Meade
Encyclopedia
Meade Instruments Corporation (aka Meade) is a multinational
company headquartered in Irvine, California
, that manufactures, imports, and distributes telescope
s, binoculars
, spotting scope
s, microscopes, CCD
cameras and telescope accessories for the consumer market. It is the world's largest manufacturer of telescopes. Besides selling under its "Meade" brand name, the company sells solar telescopes under the Coronado name. Its products are also imported and sold in Europe by a former subsidiary under the Meade and Coronado brand names.
, Meade started out as a mail order seller of small refracting
telescopes and telescope accessories manufactured by the Japan based Towa Optical Manufacturing Company. Meade started manufacturing its own line of products in 1976, introducing 6" and 8" reflecting telescope
s models in 1977. In 1980 the company ventured into the Schmidt-Cassegrain market that up to that time had been dominated by Celestron
Corporation. Meade has a long history of litigation with other companies over infringement of their patents, particularly with its once bitter rival Celestron. In August 2008, Meade modified their line of schmidt-cassegrain telescopes with changes to the optical surfaces in design they call "Advanced Coma-Free optics" (ACF Optics).
Meade manufactured its products formerly in Irvine, California, and currently in an expanded plant in Tijuana, Mexico. Products produced by Meade include:
with a hyperbolic secondary mirror. In the new design the full aperture corrector is slightly altered in shape and combined with a spherical primary mirror
. Meade's literature originally describe their ACF as a variation on the Ritchey-Chrétien telescope
, although it does not use the two hyperbolic mirror combination in that design (being more of an aplantic design). After a legal settlement Meade dropped the claim.
Models
Meade currently produces a line of Maksutov telescope
s under their ETX series
(Everybody's Telescope). They were first produced in 90 mm (3-1/2") Maksutov Cassegrain telescope in 1996. They range in size from 90 mm to 125 mm.
" mount.
models
in Hydrogen-Alpha, and formerly, at Calcium K line wavelengths. The Meade Coronado telescopes are called "Solarmax 40" or higher depending on the model.
-based Tele Vue
Optical's "Nagler" (82-degree field of view), "Panoptic" (68-degree field of view), and "Radian" (60-degree field of view) eyepieces. Meade sells Deep Sky and Lunar digital imagers
for telescopes. They also market the mySKY & mySKY Plus, multi-media GPS devices guiding users to the sky, similar to the competing Celestron SkyScout
.
s including Star Instruments and RC Optical Systems, manufacturers of traditional Ritchey-Chrétien optics and telescopes, filed a civil lawsuit against Meade, several dealerships, and other individuals in federal court (New York Southern District
). The complaint was against Meade advertising their RCX400 and LX200R models as "Ritchey-Chrétien." The plaintiffs claimed these models did not use true Ritchey-Chrétien optics and therefore Meade and its retailers were committing false advertising
infringing on the plaintiff's market. In January 2008, Meade settled, with a "small" amount paid to the plaintiffs and the requirement to rename the affected products, not using any initials that might suggest Ritchey-Chrétien.
, purchasing back the company. However, Meade in the past few years has run into another round of financial woes, since Diebel sold the company again. The previous CEO since May 2006, Steve Muellner had announced various bad news for the company since he had the lead role for Meade. Meade's Irvine, California manufacturing plant was closed, with manufacturing moved to a new plant in Mexico, and a majority of the administrative positions were cut. Meade's customer service line has also been affected by the move to Mexico, including shorter operating hours and the elimination of the callback option. Meade is also looking at other options for the uncertain future of the company. No matter what the future was holding for the company, Muellner and some of the board members signed an agreement to cover themselves financially.
In April 2008, Meade sold two of its three non-telescope product brands (Weaver/Redfield) to two companies for a total of $8 million. However, as compensation for divestiture of these two brands, out-going VP of Sales, Robert Davis, received a $100,000 bonus from the company. On June 13, 2008, Meade sold their last non-telescope brand Simmons to Bushnell
for $7.25 million. Also in 2008, Meade's stock value fell below one dollar, bringing up the possibility of Meade being delisted from the stock exchange. On October 3, 2008, Meade eliminated Donald Finkle's Senior Vice President position with the company providing him with one year of salary as severance and certain other benefits.
