broad daylight even with a 4.5" scope. Make sure you use the lionger eypeice to locate the object. i have never had good views from the 9mm!
Rob

From: Mark Garth <Not Supplied>
Subject: DS2114ATS 506 cable
Date: Mon Mar 29 14:52:15 2004
Had my scope for about a month now and despite living near London (Large light polution) I’m pleased with the results. As I’d like to make my own, I’m looking for a pin out for the #506 cable. It seems expensive to buy at £40+.

Any ideas???

Mark, the trouble is the #506 cable set contains a little board, not to sure what it does but i know when i by-passed it the scope failed to work at-all!
Rob

From: sinead <shocking1 at hotmail dot com>
Subject: where can i find a ds2114
Date: Thu May 6 11:15:37 2004
im finding it hard to find a repertable company that stocks the ds2114. can you recommend one?

If you let us know what country in which you reseide im sure we can help!

From: Alex <Not Supplied>
Subject: Decent Scope - Lousy mount
Date: Mon May 10 19:04:36 2004
My mother bought me this scope for x-mas. She got ripped off badly (paid $600) after being convinced that it actually cost $800. Amazon sold it for $300.00

Anyway, the scope itself is OK for a beginner but the mount and Autostar does really suck.

I have sent the mount back to meade twice for problems and it still does not work.

1st - Mount would not turn ("motor fault")
2nd - AutoStar display washed out
3rd - When pressing direction buttons would get stuck and just keep going forcing me to power down (This is still a problem!!!).
4th - Sometimes on Cold nights mount would not go up or down (gear contraction issue?)

I would have thrown that POS mount out along time ago had this not been a gift from my Mom.

Has anybody been able to get meade to substitute mount for a equatorial mount?

I have not heard of anyone getting a replacement from Meade. I would guess its becuase they believe the mount is substantial enought for the task. My brother mount my old ds to an eq1 with good results.

From: Sam <cr4zy69 at aol dot com>
Subject: Astrophotography
Date: Tue May 25 18:10:44 2004
Hey Everyone,

I was really interrested in buying the Meade 2114....that was until i found this site ha ha. im really interested in Astrophotography and thought this was an ideal telescope. that agin...was until i found this site. Ive found some really mixed reviews on this telescope and was wondering is this telescope suitable for Astrophotography...im a COMPLETE novice by the way. I was hoping to purchase a telescope which would teach ME about astronomy . Also id like to be able to take decent pictures - good enough to sell.... can you recommend a telescope to me? within a £300- £400 budget

Kind Regards

If you are wanting to take astro pictures to sell i reckon you may want to add another 0 to your budget and go for a 102mm apo refractor. The ds will teach you a small amount about astronomy, object locations. But thats about it, if you reall want to learn get a pair of 10x50 binoculars and a book, go to star parties and astonomy clubs and read...read...read...read!!!

From: Brad Chapman <Not Supplied>
Subject: DS 2114
Date: Mon Jun 21 02:16:49 2004
I have recently purchased the DS 2114 from one of my local camera retailers.

Thanks to the honesty of the retailer, I got the scope at a bargain basement price as he was so disappointed with the quality of the .9 inch eye pieces that came with the scope that he wanted to send it back to the distributer and not sell it to me.

I ended up getting the scope for half it’s Australian retail value ($299 AU, about 100 pounds for all you pom’s), and used the savings to buy some high quality PLOSSL 1.5 inch lenses ($89 each!).

I agree with most posters here in my opinion of the tripod... it really is unsteady, fragile and quite low in material quality. But I have no complaints about the image resolving ability of the scope combined with the PLOSSL lenses, or short term tracking ability of the AUTOSTAR system, and once aligned correctly, I have found the GO TO feature quite accurate.

Few tips for users that I have found through use and research... completely ignore the figures on the telescope mounts... use a compas and spirit level to align the scope (I am considering permanently attaching the level to the main tube), make sure your loaction, time and date information is up-to-date (easy to forget, especailly if moving about) then run the two object setup procedure. I have found using the GO TO to search out a planet is a good initial alignment test.

Though I most likely have far less high quality telescope experience than some, I can assure you that this scope far excedes my old TASCO refractor which I have been using for the last 20 years... which, ironically, has found a new lease on life in my daughters hands, thanks to the addition of a new set of .9 inch lenses (courtesy of the 2114)

I am in the process of manufacturing a new solid timber mount and tripod, like I did with my old TASCO (which also had a lousy tripod - what gives?).

I am interested in using this scope for astrophotography, but am concerned with the effect the additional weight (and inherented balance issues) may have on the tracking motors. Any suggestions?

I am sure that over time I will discover some quirks and issues with this scope, due to it’s relience on rather finicky electronics, but for now I am one happy viewer.

Big thanks for this site, valuable comments all round.

Clear Skies all,

Brad

Yes, after mounting the OTA to a better tripod and mount optically the scope is really good.

From: Robert W <Not Supplied>
Subject: ebay purchase of ds2114ats
Date: Wed Jun 23 03:52:49 2004
Hi i recently purchased this scope from ebay from meade factory outlet on ebay for 135 bucks - it seemed like a good deal but have yet to be able to try it do to weather or other situations.... anyway I am going to try it out tonight and see what I see, (wish me luck)

Also since reading this site and all I am curious if I can use the mount and autostar system for any other scope -
so lets say I go out and buy a larger 6" dobsonian...
would I be able to make this autostar mount and work on the larger one ?

I did once connect an SLR camera to the top of the scope and it could handle no more than a 50->70mm telephoto without grinding to a halt and suffering slip. I reckon a skeleton tube 6" scope would be pushinf the capabilities of the mount!!!

From: Robert W <Not Supplied>
Subject: Updated
Date: Wed Jun 23 08:28:32 2004
attempt #1 first I aligned the spotting scope and then I waited till dark. So I have a super clear sky and follow the autostar EASY instructions. I see a star and kinda try and center it best that I can and then it points at another star and I align that one to center then I tell it to look at the moon.... well it missed the moon by at least 20 degrees so i musta screwed something up - I didnt waste time figuring it out though because I forgot the most important thing in the world when you are star gazing.
MOSQUITO Repellant. wow I was getting chewed up so I packed up and went home to get some OFF deep woods spray - that done I go out again - keep in mind I am driving about 10 miles to the site btw
Attempt #2 I try again I point the dust cover end north and set the scope level or at 0 I even go as far as to set a level on the scope and the tripod just to be sure.
I still couldnt align it... so I gave up
then I pointed it at the moon. that was pretty cool then I tried the 12.5 eyepeice and couldnt find the moon to save my life
I will have to try and set the spotting scope up again when I have light.
So basically no luck with the autostar but I did see the moon very clearly. the focus knobs just suck so badly its just terrible. there is no fine adjustment on the focus ring either wich seems odd

Keep trying Robert, sounds pretty much like my first attempts at aligning the scope!!!

