Meade SCT 12" or Flextube 12"/14"?

[emadmoussa]

With the help with the guys here, I narrowed my options down to Skywatcher 14" Flextube GoTo. I more or less know what to expect from such a scope (had the 12" version for a year). However, I suddenly realised, I'd like to have the option of building a small observatory and a Dobsonian won't be the ideal option. Having the best of both worlds, aperture and physical size, I narrowed it down to the 'Meade LX90 12". To be honest, it's the top end of my budget and I'm not completely sure what to expect. I used the Celestron 11" SCT many years back. But it was brief and don't remember how it performed. 

 

1. I'm aware of the narrower field of view (F10 I think), how much do I lose bearing in mind I mostly observe DSO? 

2. How tolerant is it to mid-quality eyepieces? Is it as fussy as a  Dob?

3. How contrasty are the views compared to a reflector telescope?

 

Thanks!

 

[Peter Drew]

I've had three Meade 12" SCT's, you will need an observatory as they are HEAVY if used with the fork mount. There are only a handful of DSO's that don't fit into the field of a low power eyepiece and reasonably priced eyepieces work well at F10. I would expect that the contrast and brightness would be marginally better in a Newtonian of comparable size. The collimation and aluminising of the SCT should hold up much longer than the Newtonian.   ?

[Davey-T]

1: DSOs covers a multitude of objects from teeny weeny to enormous, I've got a 10" SCT which is good for little galaxies and nebula or bits of big nebula.

2: Works well with " cheap eyepieces "

3: Not as contrasty as refractor but not done a comparison with  Newtonian, not much difference I should think.

Dave

[emadmoussa]

1 minute ago, Davey-T said:

1: DSOs covers a multitude of objects from teeny weeny to enormous, I've got a 10" SCT which is good for little galaxies and nebula or bits of big nebula.

2: Works well with " cheap eyepieces "

3: Not as contrasty as refractor but not done a comparison with  Newtonian, not much difference I should think.

Dave

Thinking about mounting an 80mm apo on top  

[emadmoussa]

4 minutes ago, Peter Drew said:

I've had three Meade 12" SCT's, you will need an observatory as they are HEAVY if used with the fork mount. There are only a handful of DSO's that don't fit into the field of a low power eyepiece and reasonably priced eyepieces work well at F10. I would expect that the contrast and brightness would be marginally better in a Newtonian of comparable size. The collimation and aluminising of the SCT should hold up much longer than the Newtonian.   ?

It'll be stored in the conservatory which is right next to the garden deck. It's a matter of moving it a 100/150cm really. Will that become old too quickly? I mean, a 14" Dob is HEAVY too, probably heavier. 

[cloudsweeper]

Only got limited experience here Emad, but I reckon most objects would be OK  (except large nebulae) with a narrower FOV, and GoTo also makes up for it.  I don't think you'd lose much in contrast terms, and an f/10 should be very forgiving with EPs.

12" and GoTo on a cat sounds great to me!

Doug.

[Davey-T]

4 minutes ago, emadmoussa said:

Thinking about mounting an 80mm apo on top  

I've got a 100mm on top.

Dave

[emadmoussa]

Just now, Davey-T said:

I've got a 100mm on top.

 

That's cool. Photo?

[Peter Drew]

The main problem, logistically, is that you have to lift the whole assembly in one piece on to the tripod. Not too bad as an alt-azimuth setup but a bit tricky if mounting to a wedge.

[emadmoussa]

Thanks, Pete. 

[paul mc c]

This was mine with a 100mm on top,and m27 taken with it.

[emadmoussa]

Gorgeous. 

[emadmoussa]

I'm sorry Peter, refresh my memory, was it you who bought the 200mm reflector from me, I think, 4 years ago? 

[paul mc c]

You get different reviews on sct,s,i ave owned 4,and still have 1,the 12" is a cracking scope,i really regret selling it,and still dont know why i did just my opinion.

Jupiter with 12".....the pic in my sig was also with this scope.

[Davey-T]

1 hour ago, emadmoussa said:

That's cool. Photo?

Here it is with all sorts hanging off it, weight doesn't bother it.

Dave

[emadmoussa]

Very neat indeed, buddy! I like it. 

I can't help but notice/imagine the tripod is a bit undersized? 

[paul mc c]

Just to throw a spanner in the works......for a grand less you could get a c11 and an neq6 pro from FLO.https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/skywatcher-neq6-pro-synscan.htmlhttps://www.firstlightoptics.com/offers/offer_celestron-c11-xlt-optical-tube-assembly-cge-losmandy_93371.html

[emadmoussa]

12 hours ago, paul mc c said:

Just to throw a spanner in the works......for a grand less you could get a c11 and an neq6 pro from FLO.https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/skywatcher-neq6-pro-synscan.htmlhttps://www.firstlightoptics.com/offers/offer_celestron-c11-xlt-optical-tube-assembly-cge-losmandy_93371.html

I had this exact setup about 4 years ago. I don' remember how the telescope performed, used it very briefly. I nevertheless remember, vivdly,  that the C11 on EQ6 was noticeably wobbly. A fork is likely to be more stable (although the xl90 tripod looks undersized?). I very much prefer an alt-az mount. 

[emadmoussa]

Any idea how a Baader Zoom would perform with this scope? Or do I need 2/3  dedicated EPs instead? 

Thanks! 

[Peter Drew]

16 hours ago, emadmoussa said:

I'm sorry Peter, refresh my memory, was it you who bought the 200mm reflector from me, I think, 4 years ago? 

I don't think so, there again my memory isn't what it used to be!  ?  A Baader zoom would work well with the SCT, you would need a separate wide field low power eyepiece to accompany it.

[John]

Someone from my society got a bargain Meade 12" SCT LX200. Lovely condition. All functioning well. 6 months leter he hardly uses it. It's too heavy to set up (he keeps it in a consevatory and just have to move it out through the doors and the tube seems to take ages (eg: a couple of hours) to stabilise temperature wise and sometimes even when it has adjuested, struggles to keep up with changing temps during a session.

A 14" Skywatcher Flextube dob might face similar setup issues though, but the temp adjustment is not going to be an issue. Personally I feel that a 12" dob is at the limit of what is comfortable but perhaps I'm a little puny and not dedicated enough ?

 

[25585]

Why not go for an Orion Optics UK 14 inch dob or OTA? Get the 1/10 mirror. There you have a solid but lightweight tube (also a carbon fibre option), so less collimation faff when set up scaffold OTA. Their variable friction device works well.

I would like a fork mounted SCT, have an OTA C8, so only need a mount.