Lack of Meades

[geppetto]

I've been amazed by the comparative lack of talk about Meade SCT's in general. I think i'm turning onto APO's with all the talk!

Can i ask if i really would be a prat going for a meade SCT and a DSI?

Interesting (to me anyway) point raised by Psychobabbler whilst introducing himself in the Welcome threads.

This forum is a bit light on Meade stuff compared with other astro forums that I've followed and without getting

into a brand bashing contest, I'd be interested to know what the feelings are about Meade equipment.

My knowledge of Meade is from playing with an ETX105 and lately an LX90 (8") belonging to Richard42..

[FLO]

I have given nearly two dozen talks at camera clubs and noticed that more often or not, the clubs have a 'theme' to them. Some might be pro-Nikon whereas another will be pro-canon, Fuji ... whatever. Often, a particular lens or camera model will sweep thru the membership like wildfire. It is so apparent that in my little 'black book' I have notes to remind me of their preferences/bias as a reminder for my next visit.

I am particularly surprised that the new Meade DSI PRO II (a camera I am seriously considering for myself) has gone unnoticed here. Granted, it doesn't have active cooling like models 2-3 times the price but its Sony EXview HAD sensor's 16-bit images will beat a DSLR for sensitivity and lack of noise. (The September issue of Sky&Telescope has a stonking 5-page review).

My knowledge of Meade is from playing with an ETX105 and lately an LX90 (8")

Wonderful scopes 8)

[Jamie]

I used to have a Meade 8" LX10 SCT.

Personally i thought it was a good scope for the money.

And had i not had an accident with it i would still have it now.

I think that the lack of Meade scopes by SGL members is more due to peoples tastes and

requirements from scopes. Oh and the obvious cost of them.

Plus its harder if not impossible to upgrade an SCT because of the fork type mount.

[Tinkerbell]

Our club had one member with an LX200 when I joined and I must admit I was hooked, it was soooooo cool what with the hand set and the whacking great 10 inch corrector plate. After checking the price for this thing of beauty :? I bought an LX90 instead and am immensely happy with it. Since then 4 more members have bought Meade scopes, all 8 inch and all are more than happy with them visually but! I have bought all the equipment and a wedge to do Astro Imaging with the LX90 but watching others trying it put me off. Others in our group were not put off and are quite happily imaging with the Meade scopes, here comes the but again! We as a group image from a dark sky site which means we have to travel so all equipment must be portable which rules out the DSI and Web Cams as they need Lap Tops which are power hungry beasts. So what are these people using in the back of beyond for imaging, 350D's as they are small easy to set up and easy to pack away and produce beautiful results. I don't image with my LX90 Classic like some of our members do but it is quick to set up and quick to break down and its GO-TO's are always spot on, so on public night's it is always present doing guided tours and amazing the members of the public with its techno wizardry and coffee grinder motors :?

[Kenny_10_Bellys]

I'm well chuffed with my ETX-105PE, I've nothing against Meade equipment at all and would have one of their large SCTs in a moment, cash permitting. I wouldn't have seen a quarter of the stuff I do without it's GO-TO system, it's a real boon for quickly finding the more obscure and difficult objects, and the optical quality of the scope is great. As for the DSI-II camera, it's only a matter of time before I get enough money together for one. Great bit of kit for the money.

I think what it is with this forum is that there's a wide range of members and they seem to have a pretty extensive range of gear and buy and sell quite a bit throughout the year. Also with refractors making a big comeback and Meade being more well known for SCTs and Maks, I think they're just not mentioned here as often as in other forums.

[Kain]

The only Meadé item I have is a moon filter Arthur game me.

Really good actually

Kain

[Ambermile]

Series 4000 Kain

Apart from the 8x50 RA finder on the bottom of the 22" that was the last bit of Meade kit I had

In the past I've had many Meade scopes but you grow out of them I think and specialise.

Arthur

[FLO]

The only Meadé item I have is a moon filter Arthur game me.

Really good actually

Yes, it is

The ND96 is a pukka glass and metal filter with a Neutral Density (doesn't alter colour).

[russ]

I think the main reason for lack of Meade talk, not only on this forum but others too (UKAI for instance), is a shift in interest away from SCT fork mounted telescopes to small, lightweight GEM mounted APO refractors for the astro imager. And for the visual observer, the big lightbucket dobs seem to be the preferred choice again.

All the buzz now is William Optics and it's many clones. For the moment the Meade (and Celestron) SCT glory days seem to be over. Although both will always have a large following.

Steve, have you checked out the Orion USA Starshoot Deepsky camera? Same chip as the Meade DSI Pro II but it's Peltier cooled and far cheaper. And also comes bundled with MaximDL.

Russ

[GordonCopestake]

AT are making an AT110 (ZS110 clone) with a FPL51 doublet (cheap). It's clones like these that are pushing the market forward, not the 70's SCT's

[Jamie]

AT???

[GordonCopestake]

Astronomy Technologies. They do a AT80 which is basicly a ZS80:

http://www.astronomytechnologies.com/

http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=1498

US based, but even with import duties are pretty cheap

They are the same as the moonfish ED80's. The AT110 looks pretty good to me. Theres a thread here:

http://tinyurl.com/ejr7s

[FLO]

I think the main reason for lack of Meade talk, not only on this forum but others too (UKAI for instance), is a shift in interest away from SCT fork mounted telescopes to small, lightweight GEM mounted APO refractors for the astro imager. And for the visual observer, the big lightbucket dobs seem to be the preferred choice again.

