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View Full Version here: : 12 inch LX200ACF OTA - 2 days away!!!!


robz
14-03-2011, 02:46 PM
:)...............after a looooooong wait, TNT transport will be delivering the OTA to my work address on Wednesday morning as they missed me
''at home'' last friday at 11.00 am (of course!:mad2::rolleyes: ).

This is a very exciting moment for me as I have lusted for such a scope after drooling all the way through my teens at two things : girls:D, and those pictures from the Celestron catalogues showing their orange tubed SCT's.:)

I tried many times to purchase a used one from the classified's here, but hit a brick wall each time due to high freight costs or disinterested companies that would not insure or go off the beaten track to pick up on the other side of Australia:(.
In the end ,my wife couldn't stand the sad face and feeling sorry for myself moods and said ''just buy it new!''..............''you only live once!''


The NEQ6 PRO will be it's mount with the appropriate wide and long, cradle ended Losmandy mounting plate(for 12 inch Meade SCT) purchased from Bintel.
Joining it will be a Telrad and a good quality quartz dielectric diagonal.

As it will be mainly used for visual work and maybe some video astronomy later on, the mount should be fine providing I don't mount a 10 inch guidescope on top of it:lol:.

40 years is a long time to wait for your dream scope (that I could just, and only just afford:sadeyes:) and I hope it will give me some great views of the heavens for many years:)

renormalised
14-03-2011, 03:01 PM
You will be well pleased with this fella!!!:):). I have the LX90 version in an 8" and the ACF optics are very good.

Unfortunately, my dream scope is just a wee bit out of my league at present....CDK700 (http://www.planewave.com/index.php?page=1&id0=6&id=0). Maybe one day.

Shano592
14-03-2011, 03:14 PM
Robert, you will have a blast with the 12.

I have the 10, and I am so glad I bought it. The optics are excellent, right to the edge.

It was actually a toss-up between the 10 and the 12, but I felt that in 10 or 15 years' time, the 12-inch may be a little heavy for me to transport around.

mozzie
14-03-2011, 03:42 PM
well done robert !!!!! 12 ota acf absolutely beautiful optics your going to be stocked chrisp image to the edge,easy to lift onto the mount....

telecasterguru
14-03-2011, 04:21 PM
Rob,

Congrats on the imminent arrival. Now all you have to do is come up with a name.

Frank

robz
14-03-2011, 04:29 PM
Cheers guys!......................I probably won't get much sleep after all the positive comments :lol:.............but it'll be worth it! :D

WOOOOOOOOHOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.... ................no.............that 's not the name yet ;)

toc
14-03-2011, 05:31 PM
Looks like we will get ours at about the same time - Mine is on the road from Sydney as we speak. Alas I dont have a mount to put it on yet - Dont want to risk it on the HEQ5 :lol:

robz
15-03-2011, 11:51 AM
Hi Tim.
No, the NEQ6 with the large dovetail head is about the limit here even though some companies selling astro gear rate it as being able to take a 25kg load capacity - doubt it very much.

Looks like Christmas has come early for both of us eh? :D

robz
15-03-2011, 05:44 PM
IT HAS ARRIVED !!!!!......................one day early:xmas: !!!!!!!!!!!

toc
15-03-2011, 06:16 PM
Cool ::thumbsup: First light report is required :)

robz
16-03-2011, 12:26 PM
First light report will be coming soon!;)

Ric
16-03-2011, 01:32 PM
Congrats Robert, they are a fantastic scope.

Looking forward to your first light report.

GrampianStars
16-03-2011, 02:46 PM
Great Rob
but shouldn't it be early Easter ;)

robz
16-03-2011, 05:46 PM
:lol:............yes............... maybe you're right Gramp.!

Anyhow, I have a good gift for pushing the pen and will submit a thorough and hopefully entertaining and informative review of this Meade beast for all to enjoy!

The week is busy for me, but by this weekend first light will be had and the posting will commence!

