New ETX from Meade next year

Have a look here:
www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2008/11/me...etxls_telescope.html
www.gadgetreview.com/wp-content/uploads/...x-ls-telescope-3.jpg

Michael.

Looks like they finally ironed out some of the major bugs with the ETX.
Batterys look like they go in from the side as opposed to underneath.
Looks like the arm was raised to allow for more practical zenith usage.
A holder for the Autostar!
and what looks like a robust on/off switch and sensibly placed
ports for the hand controller / updater & aux.

Looks good!

It certainly looks so much better than the previous etx's, pity there's no price available yet.

change the face of backyard astronomy as we know it

That's a huge claim, we'll see....

Keith..

How much more would it have cost to put a micro focus on this? At least the focus knob looks like it can be actually used.

change the face of backyard astronomy as we know it

yea right, more marketing crap.
It does look a like a semi-natural progression of the etx line, will it have plastic gears, usb ?? serial is becoming obsolete, who knows.
I'm not a fan of this one/half fork arm design, in time this might prove to be a problem if the bearings are poor. Can someone explain why one arm works better then 2?
One thing they have fixed though is the height of the scope above the base, basically made it higher.

It appears the photo is a photoshop mock up
(look at the tube / tripod )

either way,
they have included more eloctronica into the new model inc a CCD camera!?;

''Using built-in Integrated Sensor Modules (ISM), which includes GPS and Level North Technology (LNT) sensors and the ECLIPS CCD Camera, the ETX-LS aligns itself for optimal viewing and will calculate the time, date and location, evaluate two stars, and then begin building a ‘real time’ map of the night’s sky. A video output allows for immediate viewing and a built-in camera captures high resolution images recorded to SD card. Meades has even tossed in a guided tour complete with voice narration.''

Nothing about size but I have a feeling they might make
it a 6'' at least.