Meade Telescopes History

The Beginning

Founded in the most modest of circumstances, Meade Instruments began business in 1972 on initial capital of $2500 as a mail-order supplier of small refracting telescopes. The fledgling company quickly found that there was an increasing demand for quality telescope accessories, a demand that was going largely unmet. In 1973 Meade added lines of Orthoscopic and Kellner eyepieces, followed rapidly by a group of precision rack and pinion focusers, viewfinders, filters, camera adapters, and other accessories. That year also saw us as charter advertisers in the new magazine Astronomy . Amateur astronomers purchasing Meade accessories found that each had custom touches not generally available on competing models. The focusers, for example, had spring-loaded gearboxes that permitted smoother action throughout the entire travel distance, and the viewfinders included eyepieces with wider fields than had been commonly available.

By 1977 Meade Instruments offered a broad range of telescope accessories and parts for the serious amateur, a range of accessories and parts that in fact permitted the company to bring out its first in-house manufactured telescopes, Meade Telescopes Models 628 and 826 6" and 8"reflecting telescopes. With Meade reflectors American amateur astronomers found that they had, really for the first time, a telescope manufacturer that provided a quality product at a reasonable price, that continually updated its products technically, and, above all, one that stood firmly behind every sale.

Meade telescopes, namely the 6" and 8" reflecting telescopes, were an instant success–so much so that in early-1978 the company was faced with a 6-month backlog, despite the fact that they had promised "6-to-8 week delivery." Every customer was written a personal letter explaining the backlog situation and was offered a full and immediate refund if the additional waiting time was not acceptable. Few accepted the offer. As it turned out, by working overtime shifts and adding additional personnel, they were able to ship all of the back-ordered Meade telescopes within about three months instead of the projected six.

Word began to spread among amateurs that Meade Instruments is a company that can be trusted, one that does and means what it says. These values, now so often abused, are still very much at work in the Meade Instruments of the present day.

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