My pleasure indeed!:thumbsup:

toc
18-03-2011, 06:04 PM
Got my Meade 12" today - its huge! :)

cohiba
18-03-2011, 08:02 PM
Hi Robert
You will have a ball with this scope, Ive had one for a couple of years, all you will need now is a back brace or a dome, I bet it's bigger than you imagined, anyway enjoy

Bob
The Vines
Perth

toc
18-03-2011, 08:36 PM
It is - it dwarfs the C8 :) Im thankful for the carry handle :lol:

robz
19-03-2011, 10:17 AM
You're right........................this thing is BIG!!:eyepop:
I was surprised to see that the outside paint work is the new series, lighter blue with a slightly rough texture as per the LS LIGHT SWITCH series.

I'm very pleased with this as I prefer that to the glossy navy blue from the past. Love the carry handle also Tim!!!!;)

We may have some clouds roll in today or tonight................that'll be right!!!!:mad2:

toc
19-03-2011, 10:41 AM
Mine has the darker glossy blue - I dont mind it. The focus is rather stiff compared to the C8. I might just be because it hasnt been used for a while.

robz
19-03-2011, 09:59 PM
Have just come home from being out all day and just finished the Losmandy dovetail assembly by bolting on the the two cradles at each end.

Tomorrow morning, the dovetail will be bolted to the OTA and the diagonal and Telrad will join in.

Hopefully, if there won't be so many interruptions and commitments (:rolleyes:),................first light!:)

robz
21-03-2011, 12:03 PM
O.K................sorry, no first light yet:(
Got stuck with unannounced visitors last night:rolleyes:

Anyhow, here is a start to where I am at:

Losmandy dovetail mounted to tube.
This was fairly straight forward : 4 bolts had to be removed underneath the tube to make way for the bolts supplied by Losmandy.
There were also two small screws at each end of the tube (between the bolts) that needed removal to make room for the curved cradles at each end of the dovetail.
If these are not removed,it's impossible to fit the dovetail! :screwy:

On general inspection of the OTA, it appears to be very well made - solid construction, nicely finished off and smooth/professional feel to focus and mirror lock controls.

Taking off the front cover (metal)and looking in to the tube, seeing that big mirror at the end sends goosebumps down your spine !! ;)

I have fitted the large D style head back on to the EQ6 which is now ready to accept the Meade OTA.

The extension bar may be needed to obtain balance. Not sure on this as I may even need an extra counterweight?

Hopefully tonight may be first light if weather holds and I don't discover that additional weights are required over and above the extension bar. :rolleyes:

toc
21-03-2011, 12:09 PM
I will be very interested in your opinion on the EQ6 with this scope - Im either going to get the NEQ6 or Celestron CGEM.

If the NEQ6 is not up to the task, then I might have to save up for the G11 :eyepop:

robz
21-03-2011, 12:58 PM
Hi Tim,me too.

Remember though that I will be using the scope for visual and some planetary/video imaging so I won't be overloading the mount as some have to later discover problems ocurring.

The NEQ6 PRO has car bearings as mentioned once on a forum, so it can't be that whimpy?

The Celestron mounts are very good too but their OTA's are also lighter compared to the Meades...............make you think?:question:

robz
22-03-2011, 12:53 PM
Just before sunset last night, the skies were mainly clear with a few clouds here and there.
So, ...........I set up the scope on the mount. WOW!..........what a sight to behold:eyepop:the scope and mount look amazing!

Then it got dark..........I walked outside and there was NO SKY..................just clouds!!!!!!!!!!!:mad2:............ ..typical!!!!!!:mad2:

Shano592
22-03-2011, 02:34 PM
I think the people of Toodyay want to talk with you, robz...

robz
22-03-2011, 05:12 PM
Ummmmmm? sorry Shano, I don't understand:question:...........did they get rained out last night?

toc
22-03-2011, 06:05 PM
I have my 12" stuck in a cupboard. At the moment all I can do is open the door, give the focus knob a twiddle, and close the door...

robz
23-03-2011, 11:29 AM
Last night was the first opportunity to have a quick peek at the skies.
Transparency was not the best as there was high cloud haze present throughout the day with numerous clouds about.

Thankfully the clouds began to dissipate as the sun went down, but as I said, it was noticeable that clarity of the heavens was not going to be first rate............5/10
Seeing was about 6/10 and there was only the slightest hint of a breeze now and then.

Setting up the scope was surprisingly easy. I found that picking up the EQ6 tripod, with legs folded together, with the head already attached(less counterweights), and slung over my right shoulder was a quick and effective method of getting the mount outside.
Next was the weights themselves and another chunk of steel Gaffa taped to the weights to enable balance.

For last nights quick view, the mount's electronics were not connected.

Another surprise was how easy it was to grab hold of the handle on the OTA, hold the other end and simply lift it up on to the dovetail head.When positioned and still holding the handle(!!),the screws were tightened and the scope was mounted.:thumbsup:.............love that giant Losmandy dovetail bar!:D
I expected this to be a two man job, but it wasn't.:)

I used a Bintel 2 inch quartz SCT star diagonal and an ordinary 2 inch, 26mm 70 degree Chinese eyepeice. This eyepeice is a mystery. It was sold to me as a Skywatcher brand, but there is nothing on the e.p. to indicate this:question:.It looks exactly like a PROSTAR I saw advertised in a magazine recently, so who knows?

Down to business...................ORION NEBULA..........wow!:eyepop:
Keeing in mind that the scope had barely an hour to cool down, seeing and transparency were lousy, yet what I saw through that ''questionable'' e.p. was nothing short of staggering!
The nebula was crystal clear and just hung there in space with numerous pin point stars surrounding it. There was a hint of pale green and some pink around the edges. The trapezium was easily resolved and looked better than ever.

PANNING AROUND : this was also an eye opener. A large aperture scope with coma free optics is something that I'm not used to. I found myself constantly stopping, looking at open clusters in awe. The views were spectacular showing colours in the stars themselves effortlessly.

CENTAURUS GLOBULAR CLUSTER : say no more!:thumbsup:..........amazing... .....but it looks good in most medium - large scopes doesn't it?:D

THE EQ6/MEADE 12 INCH LX200 ACF COMBO: I know that many of you out there would be waiting on my opinion of this, so here it is:

At no time during my 30 minute, short lived (those clouds:mad2:!!) viewing session did I feel that the mount was inadequate to hold a 12 inch SCT.
Being fair, the scope did not have any photographic equipment hanging off it or any large guide scopes sitting on top of it.
I found that vibrations caused by adjusting the focus knob were minimal and settled very quickly...........no dramas here. The slight breeze experienced now again did not cause any visible image vibrations as far as I could see.

Focussing itself wasn't as coarse as I had anticipated............nothing like a standard rack and pinion job that's for sure:rolleyes:. I found it easy to bring an object into focus with minimal if any backlash.
Image shift?................ummmmmmmm?... ......can't comment on this as I did not notice anything unusual at that power in such a short time.

Well, that's about as much as I can report for the moment.
The Meade is one hell of an instrument..........you guys were right!:thumbsup:
If it performed this well in very poor seeing, I can see that it will even be better when temperature equalised and the seeing better than that watered down pea soup last night:rolleyes:

Until then!;)

Rob.

jenchris
23-03-2011, 12:24 PM
Last night being high clouded was not what we wanted to hear.
But your report makes the OTA sound very delectable - I hope the EQ6 works well for you as that's my next upgrade and I shall be watching !!
I've found my Meade OTA to be excellent (though it's only an 8" ACF) and like yours has virtually no image shift and smooth focus.

I hope tonight is better and you get to really put the baby through its paces.
Looking forward to seeing some DSO pics!

Congrats - sounds lovely -

GrampianStars
23-03-2011, 12:26 PM
Great 1st report
however cool down to ambient will be in the 4-6 hour range at the moment :(
You'll need to do the peltier cooling mod to get to 1 hour cool dowm for it to perform at optimum :thumbsup:

robz
23-03-2011, 01:05 PM
Thanks for your early input guys!

Yes, last night was really only a cheap thrill and a desperate attempt for a long awaited ''fix'' :lol:

Agree with adequate cool down time GrampianStars...........but I couldn't help myself. ;)

jenchris, very interesting to hear that you have also experienced ''virtually no image shift and smooth focus''.
I thought it was just my ignoring it's presence and hoping that everything was peachy in the excitement of the moment:)

There will be a definate follow up on this first report on the EQ6 mount used with a 12 inch SCT.
There has been a lot of talk and disagreement on this issue and I have been researching opinions from many sources for a while now.

