Learn to use the 'Mighty Midget' to its full potential (Using the Meade ETX - Mike Weasner)

Member Name: markos9

Product:	Using the Meade ETX - Mike Weasner
Date:	14/10/09 (74 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Important information and guidance that you won't find in the manual.

Disadvantages: The book is rather expensive.

A revolution in the design of amateur astronomy telescopes has occurred over the last decade. High quality, computer controlled telescopes promise 'stargazing at the push of a button' with their internal GPS sensors, levelling devices, and clocks apparently reducing the need for users to align their scopes.

The idea is that, after self aligning, the telescope is simply told what to find and the object appears, as if by magic, in the centre of the eyepiece's field of view.

Well of course, in reality it's not quite as simple as that and the subtleties of operation of a computer controlled scope defeat many potential astronomers and their scope ends up dusty and forgotten in the attic or garage.

Despite this, today's computer controlled telescopes can be a joy to use, once the user has mastered the controls needed to operate them. What is needed for the beginner, is a guide that goes into far more detail than the often sparse user manuals supplied.

For the Meade ETX range, perhaps the most popular computer controlled scopes on the market, there is such a guide. 'Using The Meade ETX' is written by guru of the ETX series Mike Weasner, who runs the world's most popular ETX website (www.weasner.com/etx).

The first couple of chapters familiarise the user with the workings of the ETX telescopes; the different specifications of the various models and how their optics and mounts are designed and work. This information, although not essential to use the ETX, gives the newcomer lots of useful background to astronomy theory in general, and the ETX scopes in particular.

After the initial chapters comes the most important section of the book. Use of the ETX and the 'Autostar' software is explained in great detail, and Weasner uses his wealth of experience to guide the beginner to success.

Theoretically, setting up and using the ETX is simple. It is, but there are many things that can go wrong. The new user is often disappointed when his or her excitement turns to confusion when the scope is directed to look at an object, and it does not appear in the field of view.

The various checks to make, together with the common errors made in alignment are explained with step by step instructions to avoid each of the pitfalls, given.

Following these chapters enables the ETX to be set up and used to its full potential. It is worth bearing in mind, however, that there will always be occasions when the scope refuses to accurately point. Switching it off and setting up again usually cures the problem.

After explaining setting up and aligning, the author discusses observing with the scope. Here he has a warning for the user; often the pictures shown on telescope boxes are stunning, high resolution images that look literally 'out of this world'. You will NOT see these images with the naked eye with a Meade ETX.

To give readers a more realistic picture of what they can expect to see, Weasner describes many of the objects that can be seen, including the planets, galaxies, star clusters, and nebulae and shows photographs and drawings that accurately portray what an ETX scope can show.

These cloudy wisps and starry clusters may be far less impressive that the Hubble Space Telescope images, but it's worth remembering that YOUR eye is looking directly at an astronomical object which can be trillions of miles away and in the case of galaxies millions of light years distant!

Photography is easy with an ETX and here, the amateur can improve on visual observations by taking long exposure photographs which tease out extra detail from the scope. The best techniques for connecting a camera to the ETX are given as well as essential hints and tips.

Finally, the book has a section of questions and answers, compiled over the years from Weasner's website. This chapter is full of gems and is the distillation of thousands of hours of ETX use; a fantastic resource.

The Meade ETX models are low cost and are not the best built scopes in the world. This section contains a few modifications that can be made to the scope to improve its reliability and performance. Getting your hands dirty in the innards of your scope will invalidate the warranty, so it may be worth waiting a year until taking the scope apart!

For the new Meade ETX user, this is an excellent, perhaps essential read. If you're looking to buy an ETX, get a copy of this book at the same time so that you learn to get the best from your telescope.

Following the advice in this book will allow the amateur astronomer to use the 'Mighty Midget' as Weasner calls it, to see many of the wonders of the night sky easily and quickly and may prompt an interest that lasts a lifetime.

The book is available from Amazon for £18.99, not cheap but worth it.

Summary: An essential resource for the new ETX user.