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 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 6" and 8" reflecting telescopes were an instant success­so much so that in early-1978 the company was faced with a 6-month backlog, despite the fact that we 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, we were able to ship all of the back-ordered 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.

In 1978 Meade Instruments took on its most formidable challenge to that date: the Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope market. Development of the original Meade 2080 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain required three years and all of the financial and engineering resources that the company had at its disposal, notwithstanding the significant growth that the company had experienced in the late-'70's. But we were determined to develop the state of Schmidt-Cassegrain design, a design that we strongly felt had overpowering advantages for the serious amateur, but one that was not being technically well-advanced due to an absence of competition.

With the announcement, in September, 1980, of the Model 2080, Meade Instruments began to grow rapidly. Each year thereafter saw new and exciting telescope models and accessories, as Meade led the way in telescope technology for the serious amateur. By 1986 Meade Instruments was generally acknowledged as the largest, and certainly the leading, manufacturer of serious telescopes in the world. By 1995 in virtually every country in the world where serious telescopes are sold, more Meade telescopes were sold than all competing telescope models combined.

So why has Meade Instruments been successful­why has the company grown during these past 30 years, when other telescope and accessory companies, dozens­perhaps more than one hundred­of them, have come and gone? The answers are as fundamental and as clear today as they were on that kitchen table thirty years ago.

We go the second mile with our customers to reach an amicable conclusion to any question or problem­and we have found likewise that the overwhelming majority of customers also want to be reasonable with us. We offer an excellent product warranty, a warranty that gives our customers strong formal protection of their investment in any of our products. But when a customer calls with a complaint­whether or not his Meade product is still under warranty­we ask ourselves a simple question: What is the fair thing to do? If the product has not been abused or mishandled, we routinely repair or replace a defective component, beyond stated warranty terms, if we feel that the problem should not reasonably have occurred. The Meade Customer Service staff's sole mission is to keep Meade customers satisfied with the product they have purchased­and with the company they have purchased it from.

Customer Support representatives are available to handle your calls and letters regarding any Meade product 8:00am to 5:00pm Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. To contact the Meade Customer Support Center, please write, call, or fax. Our information is as follows:

Meade Instruments Corporation 6001 Oak Canyon Irvine, CA 92618

(800) 626-3233 (U.S.A. Only) (949) 451-1450 Fax: (949) 451-1460

For those outside of U.S.A. and Canada, please contact the Authorized International Distributor in your country.

the Meade Factory

The list of Meade firsts is the most impressive in the industry: the first 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain to include a worm-gear drive (1980); the first commercial Schmidt-Cassegrains to include integrated electronic drive systems (Meade LX3's, 1984); the first permanently-programmed periodic error correction software (Meade Smart Drive, 1990); the first apochromatic refractors with automatic slewing and GO TO capability (1992); the first fully computerized observatory-class Schmidt-Cassegrain (Meade 16" LX200, 1994)­ the first intermediate-level telescopes with automatic slewing and GO TO capability (Meade Digital Electronic Series, 1999)­ the first ultra-high transmission coatings for commercial catadioptric telescopes (Meade UHTC group, 2002) - and with dozens of innovations in between. Meade engineers are constantly seeking ways to make our products even better, to reduce manufacturing costs, and to design new and exciting products. To the often-asked question, "Are you working on anything new?" the answer is always, and not facetiously, yes.

Meade common stock is traded on the NASDAQ National Market, the result of an initial public stock offering in April, 1997. The principal members of the Meade management team­including the Chairman/Founder, President, and Senior Vice-President of Sales­have been with the company an average of 23 years; they have grownwith the company and seen it develop. These Meade managers are also among the company's largest shareholders. Your interests are their interests; your Meade telescope is their Meade telescope.