Telescope Reviews: New Meade LX80 and LX800 scopes coming this year.

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Astronomics
Vendor if you must, AKA The Mighty Kong.

Reged: 06/07/04

Loc: Right Here

Re: New Meade LX80 and LX800 scopes coming this year. new

[Re: Bill Barlow]
#4810732 - 09/16/11 10:29 AM

Unfortunately what we have posted is all the info we have at the moment.

Post Extras:

*skyguy*
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 12/31/08

Loc: Western New York

Re: New Meade LX80 and LX800 scopes coming this year. new

[Re: Astronomics]
#4810763 - 09/16/11 10:47 AM

Well now .... for the LX800, that's the most useless spot to store the handcontroller I've ever seen on any scope. However, it does work well if I'm going to spend all my time observing Polaris! What ever happened to the engineering creed: "Form follows Function." C'mon Meade ... wake up!

Post Extras:

frebie
Chief assistant to the assistant chief

Reged: 04/29/08

Loc: Neither here nor there.

Re: New Meade LX80 and LX800 scopes coming this year. new

[Re: Bill Barlow]
#4810857 - 09/16/11 11:48 AM

Quote:

Do you have any specs on the f/8 OTA's yet, namely what size the secondary mirror obstruction will be? Since they are an f/8 scope optimised for imaging, would the CO be similar to the AT RC'c CO around 40-45%? I assume that when the OTA's are offered seperately, they will probably cost more than the current f/10 scopes? Thanks..

Bill

According to preliminary specs, the secondary obstruction of the 10" is approximately 4.05" in diameter (20.95% by area). On the 12" it is approximately 4.36" in diameter (16.86% by area). The 14" is TBD. These specs are preliminary and should be not taken as gospel, as preliminary specs are always subject to change.

No pricing or part numbers on OTAs yet. I would think they would be further downstream than the estimated November shipping date on the scopes, as Meade would probably want to fill the pipeline with complete scopes before breaking out the OTAs separately.

Post Extras:

frebie
Chief assistant to the assistant chief

Reged: 04/29/08

Loc: Neither here nor there.

Re: New Meade LX80 and LX800 scopes coming this year. new

[Re: dvb]
#4810861 - 09/16/11 11:50 AM

Quote:

Thanks for the detailed specs on the LX800.

Can you provide similar specs for the LX80?
e.g., weight of the EQ head for example?
It will be interesting to see if it can be a lighter alternative to the Atlas/ EQ6, with the same carrying capacity . . .. maybe competitive with the iEQ45 in that regard.

I'll also wonder how quiet it is - quiet like a Skywatcher, or noisy like a Celestron?

Mount head weighs 35 pounds. Tripod is 31.5 pounds. I'll get more details up over the weekend. We'll know how loud it is when they start shipping in November.

Post Extras:

SkyscraperJim
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 07/29/07

Loc: Providence, RI

Re: New Meade LX80 and LX800 scopes coming this year. new

[Re: frebie]
#4810911 - 09/16/11 12:20 PM

Very interesting. I look forward to seeing some field reports of the LX800 mounts.

Post Extras:

LLEEGE
True Blue

Reged: 03/03/05

Loc: Cloud-chester,NY

Re: New Meade LX80 and LX800 scopes coming this year. new

[Re: *skyguy*]
#4810992 - 09/16/11 01:00 PM

Quote:

Well now .... for the LX800, that's the most useless spot to store the handcontroller I've ever seen on any scope. However, it does work well if I'm going to spend all my time observing Polaris! What ever happened to the engineering creed: "Form follows Function." C'mon Meade ... wake up!

I don't see any problem with the location.

Post Extras:

Aquatone
sage

Reged: 03/23/06

Loc: Moraga, CA (Bay Area)

Re: New Meade LX80 and LX800 scopes coming this year. new

[Re: ukcanuck]
#4811014 - 09/16/11 01:09 PM

In its layout the new equatorial mount looks like a copy of a Astro-Physics Mach 1.0 with a few stylistic Transformer elements added. The drive boxes in particular look identical.

Chris

Post Extras:

mclewis1
Thread Killer

Reged: 02/25/06

Loc: New Brunswick, Canada

Re: New Meade LX80 and LX800 scopes coming this year. new

[Re: LLEEGE]
#4811054 - 09/16/11 01:29 PM

Quote:

Quote:

Well now .... for the LX800, that's the most useless spot to store the handcontroller I've ever seen on any scope. However, it does work well if I'm going to spend all my time observing Polaris! What ever happened to the engineering creed: "Form follows Function." C'mon Meade ... wake up!

I don't see any problem with the location.

It's fine if you're spending a lot of time observing towards Polaris ... most folks will be spending more time standing on the other side of the mount. With the HC in this storage position you'll be spending a lot of the time reaching around the mount.

The other concern I have (which is shared on many other mounts) is the number of possible cable snag areas. The folks that seem to understand this are Software Bisque (Paramount).

Looks like there are also lots of positives, can't wait to see some real reviews. Now how about another mount in between these two? We need more choices in the 60lb $2500-4000 range.

Post Extras:

Micheal
sage

Reged: 02/28/10

Loc: Corona, CA

Re: New Meade LX80 and LX800 scopes coming this year. new

[Re: mclewis1]
#4811252 - 09/16/11 03:38 PM

That LX800 looks really nice! I like how the counter shaft has threads. Such a great idea except it forces you to use their counter weights that are threaded.

I'll have to go to pats this weekend and see it in person.

Post Extras:

spaceboy62
sage

Reged: 06/22/10

Loc: far west Texas

Re: New Meade LX80 and LX800 scopes coming this year. new

[Re: Bill Barlow]
#4811262 - 09/16/11 03:46 PM

I hope the quality control improves as well.