Good point, the market has been shifting towards simpler scopes.

Steve, have you checked out the Orion USA Starshoot Deepsky camera? Same chip as the Meade DSI Pro II but it's Peltier cooled and far cheaper. And also comes bundled with MaximDL.

Off to do some Googling

[CELESCOPE]

Well watch this space then i will be getting a new LXD S/N 10 inch soon now from Bern , the only thing i have learnt obout the scope is the optics are fantastic , but the focusser lets it down, so an upgrade has been or will be done , the cost of this focusser is mega bucks i know , but is the dogs *** , both manual and elec, the scope wil sit on another EQ6 PRO\ i have purchased, so watch this space for first light and a review of it.

Rog

[FLO]

Aawww Rog! <hands on hips>

You beat me to it

I am planning to buy either the SN8 or SN10. I am steering towards the 8" at the moment because (both being f4) I cannot see what benefit the extra aperture has to the imager?

As for focussers, the JMI NGF-55 seems to be the preferred upgrade and requires no drilling. I am also looking into Baader's considerably cheaper Crayford focusser...

[FLO]

Steve, have you checked out the Orion USA Starshoot Deepsky camera? Same chip as the Meade DSI Pro II but it's Peltier cooled and far cheaper. And also comes bundled with MaximDL.

Off to do some Googling

Russ, that Orion looks like a nice bit of kit but as far as I can tell it is only offered as a colour imager(?). I was planning to buy Meade's Mono DSI II and experiment with different filters. (I am no imaging expert so if someone sees me wandering off on the wrong track, please shout!)

[geppetto]

Looking back at my "play" with the ETX105 and the LX90 left me with a few mixed feelings.

First and formost, both scopes were optically stunning to look through.

The goto once setup worked very well and portability a great asset.

But...

The ALT clutch.. oh those bloomin clutches.

We had to strip the ETX to degrease and roughen the surfaces to get the thing to stop sagging in ALT.

No way would that scope take a camera other than a webcam and track correctly but then thats not

what it was meant to do I suppose despite the pictures of ETX's with Canon 350d's strapped on the back :shock:

For that reason Richard changed to the beefier LX90 8" and of course again the ALT clutch was a bit saggy

but we cured that with a clutch mod kit.

What with bad weather and Richard's shift work, the LX90 has yet to be used in anger but sat on its wedge

on the pier in his garden it should prove to be a killer scope this winter.

So its a love/hate with me but you've just got to love seeing that LX90 whizzing round to find targets 8)

Oh and one more thing Mr Meade, why did you put the power socket of the LX90 on the moving bit?

It winds up its own cable, pulls the plug off and blows the fuses (doesn't it Richard )

[FLO]

You have hit several nails on the head Phil

ETX telescopes should not be sold as imaging telescopes.

Astro Engineering offer a power-pack that attaches to the LX90 overcoming the cable tangle problem.

Meade do have a habit of designing in these niggling features. Whilst they are easily fixed, it'd be so much better if they fixed them at source.

[CELESCOPE]

Thats the very focusser i,m getting Steve, so hoefully i can sit in comfort and do all my focussing from now on ehehheehe #

Rog

ok i agree the 2 inch difference wont make anydifference for imaging , but i,m getting it cheaper so thats why i have gone for that one, and ok maybe i may do a bit of viewing for a change ,

Rog

[MartinB]

There are 2 aspects to the SCT discussion i) the performance of the scope iself and ii) the pros and cons of fork mounts.

SCTs both Meade and Celestron perform well optically. Their long focal length means that they give detailed views of bright planets although lacking a little in contrast. Fantastic for close ups of the moon. They work very well with budget 2" uwa eps and focal reducers for deep sky observing and imaging. They are the scope of choice for planetary imaging, well Damian Peach uses one so that's good enough for me! They are also used by a good number of serious imagers for long focal length DSO stuff - planetary nebs, small galaxies. the development of adaptive optic devices has made high standard long focal length images possible for a fraction of what you would have had to pay a few years ago. Still expensive though

Fork mounts tie you to one scope plus the piggyback option (which is a very good option). For anyone interested in imaging a fork mounted SCT with a piggy backed short focal length refrator covers most imaging requirements. An alt azimut fork mounted scope is quick to set up, portable and a joy to use for visual work. Put it on a decent wedge and the higher end SCTs will perform very well.

[FLO]

ok i agree the 2 inch difference wont make any difference for imaging

Thats a pity, I was hoping you would come up with a reason that would help me justify (to myself) spending the extra

I will be using a Dob for observing so I guess I'd better pocket the difference and order the SN8.

[geppetto]

There are 2 aspects to the SCT discussion i) the performance of the scope iself and ii) the pros and cons of fork mounts

Fair point Martin.

For a while, I had the ETX105 OTA off its forks (with Richard's permission) and mounted it with rings on my EQ5 mount.

Took some fantastic images of the moon Saturn and Mars with those optics 8)

[FLO]

Put it on a decent wedge and the higher end SCTs will perform very well.

I am a little out of my depth here but from what I read, the new Drizzle software (that auto-rotates images 'on the fly' before stacking them) pretty much overcomes the need for a wedge?

[Ambermile]

Only for short exposures Steve.

[FLO]

Ah, thanks