Meade LX-90 8"

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Meade LX-90 8"
Just wanted to address the person who had rated this telescope a 1. The same person posted as a LX-10 owner (based on "user ID") earlier and on the LX-10 page. The LX-90 is $550 more expensive than a LX-10 Deluxe (comes with a dual-axis drive corrector and 8x50 mm viewfinder and NOW a free tripod). I guess the question is, do you think the Autostar feature is worth that (since the optics are the same). Similar to the decision to make regarding if the LX-200 is worth the additional cost over the LX-90.

But just because you might want that feature doesn't mean you are being "duped". Not everyone wants to spend hours just trying to find things in the sky (although they could with the LX-90 if they wanted to). You can enjoy the view of the Grand Canyon without driving yourself there.

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Meade LX-90 8"
Very disappointing ! this scope will not perform the tasks it's advertised capable of!Astrophotography of a long exposure nature is near impossible without major modifications to the equatorial wedge supplied ! Dec. & RA motors are very loud ! slewing speeds are mismatched between Dec. & RA when attempting to guide! Scope can not be leveled easily ! Yes the ad is too good to be true!!! L X is supposed to stand for long exposure according to Meade I NOW COSIDER THAT TO BE FALSE ADVERTISING,@$#$$%%$%)<>JT%D Caveat Emptor!!!!

Overall Rating: 4
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Meade LX-90 8"
I've owned a bunch of scopes including a Celestar 8 deluxe, Vixen 8" VISAC, Intes-Micro MN56 & Intes MN61 Mak-Newts, Photon 127 refractor, etc. The LX90 is my first GOTO scope. The bottom line is that the LX90 is a lot of performance for the buck. My scope was purchased in early June, 2001 and is running 2.1Ek software. GOTO targeting is right on every time. If some folks are reporting problems, its probably because they simply need to "calibrate" and "train" the Autostar.. easily done and then you forget it. I've not attempted any photography with the scope, but as a visual instrument, it is an excellent GOTO package. I suspect with a little effort, it will be a decent photo package also inspite of some of the comments in other posts on this site. Just check out the LX90 users group and you will find lots of imaging files. IT is not an LX200 as far as mount stability or precision, but it is pretty darn solid and stable for its weight and portability... and certainly up to the task it was designed for.

The optics on my LX90 are very good. My sample is definitely better than my Celestron was. Star test is very good. Here in New Mexico, when skies are fairly steady, I can easily split 0.8 arc sec separation of 24 Ophiuchus double with a 9mm Ortho. Eps Lyra double-double is a piece of cake at around 100X (18mm). Deep sky objects are much more satisfying than through my 6" mak-newt. Of course the mak-newt star images walk all over ANY SCT. Lunar detail and resolution is not far behind the Mak-newt. Views of Mars are pretty good - not as good as in a Mak-newt, but closer to the Mak-newt than I had expected. Generally, I'm very pleased with the optics of this LX90 (and I'm pretty picky). It's important to let the tube "cool down" .. I usually wait about 30 minutes this time of year.

Scope seems to track well, although I do notice a little vibration at high powers... There is also some image shift from the primary mirror focusing mechanism at high powers (but this is typical of almost all SCT's). Battery life is excellent !! And batteries are convenient to replace. Tripod very solid - same as on the LX200. Motors only make significant noise when slewing at high speed. Slower slewing speeds and tracking speeds are barely audible. Autostar has powerful database with lots of information and features, although it has its quirks too... I do not like having to scroll through lots fo names in some of the menus (no alphabet keys). Clearance with some 2" diagonals and other accessories will be a problem when looking at objects close to zenith... they hit the base.

I've found there is no "perfect" scope that does everything well. If I want to concentrate on splitting tight doubles, I'm going to use my Mak-Newt on my Losmandy GM8. If planetary detail is the goal for the evening, I'll probably use the mak-newt for that also. If I want to concentrate on DSO's, the 8" aperture of the LX90 will be my choice. If I want to do wide field scans of the Milky Way, I'll use the MN56. If I was going to use JUST ONE scope and wanted to take in a variety of objects and do it with a fairly easy setup and spend most my time "observing" instead of aligning and searching, then the LX90 fits the bill very well.

