Meade LX-90 8"

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Meade LX-90 8"
Very happy with value. I know I will spend as much on EP's etc, so saving on a great OTA is a perfect first step to this extraordinary scope. Best thing I like is portability. I am USING this scope anywhere, anytime. It is light enough to load and hand port to the yard, offsite, or any location - BY MYSELF! I can put it away fast and easy from goobery hands, and the burden for doing that does not take away from the fun of getting it out again. Fast setup and solid pod make this a #10 keeper. Better scopes out there? Sure. I have kids to feed and a marriage to keep. My wife is OK with a couple grand. It really is a value when you consider that if one is not happy with an "all-around" scope, he/she will have to take that purchase in the shorts, or loss for resale and start all over. I'm done. That goes for looking/shopping, and this review.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:10 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=65369

Meade LX-90 8"
The lx90 i have is great, optics are superb , the mount is solid and the goto is really accurate. I highly reccommend this scope.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:10 Ease of Use:9 Value:10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=68172

Meade LX-90 8"
I love this scope! Set up ease of use could be improved with more descriptive
manual. But after 1.5 hours in the dark it operates like a charm. GOTO places objects in field of view
every time. Optics extremely clear. Tracking is perfect and the motor is barely audible. The mount is very stable with
few to any jitters seen. Spending much more time viewing!

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9 Mount:9 Ease of Use:8 Value:9
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=73473

Meade LX-90 8"
A friend has one and I have used it. Slick, slick, slick! And at discount ($1300 used here and there) it makes sense.

Big, heavy, and wonderful like all 8-10" SCTs.
AutoStar calibrates easily and very precisely.
Coatings are great, increase contrast greatly.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9 Mount:10 Ease of Use:8 Value:9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=100474

Meade LX-90 8"
Much more stable mount, and far better tracking then the NexStar 8. I've owned both!

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:9 Mount:10 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=100921

Meade LX-90 8"
Optics are really good not great, the goto is almost perfect! the mount is rock solid, the tracking is flawless. highly recommended!

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:8 Mount:10 Ease of Use:9 Value:9
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=109133

Meade LX-90 8"
We love our LX90. Seen things we never thought possible with a scope this size and in a light polluted area no less. Just the right size to transport around.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:10 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=130808

Meade LX-90 8"
I've had my LX-90 for two months. I also have an Orion 102 Mak(which is a good little scope). I got the LX during the current sale for $1495 and am very happy with it. Budget was a big consideration and I have to say this is a great scope, especislly at that price. The mount is very good. Totally stable on my stone patio. The GO TO has been very good. I am a novice, but as I have learned how to use it, training myself and the scope, it has become very accurate and all it claims to be. Precise leveling really helps as well as accurate time input. At first it seemed disappointing, not even getting the star in the field of view. However as I read up on the reviews in S & T and on the web I learned to be more careful. Since then every request has been dead on and the tracking is great. The longest so far about 45 mins. I recently replaced the 1.25 in. diagonal with a 2inch mirror type from Parks(not the best but very good and less$$). That made a dramatic improvement and is the only basic upgrade I would recommend. I would not hesitate to recommend this scope especially at the sale price. I compared for a long time to the Celestron equivalent and finally decided that the features of the Meade made up for any optical edge the Celestron might have. I spend my time viewing not searching now. Good job Meade!

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:9 Mount:9 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=136292

Meade LX-90 8"
I have had the telescope for the last couple of months. I am very happy with it. The only comment I have is that "GoTo" works a lot better if the two alignment stars are somewhat far from each other.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:10 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=162498

Meade LX-90 8"
I'm no expert. Prior to 2001 all I had was a Celestron 80mm rich field refractor that I used to view bright solar system objects and a few deep sky objects. Frustrated, I purchased an ETX-125 to-go scope that changed my view on astronomy. I know there are pros & cons to this and I refuse to argue the point, but will say this, it kept my intrest up. I went where no man (me) has gone before. Sorry ladies, I'm not politically correct. I did have trouble with the 125 so when it came time to boost aperture I was skeptical of the LX-90. I have never owned anything that I didn't expect some kind of trouble with, so I made the plunge. Yes I had trouble, twice in fact with the hand control. Meade sent me the part until it was corrected. The brains of the scope are located in the hand control not in the scope like my 10" GPS. This is good and bad. Don't drop it! On the other hand you can purchase a spare and keep it on hand.
1st light was may 2001, I picked Saturn and all we could say was WOW. None of us had ever looked through anything this large of an aperture. After the end of the evening (IMHO) it felt like a new door had opened to the night sky. I wont dazzle anybody with star tests because I don't know how to do them! I'm still a rookie. But we did a side by side with the LX vs the ETX and the little Mak won out on tight even doubles, sharpness, and the background was blacker. But doubles with dim partners, globulars, planets and especilly nebulae received the WOW effect. I sold the ETX which, with all the extras I bought for it, had ended up costing about the same as the LX-90. Something to think about when looking at any telescope purchase. I think this scope is a great scope for anybody looking for a mid-range aperture. Here are my pros & cons in order of most important to least (remember I only have a few years under my belt)
1. A large enough aperture to keep your interest up.
2. Good optics-not great but very good.
3. Light weight OTA for the size.
4. Great price for a fairly complete setup.
5. super steady tripod.
6. Fairly accurate pointing (better than my buddies nextstar).
7. Nice to-go features with PEC, high precision and search features.
8. Large enough to piggyback a small high end refractor.
9. Fairly quiet motors.
10. Internal battery holder and 12vdc external capability.

