Joaquarossi

Hello all, I’m relatively new to astronomy and wanted some advice. ive recently bought a Meade 10 inch lx200. when trying to collimate I defocus a star and instead of finding a round donut shape It is a donut with one flat side. The only thing that moves this flat side is moving the off axis eye piece. Is there an issue with the eye piece or am I missing something? I can see the secondary mirror shadow and adjusting the collimating screws does move the shadow but does not affect the flat side of the donut. what am I missing? thanks in advance.

I’ll do a bit more reading around it and see what I can use. I’ve got a 100 watt hour power bank inverter so should be like mains. I was thinking maybe I’ll replace capacitors for peace of mind anyway as I don’t 100% know when it was done. it comes with a heater strap which I haven’t heard of before and I’m not sure how it would work to keep moisture off and keep views clear?

Update…. I now own a 10inch classic lx200. the guy had recently bought it but found it too much for him, he explained the mount had been sent to France to a shop out there that overhauls the capacitors etc. All the motors work, looks in great condition and has hundreds of pounds worth of eye pieces and adapters etc so I’m happy with the purchase. 650 isn’t bad. Might look into changing the power supply as the standard is 18v and I’ve heard it’s safer to run on 12? may also be running it outside on a power bank. Anyone know if this is ok to do?

Thank you for the tips much appreciated. Will see what it’s like, don’t have to buy it. Plus be good to see what one is like weight and size wise. Never know it might all work fine

Great. Let’s hope it’s well looked after, sounds like a bargain at 650 I think. Even if I end up remounting?

Thanks, the seller bought it but hasn’t really used it and I don’t think knows much about them. In terms of the mirrors what’s a “definite don’t buy” condition? I hear mould can eat away coatings. Scratches aren’t worth polishing out due to cost. I’ll give it a thorough look over thanks

Thank you, I have done a lot of reading about the issues with capacitors on these mounts. I spoke to my local telescope shop and they too suggested it was very cheap and the optics generally are bullet proof so possibly worth it even if the mount ends up breaking down I could remount for around the 1200 pound mark and it would be a very capable scope. I’m going to view it in an hour and see what it looks like. Any more tips for when I view it? thanks.

I did have a 8 inch dob for a few years to learn some basics, I sold that and have wanted a go to telescope since. There seems to be a lot to learn. Thank you for the help

Thanks, the seller wasn’t very helpful and rapidly dropped the price when I said I’m not so keen so a few alarm bells ringing, I haven’t seen it but I worry if the mirrors are scratched it may be more hassle than it’s worth. It was a sct yes, I’ve been looking at those as I thought they would be smaller and easier to transport and set up but I’ve been told they’re very heavy and as you say not so portable. Does this forum have a buy sell section? I think buying from an enthusiast would be more reassuring maybe. thanks for the reply

Hi all, New to this forum and relatively new to astronomy. I recently decided to purchase a telescope after selling my 8" skywatcher dobsonian years ago. I saw a meade lx200 10 inch ecm. On researching this I found it was known as a "classic" I called around and was advised that getting parts for it would be extremely difficult because of its age. The guy selling knew nothing about it and had bought it but not used it. He was asking 650 for it which seemed very cheap to me. I guess my question is what would you all advise as a good goto telescope, did I miss a bargain there? I want something thats good to look through as well as a little photography of the moon/planets possibly, something fun to use that I can set up for the family to enjoy too. Thanks in advance all advice welcome. Aaron