Telescope Reviews: Meade LX600

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Equipment Discussions >> Cats & Casses

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Lee Jay
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 02/27/08

Loc: Westminster, CO

Re: Meade LX600 new

[Re: LouHalikman]
#5185218 - 04/22/12 06:28 PM

Quote:

Strikes me as overkill. With a fork mount, imaging will always be compromised.

FYI, Keck is fork-mounted. Alt-az too.

Most of the new big scopes are.

The big PlaneWave is too.

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Orionis91
sage

Reged: 03/01/10

Loc: Maryland USA

Re: Meade LX600 new

[Re: Griffin!]
#5185298 - 04/22/12 07:30 PM

Go Meade with the game changer, this could REALLY be a big market for Meade, and most of all, good news for Amateur Astronomy. Lx80 for people, and the high end Lx800/600 for the fork and GEM lovers!!

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rmollise
Postmaster

Reged: 07/06/07

Re: Meade LX600 new

[Re: Griffin!]
#5185916 - 04/23/12 07:42 AM

Quote:

Here's the full ad from one of the magazines:

http://www.landinmorocco.com/lx600advert.JPG

"Game changer," huh? 5K for a 10-inch forkmount LX200 with a new wedge and a guidescope tacked on? Well, I predict it will change _someone's_ game.

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Stew57
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 05/03/09

Loc: Silsbee Texas

Re: Meade LX600 new

[Re: rmollise]
#5185975 - 04/23/12 08:44 AM

Rod is right. If it works as well as the LS did at intro it will not only change someone's game but end it. let's hope there are good discounts and it works well.

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Lee Jay
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 02/27/08

Loc: Westminster, CO

Re: Meade LX600 new

[Re: rmollise]
#5186143 - 04/23/12 10:55 AM

Quote:

Quote:

Here's the full ad from one of the magazines:

http://www.landinmorocco.com/lx600advert.JPG

"Game changer," huh? 5K for a 10-inch forkmount LX200 with a new wedge and a guidescope tacked on?

And the new f/8 OTAs. LX800 versus LX80 prices indicate an $800 price difference for the f/8 ACF versus the f/10 SCT. Probably half that for f/8 versus f/10.

So, LX200 f/10 ACF is $3,500, a good wedge is $700, the f/8 optics upgrade might be $400 for a total of $4,600. Is an integrated guiding solution worth $400? I'd say so, especially if you don't have to have a laptop hooked to it that you have to keep powered and operational.

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Alph
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 11/23/06

Loc: Melmac

Re: Meade LX600 new

[Re: Lee Jay]
#5186188 - 04/23/12 11:23 AM

Actually the wedge is optional.

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mclewis1
Thread Killer

Reged: 02/25/06

Loc: New Brunswick, Canada

Re: Meade LX600 new

[Re: Alph]
#5186248 - 04/23/12 11:59 AM

Actually sort of, there are separate skus for scopes with and without the wedge.

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dr.who
sage

Reged: 01/05/12

Re: Meade LX600 new

[Re: mclewis1]
#5188745 - 04/24/12 07:44 PM

Looks like this is a replacement for the lx200 line with the lx80 replacing the lx90 line and the 800 being the new high end...

Also looks like the 80 is set to compete against the CGEM since it has very similar spec's and is a lot less in cost than the CGEM...

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teskridg
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 01/15/08

Loc: PA

Re: Meade LX600 new

[Re: Griffin!]
#5199827 - 05/01/12 10:22 AM

Would the LX-600 mount support a Celestron 11" SCT and binoviewer/power x switch? The OTA is listed at 27 pounds on the Astronomics site. Thank you, Tim

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mclewis1
Thread Killer

Reged: 02/25/06

Loc: New Brunswick, Canada

Re: Meade LX600 new

[Re: teskridg]
#5199931 - 05/01/12 11:27 AM

Tim,

Very probably yes but since the LX600 is not available as a mount only option it's not a possible configuration without extensive engineering and machining.

