Advice re new scope Meade Lx200 Vs Skywatcher Mak 180

[ReaPerMan]

I am considering buying a new OTA and have been looking at the Meade LX200 8" I was asking around on price and I have one sales person tell me that he wouldn't touch Meade with a bargepole. He then of course went on to tell me that the Skywatcher Mak 180 was the biz. Can anybody comment on this and give me the best direction to head in. Many thanks

[Merlin66]

Meade is OK. I have the 8", 10" and 12" SCT's no issue!!
The SW 180Mak ( I had the SW 150Mak) is very good FOR planetary and Lunar observing. No good for DSO's!
The f10 of the SCT is a good compromise for planetary etc and by adding a reducer lens, x0.63 gives a f6.3 which is usable on DSO etc. They have been used like that for the last 20 years.
If found the SW 150 had very small internal baffle tubes (f12) and wouldn't take wide angle eyepieces (or 2" eyepieces) and there were few if any reducers available for the rear cell threads (unless you pay $$$ and get a convertor to the SCT thread) and even then the FOV was restricted.
I'd have to say the SCT is more versatile and gives both planetary and DSO capablility.
(BTW I found it almost impossible to fit a guide scope to the SW150Mak without having to purchase expensive tube rings- which are non-standard and plates - there's no holes in the OTA to connect to! - check this out with your vendor...)
My 2c

[Kal]

The meade will be an ACF design (Advanced Coma Free). If you do alot of observing with long focal length 2" eyepieces it will be better than the traditional Schmidt-Cassegrain by being sharper to the edge of the eyepiece.

I have no experience with larger Mak designs so I can't comment on them.

[ReaPerMan]

Thanks guys this is the sort of Info that I need, Don't want to spend $$ and be restricted in my options. I enjoy Planetary and Lunar but I also want to use for DSO as well. I shall start leaning towards the Meade OTA from Bintel

[Wavytone]

Hi I have a SW Black Diamond 180mm Mak - for lunar & planetary - thinking f/15 might be OK, however f/10 is a better choice. At f/15 the 180mm Mak can only span medium to high power, low powers are just out of the question. My favorite eyepieces on this scope are a Vixen LV50mm and the Vixen LVW13mm. An 8mm is also useful if the seeing permits.

On mine the 50mm finder fits perfectly and manages to stay aligned between setups, ie goes back together quite well.

On the Black Diamond 180mm the rear adapter is not the same (it is significantly bigger) as the back on the 8" Meade/Celestron scopes, and mine can easily fill the field of view in a Vixen LV50mm or the Masuyama 45mm (this is about a 45 arc minute field of view) with a nice field sharp to the edge. It can't quite fill the TMB40mm (outer 5mm is vignetted).

I've come to the conclusion f/7 is probably nirvana as it allows a range of eyepieces spanning 10:1 between highest and lowest power. As an alternative I'd also suggest this 127mm f/7.5 APO: http://explorescientific.com/telescopes/127mm_ed_apo.html

[Robbie]

I have a meade 10" f10 and it does all thats asked of it no problems,
I cant comment on a skywatcher but I spose its a question of you get what you pay for.

[rogerg]

Every brand has lemons but in general I would say meade is great value for money. My LX200 has been fantastic for the last 9 years. It's accuracy and capabilities are brilliant for something of it's price range.

I would be going with the Meade but I'm sure both would give you lots of good use. The difference in optical design might make your decision for you though.

[Robbie]

read the "new telescope for the mass market" thread
Big W are selling skywatchers so there 's your answer in a nut shell

[ReaPerMan]

Thanks for the Advice. I have contacted Bintel and the Meade LX200 8" OTA will be in from the US in 10-15 days so I think that i may go for this with the appropriate reducer to give the ability to use it for DSO.

Tahnks Guys :thumbsup: