About Meade:

Meade is a global leader in the design and production of telescopes and related accessories for amateur astronomers. The brand has an excellent suite of the latest and technologically sound optic products that are considered to be amongst the best in the world.

Brief History of Meade:

Meade began its operation in 1972 and by 1977, it expanded its wide range of telescope parts and accessories for the serious amateur by manufacturing the 6" and 8" range of reflector telescopes. In 1978, Meade made a giant leap into the Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope range. The introduction of the Model 2080 by Meade in 1980 is another milestone in the evolution of the company as a brand. By 1986, Meade progressed to transform itself into a key manufacturer of high quality telescopes. Ever since, Meade Telescopes have ruled the roost with a remarkable brand presence in the market.

Meade accessories:

In addition to telescopes, Meade also supplies a number of telescope accessories such as dew caps, power adapters, counterweights and astrophotographical accessories. These accessories give you even better output with your telescope with incredible quality and performance.

Unique Features of Meade Telescopes:

We have listed some of the unique features of the Meade Telescope in this section, the explanation of which you can find below in the technology related to Meade Telescopes.

• Meade’s Autostar technology plus GPS module
• f/10 Advanced Coma-Free Optics
• Meade Ultra-High Transmission Coatings (UHTC)
• Smart Drive
• AutoAlign

And coming to their key features, here are some of them worth mentioning

• Oversize primary mirror with greater diameter
• Zero Image-Shift Microfocuser for planetary observation or astroimaging
• Sturdy  field Tripod (5000 ED APO series)
• True triplet optical design & Built-in Dew Shield/Sun Shade (5000 ED APO series)
• 9-Speed Drive Controls (in LXD75 Series)
• RichView tuning method for greater tuning range and detail than other solar telescopes

Technology related to Meade Telescopes:

Coma-Free (ACF) optics: Coma-Free (ACF) optics is a combination of hyperbolic secondary mirror with a spherical primary mirror and corrector lens combo, which works as one hyperbolic element. The advantage of this technique is that it can get rid of diffraction spikes and helps improve astigmatism.

Smart Drive: PE (Periodic Error) in a telescope means that tracking is never going to be perfect and this results in images with ‘non-rounded’ or 'smeared’ stars, trailing, stars moving around objects. Smart Drive technology is Meade PE correction (PEC) system to fix these imperfections. It also helps minimize guiding corrections over long-exposure photos. PE (Periodic Error) correction is found on both axes and functions in Altazimuth and Polar modes.

Meade UHTC (Ultra-High Transmission Coatings): This technology enhances image brightness and total light transmission by almost 20% over Meade’s regular coatings. Objects like nebulae, galaxies and stars will appear considerably brighter.

AutoAlign: This technology selects two alignment stars for you and positions them right in the view-finder. Simply centre to fine tune the alignment and the wonders of the sky and universe are right at your fingertips.

Software of Meade:

Meade AutoStar (Full GOTO module): The Meade AutoStar Controller helps you to find quickly and GOTO more than 30,000 objects in the night sky. You can watch stars, planets, nebulae, comets and galaxies simply at the push of a button. This feature is pre-programmed with a range of guided tours such as the famed ‘Tonight’s Best’.  You need to input the time, date and location and AutoStar will do the rest taking you on a guided tour of some of the best objects you can find that particular night. You can update the AutoStar controller by logging on to Meade.com so as to download software upgrades, timely objects such as comets and guided tours free.

Customer/Repair Services of Meade:

The customer service of Meade deserves mention as most people have appreciated their efforts to keep customers happy right from their repair service which they are more than glad to do if your purchase is covered under their warranty period. All Meade telescopes carry a manufacturer’s warranty of one year from the date of original purchase. Note that this warranty is only valid in the US. As for the warranty on Meade Telescopes in the UK, you can check out with the individual retailer or shop you purchase. There are many retailers in the UK who provide 2 years warranty on Meade products.

If you take a look at the website of Meade under Customer service, there is a number of useful stuff including Software Downloads, Quick Start Guide for AutoStar Suite, Drawings, Instructional Videos, Trouble Shooting techniques, Catalogue and details on Meade’s exclusive First Light Program, all adding to the customer value and satisfaction.