WHICH ONE?? WEDGE OR OPTICS??

[Damien420]

Morning all, 

So I have been offered a Meade LX90 EMC which includes an eq wedge, but... i have also been offered a Meade LX90 ACF GPS.

The question is, the older scope is £300 cheaper and includes the eq wedge and the other is newer with gps and better optics so i belive? Is the newer scope worth the extra money.

I want to use it for visual and get into basic astro photography. 

Thanks in advance

[Shimrod]

45 minutes ago, Damien420 said:

Morning all, 

So I have been offered a Meade LX90 EMC which includes an eq wedge, but... i have also been offered a Meade LX90 ACF GPS.

The question is, the older scope is £300 cheaper and includes the eq wedge and the other is newer with gps and better optics so i belive? Is the newer scope worth the extra money.

I want to use it for visual and get into basic astro photography. 

Thanks in advance

I don't think there is all that much difference in the optics for visual. The GPS makes it a bit more convenient to set up the scope - does it also have LNT which helps with alignment?

The LX90 is not a good starter choice for AP beyond planets and moon - the general recommendation is to start with a short focal length scope for that. You will need the wedge to try for longer exposures, but it is an extra hassle to set up and get polar aligned. I'm assuming 8" OTA, a larger one will be even more awkward to place on the wedge.

How much newer is the LX90 ACF? As the mount and OTA are one unit, I would be inclined to opt for the new model for convenience of set up and younger electronics - that is where any fault is most likely to appear.

I still own a 2003 LX90 EMC which still works fine although I sold my wedge on (and bought a separate scope on an equatorial mount for AP).

[Damien420]

Yes they are both 8" and the newer one has LNT. I think he said the newer one was arround 2006-7

[Shimrod]

6 hours ago, Damien420 said:

Yes they are both 8" and the newer one has LNT. I think he said the newer one was arround 2006-7

So there's probably not a lot in it age-wise - the EMC ran from around 2001-2005 if I recall. £300 sounds like quite a difference in price given the relative ages (more once you consider the wedge is worth around £150 on its own) - I'm not sure the LNT is worth that much. You could buy a GPS add-on for around £100, but all GPS really does is save you the hassle of entering the time and location each time you turn on. And unless you plan on moving the telescope around the country, the location is remembered by the mount anyway.

Have you had a chance to inspect the telescopes and the optics - I wonder if there is something else affecting the price?

[Damien420]

Thanks Shimrod,

I went with the newer one which turned out to be a 2009. Plus after seeing it, its in near mint condition!