Overall, I think the LX90 is the "sweet spot" of GOTO scopes.. quality optics, 8" aperture, and accurate pointing and tracking on a solid mount. Add to that the fact that it is reasonably portable and you have to ask yourself, what more do you want for under $1700 ?? It's a great scope for touring the skies !!

Overall Rating: 9
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Meade LX-90 8"
I wanted to address a couple of comments. To the person who stated the scope doesn't do what its advertised to do, what advertisements are you looking at? This scope is not intended for astrophotography and none of the Meade literature states it does. As a matter of fact Meade advises the Lx200 series for astrophotography work. I have found no balancing problems with mine. I suggest that what your experiencing is probably user error. This scope is lightweight and very easy to align and use. The only complaint I have is that when the baterries get slightest bit low the scopes goto function acts up. This is easily solved by using a power cord.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
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Meade LX-90 8"
I have the LX-90 with the optional APM and an SBIG ST-5. I've manually guided this scope for 60 minute film exposures, and the ST-5 works perfect as an autoguider as well.

This scope IS perfectly capable of long exposure astrophotography. While it doesn't have PEC, the periodic error is very small and easily guided out.

It's an incredible scope and a great value!

by: Rick Krejci rjkrejci@earthlink.net

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=40899

Meade LX-90 8"
Best bang for the buck in SCTs. Optical quality is very good. Meade advertizes 0.56 arc second resolution. I was able to achieve 0.6 very clearly.

Mount is good. Vibration dampeners make it better.

Excellent goto. Excellent tracking.

See lots of satisfied customers on LX90@yahoogroups.com

Overall Rating: 10
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Meade LX-90 8"
I like the LX90 because of it's ease of setup and use by an amateur.
Another big plus is the ability of the end user to update the firmware in the scopes computer (Autostar). You download the free software from the Meade website and install it using the free software downloaded from Meade. Could not get much easier than that. You do have to buy/make a cable to go from the PC to the Autostar.

You can enter new objects into the Autostar from the keypad or attach a PC and use the above software to add, edit or delete.

If you like tracking earth satellites, it will do that too.

Got questions? Here is a good group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lx90/

Alan, W4WMM

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Meade LX-90 8"
Like a lot of other Meade scopes, I only have good things to say. The LX90 is a great first scope for beginners. It's easy to set up and align in either alt-az or polar mode. The Autostar is magnificient. The beginner new to astronomy can find and view dozens of objects each night quickly and effortlessly. The optics are above mediocrity.

The only minor drawbacks I could find are with the optional AC power adapter and the fact that the scope is essentially worthless for serious astrophotography.

If the LX90 was $500 cheaper or the LX200 10" $500 more expensive, I'd rate the LX90 a little higher.

Overall Rating: 4
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Meade LX-90 8"
Best combination of performance, portability, and price available. NOTHING ELSE COMES CLOSE.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
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Meade LX-90 8"
The LX90 was adream to set up. The Autostar computer was esy to use, using the Easy two star alignment I was up and observing within 5 minutes of setting up. The first night I saw more Messier objects than in my previous years with my old 6" Newtonion,

I highly recommend the Meade LX90.

Overall Rating: 10
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Meade LX-90 8"
Not a very good telescope for the money. This is 3rd LX90 I've owned. The first two arrived broken. I should have just asked for my money back and bought a real telescope.

Overall Rating: 1
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Meade LX-90 8"
Excellent star test. Very good tracking. Needs a wee bit of fine tuning as far as tracking and locating are concerned but after that it is an excellent scope. Especially for the price. The optics are the same as those $600+ more and if you are not going to do serious professional astrophotography why waste the money. And with care it does take excellent pictures. I have been very pleased.
My LX90 has performed very well and I am extremely pleased with it.

Overall Rating: 9
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Meade LX-90 8"
The more I think about this clunker sitting on the floor, the more I want to kick myself in the butt. Even the Meade site reccommended the LX200 over the LX90. There's just not enough light gathering power.

It's not zero, but compared to an LX200 10", the LX90 is complete joke. If you ever have a chance to get an LX90, pass it up. Get a scope that is worth something.

