2018-11-20T14:57:12
Rated 3 out of 5
Much Room for Improvement
This is an OLD design. The Adorama photo is inaccurate. The wedge no longer comes with the convenient round recessed bubble level. Nor the compass, which went into the top of the large tightening knob. The wedge now comes with a combined level and compass "toy" that just sits loose on the wedge. The air bubble in the level is so big the level is useless for accurate leveling. And the bubble also interferes with the movement and pointing accuracy of the compass. The threads for mounting the azimuth control arm on the front of the wedge are not properly tapped. I re-tapped them. The wedge does not turn well at all when adjusting azimuth. I purchased a 1.5 mm thick sheet of teflon and inserted it between the two parts of the wedge. It helped a little. Latitude adjustment is crude and cannot be set accurately as the scale is blocked from view by a knob. Knobs and screws are inadequately sized for hand tightening; threads too course. Guess it will have to do!
Edmund B.
2017-03-29T08:36:24
Rated 3 out of 5
Not nearly as stable as I'd hoped. Not horrible either.
Didn't notice paint in the small machined holes. Cost me a trip to Lowe's for a tap and screw remover. it's all good.
Steven K.
2009-11-01T19:00:00
Rated 2 out of 5
Could be Better
Meade's Instructions are for an older or other version Wedge with different Altitude adjuster. There are no instructions for how to do a Polar Alignment with this and the ones that come with your telescope are horrible. Had to do considerable research on the Internet to figure out what "Polar Home Position" should look like.
Placing the scope onto the wedge is now a two person job and the threaded holes in the bottom of the scope are aluminum threads easily damaged by repeat use. The main/top clamping knob is what holds the expensive scope to the Wedge. It has a plastic (subject to cracking and breaking head/knob) and if it breaks while setting scope on mount could cost you a telescope. I bought a threaded steel stud with Stainless fender washer and steel wing-nut so as to have no possibility of this breaking during setup.
Don't loose/break any parts - Meade does not carry replacement parts for most of the Wedge.
Cuda