From: Aaron <astral_47 at hotmail dot com>
Subject: I agree
Date: Tue Jul 27 06:13:49 2004
Hey Man Im from Australia, thanks for your’e website its the best critique on the Ds-2114 I have found so far. The 9mm really is useless for anything other than lunar, unfortunately I live in Sydney and dont get the right observing conditions for messier or other deep sky objects and would definately opt for a dobsonian 6" or 8" if I were to buy a telescope again. its all about apeture. anyway my question is do you know whether the barlow 2X lens is worth purchasing, for the 25mm another guy on another website swears by it but I don’t see how it would improve the optics dramatically. and also, have you seen Mars through the 2114 because I want to know whether its possible to see its polar caps. thankx you can reply to the email if you get the chance, and once again congrats for the website, very helpful :-)

Aaron, i dont actuall have a ds anymore, i now have a huge dobs mounted Europa 250mm. I never did get to see mars as anything more than a red/orange dot. The thing with using a barlow is the eye relief, a barlow will x2 your ep’s focal length but the eye relief stay the same making the image easier to view. I never tried one but hey, if you can get a cheap one and try it, it may well be woth it!!

From: Mandy <mandy at Waznet dot info>
Subject: Help
Date: Sat Sep 11 20:01:42 2004
I am a very new beginner, I have had my telescope for over a year but have only managed to figure it out 2 days ago and actually start "finding" things.

I thought I would practice a bit today on terrestrial objects but found that the view Im getting is at 45 degrees! Is this normal I thought the mirror just inverted.

It may be a daft question, I hope you dont mind. Thank you.

Mandy

No, not a daft question! The scope is a reflector and, by its nature makes left right and up down!!! Its a mirror so it will be backwards...

From: Dusan <dusand at seznam dot cz>
Subject: My experience with DS-2114ATS
Date: Mon Sep 13 22:06:23 2004
I bought this telescope as a recommendation from Sales guy at EfstonScience in Toronto, as the best telescope for the beginers. Of course I read lots of orticles about telescopes prior to this buy but the opinions were so different that I didn’t really get a clue what is the best scope for me so I went to specialized store as noted above. I was looking at something that is computer controlled and is within 500-1000CAD range. So I got Meade DS-2114ATS telescope. I brought it home and quickly assembled but problems started to appear right away:

1.) The base knob screw didn’t want to attach to the base thru tripod. I realized that the attaching screw and the hole in the base were the problem.
2.) When I powered AutoStar handbox, it was constantly saying "Motors Misaligned".

After trying all the different options and setting I realized that there must be something wrong either with handbox or base. So I called the Efston Science store to report my problem. The guy told me that I’m not following the instructions. So I took the scope and went to the store so sicne they are specialist in this field, they will quickly demosntrate what I’m doing wrong. Now comes the fun part:

As I entered the store, the only guy that was there told me that I have to wait for the particular sales to help me out. But since the first thing was kind of mechanical issue, he tried to helped me. He put on the washer on the tripod knob that was missing in originall packing and that got things sorted out. Next issue was the motors. Whatever he tried the motors were not working, the 20 minutes later came the guy who sold me the telescope. He tried the same and it wasn’t working. I was just looking at those guys how they try to do something that was just absolute waste of time. I even had to bring the manual for them to learn that allignment procedure. After an hour of trial and error they finally realized that something is really wrong with the base. Fortunatelly, they had a spare base and they replace it and everything was working without any problems. I was just wondering how such specialists have so much trouble and lack of knowledge about the scope that was one of the most popular units that they sold. On top of that I asked them if I can get a connector cable for my laptop PC. They search thru their catalogs and sold me #505 Connector Cable even it uses #506. :-)

I brought the scope home and assmebled it and alligned without any problem at all. Everything was working fine. I went out and saw the moon nicely even with smaller eyepiece. However that was the only thing that I saw that night because of bad colmination. Collminating the scope is a real nighmare if you don’t know what you are doing and do not have the right tools. So after many hours spent with collmination I finally was rewarded. After proper collmination you can see a lot especially when there is a good visibility and dark sky.

There are 2 things that are the most crucial after collmination:

1.) Steady tripod, especially for use with smaller eyepieces 9.7 and lower

and

2.) Meade #1240 electric focuser. This is a must especially if you want to use the original tripod. Otherwise forget to see anything with smaller eyepieces.

What I learned from this is that telescope is much more complicated thing thant a TV set or something similar, especially when you are beginner and have no clue about many things. Originally I was thinking that I will come to a site put the scope on a stand and I will just enjoy watching the sky objects. Forget it!!! You have to learn the sky first, so you know how to alligned it. Then collmination is important and of course other things. If I should summarize my experience. Every night when I go out with my scope I just see more and more things and I’m very happy. So the error is not in the scope but in the user. :-)

Ohhh, wait til you have a go of a real scope...!

From: Henny Veerman <hennyveerman at hotmail dot com>
Subject: DS 2114 ATS
Date: Sun Oct 24 18:44:59 2004
Hi, a couple of months ago I bought a DS 2114. I used it for a couple of times now and I’m really happy with it.
I have one problem with it though: the collimation. The manual gives a very crude way to collimate it, wich is far from enough. Therefor I read some info on the internet and I have read some chapters in some books about star-testing. Meanwhile, I placed a dot on the primary and made some basic collimation tools myself. After some work I still have errors in my image like coma. So, I’m still working on it!
The autostar works really nice! But I haven’t made really long during observations, so I can’t really say anything about the tracking quality.
I did use the scope together with a ToUcam to make some pictures: really nice. It’s fun to be able to show your friends the results of all the work you did in your backyard :-)
(see www.geocities.com/hennyveerman for them; unfortunatly the info is in dutch, sorry.)
By the way: the problem with the moon drifting out of the field of view is not just because of the tripod, the scope has a lunar tracking rate instead of the sidereal rate you can select!!!
Anyway, I think that Rob has summed it up quite nice. What I like to add is that it can be difficult for beginners to collimate the scope when the scope needs it. An important point to think about if you decide between a newtonian or other scopes.

