HELP.....Meade 4000 14mm UWA

Hi everyone,
I had purchased a Meade 4000 14mm UWA (newer style with eyecup) here on Astromart and had a chance to use it last night. Let me start off by saying it has MAJOR problems. This is where I need your help....

The eyepiece arrived to me packed very well so I can rule out any shipping damage. At first glance of the eyepiece it looked as if the top part of the barrel (eyecup) wasn't screwed down all the way. The threads were exposed with about a 4mm space between the rubber ring and the barrel itself. Nothing was rattling around and the barrel was not loose.

When I put it in the scope (Obsession 15" f/4.5), MAJOR astigmatism. The outer 40% was BAD. Stars were short lines. It was kidney beaning too. I have used a different 14mm UWA in my scope before and it was REALLY impressive which neither problem was evident in those eyepieces. I immediately knew there was something wrong with it.

None of the elements are broken or scratched. Could they be in the wrong configuration? Does Meade repair old eyepieces? Is there a schematic of the element design out there?

Please help……Any information or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jay

Jay Emirzian said:
Could they be in the wrong configuration? Does Meade repair old eyepieces? Is there a schematic of the element design out there?

Yes, elements could be in wrong order or missing one.
Reputedly, Meade will not repair eyepieces; might check
for yourself. Here is schematic from Meade advertising.

Attached Image:

Hi

AFAIK, Meade doesn't repair old eyepieces. They don't even offer replacement eyecups.

I doubt this will be your problem, but know of someone who had a similar experience with that eyepiece when they took off the "1.25" adapter" because they were going to use it in a 2" diagonal. It's not an adapter - some of the elements are inside that part.

I don't other likely causes of that problem, but hope you can get it figured out. The 14mm UWA is one of my favorite eyepieces.

If you haven't contacted the seller yet, you should let him know there's a problem. Hopefully you haven't rated him yet.

Jay, I'm sorry to hear about your problem with this eyepiece...
I surely hope this can all be fixed in a prompt and satisfactory way for you my friend...

Let me know if I can help you in any way...



Ivan

Hi Jay,
Here is just a word of caution for you. I have taken apart the 14mm 4000 UWA and the stack of lenses is very long and difficult to put back together. If someone has taken them apart, I could see it would be very easy to put back together incorrectly.
I had to stack the assembly on the desk on a lens tissue and then slip the casing over it, slip my finger under the tissue and pick it up and then flip over the EP to get the stack back in place. Be careful not to jig lock the lenses.
Also, I would not attempt anything until you talk with the seller. If you disassemble the EP, it may just void any refunds or exchanges.

I couldn't help myself.........It was killing me that I never got a response from the seller and I was sitting on a boat anchor. I spread out a nice micro-fiber cloth on the desk, went to Meade's web site for a schematic, put on a pair of surgical gloves and opened er' up!!! Hmmmmmm.....what did I find, finger prints on the elements. I cleaned them up and found one element upside down and a retaining ring in the wrong place. The retaining ring explained the 4mm space. Then I set up the scope, did a quick laser alignment, popped the 14 UWA in the focuser and.......PINPOINT STARS!!!!! Wahoooooooooo!!!

So to all of you.....I can't thank you enough for your help!

Hello everyone,
I just got off the phone with the seller, he called me. Just so you all know, his name is Dennis Balassone. His reasoning for not getting back to me sooner was because he was out of the office. I explained to him the problem with the eyepiece and he immediately offered to give me a full refund. I explained to him how concerned I was because he never replied so I fixed and cleaned the eyepiece myself. He then said he would send me $50 via paypal to compensate me for my troubles. I was upset that the communication wasn't faster, but when Dennis did call me this morning he straightened everything out. Thank goodness he did the right thing.....I was starting to get very upset. >

I hope that people understand the importance of ALWAYS checking out their equipment before passing it on to another buyer. Its so important to keep the quality of Astromart as high as we possibly can.

Thanks to everyone who were concerned.....Its nice to know we all stick together here on Astromart.

Jay