Meade LX800 review wanted

[Jessun]

Did anyone unpack and try the LX800 yet? I have seen it 'in stock' in US ads so I thought maybe someone had a go already.

The features etc of this mount is covered in another thread so won't continue that here.

[Jessun]

Oh, dear... Some videos up on the ol'e tube, and the thing seems to wobble badly, clutches won't release and starlock doesn't work....

I haven't seen one myself so can't offer my own opinion. Maybe the chap is paid by Celestron...

It's not on the top of my wish list though...

[r3i]

There's a couple of lengthy threads on CN here and here that have some early adopter contributions.

[r3i]

....and here too.

[Davey-T]

Think youll have to be patient waiting for them in this country.

I was waiting for a LX80 mount but delivery has now slipped to October from May so I've

bought a iOptron iEQ45 .

Twice the price but I needed it before my holiday.

Davey-T

[ollypenrice]

The QC, if the reviews are to be believed, says 'dustbin' all the way. Having struggled with the abominable LX200 I feel I owe Meade no favours.

Olly

[Jessun]

Cheers, been through some of those threads now and it looks like some DIY fixed the wobble issue for the chap in question. Three little screws hold the whole thing in place...

I too bought an iOptron... Still haven't got it though. Well I got it and then immediatly had to send it back to be fixed.

[MoT Man]

The guy in the Youtube vid is on the CN forum. He sent his mount back to Meade to sort it. It appears the Starlock issue was with the narrow field camera not initializing for guiding. Meade have just released a firmware upgrade/correction for this on their website. Cant help but think this should of been picked up in QA:icon_scratch:. Anyway if anyone is going to review it it'll be this fella when he gets the mount back. I might be wrong but didnt the Ioptron have clutch issues too before the V2 release?

[Davey-T]

Sorry to hear about your mount Jessun.

Had a couple of issues with mine so far.

The polar scope was out of alignment and the iOptron instuctions on how to fix it had

obviously been written by somebody who hadn't done it.

The GPS takes forever to get a fix.

The clutch issue has been sorted on v2

There are no setting circles so getting it straight and square is a bit hit and miss as they

expect you to do it by eye , not easy in the dark.

Haven't had more than 30mins of clear sky since I got it so thats as far as Ive got

Davey-t

[ollypenrice]

Sorry to hear about your mount Jessun.

Had a couple of issues with mine so far.

The polar scope was out of alignment and the iOptron instuctions on how to fix it had

obviously been written by somebody who hadn't done it.

The GPS takes forever to get a fix.

The clutch issue has been sorted on v2

There are no setting circles so getting it straight and square is a bit hit and miss as they

expect you to do it by eye , not easy in the dark.

Haven't had more than 30mins of clear sky since I got it so thats as far as Ive got

Davey-t

I'm not quite sure what you mean here. What would you want to do with setting circles? My routine is just to set the head level and then obtain the 'Polaris position' from the handset. It's true that the GPS can be very slow but mine seems to remember everything from last time - provided you haven't moved very far! It's a niggle, though, for sure. Then (on a V2) I'd set the polarscope reticle with the bubble and align on Polaris. After that the intitial GoTo seems remarkably accurate. On this basis I don't miss setting circles at all.

I agree about the instructions and said this in my review. The V1 instructions just pretended that the lack of a Dec clutch problem didn't exist. The presence of polarscope adjusting instructions is new.

Pity they're not very good! Yves contacted iOptron to find out how to do it on his V1 mount.

Olly

[Davey-T]

I'm not quite sure what you mean here. What would you want to do with setting circles? My routine is just to set the head level and then obtain the 'Polaris position' from the handset.

Olly

It says in the instructions to put the mount in the zero position by loosening the RA and DEC clutches and rotating .

There are no marks to achieve this and you have to do it by eye, a couple

engraved lines would be nice.

How accurate does it need to be ?

Got it up and running last night and tracking, ckecked with drift aligning was fine.

Hope to take some images tonight.

Davey-T

[Davey-T]

Scary pictures on Meade forum of LX800 mount ,you can see the RA gears through a gap in the mount, looks big enough to stick your finger in.

Davey-T

[Jessun]

The presence of polarscope adjusting instructions is new.

I haven't found that part. But I need it as my new iEQ45 has a polar scope that is just a collection of rotating parts.... Nothing is aligned or fastened...

[r3i]

Looks like Meade have had to go for a product recall on the LX800: http://www.meade4m.com/index.php?/topic/3312-meade-telescope-recall-notification-lx800/

[johninderby]

Oh dear.

I remember the jokes about early adopters of Meade products being unofficial beta testers but this is getting a bit ridiculous. Another black mark on Meade's reputation.

John

[E621Keith]

A full recall , all LX800 regardless of batches or serial number. This is a the first time I've seen one, not only in astronomy, but consumer goods in general.

If there is a major fault that would warrant a recall of this scale, it makes me wonder if they have ever tested the mount design before it left the factory.

[ollypenrice]

It says in the instructions to put the mount in the zero position by loosening the RA and DEC clutches and rotating .

There are no marks to achieve this and you have to do it by eye, a couple

engraved lines would be nice.

How accurate does it need to be ?

Davey-T

Yes, you're right, some marks would be a good idea but just eyeballing the counterweight shaft and OTA to get the scope pointing north is all you need. If you are out you just have to slew a bit to centre the first alignment star. After that it's plain sailing.

Olly