Rob, thanks for all the information!
Greetz,

Henny.

You got that right, ive spent sooooo much time trying to collimate my 250 that i went and bought a 150mm refractor. No more collimation for me!

From: DaveB <Not Supplied>
Subject: Fed up with DS2114
Date: Fri Oct 29 23:26:53 2004
I bought a DS-2114 a few months ago and I’m completely fed up with it. The tracking is terrible, the easy align fails for no reason, and the mount doesn’t always move in elevation.

I’m thinking of taking the whole telescope apart and using the primary and secondary mirrors, focuser (without the darn lens), finder scope and finder scope mount to build a 4.5" dob that is truly F=1000mm. Has anyone ever tried this?

Dude,
read the little bit above on the lense behind the eyepeice!!! This may be possible but the objectives in these scopes are not parabolic! YOu would need to re-figure the mirror....

From: alan midgley <admidge1 at optusnet dot com dot au>
Subject: Query
Date: Wed Nov 3 12:50:03 2004
Hi Robert
"Talk to the Guru" I say. We are considering a scope for our 16 y/o interested astronomer. The DS2114ATS was suggested...yes a salesman.
What are your thoughts? I am green in this area as is my daughter and it’s all abit daunting.
Happy to hear your thoughts. They are about $530 Aus here.
I live in maryborough Queensland Australia. A great little place to bring up your kids.

Keen to hear your thoughts
Cheers
Alan Midgley

Alan,
For a beginer its not too bad but i would say the optics will let it down quite badly. The build quality is ok but i will say 500+ dollars is a bit steep for a scope of this quality both optically and contruction!

From: m. russell <whitneyrussell at bellsouth dot net>
Subject: new owner of ds2114
Date: Sun Nov 14 05:07:08 2004
Just purchased my ds 2114 the other day, and have only used it for a total of 5-6 hours.Im finding it hard to align the scope for some reason or an other. But i have set to north @ 0 degrees and tried easy align , two stars . My problem is i cant discern which star is what through my scope , and that has left me clueless at what im actually looking at through my scope ! Any suggestions?

Take a chill pill,
The trick is to pick 2 stars that you know!!! Also go for opposite sides of the sky, one west and one east or one south and one north.. This give quite an accurate align. You DO need to have a star map about so you can look up what alignment stars your using....

From: Gman <Not Supplied>
Subject: Upgrades to DS2114-ATS
Date: Mon Nov 15 07:57:12 2004
Well I myself picked up a refurb DS2114-ATS cheap enough to make its "problems" less painfull to fix. One of the interesting things I found out about the mirror in my scope was while the mirror blank was technically 114mm only around 106mm of the mirror serface was actually coated. The edge of the mirror was beveled on the reflective surface. I am not sure if this is because this unit I got was a refurb or if that is normal of all the mirrors is the DS2114-ATS or not, but thought it was interesting.
I have since picked up a true parabolic mirror that is a 108mm F/4 mirror to install in the scope, and the image quality has increased considerably. Picked up a mirror from Edmunds Scientifics for around $89 US.
Additionally I got rid of the nasty big black mirror clips by using a flexible silicon adhesive to cement the mirror in place. This allows me to use the entire 108mm of the mirror surface. If you looked at how much of the mirror was unobstructed by the mirror clips it would be around 100mm.
The next thing I did was get rid of the stupid aluminum tripod and made a adjustable mount outof some good aluminum tubing. I made a base that would allow me to raise the scope so the alt/az could function as an equitorial mount.
I found that in the 494 controller for the scope there was an option to change the mount control from bein Alt/Az to Polar. From talking to meade this will make the motors track as if they are a polar aligned scope.
As soon as I get some good weather (been socked in fog for the last three weeks) will see how she tracks as a polar.
Why put so much effort into such a small scope? That is half of the fun of it for me. Already built myself a 12" dob, and part of the fun is tweaking this and that trying to see what I can improve (or sometimes make worse.)

Sounds like your having fun Gman!!!

From: Jonathan <Not Supplied>
Subject:
Date: Sun Nov 21 03:08:54 2004
I have a DS2114. It is the first telescope I have owned. I find the goto feature very useful in finding things to look at, but am not sure whether I should be able to see more having got there.

I only had telescope alignment problems when I got the time or date wrong, and have found the object that I wanted in the field of view with a 25mm eye piece most of the time, and have assumed that when I cant find the object, it is probably too dim or indistinct to see. Occasionally the cord snags, and makes the drive clutch slip.

I haven’t had too many tracking problems except when trying to train the scope on objects, when the scope then moves back to settle with the object just outside the field of view. I think this something to do with motor backlash settings, which I will try to fix sometime. I haven’t really tried it over an extended viewing period. If the power voltage drops too much, I have found that the processor crashes, leaving one or both of the motors grinding away.

The biggest problems I have had is focusing, with the fit of the focusing tube very sloppy indeed, and almost impossible to use. I’ve taped a couple of straitened out paper clips between the inner and outer focusing tubes to act as springs and try to make the fit tighter, which works OK, although looks very Heath Robinson.

Other modification is to use a 12V 2.2AH SLA battery that is thin enough to sit in the battery bay and short enough not to foul the tube when it is level.

I too have had problems looking at nebulae, although I though it must simply have been a question of my eyes not being sensitive enough, and was planning to try some astro photography to see if I can see some of the fainter detail and colours that way (and I can find a cheap enough way of doing it. What should I be able to see? I live on the Chilterns, where there is only a little light pollution from Reading.

I have also had a lot of problems getting a clear image, especially at higher magnifications; the image is often "smeared", especially if the object is not centred in the image (not made any easier by the motor backlash problem), and is always fuzzy if using anything other than the 25mm eyepiece. I’m not sure if this is cheap or damaged optics, the mirror alignment not being correct or my eyes! I was also wondering what sort of things the telescope should be capable of resolving; I’ve never been able to see the Cassini Gap, or the bands on Jupiter. the specification says 350x, although with a 9mm eyepiece (eg 110x magnification) the image is very fuzzy. What is the maximum power that can be used to give a reasonably well resolved image?