Post Extras:

AntarcticDave
sage

Reged: 02/03/09

Loc: Denver, CO

Re: New Meade LX80 and LX800 scopes coming this year. new

[Re: spaceboy62]
#4811294 - 09/16/11 04:13 PM

Any word on this part: Series 6000 3 element air-space apochromatic refractor ? Is Meade also going into the 6" APO market by chance?

Post Extras:

Astronomics
Vendor if you must, AKA The Mighty Kong.

Reged: 06/07/04

Loc: Right Here

Re: New Meade LX80 and LX800 scopes coming this year. new

[Re: AntarcticDave]
#4811311 - 09/16/11 04:24 PM

They have the 80, 115, and 130. No news on anything larger.

Post Extras:

Mark Costello
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 03/08/05

Loc: Matthews, NC, USA

Re: New Meade LX80 and LX800 scopes coming this year. new

[Re: Astronomics]
#4811381 - 09/16/11 05:02 PM

D-A-W-G-G-O-N-E!! It looks like Meade has really done a nice job in designing the LX80. All of a sudden, this rig seems to be much easier to handle than the LX90 and certainly the LX200. I had pretty much written off Meade as the vendor of a second telescope. Now I'll definitely be rethinking that....

It looks like I could mount my ES AR127 achro (about 15 lbm or so) on one side and a nice SCT on the other. What kind of Meade SCTs will be offered as part of an LX80 rig - and in what sizes? Thanks.

Post Extras:

Astronomics
Vendor if you must, AKA The Mighty Kong.

Reged: 06/07/04

Loc: Right Here

Re: New Meade LX80 and LX800 scopes coming this year. new

[Re: Mark Costello]
#4811384 - 09/16/11 05:04 PM

6, 8, and 10" SC OTAs.

Post Extras:

LLEEGE
True Blue

Reged: 03/03/05

Loc: Cloud-chester,NY

Re: New Meade LX80 and LX800 scopes coming this year. new

[Re: mclewis1]
#4811449 - 09/16/11 05:48 PM

Quote:

It's fine if you're spending a lot of time observing towards Polaris ... most folks will be spending more time standing on the other side of the mount. With the HC in this storage position you'll be spending a lot of the time reaching around the mount.

I guess it depends on what side of the meridian you are observing. I hang my keypad on the NE side of the mount. Although, I don't do much slewing around typically. I'll pick a target, slew and start a 3,4, 5 hour imaging session. Unless I need to do a meridian flip, I don't touch the keypad anymore.

Post Extras:

highertheflyer
professor emeritus

Reged: 07/08/05

Loc: Ft. Worth, Texas

Re: New Meade LX80 and LX800 scopes coming this year. new

[Re: Astronomics]
#4811491 - 09/16/11 06:15 PM

And as an Ioptron fan, which units will have GPS?
Jim

Post Extras:

mclewis1
Thread Killer

Reged: 02/25/06

Loc: New Brunswick, Canada

Re: New Meade LX80 and LX800 scopes coming this year. new

[Re: LLEEGE]
#4811504 - 09/16/11 06:21 PM

Luke,

Yes good point, it will depend more on how you use the HC more than anything else. It would be tough to imagine a design that satisfies everyone.

Post Extras:

dkb
sage

Reged: 07/23/08

Loc: Minnesota

Re: New Meade LX80 and LX800 scopes coming this year. new

[Re: mclewis1]
#4812322 - 09/17/11 08:52 AM

Is there anybody covering PATS "live" on the internet so we can see real photos and hands on of these mounts?

Post Extras:

jmiele
Patron Saint?

Reged: 12/04/10

Re: New Meade LX80 and LX800 scopes coming this year. new

[Re: frebie]
#4812471 - 09/17/11 10:33 AM

Quote:

Quote:

Do you have any specs on the f/8 OTA's yet, namely what size the secondary mirror obstruction will be? Since they are an f/8 scope optimised for imaging, would the CO be similar to the AT RC'c CO around 40-45%? I assume that when the OTA's are offered seperately, they will probably cost more than the current f/10 scopes? Thanks..

Bill

According to preliminary specs, the secondary obstruction of the 10" is approximately 4.05" in diameter (20.95% by area). On the 12" it is approximately 4.36" in diameter (16.86% by area). The 14" is TBD. These specs are preliminary and should be not taken as gospel, as preliminary specs are always subject to change.

No pricing or part numbers on OTAs yet. I would think they would be further downstream than the estimated November shipping date on the scopes, as Meade would probably want to fill the pipeline with complete scopes before breaking out the OTAs separately.

From the photo a saw the CO is at least 40%. Additionally, given the math it would have to be. It's certainly not 18-20%.

Joe

Post Extras:

WizWoz
member

Reged: 09/30/06

Loc: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Re: New Meade LX80 and LX800 scopes coming this year. new

[Re: jmiele]
#4812597 - 09/17/11 11:36 AM

Joe,
It appears you've mixed the proverbial Apples and Oranges.

One figure is the CO as a % of Diameter and the other % of Area. Both numbers are very different as you can see. For example: a 10" with a CO of 40% by width would be the same as saying a CO of 16% by area. I believe this is an item a number of folks get confused or "tricked" by. Has about the same effect as mixing up inches and centimeters. Not a big deal......unless you happen to be the guy that programmed the probe and a made an oop's using the wrong units. Crash landing you say!

Yeah, that one hurt. But then I'm straying way off topic.

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm finding it hard to believe the LX80 is so cheap given the specs.

I guess we really need someone to get their hands on one and report on its worthiness. Still very interested though.

Post Extras:

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