Meade 4504 c 2006 Refurbishment

[GCoyote]

So a couple years ago I picked this up for $30

It was missing the drive motors, controller, eyepiece tray, and finder scope as well as all the eyepieces.

The motors were a problem only because the RA drive worm screw did not have notch to attach a manual slow-motion knob but I'm going to address that with a Dremel.

The hold up at the moment is the focuser and eyepieces.

Meade 0.965 inch focuser on model 4504.png (18.07 KiB) Viewed 6205 times

This is set up for the obsolete 0.965" eyepieces which I don't want to waste money on. All of my other gear is 1.25".
The eyepiece holder is threaded onto the drawtube which is just over 2" in dia. It comes off pretty easily.

So my options are to try and find a part that will thread on to the existing focuser or replace the whole thing. The later will probably involve drilling holes in the OTA which I prefer to hold off on ATM.

Other options? Suggestions?

[GCoyote]

Update: the draw tube is ~55 mm od and all polymer construction. So I can cut it. Once!

[GCoyote]

Best guess is that the thread is an M54 1.0

Probably.

[Sky Tinker]

This might be worth a shot...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Meade-DS-1-25- ... SwjoFcAF7j

This one is a 2", and may fit as well, but then you'd probably have to replace the secondary-mirror with one larger in order to fully illuminate, say, a 2" 32mm or 38mm 70° eyepiece...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/DS-2-Telescope ... SwYSlXhWZy

That seller is an authorised liquidator for Meade; I strongly suspect at least.

[GCoyote]

Yeah, I've been on the main sites, astromania, etc trying to find an adapter with the same thread. I may give this guy a shot before I start drilling holes in things. Thanks for the tip!

[Lady Fraktor]

Have you checked with Telescope Warehouse as well?
They always seem to have older miscellaneous Meade parts or know where to find them.
Surplus Shed is another place for hard to find things.

[Sky Tinker]

Have you checked with Telescope Warehouse as well?
They always seem to have older miscellaneous Meade parts or know where to find them.
Surplus Shed is another place for hard to find things.

That seller is Telescope Warehouse. That's his eBay site. Click on "Visit store", and all will be revealed.

[Lady Fraktor]

I see eBay or amazon and I go the other way.

[Sky Tinker]

Yeah, I've been on the main sites, astromania, etc trying to find an adapter with the same thread. I may give this guy a shot before I start drilling holes in things. Thanks for the tip!

I'd go ahead and try that 1.25"-to-2" adaptor. You just might be pleasantly surprised, and do let us know.

From that same era, this one fits the 1.25" draw-tubes...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-25-Metal-Foc ... 3656e551a8

But I found that it also fits the Meade 386D achromat from the late '80s.

[Sky Tinker]

I see eBay or amazon and I go the other way.

I get great stuff off of both, if you know what to consider, and what not to consider.

[Sky Tinker]

I just got back from perusing Telescope Warehouse's native site online, and the 1.25"-to-2" visual-back is not listed. It's available only on their eBay site...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Meade-DS-1-25- ... SwjoFcAF7j

[JayTee]

I have found that Bill always has more items listed on his eBay store site than his home website. Don't know why he just does.

Cheers,
JT

[Sky Tinker]

I have found that Bill always has more items listed on his eBay store site than his home website. Don't know why he just does.

Cheers,
JT

Vorce describes that particular part as being "rare".

[Sky Tinker]

Hmm, I just now saw this review for that part...

"I was very happy to find this part available for an older meade telescope I bought. A model 4501 4.5" reflector that came with .965 eyepieces. I have some larger eyepieces I wanted to use so I got both the 2" and 1.25" focuser caps. They fit perfectly and now I can use any size eyepiece."

This is a 4501...

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ ... -282407087

Does your focusser appear the same as depicted within that listing?

Yours is a 4504. The very first, the 4500, was dated 1995. Yours is dated 2000. Therefore, we might assume that the 4501 was released in 1996 or '97. In any event, the 4501 and 4504, both, were made in Taiwan, and I fully doubt that any threadings were changed during that series. Hence, all the more reason to give that part a try-out.

[GCoyote]

Hmm, I just now saw this review for that part...

"I was very happy to find this part available for an older meade telescope I bought. A model 4501 4.5" reflector that came with .965 eyepieces. I have some larger eyepieces I wanted to use so I got both the 2" and 1.25" focuser caps. They fit perfectly and now I can use any size eyepiece."

This is a 4501...

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ ... -282407087

Does your focusser appear the same as depicted within that listing?

Yours is a 4504. The very first, the 4500, was dated 1995. Yours is dated 2000. Therefore, we might assume that the 4501 was released in 1996 or '97. In any event, the 4501 and 4504, both, were made in Taiwan, and I fully doubt that any threadings were changed during that series. Hence, all the more reason to give that part a try-out.

That's the same OTA and mount sans the digital motors. Mine is a DH so this is looking good.
The order just went in and he's doing free shipping to boot.
Can't thank you enough!

[GCoyote]

It's here. It's a perfect fit!
On to the next job, the mount.