From: Casey <cveencasey at aol dot com>
Subject: motor failure
Date: Fri Dec 3 22:52:51 2004
One day a few months ago I walked into a Goodwill store and there it was, standing on the floor!
A complete DS2114 with Autostar and manual.
I knew that I could not go wrong paying $45.00 US for it.
I fired it up and gues what, MOTOR FAILURE!
I took the beast apart and found the dev shaft binding, fixed it and got through the set up, then 30 sec later MOTOR FAILURE.
This went on for a while, eating batteries so I went back to Goodwill and bought a 12V-350 MA wall transformer with an open voltage of 16V.
I hooked a 9V battery connector to the Xformer.
It now runs on 14Vdc and the last time I tested it, it ran tracking from 9 pm till 9 am without a fault.
You said that you use a 12 volt motorcycle battery, ofcourse fully charged,, that gives you 13.6 volts, so 14 vdc is not that far off.
Now I am waiting for a clear night so I can have some fun.
Casey.

From: E.T. <eterman at >
Subject: Newbie on DS2114ATS
Date: Sat Dec 4 18:04:49 2004
I just saw the note from Tom Delery about the 506 cable kit to control the DS with the ’puter.
That was my question. I was curious about plugging-in the ’puter and how it was going to connect to the Autostar. I thought that the 494 had an RS connector on the bottom, and was disappointed that it didn’t.
Is 120 USD worth the expense to get the 497? And, will it really work with the DS-2114ATS?
Of course, I JUST got the blessed thing last night, and only had a short look-thru before the clouds covered everything up.
Like my grand daughter said "...where’d the moon go, Crappa?". No nasty comments, she’s only 2 1/2 years and that’s the way it sounds to her.
I would love to do some photography with the scope. Do I really have to go to all the trouble to hook my Nikon SLR or my Nikon 995 digital that you alluded to above?
Would you suggest getting the "moon filter" and the other red, blue, etc. color filters?
As you can guess I am not only a Newbie with this scope, but also with the World of Astronomy.

E.T.

From: Xavi <Not Supplied>
Subject: questions
Date: Wed Dec 22 19:34:57 2004
Hi! I have just bought a DS2114-ATS. I already have a refractor telescope (90/900mm) and I got better images with the 90/900 refractor than with the Meade 2114. Is that normal?? I though I would get better images with a 114mm reflector. Anyway I think I must collimate better the meade because It is really hard to get a good collimation. Any tips?
Thanks!

From: Andre Routh <routhfamily at comcast dot net>
Subject: Polaris DS-2114ATS
Date: Sun Dec 26 03:52:31 2004
Hi Rob,
First let me congratulate you on your entertaining and candid web page.
In a fit of madness I took up astronomy as a hobby and bought a 6" Newtonian on a reasonable equatorial mount. After a few nights poking around I resolved to buy a smart scope that knew where stuff was and could track it. Without an RA motor (which I now have on order, incidentally) objects race out of view at high magnifications. Also, I reasoned(!) that a smart scope would make a great learning tool.
I bought the Polaris version of the DS-2114ATS that comes with truly awful 0.965" eyepieces. I had been spoiled by the surprisingly good 1.25" Plossls from the 6" scope.
I also discovered how difficult it is to focus with the shorter focal length eyepieces. The exit pupil is tiny and there is no eye relief. After a couple of nights I started having difficulty reading the display on the #494 "hand box" (who thought that name up?). I could just about make out the static characters but when it did that horizontal scrolling it was just a blur. After slewing around for a while the thing would go dead - and if it decided to faint during a slewing operation the motors in the mount just keep going! I explained the problem to Meade and they sent me a new #494. The display was nice and bright but the #494 now informed me that the motor unit was on the fritz! After another session with Meade customer support they sent me a new base and #494. I had in the meantime bought a #506 cable set so that I could control the scope from my laptop computer. After a couple of hours the newest (copyright 2004) #494 QUIT!! My gast was well and truly flabbered. In desperation, I tried the second #494 (copyright 2003) and that seems to work. But for how long is anyone’s guess.
The Meade software is bloody awful. Have you read the disclaimer in the 1999 version of the Astronomer’s Control Panel? The other thing I hate is that the only Autostars that the software seems to expect is the DS200 or some ETX. The Meade blurb is totally misleading on a number of points. For example they imply that you can update the firmware in the #494 - so I downloaded the update utility that promptly told me that only the #497 was updatable! I wish I’d paid the extra money and purchased a scope with a #497 handbox.
On paper, the features of a Autostar guided scope are very appealing. The reality is that the software/firmare is a potpourri, probably put together while the Meade marketing wizards were smoking some of the potpourri. Even their website is confusing and contradictory.
I get the impression that all their creativity is going into their high-end Cassegrainians and eyepieces. Meade needs to put a "tiger team" to work on the organization of their lower end scopes and their quality system.
It is probably true that about 95% of people who get a scope (usually as a present from someone who knows very little about scopes) use it once or twice for some well advertised astronomical phenomenon and the scope then languishes in a cupboard half-forgotten. In other words, why should Meade try to do a good job with their low-end scopes?
I was also puzzled by that lens down the focusing tube. I’d like to change the focuser on the Polaris to accept 1.25" eyepieces. The funny thing is that the actual movable tube (which is made of "chromed" plastic) is 2" inside diameter. My question is: do I need a whole new focuser or can I just replace the screw-on eyepiece holder? Does anyone have any helpful ideas?
Clear skies,
Andre Routh,
Medford, New Jersey, USA

From: scuzzy76 <Not Supplied>
Subject: help my eyes seem to give me more mgnification!!
Date: Sun Jan 2 21:53:19 2005
I quite proudly (i think) own a DS2114ATS. since buying it i have had almost no luck in seeing anything more impressive than a pin head through it, I am not the most patient of people but have persisted to no avail, after the alignment of the scope is complete, i have tried to manually locate objects easily found um like the moon! but other than that when looking through the 25mm eyepiece the stars are appearing very small and slightly out of focus, should i perservere with this scope, being a total novice to star gazing i am eager to learn as my enthusisam is disappearing, please help with some advice on this scope!

Scuzz, Persistance is the key!!! Keep trying mate, i must admin the DS done nothing to fuel my enthusiasm for astronomy but some of the comments above will help you realise that we do have to persist just to get good viewing.

