Meade Catadioptric Telescopes

  LX200 LX50 LX10 ETX
7″ 8″ 10″ 12″ 16″ 7″ 8″ 10″ 8″ 3.5″
f 15 6.3 10 6.3 10 10 10 15 10 10 10 13.8
Focal length 2670 1280 2000 1600 2500 3048 4064 2670 2000 2500 2000 1250
Aperture 178 203 254 305 406 178 203 254 203 90
Secondary 48 88 76 102 94 102 127 48 76 94 76 28
Obstruction 27% 43% 37% 40% 37% 33% 31% 27% 37% 37% 37% 31%
Type Mak SCT SCT SCT SCT Mak SCT SCT SCT Mak
Drive fully computer controlled; 64359 object library; automatic GO TO capability powered dual axis slow motion sidereal-rate tracking only
Altaz yes no
Polar yes with optional wedge yes
Eyepiece 26mm Plossl 25mm MA 26mm Plossl
Finder 8×50 6×30 8×50 6×30 8×21
RS232 yes no
Power 18v DC (AC adapter incl.) 6 AA batteries 4 AA 3 AA
Weight 52 41 58 70 120 49 38 55 26 9
Tripod standard heavy optional standard light
Tripod price $295 $195
Price $3295 $2795 $3195 $4495 $14950 $1795 $1395 $1695 $995 $595
Image 104k gif 48k gif 252k gif 52k gif 56k gif   12k jpg

Notes

f
focal ratio
Focal Length
Aperture
Secondary
millimeters
Obstruction
Secondary diameter divided by Aperture (linear)
Type
Mak=Maksutov-Cassegrain; SCT=Schmidt-Cassegrain
Drive
LX10 optional Dec motor $85; ETX w/o drive costs $395
Altaz
visual operation in Altitude/Azimuth mode
Polar
photo/visual operation in equatorial mode; LX200 (7/8/10″) standard wedge $139, Super-wedge (10/12″) $495; optional field-derotator for 16″ available
Eyepiece
all 1.25″ barrels
Finder
all straight-through viewing; ETX is erect image
RS232
accepts ASCII commands from an external computer
Power
12v auto cigarette lighter adapters available
Weight
pounds, heaviest single component only (OTA and forks); tripods add significantly
Tripod
standard is height adjustable, heavy is larger, light is not adjustable, 16″ comes with a huge tripod or a permanent pier
Price
US dollars, shipping & handling additional, as of summer 1998
This data is taken from Meade’s glossy marketing catalog.

More info

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Bill Arnett; last updated: 2001 Mar 1