Meade Lightbridge 10" f/5. Mods include Bobs Knobs, 4 wheels , 2 locking, and removed stock finder and added a telrad.
This scope will soon be for sale (minus the telrad) as I am changing from dob to SCT. I think aperture of the 10" is a great size as its not so hefty but gives you that big sky brightness of DSO's . I found it keeps collimation well if pulled down (hint ...I numbered the trusses so they go into the same spots.)
Last edited by opensea64; 11-05-2014 at 08:42 PM.
Reason: adding photo is failing :(
Neat Ian, Do you plan to use the starlock for astrophotography. It would be interesting to hear how it performs. Congrats.
Joshua, it will indeed be used for astrophotography. I've got two custom made wedges being built. The portable unit is along the lines of the old and almost impossible to get hold of ulti-wedge. The second wedge is for a permanent pier and is being made out of 20mm thick Chrome Molly, which has 1/2 the flexure of Aluminium and greater inherent stability. Both wedges make the new Meade wedge look like a kids toy.
Initial tests of the starlock system are very good with good tracking in Alt-Az mode. I expect things to get far better when it's on a wedge.
Here is my ED80 gold pro .
GSO dual speed and the modded mount , and a celestron 17mm Ultima lx
Got this off Barry , great little scope these
I grab this a lot , bit easyer than the big dob
I finally have all the pieces sorted out on my new setup. It's a TeleVue NP101is on a Discmounts DM4. I used an Orion Atlas tripod with the 8" extender to help clear the tripod legs. I just added the TeleVue Starbeam finder and a Kendrick dew controller, plus a Sky Wire cable that allows me to plug the iPhone into the XP4 box on top of the mount, so then I can use Sky Safari to point my way around the sky.
Total weight comes in at 21kg, so still light enough for me to move the setup outside without any trouble. Performance of the scope and mount is really nice, and the 4.8 degree field of view throws a completely different perspective on things. I am noticing objects I didn't see before because they were sitting outside of the narrower field in my Dob. So I am quite pleased with how the Dob and Refractor complement each other.
Just thought I'd post a pic of my new scope. There is a bit of work remaining to install it next to the Mewlon 250 and then balance the whole "box and dice".
Sitting on the box are, from the left, the field flattener, the tele-compressor (makes the scope F 4.7) and a 68mm dia. spacer.
Balance and mounting:
Second pic shows the two scopes on the mounting plate. Static balance at the centre of the EM400 drive boss is excellent. Fine balance (L to R) is achieved by sliding the EDF scope as the Mewlon scope is fixed.
Last edited by The_Cat; 08-06-2014 at 02:23 PM.
Reason: Added picture and some text.
Just thought I'd post a pic of my new scope. There is a bit of work remaining to install it next to the Mewlon 250 and then balance the whole "box and dice".
Sitting on the box are, from the left, the field flattener, the tele-compressor (makes the scope F 4.7) and a 68mm dia. spacer.
Beautiful scope Jeremy, should go well with the µ-250. (Nice area you live in also. I built some houses around there in the late 70s at OneTreeHill and outside Gawler)
Beautiful scope Jeremy, should go well with the µ-250. (Nice area you live in also. I built some houses around there in the late 70s at OneTreeHill and outside Gawler)
Thank you Matt. I used to have a TOA-150 but this scope is much lighter and will be used for field trips. It just took a bit of patience waiting for it.
Yes the area is very nice but over the years the light pollution is getting worse making taking better photos more difficult so much so I may have to turn my effort to narrowband imaging.
... It's a TeleVue NP101is on a Discmounts DM4. I used an Orion Atlas tripod with the 8" extender to help clear the tripod legs. ...
Very very nice telescope and eyepiece combination the views will be pristine.
... Total weight comes in at 21kg, so still light enough for me to move the setup outside without any trouble ...
Weight matters. I got rid of a scope because of weight issues. 21kg is is just over the weight of a jerry can full of water not light!!
.. outside of the narrower field in my Dob. So I am quite pleased with how the Dob and Refractor complement each other ...
Wide angle views in that refractor of yours would be "something" with excellent contrast. i also have a dob ( Skywatcher 10" goto dob). These dobs are perfect as a grab and go scope and so easy to setup and use.
Clear skies,
Jerry.
Last edited by The_Cat; 08-06-2014 at 08:41 AM.
Reason: Add salutation
I don't know how many of the 12" LX-600s there are in the country but I'm guessing this is one of the first. I know one guy's got a 14" as it arrived on the same shipment as mine. I do know there's a couple of 10" and at least one 12" LX-850.
I'm still waiting for Meade to supply the essential accessories such as an extra counterweight or two, Meade Dewshield and microfocuser.
Hi Jeremy, thanks for the kind words. Yes 21 kg is heavier than I would prefer, but over half of that is in the tripod plus the 8" extension which weighs a ton. On the flip side I get no image vibration when using the scope which was one of my main goals.
I hope you get to put an eyepiece in that beautiful AP130, don't let your camera have all the fun. I started with astronomy near you and still remember how dark and transparent the sky is in SA.
Hi Jeremy, thanks for the kind words. Yes 21 kg is heavier than I would prefer, but over half of that is in the tripod plus the 8" extension which weighs a ton. On the flip side I get no image vibration when using the scope which was one of my main goals.
I hope you get to put an eyepiece in that beautiful AP130, don't let your camera have all the fun. I started with astronomy near you and still remember how dark and transparent the sky is in SA.
Greetings Alan,
Yes I have a couple of eyepieces to view stuff - a TMB 30mm one that works exceedingly well with refractors and some older Vixen ones that are surprisingly good. I mainly use the Dob for visual stuff.
Yes once upon a time we had dark skies but Adelaide and the Barossa Valley are catching up with us. Fast.
Weight is a big issue with me as I do not have an observatory so every time I want to image I have to "build" everything on the pier in the late afternoon then dismantle the setup when I've finished. Interestingly the whole telescope/mount load weighs in at about 70kg and is fixed to the pier with 3 3/8" grub screws!!