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teskridg
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 01/15/08

Loc: PA

Re: Meade LX600 new

[Re: mclewis1]
#5200341 - 05/01/12 03:19 PM

I goofed; I meant the LX-80 mount I saw at NEAF; disregard the question on this thread as I don't wish to hijack it. The LX-600 is a monster of a mount based on its appearance at NEAF; it looked bigger than the GEM mounts on the bigger Celestron OTA's although I didn't study these too hard. Tim

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Mark Costello
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 03/08/05

Loc: Matthews, NC, USA

Re: Meade LX600 new

[Re: teskridg]
#5200527 - 05/01/12 05:11 PM

Hi Tim. To answer your question as amended, I see that Meade and its dealers are selling LX80 rigs complete with Meade 10" Schmidt Cassegrain (SCT) optical tube assemblies (OTAs) on them. Those weigh about 29 lb, so I'd supposed that they could take C11 OTAs.

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rmollise
Postmaster

Reged: 07/06/07

Re: Meade LX600 new

[Re: teskridg]
#5200548 - 05/01/12 05:32 PM

Quote:

I goofed; I meant the LX-80 mount I saw at NEAF; disregard the question on this thread as I don't wish to hijack it. The LX-600 is a monster of a mount based on its appearance at NEAF; it looked bigger than the GEM mounts on the bigger Celestron OTA's although I didn't study these too hard. Tim

The LX600 is a _fork_ mount.

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teskridg
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 01/15/08

Loc: PA

Re: Meade LX600 new

[Re: rmollise]
#5201371 - 05/02/12 08:22 AM

Yeah, UR; but I also saw GEM's that were big too. Given the AP capabilities claimed for the LX-600 "out of the box" and the difficulty of getting into AP initially vis-a-vis learning curve, the expense of the LX-600 may be justified for SCT's. As I understand it, although I don't do AP, using an SCT in astrophotography isn't easy, and of course it's even harder for a beginner. Add the ergonomic beauty of a fork mount for visual, I think this mount is a winner. As a non AP guy, I'd like to know if this idea is true. Tim

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rmollise
Postmaster

Reged: 07/06/07

Re: Meade LX600 new

[Re: teskridg]
#5201591 - 05/02/12 11:00 AM

I cut my astrophotography teeth on fork mount telescopes back in The Day. If I had it to do over again? I believe it is easier with a GEM. The LX600s may be good or they may not be. But they will most assuredly share the problems of any EQ fork mount SCT. Hard to balance and shaky on even a heavy wedge.

Edited by rmollise (05/02/12 01:03 PM)

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Peter in Reno
Post Laureate

Reged: 07/15/08

Loc: Reno, NV

Re: Meade LX600 new

[Re: rmollise]
#5201665 - 05/02/12 11:39 AM

I had pretty good experience imaging my old CPC0800 mounted on Mitty wedge. With the right equipment (OAG instead of guide scope, etc) and proper PHD settings for autoguiding, imaging with fork mounts can be a rewarding experience. Best of all, NO MERIDIAN FLIPPING!!!!

See my images in my gallery in my signature. Most of the images were taken with CCP0800. Click on "Old Equipment" for pictures of my old CPC0800 plus equipment.

Peter

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rmollise
Postmaster

Reged: 07/06/07

Re: Meade LX600 new

[Re: Peter in Reno]
#5201832 - 05/02/12 01:02 PM

There is no doubt good images can be taken with a fork. I like to think I've done so myself (within the bounds of my limited astrophotography talent

). I just think it is a little easier with a GEM.

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Martin Lyons
sage

Reged: 10/06/08

Loc: Cape Town, South Africa

Re: Meade LX600 new

[Re: rmollise]
#5202031 - 05/02/12 02:32 PM

I find it really difficult to use a GEM......mainly because I don't have one.......LOL

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Peter in Reno
Post Laureate

Reged: 07/15/08

Loc: Reno, NV

Re: Meade LX600 new

[Re: Martin Lyons]
#5202160 - 05/02/12 03:42 PM

Even though I currently own a GEM, I find using fork mount easier to use. I didn't have issues of balancing since I don't use a guide scope. Adding guide scope makes it harder to balance on fork mounts in different OTA positions. With OAG, I had no issues balancing.

My main reason for getting GEM (A-P Mach1GTO) was smoother tracking and very low PE. The guide star in Lodestar wobbles quite a bit in CPC0800 as compared to Mach1GTO. If Astro-Physics made fork mounts, I would get it in a heartbeat.

Peter

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smastellotto
journeyman

Reged: 08/23/11

Re: Meade LX600 new

[Re: Peter in Reno]
#5204060 - 05/03/12 03:32 PM

I am wondering about the new focus system with little mirror shift/flop. Will be necessary with guidescope approach to guiding. Also, is it capable of electric focusing? I think this is essential for imaging.

Steve

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