46 replies to this topic

[starman876]

Am I the lucky one or am I one of many that has a good Meade 178 ED.   Right out of the box after being shipped cross country my 178ED put up fantastic images.   There must be others who have one that puts up great images.  Would like to hear from those who have had a good experience.     Also, wondering if anyone knows how many were manufactured?   I use mine on either the LXD 750 mount or a G11.    Would like to know what mount you have found works best. 

[HARRISON SCOPES]

I used a g11 but with the extension to get it high enough, it coped but I'm visual only

[rolo]

I don't think the main issue was the glass but rather no lateral adjustments on the initial cell and O-ring for lens spacer. When tey're dialed in they can be supeb performers specially for the price.

[AVT-Astro]

A lot of activity on the forums about the 178ED recently. Thank you for posting your positive experience with the 178ED. I also have a positive experience with the 178ED. I bought the scope about a year ago after looking for one for about 5 years. I have wanted one since the early 2000's when I was first getting into the hobby in my late teens! My scope was also shipped to me cross-country form North Carolina to Washington vie UPS. Thankfully it survived the drip...

 

Right out of the box it did have a loose baffle that was somewhat in the light path. My lens centering was close to perfect right out of the box. The focuser left much to be desired especially considering the fine optics that it was attached to(and when your spoiled by Moonlight and Feather Touch on your other scopes). Even before doing any work on the scope to address the issues I was totally blown away by the scope as it had much much better color correction then my 127ED and even noticeably better then my FS-128(Tak does have significantly better contrast). Splitting double stars form my back yard was a treat with this giant Meade! I don't remember the names of the stars I was splitting but I do remember that the tightest pair I bagged was only 1.6 sec apart. quite a feat for our NW seeing. I also could not resist to take the scope to a dark sky star party even in its "crippled" condition. M45 was by far the best I had ever seen it with the 178ED. The extent of the  nebulosity was totally amazing. It looked just like a picture visually for the first time!

 

Fast forward a year to now and my scope has a 2.5" Moonlite focuser that is attached by a custom adapter I made myself on a leath. I also reattached the baffles(they are just friction heald….) with glue so that they should never give me an issue again. I also took apart my entire lens assembly to clean the optics as well as to apply some tape on the doublet(mine had non, as it looks like it had been taken apart before for cleaning) to preserve the correct orientation and to take up the slack with the lens cell. I'm still waiting for some good seeing to really hone in the centering of the lenses. But at this point I have a scope that is better than new. I could not be happier with it especially for the very reasonable price that these go for if you can find one.

Attached Thumbnails

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[Tyson M]

Don't tell Chas....

[Steve Allison]

I used a g11 but with the extension to get it high enough, it coped but I'm visual only

That bears repeating...

[erin]

[Jeff B]

Am I the lucky one or am I one of many that has a good Meade 178 ED.   Right out of the box after being shipped cross country my 178ED put up fantastic images.   There must be others who have one that puts up great images.  Would like to hear from those who have had a good experience.     Also, wondering if anyone knows how many were manufactured?   I use mine on either the LXD 750 mount or a G11.    Would like to know what mount you have found works best. 

The number made that were good right out of the box seems to be...one.  

[Paul C-I]

Hi Folks,

I can also report very positive experiences with My Meade 178 ED, over the last years. Its had the cell modified with radial screws at 180 degrees, by a respected UK optical engineer, and has stayed in colimation since I first tweaked it, upon receiving the scope. The cell has been taken off since, for customisation work on the rest of the tube, and when replaced was still spot on!

 

However, sadly, for very personal reasons, Im having to downsize my large scopes and thus I am advertising this on a UK site at this time, seeking a new home. :-(

 

Great scope and memorable sessions...M42 through Baader Mkv's with no compensators, yes, plenty of infocus,(post customisation) was just nirvana! Black as black background peppered with tight fine glitter around the main body of stars. Better than a premium 12" dob I had previously owned.

