My boyfriend got me the Meade ETX 125 telescope for my birthday and anniversary. It's nice to know that he was listening all those times I had my head tilted towards the stars rambling on and on about our Universe while pointing out stars and constellations and wishing upon them that I could see what is really out there with my very own eyes.

So many days and nights I spent mesmerized by the images produced through Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra NASA telescopes wondering, staring, completely enchanted by how incredibly beautiful our Universe absolutely is. So many hours lost in on a tangent thinking, imagining, observing and always wishing that one day I can go there.

He said to me, "I know you have always wanted to go there but I don't think I can ever afford to take you. So instead the best I can do is bring the stars to you." I was speechless. This is a rare experience for me because I usually always have something to say. And as a small tear came from the corner of my eyes... I took it out of the box ready to get started!

• Features

• Getting Started

• Things you will need

• Before you start aligning you want to...

• Tips

• Let's look at the Heavens!

• The Pro's and Con's

• Recommended items and accessories

• The ETX 125 PE has an Auto-Star feature which automatically aligns your telescope and a Smart Finder
• UHTC
  
• gives you information about the sky
• has a terrestrial view feature
• is camera friendly via either a 35mm or digital imager
• comes with a lightweight but sturdy and easy to put together tripod with carrying case
• comes with astronomy software
• a 26mm eyepiece which is a really good piece to use
• cables to connect to your computer for downloads and imaging
• takes 8 AA batteries or you can get a 12 volt DC adaptor
• has an alarm feature so you can be reminded of a special event
• has a tracking feature so that you don't lose your object from you field of view
• it's easy to assemble and light weight (for a telescope anyways)
• excellent for viewing planetary nebulae for astro-photography
• field rage is large enough so that it makes finding your objects easier
• has 1 and 2 star alignment function or advanced Alt/Az Alignment methods
• smart drive training
• a restore function just in case you mess something up when getting started
• stores information but date and time have to be re-entered if you turn it off
• slew speed control
• reading speed control (for AutoStar information)
  
• you can connect it to another telescope for piggy backing or transferring data
• has an auto stop feature so the wires in the drive train don't get tangled

For more details about Meade telescope and the Meade ETX 125 Premier Edition visit the Meade website.

When I first took it out to play with it after having watched the "getting started" dvd and reading the manual, I had some trouble getting it to align properly.  So I went up to Mauna Kea Visitors Center for a star gazing party and asked what we were doing wrong.

First thing is first, the Meade manual is not that good.  It says to align the telescope you have to turn it all the way counter clockwise and level it.  Turn on the AutoStar and select "auto align"and it is supposed to work...  It doesn't work quit that easy. 

So let me help you out!

There are some things you will need to make your viewing experience a pleasurable experience, not a nightmare.  The first week using it sucked.  I spent more time trying to align it then actually viewing stars, nebulae and galaxies.  After I learned the trix of the trade, I can get it aligned in about 15 minutes and spend the next hour or two enjoying the Heavens.

What you will need to get:

1. a bubble level
2. a regular level
3. a compass
4. a red flash light

1. Mount your telescope on the tripod.
   
2. Turn your Meade ETX 125 Premier Edition Telescope counter clockwise until it stops. Make sure you loosen the horizontal lock ⁹ first.
   
3. Turn it clockwise just a little bit until the the first side arm ⁷ is directly over and centered with the control panel ¹⁰. The control panel is the part that has the on/off switch on it. Tighten the horizontal lock ⁹ again. Don't over tighten it because you can break it.
   
4. Pick up the entire unit, tripod and scope and point it directly north using your compass.
5. Use your bubble level to adjust the tripod so it is exactly level. The more precise you are the better your experience will be.
6. Now you want to level the telescope ⁵ so that it is level too using the "other" level.

7. After the telescope is leveled, tighten the vertical lock ¹⁶ and make sure you adjust the numbers on the side arm ⁶ so that the "0" is on the little arrow so you can find level again just in case you need to realign it later.

8. Turn on the AutoStar and enter the date, time, location zip code, astronomical (view), daylight savings (yes or no).
9. Select "2 star align".
10. It will ask you to select a star. Chose a star you are familiar with. If you are not familiar with any stars, get on the internet and find a couple of stars that you can easily identify.
11. Using the Smart Finder, line the red dot on the star you are using to align, get it as close as possible so that it is easier to find in your field of view. After you have located your star, you want to center it in your eye peice and select enter. It will tell you whether or not your alignment was successful or not.  (To turn on the Smart Finder, hold down the MODE key for three seconds and release.  It will ask you if you want the blink on and about intensity etc. however when aligning it should automatically turn on)
    
12. Now it will ask you to chose another star to align, do the same as step 11. When it is all aligned it will either say alignment successful or not. If not, then it might be that the star you chose from the menu and the star you aligned with in the sky are not the same which is why it is important to find a couple stars that you can easily identify.

