up for sale is my Meade 14"F10 OTA. This is the version before the ACF version, so it is known as the LX200R.
The LX200R's Ritchey-Chrétien optics are the improved version of the SCT, and the same as the ACF, which is designed to ensure that coma is not present and that stars are round to the edges of the field of view.
This is the Optical Tube Assembly (OTA) only, no mount. You would need a Losmandy G11, or a Skywatcher EQ8 at least to carry it, as shown in one of the pics attached here. From memory it weighs about 27kg's without any other gear atatched.
Optically, the mirror is very clean, no marks and the corrector is also very clean. The Ultra High Transmission Coatings (UHTC) improve contrast. The photos of the front corrector show this as a deep blue colour.
It has lost a small patch of blue paint on the tube,and also has a very minor indent as can just be seen int he photos. These don't affect the optical perfirmance of course.
The image of the NGC3372 region shows the double-lobed shape of the star, Eta Carina clearly.
Includes the Losmandy mounting plate at bottom, finderscope, and righ-angle prism.
It has a mirror lock to avoid mirror shift during focusing.
I used this for supernova searching and discovered a few of them between 2011 and 2018. This was done at F7 by the use of an Astrophysics focal reducer and CCD camera.
It can easily reach 18th magnitude or fainter in 30 seconds for my supernova searches under light polluted skies here at home near the Gold Coast.
A new OTA from Meade will cost about $10,500 plus freight, listing this one at $5,500, and I can deliver it in the SE Qld region. I have the packing boxes too.
To get an idea of the capablity of this scope size, the last image clearly shows Eta Carina as a double lobed structure next to the Keyhole Nebula...
Last edited by Greg Bock; 09-03-2023 at 02:13 PM.
Reason: price
