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Anonymous
Unregistered
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After speaking with Ed at Meade CS, he told me to send the unit back for replacement and throw in the cord too just in case. I sent it on Monday morning UPS 2nd Day Air.
They overnighted it yesterday and according to the UPS tracking page it should be hitting my doorstep any minute. I won't be home from work for awhile though.
Their QC isn't the greatest, but their Customer Service is top notch. I hope this one doesn't do any strange things.
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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After slewing the scope around for about an hour in the basement, so far this one seems to be working well. I was going to set-up tonight but something came up. Tomorrow night is supposed to be clear too, so we'll just wait 'till then.
I keep thinking in the back of my head though, "the first Autostar worked for about 20 hours worth of observing until the display quit."
That part bugs me.
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Bob Pasken
professor emeritus
Reged: 05/30/03
Posts: 512
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Where in Southern Illinois are you? I live in Saint Louis and would be interested in seeing the LXD-55. I am considering an upgrading from the etx90ec to the LXD-55 6". I'd love to see the 6" refractor and mount to see how well it works and large it is.
I can offer some expertice in the Autostar. I have written a couple of articles for Weasner's site on how to upgrade the autostar, use it with a computer and planning software
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Hey Bob, PM sent. Check your box.
The Autostar worked well last night. Targeting was right on for almost all objects, and I saw plenty last night.
At 0230 I left the scope on while tracking M31 and went in to take a short nap until 0430 when I got up to view Mars. The scope still had M31 in it's sights but it was very dim by this time as it was starting to get light in the east.
The Autostar had also shut off the display and keypad to save battery power. One keystroke and it woke up.
I was less than impressed with Mars. I could see some dark patches and could tell it was an orangish color and that was about it using the stock 26mm Super Plössel. I'm sure it will be much better with a bit more magnifcation when the new eyepieces arrive.
I wasvery impressed with the Lagoon and Trifid nebula. Those showed up extremely well even as I was fighting the glare from a sodium street lamp. Structure could be seen in both objects. I also saw the Butterfly cluster and several other prominent objects in that neck of the sky that I had never witnessed before.
The Andromeda galaxy was the highlight of the evening. The core was clearly visible; I've never seen it in this much aparture before. It's companion galaxy was also clearly visible, but I could not make out the closer galaxy. From my charts, it seems to be right on top of M31 and is lost in M31's glow. M33 was behind the neighbors garage, so that one was left unseen and I went in to sack out for a couple of hours.
All in all, a very enjoyable evening if not a long one.
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jrcrilly
Refractor wienie again
Reged: 04/30/03
Posts: 22479
Loc: NE Ohio
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Quote:
I'd love to see the 6" refractor and mount to see how well it works and large it is.
It's big. The mount works quite well with it - I hope you get a chance to see one in action. It's big, though. At public sites around here the scopes that look big are 16" dobs, 14" SCT's, and 6" refractors. It's big.
John
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John C
Urban Observatory
Tele Vue Pronto
A&M/Astreya 76mm F/6 APO
TMB/LOMO 80mm F/7.5 APO
Tak FSQ-106N F/5 APO
Meade 152ED F/9 "APO"
152mm F/10 achromat
Tak CN-212 8" F/12 classical Cass/ F/4 Newt
Teeter 20" F/3.8 truss Newt w/ServoCat
LXD750, EM-200, CI-700
ST-10XME
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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How big/long is the OTA on the 6" Refractor and How do you guys rate it against lets say a Celestron 8SCT??
The 6"LXD sure does look huge on Astrononmics web site!1
Is the Meade LXD55 6" a Chore to break and set up in the field??
Schultze, to date. Are you satisfied with the scope?
Any Help appreciated
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jrcrilly
Refractor wienie again
Reged: 04/30/03
Posts: 22479
Loc: NE Ohio
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The AR-6 is a 6" F8 doublet refractor so it's gonna be right around 48" long. It weighs around 25 pounds, I think. Much bigger and heavier than the 8" SCT, at around 15 pounds and maybe 15" long. A whole lot prettier, too!
It's a little more hassle to set up than the SCT and the eyepiece gets into weirder positions than the SCT. It's a heavier load for the mount, which means one must be extra careful to ensure everything's tight and properly adjusted. It's pretty.
Visually, it's down a notch in light-gathering compared to the SCT. Chromatic aberrations are present on bright objects. Widefield star views are esthetically more pleasing in the refractor; more contrast, smaller star images, and truer star colors. Did I mention it's a great-looking telescope? 
