Meade 497 Autostar Computer Controller for ETX Telescopes

Automatic GO TO function to any object of known R.A. and Dec. coordinates.

Digital readouts of telescope position (continuously in R.A. and Dec.), menu options, glossary and utility functions.

Precise sidereal-rate tracking in either altazimuth or equatorial modes. For altazimuth tracking, set the telescope on its drive base and perform a quick, easy alignment.

9-Speed dual-axis operation of the telescope on both axes, simultaneously, at any speed from 2x sidereal to 5/sec.

RS-232 serial port for operation of the telescope through a personal computer using Meade Epoch 2000 sky software or for Autostar updates from Meade's website. Computer operation and downloads require the addition of the #505 Autostar Connector Cable Kit, sold separately.

Plus over 20 other menu options, including guided tours, major event menus, user-defined terrestrial objects and much more.

Set-up and locating the reference stars is fairly easy, and it is so much fun to take the tour of the sky. I've used this several times in an educational setting and it is fantastic for quickly pointing out stars and other celestial objects. In addition, it expands on the standard controller, giving you nine variable speeds instead of the standard four.

Once you use the Autostar you will never go back.


Not as difficult as it's made out to be   September 16, 2003
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

I first grew acquainted with Autostar about 6 months ago (albeit the 494 model) on the ETX-70 AT, and had some accuracy issues the first few times I used it. They were easily fixed, though, with a good drive training (on a power pole about a mile and a half away) and careful motor calibration. That was in May, and except for when the batteries are low, I haven't really had problems since.

In late June, I moved up to the LXD-55 6 inch Shmidt-Newtonian (which uses the same 497 Autostar as the ETX line), and after one repair call for a motor problem it has easily met my expectations for visual work. While the short focus Newtonian may have a wider field of view and a much better sigting scope than the ETX's (as well as significantly more aperture for under $800), keep in mind that it must be POLAR aligned which is MUCH more difficult than an ETX Alt-Az procedure. I usually cheat and use Polaris instead of the true North Pole, but my accuracy is still predictibly within 30-45 arcminutes (1/2-3/4 of a degree or easily within the view of a 26mm eyepiece) on 90-95 percent of the slews with a rough setup.

Here's how to get the thing to work the way its supposed to on an ETX when you first get it. Do the first 6 in daylight to make the setup easier:
*Skip Time for now
*Enter Date (if you will observe that night) and nearest city
*Enter your observing site name and adjust your latitude and longitude (use topozone.com or a topomap to find your location to the nearest minute (60th of a degree)) for your site
*Train the drive using a distant (1 mile or more) object. Procedure is in manual. If done well you should not need to do it again for months
*calibrate motors
*turn off telescope
That night (or any night):
*set up and level telescope (use torpedo level and rotate tube to check level). This is only necessary if you know that your site is significantly (5 degrees or more) off or your tripod is set to less than maximum height
*Aim north at Polaris (the North Star). Do NOT use a compass-it is often as much as 14 degrees off from true north. Use the two stars at the end of the big dipper to aim at the first bright-ish star at the tail of the little dipper. Align finder scope if necessary her.
*level tube by bringing it straight down to horizontal
*start alignment (easy at first, two star when you know the sky better). push the down scroll button if the star is behind a tree or other barrier. center in the eyepiece, not just the sighting scope. Press enter. Repeat for other star (preferably far from the first one-the farther the better)
*Enjoy!

For the long term, get a star atlas or astronomy program and a range of good eyepieces/filters.

I deducted a star for the fact that Autostar displays thousands of objects nightly that are below the horizon and that the NGC and IC catalogs are nearly worthless unless you have a comprehensive atlas and know the catalog number of the object(s) you are looking for.


Not Optional for Beginners   November 14, 2002
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

We just purchased the Meade 90 ETX telescope and decided to get the computer controller too - and man are we glad that we did. We're novices with the telescope, so finding specific objects in the night sky is a challenge.

With the autostart, after taking about 15 minutes to go through the alignment process, we can just tell the Autostar what we want to find and it moves the telescope to the object for us. Without this, the only thing we would probably look at in the sky is the moon.

NOTE: If you're not planning to use your telescope to look at objects in the night sky (i.e. planets, etc), then you don't need the Autostar.


Huge database of Information   May 23, 2002
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

There are two schools of thought on the use of go-to telescopes. One school believing that it takes away all the skill and fun from astronomy. however, I'm a believer in the other viewpoint. I think go-to capability opens up astronomy to the masses and brings the universe just that little bit closer to everyone. I purchased the Autostar for my ETX about a year ago and it has had extensive use. Out of the many many times I have used the autostar with the scope, I estimate it has performed as desired on 90% of my viewing nights. Unusually, I seem to be able to align my ETX rather easily depsite the fact that many people have difficulty. I think I have had luck on my side as the ETX, while a beautiful scope, can be a little temperamental. Even after doing a quick and rough alignment, like pointing it in the general direction of due North, without using a compass, I still get very accurate results with the autostar. I even changed locations the other day, moving from Auckland to Taupo, (some 3 hrs travel distance by car) and inadvertantly used the Auckland co-ordinates while viewing in Taupo. Suprisingly after alignment, I still got accurate positioning from the autostar. Once you get the hang of the menu system the autostar is really quite simple to navigate around. The amount of data is staggering, but given the size of the playground, it's not suprising. The unit itself is comfortable to hold and the adjustable brightness makes reading the screen simple in the dark. I havn't found the built in red light at the top of the unit very good as it is just too dim to make out charts etc. The trusty old torchlight with red nail polish on the lens is hard to beat on that score. I suggest that if you are operating from a tripod, you attach something to the back of your autostar that lets you hang it up on the tripod when you are not using it. Otherwise it can dangle around and get in the way. On a couple of occassions I have had the unit fail to operate correctly or reset itself. These have been far and few between, and readily fixed itself. Ultimately the Autostar is a computer so an occasional reset is not entirely unexpected. One minor problem I am experiencing at the moment is the scrolling text on the lower line of the display panel is tending to fade a little the faster it scrolls. This has occured since I started using a power adapter for the scope so this will need investigating. This however is only a minor niggle. If you have any concerns about your Autostar consult
the best resource on the net for the autostar, Mike Weasners site. The Autostar is highly recommended and really an essential purchase to go along with your ETX. Clear skies everyone and happy alignments.