From: trilobitia <trilobitia at yahoo dot com>
Subject: meade instruction manuals...
Date: Sat Jan 8 19:41:04 2005
Having recently purchased a refurbished DS-2114ATS, I must say it has provided me with countless hours of fun just with translating the instruction manual from meadese to practical novice. Would it have pained Meade to create a manual that concerned itself solely with the product purchased rather than bundling both the refractor and the reflector in one not-so-easy to read package? Could they have provided a bit more information concerning ’all’ the parts that should have been shipped in checklist format so one could ascertain that something might be missing?
Mine was shipped without a bolt to attach the motor assembly to the tripod, when they did send me the part-there were two!!! Which one do I use?
Also as a newbie, there is the question of the calibration on the base of the motor mount. Is zero to be alligned due north?
Another question concerns tightening the optical tube assembly in the cradle ring. Must I jerry rig a sheath to create a snug fit? Since after I’ve tightened the lock knob, the tube begins to slide toward the earth at a 45degree angle.
Then after giving up in frustration pointing the scope in the direction of the full clear moon-only to view what kindly can be described as the cosmos via cataracts. Help!!!!

From: PoutLip <ccoggins at swbell dot net>
Subject: New Owner DS2114ATS
Date: Wed Jan 12 15:32:35 2005
Heyyyyyy! Kewl beaners for the website. I got my telescope for Christmas and so far have FINALLY seen the telephone pole a block from our house. When I try to use at night I can never get anything to show up. Have even tried lighting a cigarette lighter in front of it to see if I can see the light. NOT! I’ve held my mouth just right, recited the curses prayer and done plenty of pouting. Am now to the point of either throwing a bonfire party or hiring a hit man to finish off both the telescope & the person who bought it for me. Helllllp! Thanks in advance to all.

From: Matt Kriech <Not Supplied>
Subject: Problems and More Problems
Date: Tue Jan 25 20:27:12 2005
I bought the DS-2114 off the meade factory outlet website. Big mistake. Whoever owned the scope before treated it poorly and meade did nothing before sending it to me. It was sent back TWICE for repair before I ever looked through the scope. Once the motors started behaving I tooke it out only to find the collimation way off. Turns out the screws had stripped out of the secondary mirror holder and would allow proper collimation. While I was waiting for the new part to arrive the clutch for the altitude motor broke again requiring me to send it back a third time. I think I’m done with this scope. If I can I will try to get my money back, and apply it to a LXD 55 or 75. So far customer support has been slow to respond. They just want to keep sending it back for repair. I have been unable to talk to a supervisor yet, and nobody will call me back. Bottom line is buy this scope at your own risk, espically used from the factory outlet.

From: Matt Kriech <Not Supplied>
Subject: Problems and More Problems
Date: Tue Jan 25 20:27:32 2005
I bought the DS-2114 off the meade factory outlet website. Big mistake. Whoever owned the scope before treated it poorly and meade did nothing before sending it to me. It was sent back TWICE for repair before I ever looked through the scope. Once the motors started behaving I tooke it out only to find the collimation way off. Turns out the screws had stripped out of the secondary mirror holder and would allow proper collimation. While I was waiting for the new part to arrive the clutch for the altitude motor broke again requiring me to send it back a third time. I think I’m done with this scope. If I can I will try to get my money back, and apply it to a LXD 55 or 75. So far customer support has been slow to respond. They just want to keep sending it back for repair. I have been unable to talk to a supervisor yet, and nobody will call me back. Bottom line is buy this scope at your own risk, espically used from the factory outlet.

From: Matt Kriech <Not Supplied>
Subject: Problems
Date: Tue Jan 25 20:28:31 2005
I bought the DS-2114 off the meade factory outlet website. Big mistake. Whoever owned the scope before treated it poorly and meade did nothing before sending it to me. It was sent back TWICE for repair before I ever looked through the scope. Once the motors started behaving I tooke it out only to find the collimation way off. Turns out the screws had stripped out of the secondary mirror holder and would allow proper collimation. While I was waiting for the new part to arrive the clutch for the altitude motor broke again requiring me to send it back a third time. I think I’m done with this scope. If I can I will try to get my money back, and apply it to a LXD 55 or 75. So far customer support has been slow to respond. They just want to keep sending it back for repair. I have been unable to talk to a supervisor yet, and nobody will call me back. Bottom line is buy this scope at your own risk, espically used from the factory outlet.

From: Carol Hazlett <clhazlet at eskimo dot com>
Subject: Buying ds2114ats
Date: Mon Jan 31 08:14:03 2005
I currently have the Meade NGC-60a wich has a
microcontroller to help target objects but you move the telescope manually. It is only a 60mm
lens with 700mm focal length, but using a scope that small has taught me how to observe the sky
and make the most of my equipment. I am buying the DS2114 because it is in my budget range. I am a retired electronics technician and love all the fussy targeting gear. If you think setting up an autostar telescope is difficult try the manual NGC-60! The NGC-60 is almost a toy by most standards but I learned astronomy with it and how to use a scope to fullest effect. I don’t expect to have any real problems with the DS2114. If not for some of these cheaper priced scopes a lot of us would never be able to study the stars.

From: tomb <tburkett at twcny dot rr dot com>
Subject: tracking
Date: Sun Feb 6 20:30:14 2005
I have had a few problems with this scope and have been able to fix them all. Now, however, I have a tracking problem. I am able to find object ok witho this scope, but when I locate them, they keep sliding up towards the top of the field of view and disappearing.I try adjusting the field of view, but the scope does the same thing every time. I always have to use the up and down buttons to stay on target. By the time the scope starts tracking, my object is always out of view. I try pushing the "enter" button and then centering the object. This does not work either. Does anyone have a diagnosis or some suggestions to fix the tracking on my altazimuth part of the drive? Thank you.

I recently bought a Meade DS-2114ATS before owning a Meade DS-270EC. I decided to get the 2114 of it's half sie tube in comparison to the DS-270. This because of stability of the telescope. The first night I set it out I was dissapointed. Couldn't get it sharp. The manual said you'd might have to collimate because of de-alignment while shipping. I fiddled somewhat and got a sharp image, but with a coma! Jupiter looked like a comet. I decided to spent some time with aligning the mirrors. This night I got (concidering the location I am in Arnhem city, Netherlands) A good view with a barlow 3x and a 9mm plossle eyepiece. (magn. 333x while maximum adviced is 325x). Reminding a good viewinglocation is acually unbearable, you can get really good images IF you take the time to collimate the mirrors. Because of the relay lens, an offset of mirrors results in an disstorted image faster than in a normal Newtonian. By the way; to solve the relaylens issue; it is a lens which bends the 1000mm focal. If you'd imagine the lightbeam reflecting on a 1000mm mirror, but in the ens, instead of going straight it bends towards each other, and makes a focal point earlier. This is the effect of the relay-lens. Otherwise a barlow would be useless because it'll lose to much light and detail. Compare it with a camera with a teleconvertor.

