Telescope Reviews: Your thoughts on the Meade LXD-75?

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orion61
Vendor(Clear Edge Optical)

Reged: 10/20/07

Loc: NW Iowa BURRRR

Your thoughts on the Meade LXD-75? new

new

#5620451 - 01/13/13 10:26 AM

I 4 8" it came with My trusty Criterion RV6, an 8" SCT,
and my 102 APO.
I have 2 LX200 Classics I have done a pre empt cap changing,
And may I say LOVE!
but I've never had a computerised EQ so I don't know what to expect from it. How is accuracy? Any mods I need to do?
Are they any good for imaging?
Thanks for your time.
Orion

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gillmj24
Post Laureate

Reged: 12/06/05

Loc: PA

Re: Your thoughts on the Meade LXD-75? new

new

[Re: orion61]
#5620558 - 01/13/13 11:22 AM

I don't understand your first sentence but the LXD75 competes with a CG5 from celestron. Both are light duty mounts and adequate for visual use. More patient people use them for astro imaging as well.

There used to be a 3rd party belt drive mod that would eliminate backlash of the spur gears that go from the drive motor to the telescope axis' gear. Not essential but it was a fun upgrade to do and I learned how the innards worked a little bit. I'm not sure if the Warps Drive kit is still available.

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Mkofski
professor emeritus

Reged: 07/19/11

Loc: Greenfield, Indiana, USA

Re: Your thoughts on the Meade LXD-75? new

new

[Re: gillmj24]
#5620578 - 01/13/13 11:28 AM

DeepSpace Products sells a hypertune kit for the LDX75

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Geo.
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/01/08

Loc: Upstate NY

Re: Your thoughts on the Meade LXD-75? new

new

[Re: Mkofski]
#5620670 - 01/13/13 12:19 PM

Out of the box I'd say the LXD-75 was a bit above the quality of the average CG-5. The Autostar system has been around for 14 years and there's a lot of online support for users (by users). The CG-5 has been around for 25 years and has improved over time. It went goto about 8-10 years ago with an adaptation of the Nexstar system to it. Meade has discontinued the LXD-75 and Celestron has announced the VX mount, a replacement for the CG-5.

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Jon Isaacs
Postmaster

Reged: 06/16/04

Loc: San Diego and Boulevard, CA

Re: Your thoughts on the Meade LXD-75? new

new

[Re: Geo.]
#5620679 - 01/13/13 12:24 PM

Quote:

Out of the box I'd say the LXD-75 was a bit above the quality of the average CG-5.

There are others who think differently...

Jon

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Charlie B
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 03/22/08

Loc: Sterling, Virginia

Re: Your thoughts on the Meade LXD-75? new

new

[Re: orion61]
#5620754 - 01/13/13 01:03 PM

I had 2 LXD-75 mounts and 1 LXD-55 mount. The 55 and one 75 was hypertuned. They are advertised at 40 lbs, but I suggest they would only be good at that weight for visual and only if you were well balanced. At 30 lbs with good balance, you could do guided imaging, but it would be better at 20 lbs. The 55 was good with about 15 lbs for imaging. They were good mounts but I upgraded to a CGEM and G11. You should be fine with the 6".

Charlie B

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jgraham
Postmaster

Reged: 12/02/04

Loc: Dayton, Ohio

Re: Your thoughts on the Meade LXD-75? new

new

[Re: Charlie B]
#5620967 - 01/13/13 02:46 PM

I used a pair of stock LXD75 mounts for imaging for several years and I really enjoyed them. For their cost they were excellent values, but they are entry-level imaging mounts, meaning that they have their quirks and they need a little tender loving care to get the best performance out of them. Since getting my Atlas they've become my primary visual mounts where they continue to give excellent service.

Edited by jgraham (01/13/13 10:35 PM)

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Gray
professor emeritus

Reged: 01/31/11

Loc: Hixson, TN

Re: Your thoughts on the Meade LXD-75? new

new

[Re: jgraham]
#5621748 - 01/13/13 09:37 PM

I used mine to learn on until I upgraded too. I had to use a small refractor to image with because frankly I think thats about as much weight I would want on mine. I love the high precision mode in the hand box for imaging with. You will have to preform maintenance on it like others have said. Especially in the gear box, to get some of the backlash out. Heres a link that I think is helpful. The mount is very capable, and I also think it is one step up from the CG5.

http://www.thestardeckobservatory.com/LXD75_Maintenance_101.html

Edited by Gray (01/13/13 09:38 PM)

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FoxTrot
sage

Reged: 06/01/06

Loc: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Your thoughts on the Meade LXD-75? new

new

[Re: Gray]
#5622208 - 01/14/13 07:35 AM

Orion, as an LXD75 owner, I’m not sure I’d agree that ‘its a cut above the average CG-5’ in terms of quality. In my opinion, its pretty much a typical CG-5 clone, and in terms of Goto and tracking, it’s certainly entry-level. I find the mount to be quite capable, very user-serviceable, very noisy (!), and most of all, very crude. The LXD75 is fine for say a 4-inch refractor, but it can only just handle a 5-inch refractor (which means it’s hardly optimal for the latter). The motor gears/worms require regular adjustment to help minimise slack and backlash. If you have the opportunity to closely examine at how the plastic encased motor worms mesh with the Dec and RA axis gears, it’s embarrassingly obvious just how crude the build quality is. Don’t get me wrong, the LXD75 has served me well over the years, but I don't think it takes long before you understand where it fits in the world of Goto mounts.