Meade announced on January 29, 2009 that it had sold Meade Europe, its European subsidiary, for 12.4 million dollars, thus relieving much of Meade's debt. However, that reduced the company's assets greatly. Further changes and unknown stability of the company was announced on February 5, 2009, with the resignation of Steve Muellner, Chairman of the Board Harry Casari and fellow board member James Chadwick. Former CEO Steven Murdock was reinstated as Meade CEO. On March 5, 2009, the company announced the resignation of CFO Paul Ross and the assumption of the position by John Elwood. With his resignation, Ross receives a severance in the lump sum of $260,000. During the summer of 2009, Meade announced a 20:1 reverse stock split
in hopes of raising the value of their stock.
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
company headquartered in Irvine, California
Irvine, California
Irvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...
, that manufactures, imports, and distributes telescope
Telescope
A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...
s, binoculars
Binoculars
Binoculars, field glasses or binocular telescopes are a pair of identical or mirror-symmetrical telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point accurately in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes when viewing distant objects...
, spotting scope
Spotting scope
A spotting scope is a small portable telescope with added optics to present an erect image, optimized for the observation of terrestrial objects...
s, microscopes, CCD
Charge-coupled device
A charge-coupled device is a device for the movement of electrical charge, usually from within the device to an area where the charge can be manipulated, for example conversion into a digital value. This is achieved by "shifting" the signals between stages within the device one at a time...
cameras and telescope accessories for the consumer market. It is the world's largest manufacturer of telescopes. Besides selling under its "Meade" brand name, the company sells solar telescopes under the Coronado name. Its products are also imported and sold in Europe by a former subsidiary under the Meade and Coronado brand names.
Origins and history
Founded in 1972 by John DiebelJohn Diebel
John C. Diebel is the founder of telescope manufacturer Meade Instruments Corporation and a recipient of the The Franklin Institute's Bower Award For Business Leadership.-Meade Instruments:...
, Meade started out as a mail order seller of small refracting
Refracting telescope
A refracting or refractor telescope is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens as its objective to form an image . The refracting telescope design was originally used in spy glasses and astronomical telescopes but is also used for long focus camera lenses...
telescopes and telescope accessories manufactured by the Japan based Towa Optical Manufacturing Company. Meade started manufacturing its own line of products in 1976, introducing 6" and 8" reflecting telescope
Reflecting telescope
A reflecting telescope is an optical telescope which uses a single or combination of curved mirrors that reflect light and form an image. The reflecting telescope was invented in the 17th century as an alternative to the refracting telescope which, at that time, was a design that suffered from...
s models in 1977. In 1980 the company ventured into the Schmidt-Cassegrain market that up to that time had been dominated by Celestron
Celestron
Celestron is a company that manufactures and imports telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes, and accessories for their products.-Origins and History:...
Corporation. Meade has a long history of litigation with other companies over infringement of their patents, particularly with its once bitter rival Celestron. In August 2008, Meade modified their line of schmidt-cassegrain telescopes with changes to the optical surfaces in design they call "Advanced Coma-Free optics" (ACF Optics).
Products
ACF Telescopes
ACF (Advanced Coma-Free) is an altered version of the Meade's previous schmidt-cassegrain telescopes that replaces the traditional spherical schmidt-cassegrain secondary mirrorSecondary mirror
A secondary mirror is the second deflecting or focusing mirror element in a reflecting telescope. Light gathered by the primary mirror is directed towards a focal point typically past the location of the secondary. Secondary mirrors in the form of an optically flat diagonal mirror are used to...
with a hyperbolic secondary mirror. In the new design the full aperture corrector is slightly altered in shape and combined with a spherical primary mirror
Primary mirror
A primary mirror is the principal light-gathering surface of a reflecting telescope.-Description:The primary mirror of a reflecting telescope is a spherical or parabolic shaped disks of polished reflective metal , or in later telescopes, glass or other material coated with a reflective layer...
. Meade's literature originally describe their ACF as a variation on the Ritchey-Chrétien telescope
Ritchey-Chrétien telescope
A Ritchey–Chrétien telescope is a specialized Cassegrain telescope designed to eliminate coma, thus providing a large field of view compared to a more conventional configuration. An RCT has a hyperbolic primary and a hyperbolic secondary mirror. It was invented in the early 1910s by American...
