[Quark (Trevor)]

Hi Brian,

I have a 12" LB but I think the more conventional design of the Orion utilizing 4 sets of struts is far superior. I still cannot believe that Meade would go with only 3 sets of struts. It is possible for the LB to hold collimation but I have to be very gentle with it.

I note that many seem happy with the LB design, perhaps I am less tolerant than most and I expect my scopes to perform. Too many amateurs make excuses for poor performance and blame the seeing instead of the short comings of there scope or mount.

I think using only 3 sets of struts would become an even greater issue when going to a larger aperture.

I have a 16" Meade Starfinder on my own GEM in my observatory, it is highly modified and works well, the difference in mass between the 12" and 16" primary mirrors is substantial. The difference in size and mass of the secondary mirrors is even more significant, definitely requiring a superior truss design to that of the LB, at least in my opinion.

Regards
Trevor