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John C
Urban Observatory
Tele Vue Pronto
A&M/Astreya 76mm F/6 APO
TMB/LOMO 80mm F/7.5 APO
Tak FSQ-106N F/5 APO
Meade 152ED F/9 "APO"
152mm F/10 achromat
Tak CN-212 8" F/12 classical Cass/ F/4 Newt
Teeter 20" F/3.8 truss Newt w/ServoCat
LXD750, EM-200, CI-700
ST-10XME
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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John, thanks for the reply back.
Of course All us Astros need.. A Good looking scope and a good loookin  ahh babe..
Id like to see my wifes face if I get the LXD and put it in the livn room,
Let me ask you .. John I know the NEW Celestron - C6R-GT Advanced Series havn't come out yet. But where do you think the LXD will compare to the 6inch CelestronGt scope. I think as of right now the Celestron is 100 usd more than the LXD Meade.....
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jrcrilly
Refractor wienie again
Reged: 04/30/03
Posts: 22479
Loc: NE Ohio
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I did see a display model of the mount at NEAF this spring and I have an old CR150 OTA which I suspect is similar to the current model.
The LXD55 OTA is white (the Celestron is black), and prettier. It also has more plastic in it, which makes it lighter. I don't see that there's much between them optically. The Meade comes with a (cheap) 8X50 finder; I believe the Celestron uses a 6X30. The Celestron dew shield is much nicer.
The ASC will have an autoguide input if that's a factor. More importantly, it has a MUCH sturdier tripod with it. I had the same tripod on my EQ-6 and it carried a 10" SCT plus a 4" APO plus all the counterweights that would fit on the shaft. The LXD55 tripod can be upgraded or replaced, but the one with the Celestron is easily worth the extra $100. It also gives the extra height required for a long refractor.
On the other hand (if autoguiding isn't a factor) I much prefer the Autostar controller. And the Meade's pretty! 
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John C
Urban Observatory
Tele Vue Pronto
A&M/Astreya 76mm F/6 APO
TMB/LOMO 80mm F/7.5 APO
Tak FSQ-106N F/5 APO
Meade 152ED F/9 "APO"
152mm F/10 achromat
Tak CN-212 8" F/12 classical Cass/ F/4 Newt
Teeter 20" F/3.8 truss Newt w/ServoCat
LXD750, EM-200, CI-700
ST-10XME
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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It is a big telescope. The dew shield is too short, but a nice replacement can be made from 8" Sonotube. I started to make one from sheet plastic, but it didn't seem to be too sturdy, though it was lighter. I still have it. I might finish it one day.
From stem to stern with the focuser at prime and the new dewshield, mine is 56" long.
It is a power hungry mount drawing up to 1.6 amps during a dual slew. Batteries should last about 20-30 hours depending on your observing habits and you're not slewing from one part of the sky to the opposite all night.
An AC adapter or car battery is highly recommended to keep cash in your pocket.
The Autostar works as advertised as long as you've done your part with OAT, mount, and polar scope alignment... and you do a good polar alignment. People have complained about the targeting with the Autostar, but I've not had those problems. It works very well for me.
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jrcrilly
Refractor wienie again
Reged: 04/30/03
Posts: 22479
Loc: NE Ohio
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Quote:
People have complained about the targeting with the Autostar, but I've not had those problems. It works very well for me.
Yep. The Autostar is just an awfully nice system for telescope control. I'm amazed that it can deliver the performance it does for the price.
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John C
Urban Observatory
Tele Vue Pronto
A&M/Astreya 76mm F/6 APO
TMB/LOMO 80mm F/7.5 APO
Tak FSQ-106N F/5 APO
Meade 152ED F/9 "APO"
152mm F/10 achromat
Tak CN-212 8" F/12 classical Cass/ F/4 Newt
Teeter 20" F/3.8 truss Newt w/ServoCat
LXD750, EM-200, CI-700
ST-10XME
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Me too. Ten years ago I would have never dreamed of owning a telescope with an on-board computer control. Heck, I've never even owned a scope with motor drive before now.
I slugged away manually for 30 years before something like this became affordable for the masses.
It is an excellent telescope system for it's price point. I don't think you could do better at just under a grand. Sure, I'd like to have an APO and a $3K dollar mount, but I'm satisfied for now. It's a lot of bang for the buck.
Someday I'll have a 6" APO.
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