Well I can see there are quite a few Orion fans here, Not that thats a bad thing! But as an owner of the DS2130ate I thought that it would be fair to offer my 2 cents. #1 yes its in the lower level of the meade products! However it is on the top side of the entry level scopes! #2 For the price, to get a fully functional autostar #494 for under $400.00 is Awsome! yes there have been problems with the cluch to loose, (Fixable) and moter jump (Also fixable) You just can't find a scope of this price range, with features like these! As with almost every hobbie, you have to upgrade to get the best out of your product! (Paintball,Radio controled anything, I need not continue..) Yes eyepieces need to be upgraded go with the 1.25" that you just bought! Call meade they will send you the 1.25" adapter FREE for the asking! Now also the autostar#494 has a cable you can order (#506) that gives you complete computer control of the scope! add the auto focuser and you can run everything from your puter! Ops, the autostar #495,#497, and so on do not give you the control option thru the Aux port! But the #494 does! The list goes on and on after doing some of these things I'm sure you will be quite pleased with your purchase...

• DS2130ATE - Breakdown - warped - August 11, 2005 - 15:52 UTC