LX90 or Celestron Nexstar 8 GPS

Post by **Airconvent** » Sun Nov 02, 2003 5:34 pm

Hi fellas,
Gotten bitten by the aperture bug recently even though no sky to watch it with! Was wondering which of the 2 scopes above that you prefer and why.
The Nexstar 8, is of course the dual fork mount model for a equitable comparison and not the N8i version. The 8" LX-200 would have been good but the price is not within strike range...However, the N8 seems easier to transport and set up while the LX-90 has the advantage of Autostar.

I know LX90 owners include Matt, Wei Terk, Wee Kiong and Kochu (his scope is fixed!) as well as ex-owner Vincent Snr.
For N8, only Low YL seems to own it although Shaun does own the single forkmount model.

Anyone selling the above scopes? :roll:

rich

Post by **acc** » Sun Nov 02, 2003 5:51 pm

I think the Celestron dual forkarm 8" GPS is in a comparable class to Meade's LX200GPS. The LX90 is a lower-end offering; IMHO its the most value-for-money 8" SCT.

harlequin2902 · Post by **harlequin2902** » Sun Nov 02, 2003 6:05 pm

If dual fork arm mounting, carbon fibre tube and starbright coatings aren't important to you, you'll save ~ US$700+ with the Nexstar 8i , keeping in mind that the 8i is still GPS capable with the right accessories.

Post by **Airconvent** » Sun Nov 02, 2003 11:50 pm

harlequin2902 wrote:If dual fork arm mounting, carbon fibre tube and starbright coatings aren't important to you, you'll save ~ US$700+ with the Nexstar 8i , keeping in mind that the 8i is still GPS capable with the right accessories.

Hi Sam,
yes..I know that but some have told me the single forkarm results in excessive vibration. I noticed that at high mags, damping on my smaller ETX 105 took 0.5-1.0 second after focussing. I tried the N8 GPS and absolutely no vibration at all...great damping...

rich

Post by **VinSnr** » Mon Nov 03, 2003 12:11 am

harlequin2902 wrote:If dual fork arm mounting, carbon fibre tube and starbright coatings aren't important to you, you'll save ~ US$700+ with the Nexstar 8i , keeping in mind that the 8i is still GPS capable with the right accessories.

Forget about the 8" on a single arm. To me, the Nextstar 8 and the Nexstar 8i are the worst designs that Celestron has ever produced.

harlequin2902 · Post by **harlequin2902** » Mon Nov 03, 2003 1:41 am

Hi Sam,
yes..I know that but some have told me the single forkarm results in excessive vibration. I noticed that at high mags, damping on my smaller ETX 105 took 0.5-1.0 second after focussing. I tried the N8 GPS and absolutely no vibration at all...great damping...

rich

Well, if you feel that the extra US$700 (~ S$1200) is justified in this sense, then yup, the Nexstar 8 GPS would be the one to go for. I've seen it in action a few times and it's a nice scope.

MooEy · Post by **MooEy** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 5:20 pm

just wondering, y sct? i would rather pick up a used mewlon 180 for maybe less than $2k and get a lxd55 mount.

~MooEy~

Post by **acc** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 10:06 pm

Equatorial mounts such as the LXD55 are rather bulky and a big hassle to set up compared to the LX90 which can be quickly setup in alt-az mode. The LX90 also has a much sturdier mount.

Post by **Airconvent** » Wed Nov 05, 2003 12:14 am

MooEy wrote:just wondering, y sct? i would rather pick up a used mewlon 180 for maybe less than $2k and get a lxd55 mount.

~MooEy~

compactness and the sturdiness of dual fork arms. dispenses with the need for bulky and heavy counterweights like those for the LXD55 mount.
of course some sacrifice has to be made in terms of image quality but the 8" SCT from Meade and Celestron is fairly decent ....

rich