Telescope Reviews: LX-800 Update

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tim53
Postmaster

Reged: 12/17/04

Loc: Highland Park, CA

Re: LX-800 Update new

[Re: Zamboni]
#5491858 - 10/27/12 03:42 PM

Thing is, when Meade started making scopes and not just importing them, there was plenty of competition.

And variety.

Tim

Post Extras:

Raginar
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/19/10

Loc: Rapid CIty, SD

Re: LX-800 Update new

[Re: tim53]
#5491935 - 10/27/12 05:10 PM

Thanks for posting an update on what's going on. LIke John, I've enjoyed seeing what Meade is doing for its customers... hopefully they get this resolved so we can see what the mount is capable of.

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Lee Jay
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 02/27/08

Loc: Westminster, CO

Re: LX-800 Update new

[Re: ahopp]
#5491936 - 10/27/12 05:10 PM

Quote:

And, as I said to Alph, I do not ever recall improvements to the focuser being discussed.

I wonder if this is why they aren't selling the OTAs in the mean-time. The initial reports about them were exceptionally positive so I was thinking they would put them on sale separately to keep revenue going while they were fixing the mounts, but they haven't.

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andysea
sage

Reged: 09/03/10

Loc: Seattle, WA

Re: LX-800 Update new

[Re: Zamboni]
#5494030 - 10/29/12 02:19 AM

I don't own any Meade products (except for some coutnerweights) but, being a mount junkie, I have been following this saga. I really hope that they can correct the issues with the LX-800, in theory it sounded like a good idea. A bit overpriced I think.

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Starhawk
Post Laureate

Reged: 09/16/08

Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Re: LX-800 Update new

[Re: andysea]
#5494350 - 10/29/12 10:07 AM

If they get it to the point where it gets to the spec performance they were advertising, it's cheap at the price. But they moved into Mach 1 GTO territory on the price; 32 arcsecond PE isn't going to cut it. And unfortunately, they can improve it by an order of magnitude without getting to their spec or the demonstrated field performance of the Mach 1.

So, obviously the recall was the only choice if they want to stay in this market area. But they have set themselves up to get to 1 arcsecond RMS, and that's something people have been playing with for many years. Apparently there have been problems with starlock, though the full story hasn't been discussed.

It all comes down to not taking sides with the marketing crowd over engineering.

-Rich

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andysea
sage

Reged: 09/03/10

Loc: Seattle, WA

Re: LX-800 Update new

[Re: Starhawk]
#5495410 - 10/29/12 10:07 PM

Yeah for that price I would expect at least 4 arcsec PE and a very smooth curve that can be easily guided out. I actually didn't know that the PE was so high. I guess that would make imaging with any of the OTAs that the mount comes with essentially a futile effort. Hopefully they can improve the tracking.

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mmalik
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 01/13/12

Loc: USA

Re: LX-800 Update new

[Re: andysea]
#5495755 - 10/30/12 04:54 AM

Thing I don't like about Meade is that they have taken the astronomy industry and consumers on a joy ride for over a year now with the announcement of LX800, LX80, and other lines while they really hadn't done any homework. Publishing glittery ads in magazines for over a year while the real story is something else is hypocritical to say the least. Such are not the tactics of a company longing to survive. Meade has lot of work to do to rebuild their tarnished reputation let alone deliver what they promised (in this case LX800); else writing is on the wall.

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ahopp
sage

Reged: 05/24/12

Re: LX-800 Update new

[Re: mmalik]
#5495860 - 10/30/12 08:29 AM

Does anyone have a schematic of how the focuser works on the LX800. Trying to think thru what changes/adjustments that they made.

I know that the focuser controls the location of the primary, and that they have incorporated a crayford design which they have used to eliminate image shift/mirror flop.

Tony

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rmollise
Postmaster

Reged: 07/06/07

Re: LX-800 Update new

[Re: ahopp]
#5496102 - 10/30/12 12:19 PM

I don't think anybody had one long enough to take one apart!

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ahopp
sage

Reged: 05/24/12

Re: LX-800 Update new

[Re: rmollise]
#5496253 - 10/30/12 02:13 PM

I had mine for a few weeks, but never took it out of the box, because of the recall. They picked it up in June and I have been without ever since.

Tony

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greju
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/13/05

Re: LX-800 Update new

[Re: rmollise]
#5496257 - 10/30/12 02:16 PM

Quote:

I don't think anybody had one long enough to take one apart!

Bad Uncle!

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Whichwayisnorth
professor emeritus

Reged: 07/04/11

Loc: Southern California

Re: LX-800 Update new

[Re: greju]
#5497784 - 10/31/12 01:33 PM

I've noticed that a lot of times the folks in customer service don't have all the facts. I've read some posts here on CN that confused me so I checked in with the people working on my telescope and was told the information was not correct. I am not sure what the deal is with the focuser. When I had mine I was impressed with the focuser and had no problems. Zero image shift while focusing at high magnification. Maybe they found an issue that needs addressing. They need the OTA's right because they go on the LX600's too. So even if the LX600 mounts are great, the last thing Meade is going to need is a problem with the OTA's going on them.

