Do I need a telescope? Nope. Would I ever consider buying one new? Not a chance. Does it look cool and add a sense of distinguished character to the Lily Pad? Yup! Oh...and it works!
Luckily the sky was clear the evening I got this and I was able to screw around with it to see
if it operates properly. I was able to view the craters on the moon quite clearly but it wasn't
quite right. I then took some time later to go through and re-assemble some of the mis-
assembled parts. I cleaned and re-aligned the mirrors and found that I'm missing a part
between the viewing tube and the eye piece. I found a PDF of the manual on line and I'll look
around to see if I can procure the original part but I'm able to use this Meade 114EQ
telescope with a little creative home engineering (duct tape).
Check out all those gears, counterweights and knobs! It's baffling to me even after reading the
manual how they all work. Apparently, once you get the thing set up right all you need to do is
turn one of the knobs on the end of a stalk to follow the heavenly body being viewed as the
earth turns and it moves out of view. I'll need to print that PDF up so I can take it outside with
me while actually USING the scope to get my head around it.
Can you believe all this amazing engineering cost ol' Mr. Modtomic only $12? The current
available version of this telescope costs about $150 new on line! I can't wait for an opportunity
to see the Rings of Saturn or the Great "Spot" on Jupiter. I was amazed by seeing the Rings
while in New Orleans a number of years ago. There was a socially challenged fella set up next
to the Cafe du Monde with a larger version of a telescope like this called a Newtonian
Reflector. While it didn't ignite an astrological fire in my belly, it did have quite an impact as
it's really the only thing I can recall from that particular trip! And it influenced me to buy a
rather nice telescope of my own!
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