This Meade telescope has the aperture you’re looking for. It’s big, it’s fat, and it’s a lot of fun. Don’t let the picture of this telescope fool you, when you have this scope pointing up at the heavens, take a ladder you’re going to need it!! This scope will break down easily into 2 or 3 basic components for transport in the field. The 16″ aperture model can be set-up by one person with assistance and weighs around 175 lbs. Its simple mounting design (rocker box) keeps the price down, giving you more aperture per dollar of cost.

I can tell you now you won’t be disappointed with what you will see through this scope. This is when you start to see the most distant of objects at a high level of image quality. I have viewed the Trifid Nebula-NGC 6514, the Ring Nebula-NGC 6720, M51, M81, M82, and M42, they all had good definition to them and were very sharp and clear. The Rings of Saturn had a lot of structure, you could clearly see several separate rings from the inner to the outer rings (Cassini Division).

Jupiter’s cloud bands and the great red spot had good clarity and color. Mars was a big orange ball as a dust storm had enveloped the entire planet. You will see objects that will make you gasp, having a telescope with such large aperture, the amount of objects you will be able to view is staggering and will keep you busy for years.

Meade has made some improvements to the Dobsonian Meade telescope over the past two years. They have improved the mirror assembly, it is now lower in the tube so cool down time is much quicker and they have improved the support boards which help make the base much more solid.

There were some problems which seem to be common with this Meade telescope. The owner of this Dob was having problems with the side bearings not moving smoothly, the telescope rotated on the bolts a little way before the plastic hubs would begin to move, this may not seem much but as this is such a large telescope it can cause problems.

I found a review on this Meade telescope written by T Spear at Cloudy Nights, the review spoke about the same problem and how to fix it. To correct the problem, put two screws through each “side bearing” parallel to the tube. Drill holes in the side bearings and into the tube, then using drywall anchors, lightly tap them into the tube.

You can also replace the “side bearing nylon pads” with two felt pads which are greased with white lithium. I am pleased to say this works well and fixes the problem. I must point out to you that some of the reviews you may have read about the Dobsonian Meade telescope, state that there are a lot of problems with them.

Many of the reviews on the Meade telescope are out of date, and have been written before Meade made the improvements, so please be aware of this when reading other reviews. The Dobsonian I am reviewing here was purchased in Jan 2002.

 Product Description

• Meade telescope Aperture – 16″
• f/4.5 Newtonian optical system
• 6×30 Viewfinder
• rack-and-pinion focuser
• Eyepiece – MA 25mm (73X) multi-coated
• Magellan Computer Systems (available as an option)
• Dobsonian mounting with Teflon/Nylon bearings on both axes
• Sonotube 19″ x 66″ long with end ring

Recommendation

You are going to love viewing with the Dobsonian Meade telescope. Just remember this is a very large telescope and you will need someone to help you set up and dismantle it. Also you will need the proper transport if you want to be able to go anywhere with it.

You’re getting a lot of telescope for your money. I can highly recommend the Dobsonian Meade telescope. You will have many years of great viewing. The best merchant I have found for this Meade telescope is at the Discovery Store