Telescope Reviews: My 14" LX850 is Shipping!!!

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iceblaze
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/15/11

Loc: 33.9° N, 118.4° W Lawndale, CA

Re: My 14" LX850 is Shipping!!! new

[Re: Whichwayisnorth]
#5676245 - 02/12/13 04:42 PM

Guys & Gals,

Please, no more disrespectful posts toward each other. Be nice (and on topic) from here on out. You can disagree without being disrespectful.

Thanks,

-James

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galaxy_jason
Vendor

Reged: 05/22/07

Loc: Texas

Re: My 14" LX850 is Shipping!!! new

[Re: EFT]
#5676739 - 02/12/13 10:41 PM

Quote:

the possibility that the design and implementation of the system could prove difficult.

You are way over thinking this. The crayford focuser on the OTA is still there and (at least on the two samples I have seen) works very well. There is no shift during focus and the fine control provides precise focus. However, holding the big 14" mirror becomes problematic with gravity changes (although they tell me they have made improvements even beyond the sample(s) I have.) For the 14" they added the mirror lock. Since you can't focus with the OTA knob when locked they through in the electric focuser. I think they are shiping one with all the scopes as well. It's OK for most people but for those who want temp control, digital precision, knock yourself out and upgrade.

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frozen.kryo
member

Reged: 01/28/11

Loc: East of the Sun, West of the M...

Re: My 14" LX850 is Shipping!!! new

[Re: iceblaze]
#5676744 - 02/12/13 10:44 PM

Does anyone remember if the LX800s had spring loaded wormblocks? Maybe belt driven worms to counter backlash?

I'm primarily concerned about the backlash in DEC. My current mount is fine. It's able to guide to below seeing, but I still have countless subs ruined by wind buffets causing DEC elongation. I can see my phd graph go crazy in DEC caused by the wind.

I'm thinking new mounts should all have backlash elimination features, hence my posted question above.

If anyone knows anything, please do chime in.

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galaxy_jason
Vendor

Reged: 05/22/07

Loc: Texas

Re: My 14" LX850 is Shipping!!! new

[Re: ahopp]
#5676745 - 02/12/13 10:46 PM

Quote:

Rickety, I do not care if it looks like the leaning tower of Piza,

I can tell you that the 14" on the LX850 is more solid than my 12" RCX 400.

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EFT
Vendor - Deep Space Products

Reged: 05/07/07

Loc: Phoenix, AZ

Re: My 14" LX850 is Shipping!!! new

[Re: galaxy_jason]
#5676754 - 02/12/13 10:54 PM

Quote:

Quote:

the possibility that the design and implementation of the system could prove difficult.

You are way over thinking this. The crayford focuser on the OTA is still there and (at least on the two samples I have seen) works very well. There is no shift during focus and the fine control provides precise focus. However, holding the big 14" mirror becomes problematic with gravity changes (although they tell me they have made improvements even beyond the sample(s) I have.) For the 14" they added the mirror lock. Since you can't focus with the OTA knob when locked they through in the electric focuser. I think they are shiping one with all the scopes as well. It's OK for most people but for those who want temp control, digital precision, knock yourself out and upgrade.

Thanks Jason. That's good to hear. I would really like to see some kind of bearing system become standard for SCT primary mirrors. I know how I would build it, but then I tend to build things to last through a nuclear blast sometimes. So if their new system can throw around a 14 inch mirror with minimal shift due to the focusing mechanism itself (understanding that gravity always wins), that I think that will be a good advancement in the basic design of the SCT.

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jrcrilly
Refractor wienie no more

Reged: 04/30/03

Loc: NE Ohio

Re: My 14" LX850 is Shipping!!! new

[Re: galaxy_jason]
#5676779 - 02/12/13 11:14 PM

Quote:

I can tell you that the 14" on the LX850 is more solid than my 12" RCX 400.

That's a metric that I find encouraging. I had a 12" RCX here for six months and stability wasn't bad at all.

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Pak
member

Reged: 09/15/12

Loc: The Great Arc

Re: My 14" LX850 is Shipping!!! new

[Re: jrcrilly]
#5677509 - 02/13/13 11:37 AM

Someone on the Lx850 yahoo group reports having the LX850 already.

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Griffin!
super member

Reged: 09/12/10

Re: My 14" LX850 is Shipping!!! new

[Re: Pak]
#5678125 - 02/13/13 06:22 PM

And he's posted a first light image:

http://www.meade4m.com/index.php?/gallery/image/141-m81-first-light-with-lx85...

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rmollise
Postmaster

Reged: 07/06/07

Re: My 14" LX850 is Shipping!!! new

[Re: Griffin!]
#5678145 - 02/13/13 06:34 PM

Purty dang good, I'd say. Hey! Maybe Meade _is_ onto something!

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psandelle
sage

Reged: 06/18/08

Loc: Los Angeles

Re: My 14" LX850 is Shipping!!! new

[Re: rmollise]
#5678217 - 02/13/13 07:22 PM

I sure hope so. Nothing's ever perfect, but it sure would be nice if this concept at least worked fairly well and wasn't just a pile of hurt. It's bad for everyone when things like this go horribly horribly wrong (as in the whole idea has to be shelved).

