Meade LXD55 SN-6


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Brand and Model:Meade LXD55 SN-6
Price ($USD):$599 + $75
Type:Shmidt-Newtonian
Attributes: checked Go-To un-checked PEC
Aperture:152mm (6")
f Ratio:f/5
Focal Length:760mm
Finder:6x30
Electric Power:8batteries/12vDC car/115vAC home
Mount:LXD55
Tripod:aluminium
Weight (lbs):lbs.
Dimensions (w/h/d):
Description:dual-axis control system with digital readout display
9-speed drive controls
30,223-object celestial software library and automatic GO TO object-locating
Battery pack accepting eight (user-supplied) D-cells (optional 25 ft. cords permit powering from either 12vDC auto cigarette lighter plug or from 115vAC home outlet)

Meade's LXD55 Page

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Meade LXD55 SN-6
I haver used this scope now several times. The big surprise for me was that the optics in the scope were exceptional. Diffraction patterns identical in and out of focus with extremely smooth and well defined rings. The images are razor sharp about as sharp as the best scopes i have looked through this includes high end refractors. I bought it with rich field in mind and it is that but i never expected high resolution planatary. The mount is of very nice quality amazing for the price. It is very stable with the 6" optical tube dampens out in about 2 seconds. The only problem i had with this scope that kept it from being a ten is it is extremely picky in the set up of the mount and motor training to get it to goto objects accurately. I had to train the motors very carefully and align the optical axis plus it seemed to need to be very close to perfect polar alignment to get the best gotos. After this it was very accurate on the gotos. I highly reccommend this scope but be prepared to spend some time aligning the mount and training motors along with very good polar alignment to get good goto results.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:10 Mount:9 Ease of Use:7 Value:10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=113416


Meade LXD55 SN-6
Excellent optics. Capable of high power planetary and of course wide field. Central obstruction of 35% no larger than most Maks and SCTs. Better than a 6 inch SCT in all respects except ease of use due to larger size.Optics of SN easier to fabricate than a SCT hence SN better optical consistency and lower price It is a shame SNs are not being made any more. Easy to fabricate F5 spherical mirror with corrector plate to correct results in extremely good optics. Someone should come out with a SN with a small secondary optimised for high contrast. It would be an unbeatable combination resulting in refractor like images when used with a quality barlow to boost the F ratio and improve eyepiece performance with the F5 optics

Overall Rating: No Vote
Optics:10 Ease of Use:6 Value:9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=604775


Meade LXD55 SN-6
I have the OTA with UHTC coating on an Orion SVD mount, so I can't comment on the Meade LXD55 mount. As for the OTA: I was initially skeptical of an f/4 ratio in a mass produced scope. After putting it to the test, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the optics. Detail is good; certainly not in the same class as the best of the best, but still good. It splits the double-double; not a huge split, but a clear split. I have no complaints about the construction quality. Again, not the best of the best, but good. The Schmidt-Newtonian design, as done on this OTA, gives the user a nice, wide-field view along with good detail. For a relatively compact 6-inch OTA, this is a good choice. I am happy with it. Good. Not incredible, not fantastic, not amazing. Good.

Overall Rating: 7
Optics:7
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=484787


Meade LXD55 SN-6
Great OTA.
Mount ok but Meade do have QA issues.
Once the problems are solved (tightening things up, aligning polar scopes, RA and DEC axis alignment, Autostar ROM upgrades etc) everything is great.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:10 Mount:7 Ease of Use:7 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=145131

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