In the advertising this is called a textbook-perfect telescope, but I have also read some very disturbing reports about Meade’s quality control.

So when a member of my club asked me to look after his telescope while he went on holidays, I jumped at the chance as I was interested to see how this Meade telescope would stand up to some tough testing.

This is a good looking telescope all dressed in white, with its huge focuser and finder, you just can’t wait to get this telescope outside.

These Meade telescopes come with the LXD650 mount with micrometric azimuth and elevation controls. It has an excellent 1697 computer drive system and 64,359 objects programmed into its library.

The first thing you will notice when you look through the telescope is how dark the sky appears. It is so dark that the objects almost look 3 dimensional. The deep sky views have been breathtaking.

I viewed M51, the Trifid Nebula-NGC 6514, and the Ring Nebula-NGC 6720, were sharp and clear and I could see good structure with some color. The planets are clear and sharp with excellent cloud structure on Jupiter. I have been viewing only 5 nights so far and have been very impressed. In fact I am so impressed that I have put it on my wish list for next year.

As usual I love playing with the computer on these Meade telescopes, I want to spend my nights viewing, not trying to find objects and that’s where these meade telescopes excel.

I viewed M81 and M82 and they looked great. I found no Spherical aberrations or astigmatism, which has been reported in some of the 102ED Meade telescopes as a problem.

Meade seems to have a quality control problem, but when you consider that Meade sells an estimated 70% to 80% of all the telescopes sold in the U.S. priced above $1000. That’s Not bad!

You must buy from a good dealer who will fix any problems you may have, that is why I recommend merchants that I trust who will do the right thing by their customers should anything go wrong.

If you’re into CCD imaging or astrophotography this telescope is perfect, it has four sealed ball bearings, which give you precision of movement needed for photography and the control panel includes a connection for CCD devices. These Meade telescopes are built for the serious amateur.

 Meade Telescopes Recommendation

A serious telescope for a serious astronomer. It is worth the money for such spectacular views of the heavens. I highly recommend the 102ED Meade telescopes.