Really, the HEQ5 (and HEQ5 Pro) Skywatcher mount is perhaps the nearest GEM competitor, and that mount is a step up in terms of design and construction. Cheers, Fox!

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rmollise
Postmaster

Reged: 07/06/07

Re: Your thoughts on the Meade LXD-75? new

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[Re: Geo.]
#5622221 - 01/14/13 07:50 AM

Quote:

Out of the box I'd say the LXD-75 was a bit above the quality of the average CG-5.

I'd say just the opposite. The 75 was at least a cut above the pitiful LXD 55, though.

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EFT
Vendor - Deep Space Products

Reged: 05/07/07

Loc: Phoenix, AZ

Re: Your thoughts on the Meade LXD-75? new

new

[Re: rmollise]
#5622315 - 01/14/13 09:26 AM

Quote:

Out of the box I'd say the LXD-75 was a bit above the quality of the average CG-5.

I think that they use to be fairly even with the CG-5, but the later mounts definitely suffered from more manufacturing quality issues. The one advantage that the LXD75 had over the CG-5 was dual ball bearings on both axes. However, it lacked the worm bearings that the CG-5 had. The LXD also lacked a guider port.

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Cliff Hipsher
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 12/31/08

Loc: North Chesterfield, VA

Re: Your thoughts on the Meade LXD-75? new

new

[Re: gillmj24]
#5622348 - 01/14/13 09:51 AM

Quote:

I don't understand your first sentence but the LXD75 competes with a CG5 from celestron. Both are light duty mounts and adequate for visual use. More patient people use them for astro imaging as well.

There used to be a 3rd party belt drive mod that would eliminate backlash of the spur gears that go from the drive motor to the telescope axis' gear. Not essential but it was a fun upgrade to do and I learned how the innards worked a little bit. I'm not sure if the Warps Drive kit is still available.

You can still get Warps Kits. He has a group on Yahoo..

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Cliff Hipsher
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 12/31/08

Loc: North Chesterfield, VA

Re: Your thoughts on the Meade LXD-75? new

new

[Re: Jon Isaacs]
#5622362 - 01/14/13 09:59 AM

I like mine. I got it used. It had some issues, but as my father used to say, "Son, the learnin' is in the fixin'."

With that being said, save your money and buy a more current mount. Meade has dropped the LXD75, so getting parts (drive motor assemblies in particular) is going to become difficult.

I'm saving up for a Celestron mount... but I plan to keep my LXD75....

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orion61
Vendor(Clear Edge Optical)

Reged: 10/20/07

Loc: NW Iowa BURRRR

Re: Your thoughts on the Meade LXD-75? new

new

[Re: Cliff Hipsher]
#5622616 - 01/14/13 12:48 PM

sorry about the first sentance, my laptop will jump back and erase parts of what I'm saying, frustrating, but the touchpad doesn't have a sensitivity, setting. I was stating what tubes I used, 8" SCT 5" Acro 4" APO, and 6" RV6 tube, along with the SN8 that got banged up in shipping.
Seems the opinons go right down party lines. LOL
I noticed there was some play when the RA was locked, so I took the gearbox off,
(Had me scratching my head untill I found that hidden Allen screw under the head!)
I snugged it up to where there was no play but still easy to turn, but it seems to tighten up as the mount slwes toward the side? from 30 deg to the other side 150 deg. it is smooth, but I can hear the motor labor a little as the tube nears level.

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George Methvin
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 01/30/06

Loc: Central Texas

Re: Your thoughts on the Meade LXD-75? new

new

[Re: orion61]
#5624521 - 01/15/13 02:27 PM

Have had this mount for several years, my EON 120mm rides on it. I really like this mount easy to use and never had a problem with it. When in use it will keep a star close to center in a 20mm eyepeice easly for over 30 minutes and thats with a rough setup not level to good or pointed right on the northstar, just a quick setup. With a more careful set up gotos are almost always close to the center of a 25mm eyepeice and thats good enouch for me. I like this mount.

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Gray
professor emeritus

Reged: 01/31/11

Loc: Hixson, TN

Re: Your thoughts on the Meade LXD-75? [Re: George Methvin]
#5629355 - 01/18/13 05:00 AM

You don't need an autoguider port on the 75. Just run a cable to the handbox and your all set. I have no idea what Ed is talking about with the worm bearings. Last I remember the worms did have dual ball bearings and the cg5 that I had was quite a bit noisier than my 75. I think the software is better too. It's a decent mount for $600 though. The counterweights will swap out too. Ed works on them all the time from what I've read, so I'm sure he knows what he's talking about.

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Project Galileo
professor emeritus

Reged: 11/14/07

Loc: Jefferson County, Colorado

Re: Your thoughts on the Meade LXD-75? new

new

[Re: Gray]
#5629692 - 01/18/13 11:00 AM

I have owned and hypertuned a 55 and a 75. For me they were great mounts to learn with. I used them both for visual and they were more than adequate for my needs then. I mostly used a 6" refractor on them. They both accurately placed the go-to within any eyepiece I used on them once aligned correctly. I would not image with them. It can be done but is a wrestle. I agree that the 75 was much better than the 55. Autostar was easy to learn and hack. They are good mounts for their money and can be had used quite easily and are reasonably priced.

Here are some pics of my powder coated 75.

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Taylor
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 07/10/05

Loc: Owasso, OK

Re: Your thoughts on the Meade LXD-75? new

new

[Re: Project Galileo]
#5629708 - 01/18/13 11:08 AM

^^
That is awesome.

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