Hi BB,
I have the 12" The necessary mods cover both scopes.
1. A shroud is a must.
2. Replace the secondary collimation screws, with hand operated ones.
3. I had to replace the collimation springs in mine (as others have done) due to the originals being to soft, I'm not sure if this has been addressed by Meade (GSO).
I would have the end rings powder coated black (white in the light path is not a good idea)
I have fashioned a light/dew shield for the end of the scope.
Since installation I haven't lost one night because of dew.
Depending on the accessories that you fit, you'll have to add counter weights to balance the scope.
You can either buy commercially made ones or put together your own.
I can supply you with images of my mods if you wish.
Hi Astronut,
I have also just purchased a 12" version and wouldnt mind seeing a few pics of the mods you have done, I have add, bob's knobs to the secondary and main mirror, with your powder coating, did they strip off the old paint or did you do it,
haveing only looked one over once.. the thing that really stands out
is the size of the base.. doorways and it does pop up as a issue I notice..
but not to hard to fix i guess..I thought all the other bits looked quite manageable,very much so actually.
Hope you dont intend to use heavy premium ep's, the LB's are top heavy in
that respect and you'll need to add couterweights to the bottom end to fix it.
Something like 500gm ep 2.5kg counter weight.
For my LB16 I started off by adding an azimuth setting circle and a digital angle guage, replaced the red dot sight with a Rigel Quickfinder, and added a shroud.
I have a set of Bob's Knobs for the secondary on order - should be here in a day or so. The primary springs seem OK so far. I have read that Meade did improve these some time ago.
Last week I had the rings, attachements and tubes powder coated matt black. This took a bit less than a week, and cost $75. Others have paid less, so shop around. The sky has been full of cloud since then, so I can't tell how much improvement this has made.
I use a trolley with pneumatic tyres for moving the OTA around. I carry the base outside - it is a bit of a juggle to get through doorways, and I'm tempted to build a square base in ply, so that it fits through doorways more easily. I'm going to wait a bit on this one as I'm planning on building an equatorial platform in Jan/Feb, and this will replace the groundboard, so the new base will be made to suit. This will probably mean that I'll need a step ladder when pointed near the zenith. At present I can just manage without one.
In terms of eyepieces, PhilW lent me his TV Ethos while I was at Snake Valley in November and I have to say that this eyepiece delivers spectacular views in this telescope. I have one on order - hopefully it will turn up before Christmas (hmm, can I justify this as a Christmas present rather than use up my tax return?). I think that Kirsty considers PhilW a bad influence on me - but she should know by now that I'm quite capable of leading myself astray
I've added a shroud from Astrozap, which has sewn-in plastic strips to keep it out of the light path. I also picked up a couple of elasticised cloth 'caps' for both ends, which work well to keep dust out. Bob's knobs for the secondary, the primary springs seem fine to me. Powder coating for the struts and rings. The lowermost ring with the mirror holder I painted by hand because I didn't fancy mucking about with the big heavy mirror. Lockable furniture castors on the base make it easy to roll around at home and keep the wood clear of wet grass at night. The Argo Navis I found to be very helpful for finding a whole range of things I would take forever to find myself.
For counterweights I currently use barbell weights in a moneypouch, wrapped around the base. This works OK, but a more elegant system attached to the base would be best.
Having said all that, the scope is fine out of the box, and you can take your time to add what you feel you need.
Peter,
Here are some of the mods I've made.
The dew shield is made out of H.I.P.S - High Impact Polystyrene Sheet.
With the Shield, 9x50 finder, Shroud, I have to use 2.5kg weight on the upper part of the bottom tube and 1.25kg on the under side.
The scope is balanced almost perfectly, I just use the alt brake to steady the scope for viewing.
For a more elegant weight system go to Farpoints site, they have just started production of these weights.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Loupy31
Hi Astronut,
I have also just purchased a 12" version and wouldnt mind seeing a few pics of the mods you have done, I have add, bob's knobs to the secondary and main mirror, with your powder coating, did they strip off the old paint or did you do it,
Considering the amount of money you pay for these things, it amazes me
that you have to do all these mod just to get it working properly. IMO the
scope should come to you slightly bottom heavy, it's take less weight to
counter at the top end.
The amount of money is relative. Per inch they are still darn cheap.
Go price up a 12" or 16" SCT one day?
Yep it is all relative. I paid a little over double what a 16" lb is worth and got myself a 15" SDM which is rolls-royce in every respect. I figured that if I would pay 3k for a scope, I may as well pay more and not have to deal with niggles that would bug me every time i used the scope.
The amount of money is relative. Per inch they are still darn cheap.
I dont entirely agree with that analogy. Especially when you can pick up a
GSO in the 12" $599.00 cheaper than it's equal in the Light Bridge. In reality
all they did was cut some of the tube away and put in a $599.00 set of poles
with all the quirks that come along too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sejanus
Go price up a 12" or 16" SCT one day?
A SCT is an entirely different beast. Personally I would never buy one to
use as a purely visual instrument.
I'm with Starkler, rather spend the extra and go to SDM for a 16". Or even
better just buy the mirror and build it yourself. Even if you brought the same
16" mirror from GSO. You could build (and I think easily) a better scope for
under the same price than what Meade has on offer with the LB
I dont entirely agree with that analogy. Especially when you can pick up a
GSO in the 12" $599.00 cheaper than it's equal in the Light Bridge. In reality
all they did was cut some of the tube away and put in a $599.00 set of poles
with all the quirks that come along too.
which is essential to make it fit into the average car for transport
Quote:
A SCT is an entirely different beast. Personally I would never buy one to
use as a purely visual instrument.
I'm with Starkler, rather spend the extra and go to SDM for a 16". Or even
better just buy the mirror and build it yourself. Even if you brought the same
16" mirror from GSO. You could build (and I think easily) a better scope for
under the same price than what Meade has on offer with the LB
I probably will buy an 18 or 20 sdm one day, but in the interim - what I paid for the lightbridge is a heck of a lot cheaper than anything out there. Not everyone wants to build a scope, I don't have time. All I have done to my lightbridge is put wheels on it, replaced secondary screws, and 1 weight at the bottom. I don't consider that a huge amount of mucking around
which is essential to make it fit into the average car for transport
Buy a trailor with the money you save, and put all ya gear on it but I
think your missing the point.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sejanus
All I have done to my lightbridge is put wheels on it, replaced secondary screws, and 1 weight at the bottom. I don't consider that a huge amount of mucking around
And my point is... You shouldn't have to do anything out of the box
anyways I'm not going to argue with you about it. If you think your getting
a good deal and your happy with, then that's all good
I think it should be better out of the box as well, if you look at my old threads you will see my frustration when heavy eyepieces unsettled the weight - all I mean is even taking into account you need a few little mods, they are still damn good value
