Lxd75 sc8

[2014ferril]

I'm considering an LXD75 SC8 as my first scope (buying from USA). Are there any problems with the mount?

P.S first post

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Hi and welcome
A couple of things. Firstly, be careful buying from US. If you are buying from a genuine Meade dealer, they usually will not ship to Australia, so you may find you are buying from a unauthorised dealer, so you could find yourself on your own as far as warranty is concerned, or if the scope or mount get damaged in shipping. Local resellers may not be keen to assist in these cases. Also be aware that you will probably have to pay duty/GST to get gear through customs, so price may not be significantly cheaper.
I am not in a position to comment on the mount, although I can make this observation. The LXD75 mount is one that I have not seen being used at observing nights. It certainly is virtually unknown as an imaging mount.
Can I ask what factors are influencing you to look at this setup and what you are looking at doing with it!

Malcolm

[midnight (Darrin)]

Welcome to IIS!

Can you please let us know if it's for viewing only or do you plan on doing any astro photography?

I own a LXD55 which Meade very quietly superceded with the LXD75 as the LXD55 did have many teething issues.

The LXD55 and 75 are very similar except that the LXD75 has a much sturdier tripod and uses a different bearing arrangement (ball bearing from memory) to the LXD55 which uses Teflon.

For visual purposes, it is satisfactory. The Autostar 497 is well supported by Meade and was used on the much more expensive 200 series a few years ago. However, I find with the Autostar, you really need to get your tripod level and pointing south with a good level of accuracy and enter your time accurately for your location otherwise the alignment can fail in Autostar.

For photography, the tripod is not recommended. I battle with mine and even after a hypertune (much better than factory) it still struggles with the RA jumping a few pixels on my camera. LXD75 can be autoguided via Ascom and this makes it much more bearable. Typically the LXD55/75 are good for piggyback photography.

Personally, I would not hesitate to recommend it to a starter if mainly for visual simply because price wise it is competitive and OTA is generally very good quality. Autostar is nice and easily run via a PC. And you can upgrade your tripod later if you feel to say EQ5/6 types which seem very popular here on IIS.

Anyway, my 2 cents worth. I can't really comment on other scopes as I have rarely used them (except a LX200GPS a few years ago quite regularly when I lived in QLD).

Good luck and don;t forget customs will hit you with 5% duty then charge an AQIS fee and custom handling fee then GST is then applied to the whole lot (ie after customs fee added) and customs also include the delivery cost in the GST. Finally, customs will convert the US dollar on the day they receive it! Very important if the US dollar goes up and our AU$ drops as the delivery could be weeks and you're effectively taking a punt on the money market.

Here are some of my "beginner" examples. They are certainly not award winning by a country mile but might help you in your judgement. As I said, if you want to do photography I would recommend you invest your money in a better tripod. BTW, my LXD55 is a 8" SN.

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=72045

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=65244

Darrin...

[2014ferril]

I'm planning to use the mount for imaging planets and some DSOs. I'm not getting it shipped to aus but instead I am getting a friend to pick it up while he is over there.I may end up getting an 8se and building a wedge as there are some pretty nice pictures around and it is a much cheaper telescope (around $400).

[tonybarry (Tony)]

Setting up a GEM (such as the LXD75-SC8) requires some more effort than setting up an equivalent size Alt-Az Goto mount (such as the LX90-8") which has the same optical tube assembly.

You will find that the LXD75 is a good mount for visual use, once you have mastered the star alignment process. Mastering the process requires patience, and perhaps the Springer book on the subject. I found the book to be much better than the Meade-supplied manual.

Personally, I have found the LX90-8" a better scope; it is quite robust and compact; the alignment process is dead simple (where the LXD75 process is not as easy); the only downside to the LX90 is that the fork mount base is quite close to the eyepiece / camera end of the scope OTA, and clearance is a problem with cameras.

There are more LX90-8" out there (in use) than LXD75s. I've seen four at my local club (WSAAG) but only one LXD55 (and that was under a carport roof, for sale).

As always, consider carefully your options, but it's better to learn by doing than always waiting for the perfect scope first up.

I have had four scopes; the first was an 8" f/4 newt on a non-goto, non driven GEM. I learned that it was too hard to find stuff with this device.

The second was an ETX80 3" f4 refractor on a goto fork mount. I learned that goto is the Answer for me.

The third was an LX90-8"GPS, which is still in use and really has been a great machine. I learned that more aperture is great, but the the accompanying size and weight is not nice at all (unless you have an observatory).

The fourth is an SN-10 10" f/4 Schmitt Newtonian on an LXD75. It awaits an obs. to be set up in, as it cannot handle winds and requires extended time in initial setup.

Perhaps the best advice I have had is that from Rod Mollise (search for his guide to used CATs) - he says the best scope is the one you use.

I wish you the best in your investigations. It's a fascinating hobby / pursuit. And one of the few areas where amateurs can make valid contributions to research.

Regards,
Tony Barry

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Even if a friend brings it back with them it is still subject to customs and these are quite bulky items, make sure they are aware of the bulk and any excess luggage charges that may apply.