Kochu's Review of the new Meade LXD75 SN8

[Airconvent]

Hi All,
While we were out celebrating the season, Kochu has been hard at working doing a review of Meade's new LXD75, the updated and upgraded scope that was to replace the LXD55 which was plagued with quality problems.
The review comes in 2 parts, this being the mechanical one. I will upload the other portion once he completes it.
Once again, thanks to Kochu for his efforts and keep them comng.

ps Hi Kochu, How about the new Nexstar 8i special edition? There's a ready second hand buyer here ! ...heh heh

Happy New Year to all!

ps thanks to YQ for solving the attachment thingy....:-)

[kochu]

Hi Rich
Thanks very much for helping to post the review.
Regarding 8 i ,If I even think about another scope I will have to look for another house.

Kochu/28-12-04

[weixing]

Hi,
See the review... I wonder why you get another 8" scope??

By the way, I think the central obstruction of around 37.5%(by diameter) is normal for such a fast (F4) scope. Also, I think you may need to check the collimation before you use it.

Anyway, hope to see the full review soon.

Have a nice day and enjoy the scope.

PS: No wonder these few days weather so bad... :k-chuckle:

[kochu]

Hi Weixing,

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See the review... I wonder why you get another 8" scope??
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Actually I was keen to get only the mount , but it was impossible without buying scope complete. The price difference between 6 inch and 8 inch was very small. Then I was chicken for buying the 10 inch version and put it on the untested mount. So the 8 inch version.
Anyhow it cannot be compared with LX90 /F10 as SN8 is F4, much faster,probably better for Photography!!
----------------

By the way, I think the central obstruction of around 37.5%(by diameter) is normal for such a fast (F4) scope. Also, I think you may need to check the collimation before you use it.
====================
Meade is using the same 3.1 inch dia Sec. mirror for 8 in SN and 10 Inch SN, so in the case of SN10 the % obstruction is only 10 % of area. Out of the box initial collimation was ok, now I have to do a star test.
==============
Anyway, hope to see the full review soon.

Have a nice day and enjoy the scope.

PS: No wonder these few days weather so bad...
=============
PS flew over my head ????
======

An earlier matter: I could not see the holes in my original photos nor any smudges in the corrector lense. So it must be some quirks of the JPEG conversion made for web.

Kochu/28-12-04

[rizal]

Hi kochu,
I am very new here indeed this is my first posting. Its been quite some time for me waiting to read a review on LXD75 SN8 and lucky I found it here.
May I know from where did you buy the scope? I just checked from Grandeye and the earliest I can get it is by early february.
In quite dilemma now whether to get a ETX-105 or LXD75 SN8 as for my first "real" scope.
FYI- I bought and old Tasco 114 before from ebay without doing a research - hope I got it right this time!

Thanks!

[weixing]

Hi,

In quite dilemma now whether to get a ETX-105 or LXD75 SN8 as for my first "real" scope.
FYI- I bought and old Tasco 114 before from ebay without doing a research - hope I got it right this time!

Ha Ha Ha... This is the one million dollars question and there will be nobody selling any astro stuff if this question can be answer easy.

The basic guide line is to get the biggest aperture scope you can afford and handle. So the first choice should be the LXD75 SN8. But if your observation site is quite far away and you don't have a car, then may be the ETX-105 will be better.

Anyway, may be you should wait for the full review from kochu before you get one since the LXD75 is a new mount.

Have a nice day.

[rizal]

Ha Ha Ha... This is the one million dollars question and there will be nobody selling any astro stuff if this question can be answer easy.

That's the whole point - I wish I can share the headache with you all



My major concern now whether worth the hassle to setup the LXD75 for planetary observation and astrophotography . Or should I stick to the small ETX and see how my new interest in astronomy grows and spent more $$ later?

Wish i have more $$ .. -just sold 2 Cisco routers from my home lab to get one of these scopes.

[kingkong]

May I know from where did you buy the scope? I just checked from Grandeye and the earliest I can get it is by early february.
In quite dilemma now whether to get a ETX-105 or LXD75 SN8 as for my first "real" scope.

hi rizal, where in malaysia are you?
i got my lxd75 from grandeye. preordered it before it's launched. got it in end oct. my 1st scope is a 102mm f5 refractor on az mount.

the lxd75 is quite a handful. i observe mainly in my backyard - i'm in east malaysia, relatively low light pollution. i can carry my 1)102f5 scope + tripod out, go back in to bring 2)accessories-eyepieces, books/maps, etc. and i am ready to go star-hopping.
with the new scope, i need to to do 1)tripod+mount 2)weight, 3)ota, 4)accessories. if my observation site is further away from home, it will definitely affect my frequency of observing.
as you can see both my scopes are widefield. i may consider something like an etx-105 or a 127mak for my next scope. i bought the lxd75sn8 with the intention of starting in astrophotography - well... after the rainy season is over and my project is completed...

just my opinions for your reference.
happy shopping.

[rizal]

Thanks a lot kingkong. At least now I got the general idea about the scope setup. Hmm grandeye told me that they do have the ETX in stock right now - I hope the extra cash I have won't burn a hole in my pocket too early for the ETX
FYI I am in Klang Valley - my house is about 10 minutes away from the old Subang Airport.- very often that we have clear skies around this area.

[kochu]

Hi Rizal,

Glad to know you get clear skies often. Here in Singapore that is a rare commodity. I have to drive 195 Km to Mersing for a meaningful observation.

It is true that there is a heavy backlog for the LXD 75, basically that is the only reasonably good GOTO mount you can get at that price.

My main reason for purchasing LXD 75 is for long exposure Astro photography and in my opinion it is not good choice as a first scope in our locations. The scope is a non starter unless you get a half pier and extended spindle (T-handle shaft) along with it.

I firmly believe that an Alt-AZ scope with GOTO should be your first scope which can be used right out of the box with out any hassles. It is even good enough for short exposure photography upto 30 Secs .

Why don't you wait till Jan 1 st week 2005when Meade is expected to announce something great. Incidentally no one has any clue what it is going to be.!!!!

Kochu/29-12-04