[Irish stargazer (John)]

Hi Steve

I picked up a 12" Lightbridge last year from Bintel. It's a pretty decent scope with easy setup and decent optics. It does needs a few basic upgrades though to make it even better. Replace the main mirror springs with bobs knob springs and the secondary collimation screws with bobs knobs screws. You will also need counterweights (I use the farpoint weight set from Bintel). This will add another $100 or so onto the scope but it is worth every cent.
The skywatcher dobs are supposed to very good also. I bought the Meade due to its smaller breakdown to fit in our car.

John