From: Jim Hendrock <pcdoc55 at hotmail dot com>
Subject: 506 cable
Date: Tue Aug 23 14:04:36 2005
Any idea how to make your own cable? I too had a dealer sell me the 505. I was wondering how to make some device to make my own 506 out of it.

Thanks!

From: Dave <jonwads at yahoo dot com>
Subject: DSX-125
Date: Sun Aug 28 17:48:37 2005
Robert, I have a chance to pickup a Meade DSX-125(EXT-125 OTA) which I believe uses the same mount as the DS2114ATS (DS-2000). Would like your opinion on this mounnt and how you think it will perfom with an OTA that weights about 8 lbs.
Thanks, Dave

From: Mariano Ranero <mariano dot ranero at raneroproductions dot com>
Subject: Big Time Beginer!
Date: Tue Aug 30 04:14:34 2005
I bought my ds 2114 3 days ago (true to be told... just because i felt atracted to the idea of watching mars on Aug. 27th.), not without going back to the store 3 times to exchange it because missing items, broken parts and scratched optics. Finally i set it up in my back yard to do my first night sky-watch....
Big Mistake #1... There’s no moon and thats the only object that i can name in the sky...
Im very passionate about start to look "up" but where to begin... joining a club sounds logic... Can i get some other tips please..Thanks.

From: Mariano Ranero <mariano dot ranero at raneroproductions dot com>
Subject: Big Time Beginer!
Date: Tue Aug 30 04:40:17 2005
I bought my ds 2114 3 days ago (true to be told... just because i felt atracted to the idea of watching mars on Aug. 27th.), not without going back to the store 3 times to exchange it because missing items, broken parts and scratched optics. Finally i set it up in my back yard to do my first night sky-watch....
Big Mistake #1... There’s no moon and thats the only object that i can name in the sky...
Im very passionate about start to look "up" but where to begin... joining a club sounds logic... Can i get some other tips please..Thanks.

From: raz <Not Supplied>
Subject: DS114-EQ-ATA
Date: Thu Oct 6 20:48:26 2005
Hi Rob,
What a wonderful website you have I must say. Hope you could help me on this one.

I found above telescope on sale in one of the Sam’s Club in my area. I am a beginner and couldn’t find anyone (at least from internet) owning this model for reviews etc. Is this telescope version a discontinued model or a new one from Meade? need a little advise here before I buy it.

thanks,
raz.

From: zway2b <Not Supplied>
Subject: Distortion during focusing
Date: Wed Oct 26 19:21:55 2005
I was asked to set up a DS2114ATS for a teacher at the grade school. The mount and scope setup find. The 494 autostar works good. But I am really disappointed at how the image focuses at the eyepiece. This system is a short tube F8.8 with the relay lense in the focuser. When you go in and out of focus the image ballons to one side instead of staying centered aroung the secondary shadow. I’m not sure if they call this Coma or astigmatism but it is very hard to get stars to focus to a crisp point and planets to focus any detail. Should I attempt to colimate the system. I’ve never done one with a relay lense before.

Thanks for any help.

Dave

From: John Fourie <Not Supplied>
Subject: Rubbish Scope
Date: Wed Nov 2 11:35:48 2005
Buying the DS2114ATS is undoubtably the biggest waste of money I have ever made. If you want to try to keep the object within a 13mm spot in trhe middle of the scope, buy one.
Meade should quietly scap this model as it trashes their name.

From: tbbur <Not Supplied>
Subject: fixing the drive
Date: Mon Nov 14 01:44:21 2005
I have the Meade DS2114. It was given to me as a Christmas gift by my wife two years ago. She knew I always wanted a scope. At first, this instrument was a source of much frustration, but I made some fixes and adjustments and would like to know if others have found the same things or if my experience is useful.
Early on, I found that there is a small black plastic cup that houses the gears. I saw that this cup was moving and when I removed all of the gears , I found that there are 3 small phillips head screws that hold this housing in place. If those screws are loose, the entire housing moves and this robs the scope of its accuracy. I tightened those with a small screwdriver.
I next addressed the axle that holds the worm gear. I found that the lock nut on that axle can work loose. If it does, then the entire axle slides back and forth when the worm gear turns, this will cause the motor to run, but will delay the motion of the mounting and the scope itself. Again this robs the scope of accuracy and plays havoc with the tracking of objects in the sky. My solution was to replace the lock nut with a new one and then carefully adjust the position of the lock nut so that the axle could not travel but be sure that the lock nut is not on so tight that the mounting has difficulty moving.
More recently, I still had trouble with tracking and occasional inaccuracy of the scope.
The gear itself is located between two washers with teeth that lock into the axle to drive the scope. This assembly is supposed to work with pressure applied by the knob which can be turned to tighten the washers against the gear. Theoretically this will cause the washers to turn as soon as the gear does and the scope will move. In real life mine did not work that way. When I opened the scope I could see that the gear was constantly slipping against these washers and my clock drive couldn’t track anything. Finally, in desperation, I applied some lock tight to the sides of the gears and washers, hopefully making this interface a fixed one that would not allow the scope to slip. My Altazimuth drive was the biggest problem, so I applied this solution to that drive first. I gave it 24 hours to dry then took it out on thenext clear night. The performance of the telescope was remarkably improved and the accuracy and tracking were both much better. I know this may be an unconventional fix, and the manufacturer may have something to say about it, but it improved the performance of my scope and after all this time that was what I needed. I now will do the same for the other drive and try it again. If lock tight doesn’t hold I will consider super glue

From: John O'Brien <john dot obrien83 at ntlworld dot com>
Subject: Meade 4504 with starfinder 494
Date: Mon Nov 21 22:13:04 2005
Could you please Help? Ive a meade 4504 with starfinder 494,The Motor only as a HBX port,I was told a #506 cable kit convertor would connect to my serial port on my Laptop,So i purchased one,Upon arrival,The oppisite end from the Serial port as only a (RJ22)connector, That will not Fit into my HBX port as it seems to be a (RJ45)adaptor slot,Please help as im new to Astronomy & im Struggling,
Thanks in Advance,John,
Audenshaw,Manchester,UK...