At the moment the OTA with Losmandy dovetail bar, diagonal mirror and heavy 2 inch eyepeice could possibly be around or just under the 18kg mark?...........I don't know for certain.
If the mount was already overloaded as some may suggest, it should be bouncing around all over the place..................but it isn't...........that I'm sure of.

toc
23-03-2011, 01:27 PM
My idea is to use my 12" meade for purely visual and planetary imaging - I believe the EQ6 or CGEM will be good enough for that.

I simply cant afford 4,500 for the next most affordable mount up, which would be the Losmandy G11. ;)

robz
23-03-2011, 02:23 PM
Agreed Tim.
How much does the CGEM cost?

strongmanmike
23-03-2011, 04:58 PM
Sounds like you had some fun Rob :cool:
I remember when I first looked through my 12" Meade SCT it was fantastic, 12" is a good aperture :thumbsup:

Enjoy!

Mike

robz
23-03-2011, 05:44 PM
Thanks Mike!:thumbsup:

toc
23-03-2011, 06:32 PM
Andrews are selling them for 2200. few hundred more than the NEQ6.

robz
24-03-2011, 11:29 AM
Well Tim, in my opinion, the EQ6 will save you money........read on.........

''SECOND LIGHT'':thumbsup:
Last night the skies were a totally different affair.........clear and steady:)

M42 and the Centaurus ''glob'' were in my sights as they were the primaries viewed the night before.

M42 was jaw dropping this time..........even more detail, pin point stars peeking through the nebulosity............I could go on and on:)

The Centaurus big Globular was enough to skip a heart beat(and I think I did:question:)............fantastic resolution from core to the far extremes.
God I love this scope! :thumbsup:

How did the EQ6 hold up?.....................ROCK SOLID..................surprised the hell out of me!
If you are going visual only, the EQ6 won't even break a sweat.
If you decide to do some photography, I wouldn't be surprised if this mount could accomplish quite a lot..........more than expected.

Here's a photo to ''wet your whistle'' :

toc
24-03-2011, 02:15 PM
Nice :thumbsup: How is the focuser on your scope? is it very easy to turn?

robz
24-03-2011, 02:48 PM
I'd say that it's ''firm'' and not too easily moveable unless you want it to....... if that makes sense?
No doubt with use, it will turn a bit easier down the track.

It has a ''quality'' feel about it. In use, there is a small amount of backlash, but it's hardly worth mentioning in my opinion.
Getting a target in focus is no problem at all.

Cheers,
Rob.

jenchris
24-03-2011, 03:11 PM
lovely - frankly I'm impressed.

robz
25-03-2011, 02:30 PM
Thank you Jennifer :thumbsup:
Here's a wider shot where it's obvious I need more counter weights!

Rob.:)

robz
28-03-2011, 12:09 PM
Hi folks!
Over in the cloudy nights forum, some members have suggested that I change the original visual back (1 1/4 inch) to a full size 2 inch one from A.P.:question:

Would anyone like to comment on this, or has actually changed to a larger visual back that can advise if this is worth doing?

My largest diameter e.p field stop is a bit over 1 1/4 inch and I wont be doing any photography with huge CCD sizes, so I'm a bit confused at the moment.:confused2:
Rob.

GrampianStars
28-03-2011, 02:22 PM
Absolutely!
I use the Peterson Eye Opener
http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?pid=2404

casstony
28-03-2011, 02:55 PM
You won't see any benefit unless you wanted to use low power wide field eyepieces. (field stops greater than 38mm).

If you did decide to change the visual back you might consider putting the money towards a Starlight Instruments crayford focuser instead.

robz
28-03-2011, 05:38 PM
I doubt that the largest field stop I have is greater than 38mm, but I'll have to check.