, although it does not use the two hyperbolic mirror combination in that design (being more of an aplantic design). After a legal settlement Meade dropped the claim.
Models
- LX90-ACF, 8" to 12"
- LX200-ACFMeade LX200The Meade LX200 is a family of commercial telescopes produced by Meade Instruments launched in 1992 with 8″ and 10″ schmidt-cassegrain models on computerized mounts.Rod Mollise - The Past, Present and Future of the Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope , . 12" and 16" models quickly followed...
, a series of LX200 with ACF Optics 8" to 16" - LX400-ACF, 16 to 20" f/8, w/ robotic equatorial mount
- LX800
Maksutov telescopes
Maksutov telescope
The Maksutov is a catadioptric telescope design that combines a spherical mirror with a weakly negative meniscus lens in a design that takes advantage of all the surfaces being nearly "spherically symmetrical". The negative lens is usually full diameter and placed at the entrance pupil of the...
s under their ETX series
Meade ETX telescope
The ETX is a line of telescopes made by Meade Instruments.-Origins:The ETX started out as a line of Maksutov-Cassegrain telescopes by Meade...
(Everybody's Telescope). They were first produced in 90 mm (3-1/2") Maksutov Cassegrain telescope in 1996. They range in size from 90 mm to 125 mm.
Newtonian telescopes
- Schmidt-NewtonianSchmidt-Newton telescopeA Schmidt–Newton telescope is a catadioptric telescope that combines elements from both the Schmidt camera and the Newtonian reflector. In this telescope design a spherical primary mirror is combined with a Schmidt corrector plate, making system that has less spherical aberration than a reflecting...
telescopes (6 to 10 inches). - LightBridge Dobsonian telescopeDobsonian telescopeA Dobsonian telescope is an alt-azimuth mounted newtonian telescope design popularized by the amateur astronomer John Dobson starting in the 1960s. Dobson's telescopes featured a simplified mechanical design that was easy to manufacture from readily available components to create a large, portable,...
s (currently 8, 10, 12 and a 16-inch model)
GoTo telescopes
Many Meade telescope lines are classified by the self aiming computerized alt-azimuth and equatorial mounts they come on, a technology commonly called a "GoToGoTo (telescopes)
In amateur astronomy, "GoTo" refers to a type of telescope mount and related software which can automatically point a telescope to astronomical objects that the user selects...
" mount.
models
- LXD75, including NewtonianNewtonianNewtonian refers to the work of Isaac Newton, in particular:* Newtonian mechanics, also known as classical mechanics* Newtonian telescope, a type of reflecting telescope* Newtonian cosmology* Newtonian dynamics...
, Schmidt-Newtonian, Advanced Coma-Free, and achromatic refractor telescopes - ETX-LS, a 150mm (6 in) F/10 ACF telescope on a single-fork arm.
- DS-2000 Series, 80mm (3.1") refractor, 114mm (4.5") and 130mm (5.1") reflector on altazimuth Goto mounts
- LX80
Solar telescopes
In 2004, Meade acquired Coronado Filters from founder and designer David Lunt, who produce an extensive range of specialty telescopes that allow views of the sunSun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
in Hydrogen-Alpha, and formerly, at Calcium K line wavelengths. The Meade Coronado telescopes are called "Solarmax 40" or higher depending on the model.
Other products
- Achromatic Refractors (5 and 6-inch)
- Meade also sells under the "Meade" name imported low to moderate cost reflectors and refractors intended for the beginner retail market.
Telescope accessories
Accessories produced by Meade include the series 5000 eyepieces that are comparable in construction to those of Chester, New YorkChester (town), New York
Chester is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 12,140 at the 2000 census. The town is named after another city in Great Britain...
-based Tele Vue
Televue
Tele Vue Optics is a Chester, New York-based astronomical optics company known primarily for its premium brand of speciality eyepieces and apochromatic refractor telescopes...