If I find anything out I'll let y'all know.

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blueman
Vendor Blue Sky Accessories

Reged: 07/20/07

Loc: California

Re: LX-800 Update new

[Re: Whichwayisnorth]
#5497825 - 10/31/12 02:01 PM

June to November/Decemmber sure seems like a long time to have to wait for a mount to be returned. That is the loss of a whole season. This would be a tragedy to me as an astrophotographer.
Blueman

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Alph
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 11/23/06

Loc: Melmac

Re: LX-800 Update new

[Re: blueman]
#5497940 - 10/31/12 03:19 PM

Quote:

June to November/Decemmber sure seems like a long time to have to wait for a mount to be returned. That is the loss of a whole season. This would be a tragedy to me as an astrophotographer.
Blueman

Really! Then it must be a tragedy that you did not buy your AP900 earlier.

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andysea
sage

Reged: 09/03/10

Loc: Seattle, WA

Re: LX-800 Update new

[Re: blueman]
#5498494 - 10/31/12 09:31 PM

I agree!! Loosing a season because of that would make me really upset!

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blueman
Vendor Blue Sky Accessories

Reged: 07/20/07

Loc: California

Re: LX-800 Update new

[Re: Alph]
#5498590 - 10/31/12 10:28 PM

Should have bought it two years earlier!
Blueman

Quote:

Quote:

June to November/Decemmber sure seems like a long time to have to wait for a mount to be returned. That is the loss of a whole season. This would be a tragedy to me as an astrophotographer.
Blueman

Really! Then it must be a tragedy that you did not buy your AP900 earlier.

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Pak
member

Reged: 09/15/12

Loc: The Great Arc

Re: LX-800 Update new

[Re: ahopp]
#5502448 - 11/03/12 01:53 PM

Quote:

Gang,

Just talked to Meade about my 14" LX-800. It has been at Meade for the recall since June, and according to the rep. this is what has been completed on my scope so far:

1. Replaced the worm
2. Increase the bearing size on both the RA and DEC
3. Made focuser adjustments
4. Improved the saddle plate(not sure if it was replaced or modified)

He says that these were thing done to my specific scope, they have a system that tracks each individual scope in the recall.

All they are working on now is the refinement of the firmware for the mount and starlock. He would not give me a firm date for completion, but, did suggest that it would be back to me by the end of the month. I have been given dates before that have come and gone, so, take with a grain of salt.

I told him that I would demand to speak with and executive if the scope is not ready by December 1st.

Tony

No way you will get it back by December 1st. We are now in the holiday season and Meade is also heading to Arizona next weekend. I honestly believe that IF they honestly plan to return peoples mounts to them in working condtion, they will see them after the new year.

If you want to give them a deadline of satisfaction, tell them you want your repaired mount returned by November 23rd, 2012 or a full refund by that same time. Then if they decide on a refund you can take advantage of Celestron's sale on CGE-PRO systems, which lasts through November, and go that route instead. With the savings you can buy a focal reducer (which Meade hasn't even been working on) a guide camera and a guide scope.

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ur7x
super member

Reged: 01/08/12

Re: LX-800 Update new

[Re: Zamboni]
#5521644 - 11/15/12 05:56 PM

Quote:

It may have been an issue since the 70s, but in the last ten years Meade has been really hosing up their product launches, especially on their highest-end equipment. The RCX-400, the LX80 and the LX800 have all been rushed out the door less than half baked. Considering how badly the LX800 launch has been botched, I can't see myself ever taking a risk on a high end Meade product because early adopters go through the wringer with every major product rollout.

If Meade doesn't get their poop in a group, they won't be able to survive very long. I've always preferred Celestron products, but the competition between the two companies is critical for pushing innovation forward. If Meade goes under because of poorly managed product launches, I hate to think what the broader implications will be for the industry.

Sadly we saw a quarterly press release from Meade on their sales and income results about a month ago. Given that the company lost over half of its value in the last 2 months (something that I warned about) that would points to continuing bad sales and income numbers.

I too would like to see Meade turn this around. Are they selling anything other than accessories and the odd "loose" OTA these days? How can you stay in business doing that?

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Raginar
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/19/10

Loc: Rapid CIty, SD

Re: LX-800 Update new

[Re: ur7x]
#5521701 - 11/15/12 06:37 PM

It's unfortunate they won't just sell the OTAs. Maybe it would help them pull in some funds until the mount issue can be clarified.

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blueman
Vendor Blue Sky Accessories

Reged: 07/20/07

Loc: California

Re: LX-800 Update new

[Re: Raginar]
#5522861 - 11/16/12 12:53 PM

With the state of Meade at this time, if I had an LX-800, I would ask for a refund. It is possible that they may not make it through this bad time. It is also possible that they will drop the product suddenly as they have in the past, leaving people with a mount that has no support.
Later, if they found the problems and corrected them, then I would consider buying another LX-800, maybe. But right now I think this is not a good thing for the consumer to be involved in just too risky.
Blueman

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