 

Thanks

Paul

[bobhen]

I don’t think optical quality was ever the main issue with the 178. Heck, even a ¼ wave 7-inch refractor can give impressive views.

 

Meade’s decision to use a doublet with less expensive ED glass and to compensate by designing a lens with steep curves to get acceptable color correction but then not spending the money to produce an adequate cell to keep the lenses aligned was the issue.

 

The radial screws are a fix (maybe more of a Band-Aid) and down the road an owner may or may not encounter alignment issues (its a large lens) depending on use, handling and large temperature swings, etc.

 

The Meade 178 might be a consideration and even rewarding if: one must have a 7” apo, has a limited budget can deal with and mount a very large scope and is willing to tackle aligning the lenses or getting the cell reworked if needed.

 

Bob

[starman876]

I don’t think optical quality was ever the main issue with the 178. Heck, even a ¼ wave 7-inch refractor can give impressive views.

 

Meade’s decision to use a doublet with less expensive ED glass and to compensate by designing a lens with steep curves to get acceptable color correction but then not spending the money to produce an adequate cell to keep the lenses aligned was the issue.

 

The radial screws are a fix (maybe more of a Band-Aid) and down the road an owner may or may not encounter alignment issues (its a large lens) depending on use, handling and large temperature swings, etc.

 

The Meade 178 might be a consideration and even rewarding if: one must have a 7” apo, has a limited budget can deal with and mount a very large scope and is willing to tackle aligning the lenses or getting the cell reworked if needed.

 

Bob

That a refractor is 1/4 wave to give good views is a good point.  It just tells us how many are not 1/4 wave and when we get one that is 1/4 wave or better we thump our chests to say how good the scope is.   Any scope 1/4 wave or better is going to be impressive to view through. 

[balu01]

Hopefully history repeats itself and we will see a much more affordable and better quality telescope from several manufacturers There are some very nice large mass produced doublers selling in recent years, hopefully these guys will jump one size up, I am pretty sure a lot of people would bite, including myself. A well functioning 178Ed must be truly amazing under the sky.

Edited by balu01, 28 May 2019 - 02:16 AM.

[starman876]

Hopefully history repeats itself and we will see a much more affordable and better quality telescope from several manufacturers There are some very nice large mass produced doublers selling in recent years, hopefully these guys will jump one size up, I am pretty sure a lot of people would bite, including myself. A well functioning 178Ed must be truly amazing under the sky.

It is amazing.  The contrast through 7" of unobstructed glass that is working well is amazing.  Seeing objects on a velvet black background is breathtaking.  

[Paul Hyndman]

It is amazing.  The contrast through 7" of unobstructed glass that is working well is amazing.  Seeing objects on a velvet black background is breathtaking.  

Absolutely! 

[SteveGR]

Am I the lucky one or am I one of many that has a good Meade 178 ED.   Right out of the box after being shipped cross country my 178ED put up fantastic images.   There must be others who have one that puts up great images.  Would like to hear from those who have had a good experience.     Also, wondering if anyone knows how many were manufactured?   I use mine on either the LXD 750 mount or a G11.    Would like to know what mount you have found works best. 

Do they take a long time to cool down?

[starman876]

Do they take a long time to cool down?

That is a lot of glass.   So far I have only used mine spring through fall so cool down time was not a factor.  I really do not like setting up cold hard steel when it is below freezing.

[ltha]

I had a 178ED many years ago that was a great performer. It was compared side-by-side to a AstroPhysics 6” Superplanetary and a D&G 8” f/12 and ran right with them in sharpness and rendering fine detail. I often wish I had kept it, at least long enough to compare to a TMB-175 I owned that was featured in an article here on CN. The TMB had a very high strehl and would have been a great “yardstick” for comparison. Every time I had the Meade out I was impressed by the images it put up. 

