Meade DS-2130ATS-LNT Altazimuth Reflector Telescope - Silver (20133)

<I>"The DS telescopes stand alone in today's market. They are remarkable."</I>
<b>Sky & Telescope magazine<p>Capture brilliant images of the night sky with this affordable reflector – featuring easy-to-use auto alignment technology.</b><p>Features:<ul><li>130mm aperture captures more light for brighter images and greater detail (469% more light than a 60mm telescope)<li>Level North Technology (LNT) automatically levels scope, points to North and sets the time once you enter your location or zip code<li>New, wide-field SmartFinder features built-in red dot for ultra-precise pointing accuracy<li>Autostar Computer Controller system lets you browse and automatically locate more than 1,400 celestial objects at the touch of a button – including satellites<li>Built-in motor tracks objects and compensates for Earth's movement<li>Autostar includes guided tours for immediate experience viewing stars and makes suggestions for best eyepiece selection<li>High-resolution primary and secondary mirrors – plus, an achromatic relay lens in the focuser sleeve – allow the long focal length to be housed in the short, compact tube<li>Built-in clock, electronic level sensor and magnetic north sensor<li>1-year manufacturer's warranty<li>Care instructions: Spot clean lenses</ul>Includes:<ul><li>9.7 (82x) and 26mm (31x) Super Plossl eyepieces<li>6x30 viewfinder with red dot and LNT <li>AutoStar Suite™ Astronomy Edition PC-compatible DVD-ROM software teaches you

Reader Reviews
NOTE: This review discusses mainly the manual control potential of the Meade DS-2130. The motorized mount may be used as a manually-guided mount, instead of using its Autostar capabilities. This review primarily explores the scope's manual guidance functionality.

In all fairness, the Meade DS-2130 was manufactured with the use of the Autostar guidance system in mind. There is, however, an option to use the scope without computer guidance. The altitudinal and azimuth axes can be disengaged from their gears and rotated by hand. Aiming the scope manually, though, was far more jerky than I was hoping it would be (especially along the azimuth axis). There are three reasons for this.

The mount's base consists of three rubber pads that move along a metal surface at the top of the tripod. Using the DS-2130 manually, I was able to manually view planets with a 9mm lens with some ability to precisely track and hold the planet within the eyepiece view. I wasn't able to track with any lens smaller than the 9mm lens because the mount just did not rotate smoothly enough to keep objects in view for very long.

When using a new lens, trying to bring the view into focus would throw off the aim. The force applied to the focus knobs shifted the aim. It seems like locking the telescope in place would solve this problem, but in actuality locking the rotational axes was not a solution because locking the axes would also throw off the telescope.

Another factor in my difficulty to aim the telescope precisely was the tripod. It shifted when I manually rotated the scope. A sturdy tripod would have made the whole experience a lot better.

Despite the negative review, I believe the DS-2130 is an OK scope for beginners. The primary and secondary mirrors are nice and clear, and the lenses that come with the scope are adequate for most purposes. If you are looking for a good manual scope, I suggest you consider a scope specifically suited for that purpose.