other telescope accessories

If you ask me, the dew shield isn't really worth it to buy for 15 bucks for your meade telescope. Most telescope brands come with dew shields but for meade, they break everything to be so basic so that you would waste your money. However, the dew shield itself is essential though I wouldn't recommend you to consider one when you buy a meade telescope *now*, or else if you have one like me, you can still use it. It works very good!

During winter dew is a major issue with my astronomical viewing. On those clear nights when I am out with the ETX, very often I have dew forming relatively quickly. I am typically out for two to four hours weather permitting, and invariably everything is getting soaked. Scope, tables, atlas etc. I havn't as yet invested in a heated element (corrector warmer) and rely solely on my Meade Dew Shield. At some stage however, I will definitely be purchasing one to compliment the dew shield. After about three to four hours, even with the shield on I begin to notice some buildup of dew on the optics. The different Meade dew shield model numbers for the various ETX scopes are as follows: ETX-60AT and ETX-70AT (#670), ETX-90 (#673), ETX-105EC (#675), and ETX-125EC (#678). Overall, I am generally pleased with the shield. It is made of solid plastic and screws on securely to the ETX tube, where the lens cap normally screws on. Obviously this means you have to remove it each time you want to put the dust cap back on. I have read of one owner who keeps his dew shield on permanently and has made a foam lens/dust cap for the end of the dew shield. Take care when unscrewing your dew shield from the tube as it does sometimes suffer the same problem as the lens cap. That is, it can stick and not unscrew easily. Don't panic. Just grip the tube firmly and unscrew the shield/lens cap without unscrewing the front of the tube assembly. When screwing the shield on, do it gently and never force it, so not as to strip the thread. The shield has a flat black finish which looks nice, and absorbs stray reflections. I store mine by slipping it reversed over the tube and it fits nicely in the Meade ETX Hardcase. And now for the important part, use your dew shield all the time, summer and winter. It performs one other extremely important function. It assists greatly in protecting your optics from pollen. Pollen is the number one problem that can affect your beautiful ETX, and ruin the one part of your scope that really can't be replaced easily. Trust me on this one, I have damaged optics on my first ETX as a result of my ignorance about pollen. Since using the dew shield I have noticed much less of a pollen problem on my optics. So not only does the shield protect against dew, it protects against all the other contaminents that can be carried in the air. Why have I only given the shield 3 stars? The shield is simply overpriced, otherwise it would have rated a 5. Unfortunately though folks, if you want to protect those optics and maximise your viewing, you really need one. Clear skies everyone.

Unless you live in the desert or something, a dew shield seems necessary for any telescope. (Most telescopes come with them.) This one works just fine with the ETX-70. It stores nicely in the Hard Carry Case. It's made of lightweight plastic (as is most of the ETX-70) so you can be pretty sure it won't hurt your motor and gears. It doesn't seem to make the tripod any shakier than it already is. I just wish it came with the scope.