 

https://www.cloudyni...c-refractor-r30

 

[starman876]

I had a 178ED many years ago that was a great performer. It was compared side-by-side to a AstroPhysics 6” Superplanetary and a D&G 8” f/12 and ran right with them in sharpness and rendering fine detail. I often wish I had kept it, at least long enough to compare to a TMB-175 I owned that was featured in an article here on CN. The TMB had a very high strehl and would have been a great “yardstick” for comparison. Every time I had the Meade out I was impressed by the images it put up. 

 

https://www.cloudyni...c-refractor-r30

Like I said before, the ones that had bad ones sure complained about it often enough. Made people think that they were all bad.  The optics in these scopes are awesome when set up correctly.   And for the viewing most of us do are more than capable of putting up great images.

[Spaceman 56]

Like I said before, the ones that had bad ones sure complained about it often enough. Made people think that they were all bad.  The optics in these scopes are awesome when set up correctly.   And for the viewing most of us do are more than capable of putting up great images.

can I see some images taken with the 178mm Meade please Starman?

[Scott in NC]

can I see some images taken with the 178mm Meade please Starman?

Since this thread is 3 years old and the OP last posted on CN nearly a year ago, I suspect that the odds of you getting a response from him anytime soon are pretty low.

[SandyHouTex]

A lot of activity on the forums about the 178ED recently. Thank you for posting your positive experience with the 178ED. I also have a positive experience with the 178ED. I bought the scope about a year ago after looking for one for about 5 years. I have wanted one since the early 2000's when I was first getting into the hobby in my late teens! My scope was also shipped to me cross-country form North Carolina to Washington vie UPS. Thankfully it survived the drip...

 

Right out of the box it did have a loose baffle that was somewhat in the light path. My lens centering was close to perfect right out of the box. The focuser left much to be desired especially considering the fine optics that it was attached to(and when your spoiled by Moonlight and Feather Touch on your other scopes). Even before doing any work on the scope to address the issues I was totally blown away by the scope as it had much much better color correction then my 127ED and even noticeably better then my FS-128(Tak does have significantly better contrast). Splitting double stars form my back yard was a treat with this giant Meade! I don't remember the names of the stars I was splitting but I do remember that the tightest pair I bagged was only 1.6 sec apart. quite a feat for our NW seeing. I also could not resist to take the scope to a dark sky star party even in its "crippled" condition. M45 was by far the best I had ever seen it with the 178ED. The extent of the  nebulosity was totally amazing. It looked just like a picture visually for the first time!

 

Fast forward a year to now and my scope has a 2.5" Moonlite focuser that is attached by a custom adapter I made myself on a leath. I also reattached the baffles(they are just friction heald….) with glue so that they should never give me an issue again. I also took apart my entire lens assembly to clean the optics as well as to apply some tape on the doublet(mine had non, as it looks like it had been taken apart before for cleaning) to preserve the correct orientation and to take up the slack with the lens cell. I'm still waiting for some good seeing to really hone in the centering of the lenses. But at this point I have a scope that is better than new. I could not be happier with it especially for the very reasonable price that these go for if you can find one.

That’s a beautiful scope.  I still hope to pick one up some day.

[Heywood]

 

Meade’s decision to use a doublet with less expensive ED glass and to compensate by designing a lens with steep curves to get acceptable color correction but then not spending the money to produce an adequate cell to keep the lenses aligned was the issue.

 

 

What could go wrong?  

[Jeff B]

That’s a beautiful scope.  I still hope to pick one up some day.

Then put it back down without buying it.

[CHASLX200]

What could go wrong?  

Plenty went wrong. Worst scope i ever had.

[Jeff B]

Plenty went wrong. Worst scope i ever had.

Worst scope for me was the Dynamax 8...by far....but the Meade 178ED was a close second.  

 

However, at least for the sample I had, I got the feeling there was a rather decent doublet hiding in a really terrible lens cell.  

 

Jeff