A good Crayford may be on the cards one day, but at the moment I'm aiming for an astro video cam (Mallincam)as I have been interested in this for some time now.
Coming in at a close second is spectroscopy, but it's got a lot of brick walls to climb to get anything useful that doesn't cost a fortune.

Rob.

AndrewJ
28-03-2011, 06:01 PM
I got the 2" AP visual back and love it for being able to swap between stuff quickly without tooling. It does extend the image train a bit more than the Peterson unit, and it is heavy ( not a prob for a 12" that is nose heavy already ),
but it accepts 2" fittings if you do want to operate without the meade microfocusser.

Andrew

robz
29-03-2011, 12:20 PM
Thanks Andrew.

I checked my 70 degree 26mm E.P this morning and it has a 30mm field stop.

I doubt that I'll be wanting anything with a longer focal length for the present time, but it's good to know that after a certain diameter the field stop size will be important.

The skies here in Perth have been weird over the last few nights..........sometimes cloudy, but mostly hazy............which can be worse.:rolleyes:

I'm dying to get a look at Saturn but it still rises a bit too late for me at the moment, and I have a large high house to the East of me which doesn't help.:mad2:

I'm anticipating that planets will be awesome through this scope when seeing permits.:thumbsup:

Rob.

issdaol
02-04-2011, 01:04 PM
Hi Robz,

Nice to see the beast has finally arrived :)

I hope you are having a good time with it.

Cheers

robz
02-04-2011, 03:44 PM
G'day Phil!

She's a real beauty!:D

Soon Saturn will be on the cards and it's here that I will begin to start some serious observing as that's my main interest - planetary.

Deep sky is incredible...................it keeps on amazing me each time I set it up.:eyepop:

Hoping to get a good astro video cam to use with not only the DSO, but some planetary capture also.

Fun times ahead!:thumbsup:

Cheers,
Rob.

robz
06-04-2011, 01:58 PM
Went outside last night to turn off the front lawn reticulation system and................................ I seeeeeeeeeeeeeee youuuuuuuuuuuuu.................... .SATURN!!!!!....................... ..........................''THIRD LIGHT - PLANETARY''........................ .......COMING SOON !!!!!!! :computer:

But so is some brief bad weather................typical :rolleyes:

robz
26-04-2011, 08:52 PM
FINALLY!......................but only briefly, I managed a 15 minute session looking at Saturn before the clouds rolled in:rolleyes:............same thing...........a slight fogging up of stars, then a thin, visible cloud bank invading!
I started off at 108X..........and quickly decided on bumping up the power to 380X.
Anyhow, what I saw can only be described by this ::eyepop:
NEVER!.........and I repeat ''never'' in all the scopes I have owned or looked through, have I seen Saturn look so pin sharp that even my wife had a peek and came out with that famous phrase that we all love to hear:'' oh wow.............it looks like a picture.........I can't believe it''.:thumbsup:
The temperature difference must have been minor between inside the house and outside because the scope only had a 1.5 hour equalization period outside before I started observing.

The seeing must have been VERY good also as the image of the great ringed planet was indeed like a high quality photo............very sharp, color graduations on the surface were easily seen as well as some banding.
Unfortunately I did not get to study the ring system as the clouds made this impossible in no time at all.

I can now clearly and confidently say that the optics on these Meade ACF SCT's are absolutely outstanding:thumbsup:

issdaol
26-04-2011, 09:51 PM
Sounds great rob :-)

I wish I could swap my Canberra skies for W.A. Skies again :-(

robz
27-04-2011, 09:31 AM
Hi Phil, I'm in suburban Spearwood which has it's fair share of light polution.

On this particular peek at Saturn, the scope was pointing over the top of the neighbour's house who had people over and happened to have all his backyard lights on including those stupid old fashioned full sized coloured tungsten globes!:mad2:
The neighbour behind me had his backyard light on as well. He left it on all night and was never outside!!! :mad2:

I had some half bricks ready to go, but my wife stopped me!:rolleyes:.............she couldn't stop the profanities I mumbled to myself though.

Fortunately I was only doing planetary that night............D.S.O. would have been out of the question.

Know what you mean about the skies over here............you don't need a packed lunch and a keg to get you to a dark site ;)

Rob.