Paul

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Whichwayisnorth
professor emeritus

Reged: 07/04/11

Loc: Southern California

Re: My 14" LX850 is Shipping!!! new

[Re: psandelle]
#5678751 - 02/14/13 03:37 AM

Very nice first light! Congrats Glen if you are reading this thread.

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ASTERON
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 11/24/07

Loc: ISRAEL

Re: My 14" LX850 is Shipping!!! new

[Re: Whichwayisnorth]
#5678778 - 02/14/13 05:06 AM

Tony,
May the mount gods be with you

We are looking forward to your first light report.

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ahopp
sage

Reged: 05/24/12

Re: My 14" LX850 is Shipping!!! new

[Re: ASTERON]
#5678925 - 02/14/13 08:06 AM

Asteron, I will report ASAP w/Pictures and first light report.

Also, I got a call from Meade about my scope. I should have tracking info by midweek. And, he informed me that I had a $500 credit on Meade gear for all the trouble. I thought that was pretty cool and will spend the money on a 6000 series 80mm APO. Should make a nice little piggy-back scope.

Tony

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Whichwayisnorth
professor emeritus

Reged: 07/04/11

Loc: Southern California

Re: My 14" LX850 is Shipping!!! new

[Re: ahopp]
#5679249 - 02/14/13 11:31 AM

Quote:

Asteron, I will report ASAP w/Pictures and first light report.

Also, I got a call from Meade about my scope. I should have tracking info by midweek. And, he informed me that I had a $500 credit on Meade gear for all the trouble. I thought that was pretty cool and will spend the money on a 6000 series 80mm APO. Should make a nice little piggy-back scope.

Tony

Wow!! That is awesome!! I it is true that good things come to those who wait.

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HunterofPhotons
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 04/26/08

Loc: Rhode Island, USA

Re: My 14" LX850 is Shipping!!! new

[Re: Griffin!]
#5679309 - 02/14/13 12:04 PM

Quote:

And he's posted a first light image:

http://www.meade4m.com/index.php?/gallery/image/141-m81-first-light-with-lx85...

The color seems a bit washed out. <g>

dan k.

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blueman
Vendor Blue Sky Accessories

Reged: 07/20/07

Loc: California

Re: My 14" LX850 is Shipping!!! new

[Re: Griffin!]
#5680343 - 02/14/13 10:36 PM

Stars are elongated and show peaks at each end. Guiding was not too great if you ask me. But hey, if it is good enough for you, go for it!
Blueman

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Griffin!
super member

Reged: 09/12/10

Re: My 14" LX850 is Shipping!!! new

[Re: blueman]
#5680364 - 02/14/13 10:49 PM

He posted a follow up comment under his image regarding alignment. Personally I think the stars look great, but it'll be interesting to see what others get out of the mount.

"I did not take a lot of time aligning the scope, was in a rush to get something.
Next image will be after a more thorough alignment, and taking some flat fields. StarLock found a guide star and acquired it in a few seconds. The slew was so good that I didn't have to center it manually (that was an issue with the LX 800 - it would slew close enough for visual, but not for imaging.if the image seems off center, that is due to the cropping done to fit the gallery."

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galaxy_jason
Vendor

Reged: 05/22/07

Loc: Texas

Re: My 14" LX850 is Shipping!!! new

[Re: blueman]
#5680423 - 02/14/13 11:30 PM

Quote:

Stars are elongated and show peaks at each end. Guiding was not too great if you ask me. But hey, if it is good enough for you, go for it!
Blueman

I took this into photoshop and resampled it up 300 percent. This stars are a bit bean shaped which looks a bit like a collimation issue rather than guiding.

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Pak
member

Reged: 09/15/12

Loc: The Great Arc

Re: My 14" LX850 is Shipping!!! [Re: galaxy_jason]
#5687248 - 02/18/13 04:16 PM

I am looking forward to more reports. I am worried with only having one report back so far. Did everyone but Tony and Glen cancel their orders? Is everyone waiting to get reports before ordering? Granted only the 10" versions seem to have shipped so far. Hopefully next week we'll have more images to look at.

I would still like to see a nice starfield taken after auto-everything has been done and a nice sub of 10 minutes or so.

Just one unstacked in .tif and .fits format.

Auto calibrate Starlock.
Starlock assist drift align
Starlock assist PEC training.

10 minute sub.

Also as an aside. I have the pre-order going on the Celestron Starsense which is basically for pointing and alignment assist. I am interested in a comparison done between a $329.00 retail accessory add-on and a $5-7K mount's ability to center objects. Perhaps someone with the LX850 could run through 10 or so and snap off a photo of each object so we can see how centered they are.

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Spacetravelerx
sage

Reged: 12/23/12

Loc: New Mexico

Re: My 14" LX850 is Shipping!!! new

[Re: Pak]
#5693310 - 02/21/13 06:38 PM

Hmmm, I guess there may be some "tweaking" to do with this first image, but for a quick set-up and "get that pict", I think it is quite amazing. No time spent loving, learning, and getting to know all the nuances of the LX850 - just a quick "date" and got the picture. Pretty good to me.

Now just patiently waiting for my 14" LX850...and MallinCam...and, oh you know the drill!

-- Andrew

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