Meade LX 200 acf 12" cleaning

[nightwatcher61]

I purchased a Meade lx 200acf last july. Ive had it out a few times and it was amazing,however dew became a problem a couple of times. I have looked into buy a dew shield as well as the dew zapper and bands. Any recommendations for either? Also when the dew dried off the front it let spots on the glass. I dont want to cause any damage cleaning it. Any ideas on how to clean this? Also is it possible to turn the fine adjustment too much and cause problems? It does not seem to be as clear thru the eyepiece .

[pragmatist]

Hi Nightwatcher,

Ref the cleaning, use a microfibre cloth but try to avoid using chemicals. The safest thing on optics is your breath and a good microfibre cloth. Obviously if the spots are stubborn then any good lens cleaning chemical will work but coming from a photography background i would make that a last resort.

Hope this helps?

Matt

[Northern Soul man]

Hi Ya Nightwatcher and welcome to the SGL - You really need some sort of dew control, as you have the 12" version, you really need to sort the dew heater/strip or combined heated dew shield - depending on your location and weather for your area, some places suffer with dew more than others, you need to set the scope up and put the dew band/heater on immediately - this gently heats the air inside your closed tube assembly and controls the erratic changes in heat (which creates the dew) to stop the dew from forming, but remember these larger scopes need an appropriate dew heater that will handle enough power (current) to be effective.

The "spots" on the corrector (the front glass plate) lens may be on the inside - so you need to remove the corrector plate to clean the inside of the corrector - I used to have a Meade 8" scope, I cleaned this a while ago using Isopropyl with great results, the coatings are quite robust - but you still have to be careful and take your time. IF YOU HAVE NEVER DISMANTLED THE CORRECTOR BEFORE - BE CAREFUL. You need to take the allen bolts out and then check for alignment marks on the body of the scope and the edge of the corrector plate itself - these need to be aligned when re - assembling, remembering not to over tighten the bolts which hold the corrector in place, finally checking collimation, a rough alignment at the scope, then a close alignment on a star - there's a few video's on you tube to show you this - but to be honest see if you can find another stargazer near to you for advice and help - its a little daunting at first, but after you have done it a few times it becomes easier and not so much of a problem.

Hope that helps a little, I see from your posts that your new on here, so don't be afraid to ask for help - as this topic - more than any other - seems to pop up a great deal - have a look on the net for video's taking you through the process, but if your not sure then see if you can find help locally. Paul.