Meade LXD55 10" any good?
Claus Frølund
I have a Nexstar 114GT and want a bigger scope. I have looked at several
scopes with GO-TO: Nexstar 8 GPS, Meade LX90 8" and Meade LX200 GPS 8" and
they are all a little too expensive in Europe (My wifes opinion).
The other day I saw an ad for the Meade LXD55 10" which I can afford, but it
is only an f/4, which means that I can't get a big magnification as I can
with the other scopes mentioned. Am I wrong?
What benefits do Schmith-Newtonians have over Schmith-Cassengrains? and how
about negatives?
What max magnification can I use with a LXD55 10"?
I want it all. High magnification, good light gathering, good photo ability
and transpotability. Is there some paradoxes here?
--
Best regards
Claus Frolund
N55° 20.227' - E10° 26.117'
Al
If you want it all, work on your wife so that you may spend more money on
your telescope. The LXD55 is _NOT_ the answer! Any one of the other scopes
you mention are solid telescopes and will deliver far less problems and far
more enjoyment than any LXD55. (I just saved you some money and _much_
heartache)
Al
"Claus Frølund" <fro...@oncable.dk> wrote in message
news:3e34c229$0$13189$edfa...@dread11.news.tele.dk...
Jon Isaacs
>A last note on magnification: Don't worry about it. Worry about
>angular field of view.
Magnification is also important, especially when fitting tight doubles, viewing
planets on nights of good seeeing and when trying to deal with light pollution.
I see you mention the smallest eyepiece you are using is 6.4 mm, this would be
160X, hopefully sky conditions will allow much more than that for a 10 incher.
jon isaacs
Andy P
look into Orions Atlas series. Theres an 8 inch and a 10 inch on
appearantly pretty beefy, motorized mounts. No Goto, but what fun is that
anyways? ;-)
For the 10 inch:
http://www.telescope.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=5151&itemTyp
e=PRODUCT&iMainCat=4&iSubCat=8&iProductID=5151
and the 8 inch:
http://www.telescope.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=5150&itemTyp
e=PRODUCT&iMainCat=4&iSubCat=8&iProductID=5150
You may have to copy and paste to get the whole URL in there.
Maybe you could convince your wife that if she lets you get a scope this
time around, youll buy her soemthing nice next time...like a car or house or
somethin..hehe.
Good luck.
-Andy P
Jon Isaacs
>around for a really short one, but it'll take a 2 or 3 mm ep plus a
>good barlow to really crank it up.
>Vixen Lanthanum 2.5, anyone? Stick
>it in a barlow and the 812x oughta dice double stars finer than Martin
>Yan's cleaver.
Assuming the optics are sufficient. I have been curious about how these scopes
perform at higher powers.
jon isaacs
jmr
I am very happy with my LX90, it is light, practical and the
autostar very effective (but 2790€ in France http://www.astronome.fr/ ).
For the OTA quality : http://astrosurf.com/astrolines/pictweek.html
The LXD55 mount is not enough SOLID for the 10"... select perhaps the 8"
Cordially
Jean Michel
Claus Frølund a écrit:
Ray Porter
Let me second Jean's opinion, the LX90 is excellent. You should also try
and follow the common advice and locate a local astronomy club and attend
their public viewing sessions. Try out as many different scope designs as
possible before making a purchase decision.
> > I want it all. High magnification, good light gathering, good photo
ability
> > and transpotability. Is there some paradoxes here?
The main conflict here is that you can't have all that and stay in the
inexpensive category (not sure what the LXD55 sells for in Europe). The
LXD55 is a perfectly fine visual mount for a medium sized scope as long as
you don't get one of the lemons that keep skipping past quality control.
It's roughly in the same class as the CG5 (though a little better, IMHO).
The 10" SN tube will be pushing it to its limits. I've seen some darned
good imaged produced with the Schmidt-Newt optical tubes -- but mounted on a
different mount. The LXD55 doesn't have autoguider support and really is
far from optimal as an imaging mount.
The truth is that most of us who stay in this hobby eventually end up with
more than one scope. I currently own 2: my LX90 and a short-tube refractor
on an LXD55 mount for quick peeks. I know people who own several times that
number. The 8" Schmidt-Cass is a good compromise -- sufficient focal length
for high power viewing of the planets and moon with enough light gathering
power for deep space and often a solid enough mount for at least basic
imaging.
Given all your aims, you might be happier to save your money until you can
afford an LX90 or Nextstar 8. If you can't wait, you might consider the
Meade LXD55 SC (Meade's 8" SCT on the LXD55) or something like the Celestron
G8 (no GOTO). If you could do without GOTO, you could also consider the
Meade LX10 and other scopes in that class (basic 8" SCT on a reasonable fork
mount with basic drives).
Just figure that whatever scope you get, it's not going to be your last
purchase if you stay active in this hobby.
Clear skies,
Ray Porter
Claus Frølund
I think I'll drop the 10" LXD55 , and go for the Nexstar 8 GPS instead,
which goes for around $3300 on sale in Denmark. Totally mad compared with US
prices. but it is only $100 over the LX90, because of the current rebate on
the N8 GPS.
Well, currently, I am working and working and working on my wife (verbaly).
She thinks that I am totally insane spending all my saved money on a hobby
which not have lasted that long. She are worried that I'll drop my new hobby
again very soon. In Denmark we only have clear skies two nights a year, she
says. Women! Spending $150 on hairdressing six times a year is ok :-) Plus
all the other thngs women are spending money on. But the wife has allways
right, and maybe she will succeed talking me away from my dreams :-)
See ya!
Ray Porter
she get something she really wants if you get the telescope. I guess I'm
really lucky -- my wife's been pretty good about buying me astro gear as
gifts.
Ray
"Claus Frølund" <fro...@oncable.dk> wrote in message
news:3e3803b6$0$13216$edfa...@dread11.news.tele.dk...
vincent
> Claus
>
> I am very happy with my LX90, it is light, practical and the
> autostar very effective (but 2790€ in France http://www.astronome.fr/ ).
> For the OTA quality : http://astrosurf.com/astrolines/pictweek.html
>
> The LXD55 mount is not enough SOLID for the 10"... select perhaps the 8"
Salut jmr
Thanks to Devoniak, we do know that this 10in OTA on the LXD55 mount
has an affinity for homo sapiens' feet. I think I remember that
Thierry Clavel saying that the LXD55 mount was good enough for visual
work with his 5in Meade achromat.
A+
Vincent