From: Carlos Berrutti <caberuti at adinet dot com dot uy>
Subject: What to buy
Date: Tue Feb 7 18:51:01 2006
I want to buy a telescope and a salesman indicate me a DS2114 or ETX80 is either one good for no experience astronomer or a 8".

From: Jack <jack dot w dot hallmark at us dot army dot mil>
Subject: #505 cable pinouts
Date: Sun Feb 12 19:32:44 2006
I can never seem to get a cable to hook my laptop up to the ’scope.

Does anyone know the pinouts so I can buy what I need at Radioshack and build my own?

From: Ritchie(Iowa) <srhart at kdsi dot net>
Subject: Things I have learned about my DS 2114
Date: Fri Feb 17 14:48:33 2006
Hello,
I have had my Meade DS 2114 for about a year. There are several things I have learned about this scope, some good and some bad. You are totally right about the tripod it is not very stable. I had to tighten and crimp some of the parts on the scope to firm it up. I also put foam on the three point lock that you spin to lock or unlock the tripod for break down. This really firm up the center brackets. Keep in mind that if you do this you have to have a screwdriver to loosen and tighten the tripod. My scope needed collimated right out of the box. Shipping most likely knocked it out of alignment. The eyepieces with this scope are a very low end optic. I recently bought a 14mm,5.1mm ED-2 orion eyepieces, and a 12.5mm highlight plossel orion eyepiece, Plus I got a electronic eyepiece for $20 at a telescope shop that is great. I have a 3 yr old who can name the planets and love to look at the moon. but if the tripod is bumped its all over, but the electonic eyepiece allows me to show the moon and saturn on my tv. I also bought some filters which work great also. between the filters and the better eyepiece the clarity is alot better even at the 5.1 mm level. I live in a rural town in Iowa and a 5 min. drive gets me away from the light pollution and into some really dark skys, this helps alot. The best thing I did besides buying better eyepieces was to train the drive. I do this as often as needed. This really help with the tracking. I have had alot of good luck with this scope with these upgrades. The lsat tip I have is to go to skyview cafe on the internet. You can track the night sky with this up to the exact time. This sight also give you your exact postion in Lat. and Long. as long as you put in your city. The exact star time and position will allow for a real good nite of tracking any thing with a 5.0 mag or brighter. I hope this helps somebody out there.Clear skys and don’t give up.

PS I made a case for mine out of a black & Decker plastic tool box and some foam from the crafts section. I also power mine from the car with a lighter adaptor and a tip I bought at Radio Shack that fit the 9 volt type plug.

Clear Skies,
Ritchie

From: Brad <bradleyaa1 at yahoo dot com>
Subject: In the end.
Date: Tue Apr 11 04:10:40 2006
In the end this scope is a nice scope for any beginner. It offers decent optics and a great goto feature. One this to note is the make sure you align the telescope using the 2-star method and make sure its right on. Otherwise you will be doing alot of searching after the scope slews to a new object. Tri-pod is basically junk but what do you expect. This scope is a FULL featured scope offering many features but lower end components to make up the cost difference. Overall I give it a 7/10.

From: steve robinson <stevendrobinson at ntlworld dot com>
Subject: ds series scopes
Date: Sat May 20 21:46:45 2006
Hi,
I bought what I thought to be a Meade ds 130mm reflector off ebay for a good price(£150) including the 494 autostar.
When the scope arrived it was a "Bresser" tube on an autostar mount with the usual flimsy tripod.However the scope does give reasonable views of Saturn,Jupiter and the moon etc. the weak point being the focusser in my opinion, which is not very smooth at all and bears no comparison to that on a Celestron first-scope I bought,also on ebay, (bought for £58 with a set of Celestron eyepieces and filters, and sold the scope only for £30, cheap set of eyepieces!)
Having voiced my complaint over the focusser , for the money it does the job!
But! There`s always a but isn`t there? I had the same problem over levelling the tube, when the tripod was on level ground the tube assembly appeared well off level and so I couldn`t get it set up to "Goto" at all! I was beginning to think there was a real problem with the unit untill I came across your comments, I will now persevere with it a little as I like the idea of the Goto feature.
Being a complete beginner , I too trawled the net but very little info is available about these scopes! I am currently chasing a 506 cable kit and software on ebay (I could`nt find them anywhere else!), so I would be grateful if perhaps you could put up some pics of that and how it connects to the scope etc, as the mount I have has only two input jacks , one for hbx and an aux jack,while the other autostars have more inputs I believe.Also what capabilities will the link cable give?
I also experienced the battery drain , where the scope stopped responding and gave a motor error message, so I spent the princely sumof £1.90 at my local electronics shop and made up a simple power lead with a cigarette lighter plug on one end, the other end being connected by a "choc-strip" connector.This allows me to use a portable 12volt battery powered car jump starter box, which was gathering dust in the garage and obviously my car cigarrette lighter socket too!In your own terms "it slews like a nutter!"
I am thinking of makng a small metal bracket to take a permanently mounted compass, but this would need to be some distance off the tube as it affects the compass.
Does anyone have any info to share on any improvements that can be made ( eg . focusser)
Regards,
Steve Robinson

From: jagnrg <jagnrg at laguna dot com dot mx>
Subject: Newbe needs advice
Date: Sat Jun 17 22:38:12 2006
I recently bought a Meade DS2114AT. It is assembled but not yet used at night.

Prob 1.
We live in Mexico and we cannot see the North star because of a mountain just north of our home on the north shore of Lake Chapala. Because of that, I have put off trying to align my scope until I am smart enough to set it up swiftly.

Prob 2.
I anticipate being able to take pictures of great sights in the future and have not be able to find a photo/telescope DS2114AT adapter for my Nikon Coolpix’s 28mm lens.

Question 1. Did I miss something in the manual re: set up without the North star? The other stars do move around a lot! How should I reliably set it up? How are telescopes set up in the Southern hemisphere?

Question 2. Who sells a lens adapter to mount my NIkon with a 28mm lens thread to the scope?

Jagnrg

From: Antonio <afshalders at terra dot com dot br>
Subject: Some caveats
Date: Fri Oct 20 14:34:35 2006
I bought a DS-2114ATSA from the Meade outlet for $159 and my intention was to buy a tripod for a Celestron C90 Mak. Since all interesting tripods were far above my budget, I opted to buy this Meade 2114 and adapt the autostar and tripod fo my C90 Mak, but I did some tests with the 2114, and here are some remarks.