• Chose two stars that are not close together. In the summer sky, we use Deneb which is part of the Cygnus Constellation and part of the summer triangle located close to Vega and Antares which is a star that looks gold-orange or red located in the Constellation of Scorpius. Again, look up the positions on the internet to help you find your stars. If you are still unsure, find an astronomy club like WHAC in your area or ask someone for help in identifying your stars.
  
• Start off with your largest field view eye piece ie: a 33mm makes the images appear smaller but gives you a larger FOV then a 26mm. A 12.4mm eye piece has a narrower FOV so when you look through your scope the objects appear larger with a smaller field of view which makes it hard to find your object. Another example would be in viewing larger objects like galaxies. If you are using a 12.4mm to view, let's say Andromeda, you might skip right over it because what you would see is just a tiny section of Andromeda which in my opinion is not as cool as seeing the whole thing.
• When aligning your telescope, use the smaller piece first to find and center your object then if you feel inclined to do so, switch out the eye pieces to a larger one and center you star again. Though I should note that in some cases, using a larger eye piece to precisely center your star leaves more room for error ie: a piece to large will make the object in your view too large to fit entirely within your FOV.
• Don't be alarmed if you find that when you go the an object in your menu using the Guided Tour or otherwise, if your scope does not go directly to your selected object. The truth about it is that they or any motorized telescope will not go right to the object and be completely centered. However if you have done a good job aligning your telescope it should appear somewhere in your FOV or just outside of it.
  
• When your telescope starts to slow slew, look through the eyepiece while it is doing this so you know which direction to slew when it stops.
• Find a place with as little light as possible for the best viewing.
• Viewing on the a new moon is the best.
• Obviously you want to chose a clear night.
• The moon is extremely bright through the telescope so approach slowly and let your eyes adjust.
• Never, ever, ever, ever point your scope towards the sun. This will damage your telescope.
  
• Before you start showing your friends and family all the treasures of the Heavens, make sure your scope is properly aligned other wise it is a big drag!
  

Now that your telescope should be properly aligned, select the Guided Tour function. The first object that it selects should be Jupiter. Jupiter is the brightest object in the sky. Yes, I know everyone thinks it is the North Star, sorry folks, it's not and no Sirius is not the brightest object in the sky, it might be the brightest star but it is definitely not the brightest object. When you get Jupiter in your FOV, fine adjust your lenses... it's like using a microscope. Then go to the next object on the list, it's likely to go to Vega or M13 etc.

Out here in Hawaii, my boyfriend and I took our Meade ETX 125 to a birthday party. It was amazing how impressed and enchanted some where to see these things for themselves and my reward was in knowing that what they experienced was what I like to call "enlightenment" but most notably was a little girl about 8-9 years old whose expression and delight and surprise was worth every penny! Truly I can say, it was priceless.

It was also heartfelt to see so many older folks who always believed that that really bright object in the sky was the North Star and that it has been and always was a planet. Some still sat in disbelief, others were elated and awakened and in others, it rekindles their love for astronomy.

The great thing is that the objects don't appear in less detail than a larger telescope just smaller, if that makes sense. On a 24in. telescope the objects look bigger but the difference is like taking a picture of something with the same amount of pixels on two different sizes of paper. Both look exactly alike in detail however one is bigger and the other is smaller.

The ETX 125 PE is excellent for viewing planetary nebula which are smaller nebulae such as the Ring Nebula or star clusters. The bad thing is that it has a shorter focal length which makes it more difficult to view stellar objects that are farther away however a piggy back should help this just fine. It might cost a lot to purchase another telescope just to piggy back a 125 ETX but the best thing about it that you are not limited. You can increase or decrease you FOV and Field range which (while I am not an expert) makes the ETX 125 PE a pretty good piece of equipment.

It is excellent for digital imaging and it is easy to set up and transport. However the only thing that I don't like about it is that after looking through a larger telescope like a 24 inch, seeing an object the size of a poster is much cooler than 4X6 picture not because you have lost any detail but more like the feeling of being in it instead of looking at it.

Over all I give the Meade ETX 125 Premier Edition Telescope 4 stars only because the aperture is an f/15 which essentially means that it is harder to view larger and find larger objects ie: galaxies or nebulae that are larger then my FOV will allow. You can reduce the FOV of the 125 using larger eye pieces like a 33mm but the trade off is of course that the object becomes much smaller. And overall, while you can do a lot with this telescope, you might end up spending a fortune on eye pieces and accessories to unlock its full potential.

The Meade ETX 125 Premier Edition is perfect for beginners and christened astronomers alike. Still one of these days when I can come up with about $12,000 or so I would like to get a 24 inch but it's always nice to dream, right...?

It is also in my opinion, completely biased of course, that every family should have a telescope.  Any kind will do because it is important to see what is really out there in Heaven.

• A Barlow lens which doubles the magnification by decreasing your focal length which effectively increase the size of your object which is great for viewing harder to see objects such as the Cat's Eye Nebula.
  
• A storage case for you scope and accessories.
• A Deep Sky Imagers with color filters.
  
• Meade series 4000 and 5000 eye piece sets with color filters.
• Other ETX telescopes and accessories
  

Back To Top