My LXD55 Review and Thoughts by David P. Sherfy 4/19/03

Meade LXD55 Mount and OTA's

Meade has recently upped the bar in "perceived" value and performance in amateur astronomy packages with the introduction of the LXD55 series of scopes. I say "perceived" because as with any product introduction, there are both real and un-realistic expectations of performance / cost relationship. This review will focus more on the mount with basic info on the optics. I currently own and use both the SN10 10" reflector and the AR6 6" refractor.

Having said that, the mount is available with a wide variety of OTA's that should offer something for just about anyone looking for a scope under the $1500.00 price point. The OTA's include an 8" SCT, 5" and 6" AR series refractors and 6", 8" and 10" reflectors. Optical performance on all of the scopes seems to be very good.

The reflectors employ a spherical primary with a front-end corrector plate that results in a very fast f/4 and f/5 scope with very little coma. Great wide field views. The low f/ratio does require a more careful collimation for optimum views. Optional UHTC (Ultra High Transmission Coatings) can be ordered on each of these scopes (Newtonians Only) - highly advisable. More technical information regarding the UHTC options, what they include, their performance value can be read about in detail at Meade's website (www.meade.com). Suffice it to say that scopes with the UHTC option will most likely fetch a higher re-sale value should you ever decide to part with your scope.

With proper collimation and cool down, these scopes offer wide field views with pinpoint stars throughout the entire FOV - all but the very edge.

The AR series refractors (f/9 and f/8) employ a doublet objective that has collimation adjustments available for the 6" - not on the 5". Both scopes offer exceptional contrast and nice pinpoint stars against a velvet black background. Again, complete technical specifications can be seen at Meade's web site.

Back to the mount: There has been a lot of discussion throughout the amatuer community that this mount will NOT handle the load of the 10" reflector or the 6" refractor. I have been using mine since June of 2002 and have yet to incur a problem related to mount / OTA weight load. Proper balancing is a must as it is with any good scope / mount combination. The tripod is your standard three legged / three tubes per leg aluminum unit. In it's stock form, I was very uncomfortable with the "feel" of the combination. I do not like the sense that the system is top heavy and may be easily toppled. The mount, tripod and OTA worked very well together and showed damping times in the range of 3-5 seconds. There have been reams of information presented in the user groups regarding the mount and tripod and available modifications and enhancements.

You may want to check out the "Tips&Tricks" guide and the "Mods&Enhancements" file posted in the files section of the LXD55Telescope group at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LXD55telescopes/. The Tips&Tricks guide offers suggestions to solve the most common problems associated with these scopes, head off potential new problems and acts as a supplement to the included Meade owner's manual.

If you are willing to invest a little sweat equity and around $50-$75, you can make the mount fairly "rock solid" and bring damping times down to under 2-3 seconds. I achieved this by mixing a thick slurry of Quickset Tile Mortar (available at Home Depot or Lowes) and filled the outer two tubes of each of the three legs. In the center tube, I used the same mixture with the additon of 6-7 pounds of #8 lead shot (available at any sporting goods / gun shop). This not only made the legs much more rigid, iIt also significantly lowered the center of gravity of my mount so that I no longer have any fear of the scope being knocked over. Not a bad value! If you find you can't live with the tripod there are other numerous "third party" options available from other vendors - check the users groups.

The real bonus is that the mount is controlled by two robust motors which are controlled by the Meade AutoStar 497 hand computer / controller. The mount includes an internal polar finder scope and all the usual dials and adjustments. Once the polar scope and OTA are aligned to the mount, you do a casual polar alignment and then let the AutoStar do it's "One Star Align" procedure, you are off to viewing any of the thousands of cataloged object in the AutoStar's database. Based upon your location, time and date, it will even offer "Guided Tours" of the best objects to view when you are set up. You can also manually move the scope to an object using the arrow keys on the hand controller and select "Identify" to identify the object in the eyepiece. Downloads of custom tours, updates for new objects such as comets can be downloaded via computer into the AutoStar. You can even write your own tours and catalog you favorite custom objects. Included with the package is a CD of Starry Night, which is a fairly nice astro viewing program. You will probably want to upgrade this to a full version - which also gives you scope control from your laptop if you care to do so. The DEC and RA locks can also be released and the scope moved manually if you prefer.

After a little practice, I find it takes me three trips from the house or car to my viewing location to get set up. First I take out the tripod and head assembly, next the weights and accessories, and then the OTA. From start - to - viewing (including Polar Alignment and AutoStar alignment) is about 15-20 minutes. The learning curve was about 7 days that included practice setups and alignments in the living room as well as outside.

The AutoStar includes a "High Precision" mode which is very helpful in finding those "faint fuzzies" that are not visible with the naked eye. There is also a "Synch" feature that allows you to fine tune its accuracy for any given part of the sky. Another handy feature is the "Spiral Search" mode that initiated a slow methodical spiral search of the area you are directed to so that you can check out surrounding objects or home in on that elusive DSO.

In my setup, it is a rare occasion when the object selected is not placed close to center of the FOV and held there for 15 - 20 minutes. Of course this can be improved upon if you want to perform a drift alignment.