Optical's "Nagler" (82-degree field of view), "Panoptic" (68-degree field of view), and "Radian" (60-degree field of view) eyepieces. Meade sells Deep Sky and Lunar digital imagers
Digital camera
A digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in the field of digital photography...
for telescopes. They also market the mySKY & mySKY Plus, multi-media GPS devices guiding users to the sky, similar to the competing Celestron SkyScout
SkyScout
The SkyScout is an electronic astronomical instrument made by Celestron. It is intended primarily as an educational device to help users locate and identify celestial objects.-Device Description:...
.
Meade lawsuit
In November, 2006, plaintiffPlaintiff
A plaintiff , also known as a claimant or complainant, is the term used in some jurisdictions for the party who initiates a lawsuit before a court...
s including Star Instruments and RC Optical Systems, manufacturers of traditional Ritchey-Chrétien optics and telescopes, filed a civil lawsuit against Meade, several dealerships, and other individuals in federal court (New York Southern District
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is a federal district court. Appeals from the Southern District of New York are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case...
). The complaint was against Meade advertising their RCX400 and LX200R models as "Ritchey-Chrétien." The plaintiffs claimed these models did not use true Ritchey-Chrétien optics and therefore Meade and its retailers were committing false advertising
False advertising
False advertising or deceptive advertising is the use of false or misleading statements in advertising. As advertising has the potential to persuade people into commercial transactions that they might otherwise avoid, many governments around the world use regulations to control false, deceptive or...
infringing on the plaintiff's market. In January 2008, Meade settled, with a "small" amount paid to the plaintiffs and the requirement to rename the affected products, not using any initials that might suggest Ritchey-Chrétien.
Financial problems
Meade has had financial problems in the past and has survived with the help of its founder, John DiebelJohn Diebel
John C. Diebel is the founder of telescope manufacturer Meade Instruments Corporation and a recipient of the The Franklin Institute's Bower Award For Business Leadership.-Meade Instruments:...
, purchasing back the company. However, Meade in the past few years has run into another round of financial woes, since Diebel sold the company again. The previous CEO since May 2006, Steve Muellner had announced various bad news for the company since he had the lead role for Meade. Meade's Irvine, California manufacturing plant was closed, with manufacturing moved to a new plant in Mexico, and a majority of the administrative positions were cut. Meade's customer service line has also been affected by the move to Mexico, including shorter operating hours and the elimination of the callback option. Meade is also looking at other options for the uncertain future of the company. No matter what the future was holding for the company, Muellner and some of the board members signed an agreement to cover themselves financially.
In April 2008, Meade sold two of its three non-telescope product brands (Weaver/Redfield) to two companies for a total of $8 million. However, as compensation for divestiture of these two brands, out-going VP of Sales, Robert Davis, received a $100,000 bonus from the company. On June 13, 2008, Meade sold their last non-telescope brand Simmons to Bushnell
Bushnell Corporation
Bushnell Corporation, also known as Bushnell and Bushnell Outdoor Products, is an American company specializing in optics and imaging. Its products include binoculars, spotting scopes, telescopes, night vision equipment, GPS devices, laser rangefinders, riflescopes, holographic weapon sights, game...
for $7.25 million. Also in 2008, Meade's stock value fell below one dollar, bringing up the possibility of Meade being delisted from the stock exchange. On October 3, 2008, Meade eliminated Donald Finkle's Senior Vice President position with the company providing him with one year of salary as severance and certain other benefits.
Meade announced on January 29, 2009 that it had sold Meade Europe, its European subsidiary, for 12.4 million dollars, thus relieving much of Meade's debt. However, that reduced the company's assets greatly. Further changes and unknown stability of the company was announced on February 5, 2009, with the resignation of Steve Muellner, Chairman of the Board Harry Casari and fellow board member James Chadwick. Former CEO Steven Murdock was reinstated as Meade CEO. On March 5, 2009, the company announced the resignation of CFO Paul Ross and the assumption of the position by John Elwood. With his resignation, Ross receives a severance in the lump sum of $260,000. During the summer of 2009, Meade announced a 20:1 reverse stock split
Reverse stock split
On a stock exchange, a reverse stock split or reverse split is a process by a company of issuing to each shareholder in that company a smaller number of new shares in proportion to that shareholder's original shares that are subsequently canceled. A reverse stock split is also called a stock merge...
in hopes of raising the value of their stock.