187 replies to this topic

[ahopp]

My 14" in being processed for shipment now, Carlos Hernandez, in support, promised tracking number by the end of this week.

He said this last week, but, it was not promised last week, this week it was promised.

Tony

[Hilmi]

Best of luck. Keep us posted

[corpusse]

I'm surprised they are taking so long to ship out. A local store apparently has them in stock. If only they would test them they'd sell out right away or never depending on the results...

[Whichwayisnorth]

I am waiting on my 14" too. I have just been told "soon". Right now I have a 12" that I've been testing so they want to swap out the OTA with the 14", add on a counter weight and they are replacing the (mount only) since there was a physical change between when I got the beta example and when they started shipping the real deal.

Hopefully "soon" is sooner than what I predict.

[ahopp]

If I had any other size; 10" or 12", I would have it. The 14" is going thru the line last.

Tony

[DeanG]

When you get your OTA, could you do me a favor and send me the width of the OTA with and without the Dovetail plate? I am building a fork mount and I need to know the width for the spacing between the forks. The 14" OTA. Thanks, Dean

[DeanG]

Jason, Can you send me the dimensions of the OTA with and without the dovetail plate. I am building a fork mount to take a 14" OTA and I need the dimensions to calculate the spacing between the forks. Thanks, Dean

[GlennS]

I was one of those owners of a 10" LX800 -- I finally got my 10" LX850 the second week of February. I set it up, and was really in a rush to get an image, so I got lazy on the alignment, but StarLock worked pretty well considering. The second night out, I used my CCD to assist in finding center during the 1-star alignment process -- did it twice (first was pretty good -- just a touch off center on second attempot. On this imaging pass I also set up my AO-8 adaptive optics accessory -- it was set up to just tilt the optic path -- not engage the guiding motors. I was able to find a guide star for the AO-8 at the very edge of it's field (which will usually not work without guide relays), but StarLock kept the scope/camera right on target, so I just had some mirror tilts to take care of any seeing issues.

The two images I was able to capture (before having to shut down and pack it up due to some travel I was doing) were of M81 (which was too high for my Fork mounted LX200), and my perenial favorite -- M51.

The M81 was with the bad alignment, M51 was with good alignment and AO-8 assist:

http://home.comcast....troweb/m81.html
http://home.comcast....troweb/m51.html

My only issue is that this sucker is heavy! Next time I set up, I will leave up and just cover it. If I'm away for any time, I'll store the OTA and keep the Mount covered up -- wayyy to much to pack up at the end of a session. But one thing for the weight -- when it is windy, that mount is rock-solid...

[Pak]

If you are going to leave it outside make sure your cover is one of those all weather 24/7/365 types. Also make sure it goes all the way to the ground. Do you have automatic sprinklers that go on?

As far as wind goes it may not be obvious but you can really see it when you hook up a live view camera like a DSLR in frame and focus mode. If the star stays rock solid steady in the cross-hairs when a gust of wind comes by then fine, otherwise not. I look forward to more tests when you dive back into it.

[GlennS]

It's on a concrete pad away from any source of water. I have a canvas cover that I plan to add a reflective cover on top of -- It's in the Scottsdal AZ area, and it get kinda warm in summer -- so I figure the reflective cover over the canvas should reflect most of the heat. I don't plan to keep the OTA mounted when away -- just the mount and tripod. The cover will go to the ground, with plenty of spill-over. If it's just for the time I'm there, I have a Desert Storm reflective cover for the OTA and mount.

[Pak]

The thing is the Meade anodized aluminum is colored. This colored anodizing is susceptible to UV. It won't take a lot of direct sunlight on any of the colored surfaces before it looks bad. Very pretty when new, very ugly after a few weeks in the sun. That is why I suggested a really good cover that goes all the way to the ground.

The very bottoms of their tripod legs are blue anodized. That won't last very long at all. Keep it covered or at the very least do some research on UV protection clear coat spray. The krylon stuff has bad ratings so I am not sure what other choice you have other than taking it to an auto paint shop and having them shoot clear on them.

[GlennS]

Thanks for the heads up -- I'll rework my plans a bit...

[ahopp]

Once you get your tripod set you could shrink wrap the anodized section, which also has the screws. You can get UV protecting shrink wrap and it will also hold the screws from loosening.

It is the same shrink wrap used to wrap boats and cars.

Tony.

[GlennS]

Have you done this yourself? Thew UV wraps I have seen so far look like overkill, and are quite ugly. DO you have a picture of a wrapped tripod?

[galaxy_jason]

This will happen. The blue on my prototype is turning white. I cover it with a boat cover but the UV still get through. Probably need a metallic cover.

But she still tracks to an arc second

[Whichwayisnorth]

Well the real solution is to install a pier and put the tripod in its original box. Then get a nice 365 scope cover, which I am going to order when I get my stuff, and use that. Unfortunately I don't have room for a pier here at home until my kids grow up and don't need/want their jungle gym and club house.

On the topic of the fading. This has to do with a few different factors. Did the anodizers use biological or metalic pigments? Biological breaks down twice if not three times faster. Also to properly annodize color is a multi step process. There is the cheap and easy way to do it and the right way. I think it is safe to assume that mass produced telescope parts are done as cheap as possible.

I think just keep a penny jar and every year or so take the faded pieces to an aluminum anodizing shop and have them re-done. Or spend a little more and have them done right the second time which then should last several years.

[DeanG]

Can you tell me the diameter of the OTA? What is the width from the OTA to the outer edge of the dovetail. I am building a fork mount and I need to know what the width of the fork arms will be with the OTA and 2 dovetails.

Thanks..Dean

[ahopp]

Not on a tripod, keep in mind, my suggestion is to wrap just the bottom part that is anodized.

But, yes, on other anodized parts exposed to the sun. They work great, just make sure you get the kind that blocks UV, yes they are out there. They are expensive when covering an entire boat, but, the small pieces for the tripod section, hell, you might be able to get a local shop to give you the scraps.

Tony

[ahopp]

Jason,

When you say "tracks to an arc second" what does that mean exactly. Does it mean that when tracking you can be off by as much as an arc second or that you can lead/lag the object by an arc second.

I have a 14" on the way and am very excited.

Tony

[galaxy_jason]

Note this is the anodizing on the handles, side of the mount. Not the blue OTA.

Tony, meaning I sometimes see about a 1 pixel elongation which amounts to less that an arc second tracking error. I often see perfectly round stars if Starlock finds a bright guide star.

[Hilmi]

A cheap low cost UV protection method would be spray on car wax. Apply every month or two to provide UV and Corrosion prevention. www.detailking.com sells it in 5 gallon buckets enough for all the family cars and your mount for a couple of years if you use it regularly. Longer if not regularly used.

[ahopp]

I was just talking about wrapping the tripod feet, I assumed that he would have the OTA and mount covered with a 360 or some other scope cover.

Tony

[Pak]

I am curious about compatibility with existing pieces of software. Notably Bisque The Sky X. From what I can tell there isn't any compatible ASCOM drivers and these software companies don't have much of a reason to include a native driver. Autostar Suite is it?

[Whichwayisnorth]

They have someone working on them. In the mean time it is suggested that you use the generic lx200 ascom drivers. From what I understand they don't have the mount name tag that causes ascom calls to choke. So while not all features are available with the generic drivers you would still have the basics like go-to's working. I know you can connect with PEMPRO using them. I myself haven't used them.

[GlennS]

FWIW -- I was just able top connect my 10" X-850 to the SkyX Serious Astronomer edition -- selected LX200-10" as the scope. It appears to work well (well, at least for knowing where the scope is pointed, and slewing to objects).