1) Tripod is so-so but if you hang some weight bags on it things comes far better. Try 2 x 1kg bags filled with sand, beans or something like. Hang on tripod not in the mount.

3) Collimating it is essential.

4) Finderscope is awful. Very thick crosshairs.

5) The use of plastic screws/bolts/other things is unacceptable. Very poor quality in the eyepiece holder and findescope assembly.

6) Eyepieces are just acceptable. Do yourself a favor and buy at least an E-Lux Celestron Plossl eyepiece. They are cheap and a good value for money.

7) Image is bright, but with low contrast with the included MA eyepieces. Again, buy a Plossl.

Conclusion: Good option for kids, worths the $139. Buy from the meade outlet. Don´t pay more than $140 for it.

I made a low tech adaptor for using my C90 with this mount, using a loooong strip of felt tissue
rolled over the telescope tube to make it reach the correct diameter.

From: Antonio <afshalders at terra dot com dot br>
Subject: Sorry I forgot this
Date: Sat Oct 21 05:55:40 2006
Sorry folks, I forgot to say some important things:

- The telescope came uncollimated as espected. After collimating image still was horrible. I first blamed the MA eyepieces but I tried some e-lux Plossl from Celestron and the image looked almost the same in quality :/

- After some hesitation I decided to take a good look at the mirrors and for my horror the were very dirty. So I had to disassemble the telecope and have a 2 hours mirror cleaning session. Then reassemble and recolimate.

The comments I posted before were in respect of the final adjustments.

I think the long tube version should be much better than this compact one. The internal doublet lens degrades the image.

If you want a compact telescope, go for a Cassegrain or Maksutov. Using a doublet looking more like a cheap barlow to make a short newtonian is stupid.

From: Mrs. Marilyn Jay <marilyn_jay at hotmail dot co dot uk>
Subject: SUITABLE CARRY CASE FOR MEADE EQ1 AND TRIPOD
Date: Tue Dec 12 00:38:28 2006
Last Christmas we bought my 17 year old son a second hand Meade EQ1 COMPLETE WITH TRIPOD AND STAR FINDER. aLTHOUGH HE HAS AN AVID INTEREST IN CERTAIN EVENTS HE DOES NOT HAVE IT SET UP INDEFINATELY, PARTLY DUE TO LACK OF SPACE. cONSEQUENTLY IT TENDS TO GATHER DUST ON A SHELF.
hE LIKES TO TAKE IT TO aNGLESEY [WHERE THE SKY IS CLEARER]. But he doesn’t have a suitable case; and thought it may be an idea for Christmas, but don’t know what to look for!!
Can anyone advise me please?

From: Giuseppe <akragas at ngi dot it>
Subject: i search ouline of #506
Date: Sat Dec 23 13:18:34 2006
i want made the camble #506 and i search the ouline cable please help me

From: <>
Subject:
Date: Fri Dec 29 14:55:12 2006
Hello

I have a DS2114 which i brought about 3 years ago now.

I have had to return the telescope to the supplier 3 times due to a faulty motor, missing parts and the lens falling out of its holder!

The only thing it can view properly is the moon and on a very clear night the pinwheel galaxy.

My opinion of this scope is to avoid.

Mark Bowles

From: Sibelius <sibelius at pookmail dot com>
Subject: Star names.
Date: Sun Jan 28 17:38:01 2007
You must mean Albireo not Alberio?

You appear to have known exactly what i meant so do the world a favour and shut up unless you have something relevant to add!

From: Goleen <johndoyle15 at hotmail dot co dot uk>
Subject: Mirror Probs
Date: Wed Feb 21 14:00:21 2007
Hi, I was wondering if you could help me find a
company who could re-coat,and or sell me the primary mirror on my Meade DS2114 4.5" reflector telescope, Iam lost without it,
manny thanks,
Golleen.

From: Kajunmare <k5bell at aol dot com>
Subject: Upside down
Date: Mon Apr 23 15:38:41 2007
When I looked at the moon, the image through the lense was opposite.
I checked this out, in the day, and found things upside down.
How can I correct this?

From: docs97405 <doc at docshankle dot com>
Subject: Just Bought one
Date: Wed May 23 03:55:04 2007
Hi...Mine just arrived (5-21-2007) Out of the box the LNT (Red Dot)did not work. Called Meade and they are sending me a new one. With the cable plugged in...it wouldn’t do anything...power wouldn’t even come on. Without it plugged in scope works fine. Tripod DOES leave a lot to be desired. Now what I need here in Oregon is a good , Clear, Sky. Haven’t had it out yet. Your comments have been VERY helpful, thank you for posting this site. IF there is a classification BELOW beginner, that would be ME.

From: Doc <doc at docshankle dot com>
Subject: DS2114ATS-LNT
Date: Fri Jul 6 20:46:53 2007
Greetings;

I purchased my DS2114 recently and right out fo the box the LNT did not work. The power would not come on with it plugged in so called and they sent me a new one...right out of the box...SAME thing...so called again and got a very knowledgeable and customer service oriented tech who ran through some trouble shooting with me over the phone and agreed to send me a new MOUNT. I also purchased a cross-hair spotter scope and mount so I could use the scope while I awaited parts. The new mount arrived yesterday and right out of the box....the LNT will NOT settle on North...it levels but then will Look for north until I shut it off...out of curiosity I let it run and count 21 FULL revolutions before shutting it OFF....checking level and using BOTH a compass and a GPS...still will NOT align. I Called again and we did a reset over the phone and it did align (just a play alignment in the house)...so it appears to work. The ONLY positive experience has been the EXCELLENT customer service of ONE outstanding technician at Meade...otherwise I have NOT had a good experience as a RANK neophyte with NO experience, NO knowledge of the sky and NO mentor. I have observed Jupiter and its Moons and found that fascinating...MOON was GREAT but the 9MM eye piece is a waste of time. Saturn...is just a BLOB of light as is Venus...Soooo for an inexpensive entry to star gazing....MY DS2114 is OK albeit REALLY frustrating to use machine....the Bells don’t ring and the whistles don’t blow and it can’t ALL be "Operator Error". I am UNable to bad mouth Meade’s custmer service people...they have been wonderful...especially ONE young man.

From: Carlton Simpson <csimpson33 at concast dot net>
Subject: Pissed with Meade
Date: Wed Aug 1 19:12:12 2007
I bought a Meade ds2000 series telescope from a friend...He got it new...for a sel