Nevertheless, the shorter focal length allows a wider field of view when used with low-power eyepieces. Both telescopes are shipped from their factories via United Parcel Service. The basic Meade scope comes in two boxes. The base is unassembled and comes in a relatively small box. The other contains the tube, focuser, and primary mirror.
Assembly is simple, well described in the manual, and takes about an hour.
I encountered a few minor glitches but quickly resolved them. At first it seemed the telescope was shipped without its focuser, but I eventually found it encased within the styrofoam block protecting one end of the tube during shipping. Occasionally I had to guess which screw went where since the manual is weak in this respect. Three of the screws used to assemble the base were missing, and the screws supplied to attach the finderscope proved too short. Both problems were remedied with hardware from my home workshop.