Reasonably priced, weight-optimized wedge for 12" LX200?

[GTom]

I am considering upgrading to 12" with an LX200 system. AP capable mount is a key pivot point of the project though: 2nd hand setups rarely come with wedges leaving two options: buying a wedge or defork and buy a heavy GEM.

Deforking sounds like wasting precious equipment, I wonder if there is a not-superheavy wedge available in the UK for LX200 scopes? The Meade X-wedge alone costs almost as much as a decent 2nd hand GEM.

[michael8554]

I assume you want to wedge-mount the LX200 to allow imaging.

The 12" is a heavy beast.

And requires a very sturdy wedge.

The basic Meade aluminium one bends under load.

Only fractions of a mm, but that's enough to cause problems when stars are only a few um's in size on the sensor.

Which is why custom wedges from Milburn, AE Mega Wedge  etc, made from heavy gauge steel or aluminium, were offered.

Meade has in the past offered increasingly more expensive wedges for this reason - SuperWedge, UltraWedge, X Wedge.

There are online articles on how to "beef-up" the Meade wedges.

I suppose it comes down to how much change in PA is acceptable.

With guiding it may not matter so much.

Michael

[Clarkey]

ENS optical have one for sale at the moment. It is a homemade one, but looking at the inch thick aluminium and massive bearings I don't think it would flex.

Homemade Super Strong Equatorial wedge for Meade LX200 8-14" (ensoptical.co.uk)

[michael8554]

Not sure how the Az is adjusted on that one.

But certainly as sturdy as a brick-built-****-house.

Michael

[Cosmic Geoff]

I've seen an observatory mounted 16" LX200, which had a non-adjustable wedge, probably the norm for this class of instrument.