There have been a lot of horror stories and posts in the user groups about the quality of these mounts and the level of frustration imparted to the owners. Most of these issues can be traced to less than perfect manufacturing and less than adequate quality control at Meade and damage during shipping from Meade to you or the dealer. The mounts are manufactured in China and imported by Meade. I am sure that the huge backorder plays some part in that there is not more inspections and more quality control at the present time.

Two of the most common issues can be tracked down to either damaged or loose encoder wheels or loose gears on the motor shafts. Both of these can usually be fixed simply by tightening or better yet - replacing the stock soft aluminum set screws that come from the factory. For those mounts needing warranty replacement or return, Meade customer service has been responsive through their toll free 800#. You may experience a delay in receipt of parts or replacements and turnaround due to the huge backorder situation, but my experience shows it will be taken care of. In most cases, Meade will even issue a call tag for return shipping should you have to ship a unit back to the factory.

Keep in mind that the majority of these scopes are dropped ship directly from Meade to you. A lot of the dealers probably have not even had a chance to work with the scope and will be of little assistance in trouble shooting problems. The better dealers will have them on display where you can see and try before you buy. Some will even offer set-up and testing before you take it home. Again, availability is the issue on the larger scopes.

Meade has a real winner here with an exceptional value package. If they ever get all the quality control issues ironed out (and from the posts, they seem to be getting better) and the minor bugs addressed - this scope package will be the one to beat. Out of the box, this is a real deal but not near what it could be with a little tweaking. Take this package to a local star party and then stand back and watch as the crowd migrates to your location.

Meade AR6 modifications follow-up:

3/24/2003

Just got in from a short 3 hour session with my recently completed tuned up AR6. Had fabulous views of the Beehive, Double Cluster, a couple of doubles, Jupiter, Saturn and the Orion Nebula.

This was the first chance to get out with the AR6 since I completed several "enhancements" to it. The mount ran flawlessly putting all targets within the FOV (very close to dead center) of the 12.5mm Orion Epic EP. I stayed with this ep most of the night. The Epic line of ep's offer impressive performance at a very affordable price. Their feel and finish is first rate, they have extremely good eye-relief and the views are outstanding - edge to edge in both the SN10 and the AR6. My usual One Star / Two Star alignment method used. Typical set up time from decision to view to viewing is about 20 minutes (not including cool down time). This scope set-up is very, very solid - I'm looking forward to getting into some ccd work. Tracking held all targets within the center of the FOV for 15-20 minutes (this was a quick setup and alignment). That was a blessing as I had lots of neighbors over wanting to look - this seems to happen alot when I have either of these scopes out in the front yard. There is something magical about watching the goto function of this scope slew the big tube around and then "zero in" on its target.

The AR6 had been flocked inside the OTA and the focuser tube with short cut pile adhesive velvet. The dew shield also was flocked and now has 5 light baffles. Focuser had been "squared" to the OTA and objective collimated using a laser and cheshire ep. This gave near textbook perfect airy discs when defocusing on stars. Using a Williams Optics 2" diagonal with their matching 2" Minus Violet filter resulted in almost no extraneous false color at all on stars and no halos around Jupiter and Saturn. Clear banding was visible on Jupiter with some cloud patterns visible. Saturn exhibited clear banding on planet and Cassini Division sharp as a tack. JMI MotoFocus on standard AR6 focuser worked like a charm. I'm still waiting on Burgess 200a Focuser - however, I may not need it. Image shift was barely noticeable with the stock setup. I also added about 2 pounds of weight to the focus cell to move the entire OTA assembly farther toward the sky in the rings.

Although the horizons were very milky with light pollution, the views in the AR6 are DRAMATICALLY better than they were a week ago before the modifications.

This scope is a lot easier to handle than the SN10 and the views are awesome. However, there is no comparison with the SN10 when it comes to DSO's and wide field viewing. DSO's that are normally highly visible in the SN10 just do not resolve in the AR6. Both scopes have their place and the stock focuser on the AR6 seems a lot better than the stock focuser on the SN10 (stay tuned... I'm about to mount a Williams Optics Newtonian Crayford on my SN10) - but aperture rules.... it is very clear if you look through the AR6 and then move to the SN10. If DSO's are your cup of tea... then make the leap from the AR6 to the SN10. You will not be disappointed.

I would strongly recommend... based on what I've seen that if you are considering the AR5 (refractors are your weakness) save a bit and go for the AR6 - it's more aperture and the objective lens is set up so you can collimate it for perfect views - the AR5 has no adjustments. The cradle ring assembly is also heavier and has more capability for supporting other accessories.

I see a place for both scopes if you can swing it. Sell the extra mount to finance the second OTA. And of course there is the issue of aesthetics... The AR6 certainly is an impressive looking piece of equipment when set up. Not that the SN10 isn't - but the AR series surely looks like a real telescope.

Once set up, my 13-year-old daughter has no problem using it but it would be hard for her to set it up. Check the size and weights of the components to make sure you can handle the scope if you are considering the AR6 or the SN10.


Check out Davids LXD55 pictures here >>

Would I recommend either of these scopes to a friend? YES!

Would I buy it again? Definately!

Good Viewing...

David P. Sherfy