| 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
- Meade has a WWW Page and a BBS (714-474-6611). Meade also manufactures various refractors and inexpensive Dobsonian and equatorially mounted Newtonians.
- Ed Stewart’s excellent LX200 Topical Archive
- Doc G’s Info Site
- MAPUG is a mailing list devoted to Meade products.
- You can order a Meade catalog online from Efston Science.
- acronyms frequently used in Meade discussions on line
- LX200 schematics and other interesting stuff from Brandon S. Jones
- How to hook your LX200 to a computer.
- Astronomer’s Control Panel, a very neat way to control your scope with your computer
- Satellite TrackerSatellite Tracking Software
- Everything I know about the 1812 DC-DC converter
- a dew heater for an LX200
- the Jiffy Focuser (It really works! 🙂
- LX200 command set
- comments on the ETX by Mike Weasner.
- Infogenie plugin for Starry Night
Other “GOTO” mounts
- Celestron Ultima 2000
- SkySensor 2000 (for GP mounts) (review)
- Sky Probe 1000 (for G11 mounts and others)
- DigitalSky Voice (for AP 1200 mount)
- Paramount GT-1100 (very expensive, from Software Bisque)
Bill Arnett; last updated: 2001 Mar 1