Overall Rating: 1
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Meade LX-90 8"
What an odd dynamic going on here. In most other telescope review areas it's the people who dislike a scope that go to the greatest lengths to jusify their dissatisfaction. The fans often get away with "Great scope!!!" Here, if you want to learn about this telescope's shortcomings, you have to read the carefully crafted reviews of those who generally applaud it. All these "1's" without speicifics make one wonder...

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Meade LX-90 8"
I Got the LX90 last week. I used it several times now and only have one to discribe it. "WOW" The goto works great, The optics are clear and brite and the mount is very solid.

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Meade LX-90 8"
THIS IS TO OFFSET ALL THE DUMBASSES WHO RATED THIS 1 BECAUSE THEY ARE TOo STUPID TO KNOW HOW TO USE IT

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
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Meade LX-90 8"
This is a great scope and the GOTO function works wonderfully at locating and tracking objects. The tripod is also very heavy duty. Unfortunately I cannot afford to keep mine though because of other finacial obligations. If anyone is interested in purchasing my Lx90 which is in mint condition I am asking $1475 for the scope and the following included accessories: Vixen-Lanthanum Zoom e.p.(8-24mm), Celestron 6.3mm plossl e.p., Celestron light pollution filter, and a Celestron SCT T-Adapter for camera. E-mail: tweak79@earthlink.net

Overall Rating: 10
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Meade LX-90 8"
Interesting points of view on this product. Now my 1 cent "use to be 2 but..u married folks w/kids know what iam talking about". When I decided to buy a scope I wanted the best for my money for use/ease/weight etc. vs fun/price ratio. Now I believe that Goto scopes are made for the mass like me vs. hardcore backyard folks, because of appeal of use of found object in 10 sec. or less vs. I found something but what is it I wonder what Iam looking at?. Face it mass market brings in more revenue because more people want/need/think they want need more accesories like eps etc. Now a 8inch dob or Newt to my eyes and most others have a "better" picture to peer through/at. But as I sit in my leather recliner rolling around to the next goto object, I say "Boy its nice not turning/churning/bending/contorting my knees and back to enjoy a object". The best scope is the one that u can use/carry/set up etc. than the one u bought/fustrated thing that sits in the garage or garage sell pile. Just a thought. I had a nex8/gt114/dob star hopper/discovery 8" newt all at one same time to compare apples to apples. I liked the dob 8" the best for picture, but only kept the LX90 because well......everyhing I just listed.

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Meade LX-90 8"
I have owned this scope for a week now and it is everything I had hoped it would be, an inexpensive lx-200. Scope was perfect right out of the box, I had it set up and in the field in less than an hour. Just my opinion but the negative votes this scope has received for astrophotography seem a like a cheap shot, why would someone who was willing to spend thousands on a good cdd not fork over the extra 600-700 for an lx-200 ? I wanted the quality optics of the lx-200 in a goto scope and this scope is just that, I love it.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
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Meade LX-90 8"
I just purchased an LX90 today and I drove 80 miles up to Mt. Pinos in Frazier Park, CA from Los Angeles which is noted as one of the best astronomical viewing spots in California (8831 feet). Setup was a breeze only taking 10 minutes to set-up (I had some prior practice). The Meade representative was at the store where I bought it and said that it wouldnt be a good night for viewing because no planets except Mars were out. Well he was wrong. Mars wasn't out. But Jupiter and Saturn were, and it was quite cool to see the planets from my scope. The optics give great lunar detail but a little fuzzy on the planets. AutoStar was close to perfect, sometimes Manual tweaks were necessary. I also purchase a 9.7 mm Super Plossl and a 2x Barlow Lens hoping to get big objects in my viewfinder. The highest resolution, but also the smallest was with the 26 mm included with the scope. The Barlow added a little size but resolution began to get grainy, and the 9.7 mm lens was very grainy. Can anyone tell me how to get large objects with high resolution in my eyepiece? Or is that an impossibility due to the 8" mirror on the scope. Am I doing something wrong? Do I need different eyepieces? Or is it just that the aperture in the scope isn't big enough. Please advise. But for the record, it is a great scope worth the money if you are a beginner or amateur looking to explore the heavens.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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