LXD75 8 SN mods

[virmana]

Hi All

I need to change my rack & pinion focuser for a nice crayford and noticed this one over on ebay : JMI NGF DX2 Low Profile Crayford 2" Focuser
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....MEBI%3AIT&rd=1
does anyone know of any issues with whacking these onto an LXD75 8inch SN?
Also, I'd like to get a new ra finder and wondered if anyone has taken a look at the Stellarvue 9x50 wide angle finders? or could recommend a ra finder?

Thanks in advance

James

[Stu]

You have definitely chosen a great scope! I know I might sound like I am a Meade employee sometimes but that is the best mount in that price range. Hopefully it's only a month before I have mine too! I keep changing my mind about which scope I'll get though.

The only tip I have with the focuser is to check that the travel is the same the old one. Sometimes the low profile ones have less travel. Bolting it on shouldn't be too much of a problem, you may have to drill a few holes though.

[virmana]

Hi Stu

what are you going for? 8 or 10? I hear the 10s are a bit wobbly

Rgds

James

[atalas]

Hi James, thats a great price for that crayford If you can get It for that ! good luck .

Cheers


Louie

[virmana]

thanks Louie, it's up to
US $128.76
AU $170.14
with 12 hours to go, they sell this for AU430 at you know who

I'm also going for a
Tele Vue 4.8 mm Nagler eyepiece 82°

which is at
GBP 67.00
AU $155.81

with 7 hours to go

I love ebay

I have one of the deluxe versions with motor drive on my SN10 and it works beautifully. It does fit the bolts on your scope, but I found I had to take my corrector plate off to ensure the focuser was lined up properly with the OTA. No big deal as long as you mark the position of the corrector. Also keep the original plastic "washer", for the want of another word and use it on the outside of the OTA. I found the piece of foam that comes with the JMI useless, also when collimating the focuser, the collimating screws tend to dent the ota as well, that is why I used the plastic washer on the outside as a base for the collimating screws to bite into.
On my SN10, meade placed a mark opposite the focuser on the inside of the OTA which I assume was meant to indicate the centre of the focuser for lining up purposes. Mine was incorrect and I had to make another mark. Once again no big deal, but it pays to check.
One thing is for sure, the crayford is a huge improvement over the plastic offering that Meade installed. As far as focuser travel goes, no problems at all, I do find that I occasionally have to use the 2" extension tube that should come with it as standard. Also this focuser does not intrude into the light path unlike the original.
Hope this helps

Peter

Attached is a photo of my JMI focuser, it is motorised which I believe is a must.

I meant to add this one on the previous post. sorry about that.

[virmana]

Hi Peter

I lost the auction so I went ahead and ordered a JMI deluxe from optcorp in the states, couldn't stretch to the motor driven though. Thanks for your advice, how are you finding the 10 inch? The guy at bintel warned me off it as he said the mount wasn't stable enough. Also did you replace the finder?

Thanks

James

The 10" is fine, and the focuser works a treat. It is too heavy for the mount, and probably is for the lxd75 mount as well. I have it on my Losmandy G11 and it is fine on that. I replaced the finder with a Antares right angled illuminated finder and that is one helluva lot better than the meagre offering that was on the scope originally. I also replaced the secondary adjustment allen headed screws with proper hand operated ones from Scopestuff. They were about half the price of "Bobs Knobs"
In the proper hands, the scope is very good, Itchy from this forum is testament to that, if you go onto his site, you will see some great photos.
Oh yeah, I paid $600 here in Adelaide for mine from the same place I purchased the telescope, got ripped off something cronic (about $150), that was before I was aware of what you could and couldnt bring in from overseas and price limitations etc before you pay gst/customs. The motorised versions are I think $309USD add about $30 for shipping and it is less than $450AUD after the dollar conversion.