krtw
journeyman
Reged: 09/29/06
Posts: 9
Loc: Oregon
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I have been considering purchasing an LX90 8" as a second scope. Does anybody know what the rotational limitations are with this fork mount, can it rotate 360 degrees or is there a stop at 180? If its aligned in the North sky (I assume it needs to be facing north like the EQs) and I want to rotate around to the southern sky, will there be areas that I can't rotate to?
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Joe Aguiar
professor emeritus
Reged: 02/10/07
Posts: 707
Loc: Toront,Ontario
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it can go 360 np there,I have the 12"LX90
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rmollise
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 1558
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Quote:
I have been considering purchasing an LX90 8" as a second scope. Does anybody know what the rotational limitations are with this fork mount, can it rotate 360 degrees or is there a stop at 180? If its aligned in the North sky (I assume it needs to be facing north like the EQs) and I want to rotate around to the southern sky, will there be areas that I can't rotate to?
There are none. There are no hardstops on the LX90. Before you buy you might want to look at this:
http://www.weasner.com/lx90/index.html
Despite that, the LX90 is one of my favorite SCTs ever-ever.
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Uncle Rod
Watch for Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using the New CATs--coming soon!
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sang33ta
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/08/08
Posts: 539
Loc: UK
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It's a nice scope, no wierd scope twist setup like on the ETX.
However I had big problems with the goto getting lost. The fork would constantly slip on the tripod no matter how tight I screwed it on. I'd recommend using something sticky on the base, maybe Evostick! 
You can see some of my LX90 pics here http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y69/Gator-Hex/Meade%20LX90%20Telescope/
I have a bad light polluted site so no amazing DSOs as the night sky looked red through it. I went back to Maks because I thought they looked better for my location  But I miss the LX-90s stronger colour saturation.
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Hioptic 152mm f12.5 Maksutov
Celestron Advanced CG5-GT Mount (Mr Noisy!)
Meade 4000 Super Plossl Set
Casio QV-2900UX
Got fed up of waiting for Meade ETX-150 so put this together for £500/$1000 
Edited by sang33ta (07/13/08 05:03 PM)
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krtw
journeyman
Reged: 09/29/06
Posts: 9
Loc: Oregon
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Before you buy you might want to look at this:
http://www.weasner.com/lx90/index.html
Thanks for the response. I read most of this "BOOK", but not all. Now I am kind of scared of Meade again. I bought an LXD75 AR6 from them a couple years ago and right out of the box I had issues with that mount. Their customer service was pretty poor when I called them, so I traded in the Meade for a C6 at the retailer. For some reason I have always liked the fork mount Meade cats, more than the celestron. Not sure I want to deal with Meade again, but I know you can get a lemon from about anybody now days.
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krtw
journeyman
Reged: 09/29/06
Posts: 9
Loc: Oregon
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Quote:
it can go 360 np there,I have the 12"LX90
Thanks for the response, its nice to know it can go 360.
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Kolenka
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/01/08
Posts: 593
Loc: Seattle Area, WA, USA
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krtw, there is less to be afraid off right now than one would think.
Apparently the vibration issue is getting serious attention from Meade (at least from what I have read), and the reason the LX90-ACF is unavailable right now is because they are working on it. Apparently until Meade gets their factory in order and churning out LX90s without vibration, every LX90 being produced has to be hand-tested. It makes for long wait times though (I was quoted 2-3 months).
EDIT: Granted, this assumes the source I read was reliable, and that it won't return to the same problems as before once they stop hand-holding all the scopes going out the door. I'll definitely keep people appraised as to the quality of mine when/if it arrives.
EDIT2: The one thing I would wonder about with how the LX90 fork mount works (and lack of hardstops) is cord wrap of a power source like a power tank.
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Meade 10" LX200R
Orion 80ED
Nagler 7T6, 9T6, 13T6, 17T4, 26T5
Canon XSi, TIS DMK 31AF03
Northwest Astro Photoblog
Edited by Kolenka (07/14/08 05:44 PM)
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sang33ta
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/08/08
Posts: 539
Loc: UK
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Everything is on the fork. Battery box and hand controller etc so there are no internal cords to wrap.
Some people complain the hand controller get wrapped around while they hold it. I never had that issue I just popped it on top of the battery box and let it rotate with the rest of the scope.
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Hioptic 152mm f12.5 Maksutov
Celestron Advanced CG5-GT Mount (Mr Noisy!)
Meade 4000 Super Plossl Set
Casio QV-2900UX
Got fed up of waiting for Meade ETX-150 so put this together for £500/$1000
Edited by sang33ta (07/14/08 05:56 PM)
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Kolenka
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/01/08
Posts: 593
Loc: Seattle Area, WA, USA
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I wasn't talking about the internal battery box, etc... I noticed cord wrap isn't a problem there.
I am more curious about using an external power source like a power tank and the fun that produces. I can't imagine someone wanting to duct tape a 17Ah tank onto the fork of an LX90. :P
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Meade 10" LX200R
Orion 80ED
Nagler 7T6, 9T6, 13T6, 17T4, 26T5
Canon XSi, TIS DMK 31AF03
Northwest Astro Photoblog
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sang33ta
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/08/08
Posts: 539
Loc: UK
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Oh yes see what you mean, a 12v to car could be fun  I can imagin it wrapping round and pulling the scope over. 
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Hioptic 152mm f12.5 Maksutov
Celestron Advanced CG5-GT Mount (Mr Noisy!)
Meade 4000 Super Plossl Set
Casio QV-2900UX
Got fed up of waiting for Meade ETX-150 so put this together for £500/$1000
Edited by sang33ta (07/14/08 07:32 PM)
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rmollise
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 1558
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Quote:
I wasn't talking about the internal battery box, etc... I noticed cord wrap isn't a problem there.
I am more curious about using an external power source like a power tank and the fun that produces. I can't imagine someone wanting to duct tape a 17Ah tank onto the fork of an LX90. :P
In practice, that's not a problem. There's a "cord wrap" function that can be turned on in the Autostar to prevent this very thing, so you don't have to duct tape that WallyWorld Jumpstater to your fork. 
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Uncle Rod
Watch for Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using the New CATs--coming soon!
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Joe Lalumia
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/24/07
Posts: 2542
Loc: Rockwall, Texas, USA
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I throw the hand controller cable over the top of the scope tube -- this keeps it from wrapping. I also use the coiled cable from scopestuff.com that is more flexible and longer than the Meade hand controller cable.
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LX90 8" LNT, SV Nighthawk & TelePOD, SV 80/9D & M4 mount, ETX 90, Orion XT10i, 20x80 binoculars, SV-BV3s.
"The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax." - Albert Einstein
Edited by Joe Lalumia (07/15/08 09:26 AM)
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