First observations-A breif overview of the DS-2114

I got my Meade DS-2114ATS-TC at the local Sam's Club. Price on the box is $298.99, although I see now they are down to $148.99 online. This particular model came with 2 eyepieces..both Meade 4000 Series Super Plossl. One is a 26mm and the other is a 9.7mm. These were both great for me to start with, but with no Barlow lens included I can tell you for sure that you WILL NOT be seeing any views of planets the size of the ones pictured on the box. I must also mention that I had the previous version of this scope and this newer version is vastly improved. Better, sturdier tripod...way better and fully adjustable red dot finder, better color and a new version of the Autostar Controller and software. My first scope met its unfortunate demise about a week after I had gotten it. After an hour or so of being out in the cold the teeth of the focuser (made of what seems to be a cheap metal/plastic mix) started snapping off during focusing. Although I had ordered this scope from Shop-Optics online the nice people at my local Sam's Club allowed me to trade it in for the newer model that they stocked. The new version of the scope still has the poorly made focuser so I am leery of being out when it is colder than 20 degrees. The auto align feature works very well, providing that you know which way is really north. I recommend using the Google Earth satellite view to see your viewing site and figure out where true north is for you. I also recommend memorizing a few of the brightest guide stars like Orion's eastern shoulder...Betelgeuse, and his western foot Rigel. The stars of Gemini are pretty easily recognizable as well. By using these as a starting point it is very easy to do the One Star, Two Star or even the Three Star AutoStar alignment. Once aligned the sky is really the limit. Now mind you in the beginning it was not quite as easy I make it sound. I had read somewhere that the Drive on the scope needs to be periodically trained. I have trained my drives two or three times now (I do this in the daytime and it seems much easier) on both the Alt and the Az and I have adjusted my red dot finder so that it is on the money. Since doing these things it really has seemed much easier to align the scope, so maybe what I read was correct. OK, so the point I am trying to make is that out of the box, once the drives are trained you can see some pretty cool, all-be-it small, things. With the original two lenses I was able to see Saturn rings and all, M42 the Great Orion Nebula very easily, Mars as a pretty small but definitely red planet, cluster galaxies, M45 the Pleiades, and VERY cool views of the Moon. My only real complaint with this set is that it does not come with a Barlow lens which is a lens that doubles or triples the magnification, thus making the viewed object appear larger in your eye. If you get this scope I suggest purchasing an eyepiece kit with a Barlow 2X if not a 3X. I'm not going to skip ahead too far just yet, but know that I now have this scope connected to my laptop and am able to control it via Meade's Astrological platform and some assorted drivers. I can also monitor it on the laptop screen and capture pictures with the Celestron Color CCD Camera, but haven't fully mastered that yet. So, if you have this scope or are thinking of purchasing it my honest opinion is that it is a great starter scope with lots of learning potential for amature astronomy and lunar and planetary astrophotography. Tomorrow if I have time I'll give the review on the eyepiece and filter kit I recently purchased and start touching base on connecting this scope to a computer.