On the down side:
1. Stiff focus with a bit of backlash and image shift.
2. Difficult to land on tripod.
3. Declination knob is not near as sturdy as old LX-200s.
4. Plastic dust front dust cover.
5. Poorly designed control panel. (needs an adaptor from Meade for CCD work).
6. Needs an adaptor plate to polar mount scope.(pain in the).
7. Junk RA setting circle.
8. No place for the hand control (possibly resolved by now).
9. No place to use a field level on (I want a level scope. get one of those tripod plates from peterson).
10. Poor diagonal O-WELL what do you expect!
All in all I think that this is a GREAT scope for someone on a budget and who dosen't plan to purchase another SCT for long term astrophotography or CCD imaging. I did use it with a STV during the 2001 year on a regular basis with no problems at all. The only items I added were a 90* spotter, dew shield, counter weights and a dovetail plate to run a ETX-90 OTA piggyback. I also changed the focuser(on all my SCTs) with a kit from peterson corp. Like I said I have little experence with High end scopes but I own a Meade 7" Mak and a 10" GPS. If I had it to do all over I would probabaly skip out on the LX-90 only because 7" is so close with better optics and I use the 10" 90% of the time because of the aperture. The 7 & 10 are both heavy but I do not have trouble with them. To be honest, the LX-90 stays in a backpack ready for excursions where the 7 & 10 are not applicable. Still, I think this is a great scope for the price alone. The last thing I want to discuss is the GPS thing. If your looking for strictly visual scope, dont get hung up on GPS. I can get my LX-90 up just as fast as the GPS scope. All you need if a handheld unit for the data and a level. I wont give an overall vote because it really depends on the individual requirements dosen't it?

Overall Rating: No Vote
Optics:7 Mount:8 Ease of Use:6 Value:9
Weight: 12 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=178041

Meade LX-90 8"
I have owned my LX-90 for 2 1/2 years and have had no problems at all. The optics are great,mount rock solid. In my opinion this scope is the most bang for your buck you can get.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:10 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=219303

Meade LX-90 8"
I thought I would write about the purchase of a large (really medium ) aperture scope; the LX-90. I have owned a small cheap Celestron refractor for over 15 years that basically didn't pump me up like I thought it would at the time of purchase. It became a closet scope. Before you purchase a scope (IMHO) you should should catagorize yourself. Remember this will more or less change as time goes on.
Type1. I no nothing about astronomy but interested in a scope(I think).
Type2. I read alot about astronomy and am thinking of purchasing a scope that will suit me.
Type3. I have owned a small scope but do not use it much (I can't find anything except the moon)
Type4. I have a small scope and use it with sucess but I want a larger aperture.
I STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU FIND A STAR PARTY TO SEE IF THIS SCOPE IS REALLY FOR YOU.

There are also sub-types that can add to the deminsion of the above types.
S-type A. I can't operate an electronic device like a computer and I hate anything that has a MENU.
S-type B. I think electronics are cool (I own 5 different remotes for my TV just because).
S-type C. I hate electronic gadgets with their lights and noises.

The go-to scopes such as the LX-90 are not recomended for any type A or C people-just don't go there unless your have help or a forgiving nature. This rig is good for people that want a scope that will move through the Messier list like a speeding bullit, dont mind the noise of motors, and want a scope that will take YOU on a tour rather than YOU taking your eyes on a tour. The hand control is easy to navigate through (type 3-B) and the 8" aperture is large enough to keep your interest up (type 2, 3, or 4). Small scopes fall short in light polluted areas, but the LX-90 preforms OK and excels at dark sites. The optics are not like that of a high priced refractor but very good. The scope should be collimated and require some degree of mechanical tinkering. I installed "bobs knobs" to aid this process. The tripod is sturdy but difficult to land the OTA. There are after market devices that make a big difference in getting this OTA set up. The scope is fairly light compared to other 8" SCTs. The price is there too, reasonable for what you get. A first timer should look somewhere else unless you know this hobby is for you. After my purchase (I was shaking at the price) I was so satisfied and happy that it launched me into a year of sleepless nights and on going days of poverty in the eyepiece and equipment world. I am now reverting back to what the purest says {learn with a wide angle scope or binoculars and star hop} and have owned a NP-101 since they were introduced. Remember if the scope insures that your interest will keep you on the track, there are no rules saying you can't go back to the "old way".

Overall Rating: 8
Optics:7 Mount:9 Value:8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=282356

Meade LX-90 8"
Materials & workmanship are just so-so. Autostar poorly implemented and confusing...very buggy. Optics marginal...save your money and get a small refractor on an equatorial mount.

Overall Rating: 3
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=303162

Meade LX-90 8"
Easy to use and setup. Great quality and optics. Gave the mount an 8 because the aux. power plug rotates with the mount-a pain. Would buy this scope again in a heart beat. This is my third scope, the first was an ETX-125. The 8" SCT provides additional brightnes and resolution over the ETX-125 (which is also a fine scope).

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:8 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=303442

Meade LX-90 8"
Took me awhile to get a working model of this telescope--3 tries and almost all of the warranty time used; QC at Meade leaves much to be desired, but their Customer Service Dept. and the price including the $99.00 EP offer made up for it by handling my issued professionally and as quickly as humanly possible. But onece one has an LX90 that performs as designed out of the box, WOW! Easy to set up and use, if one is meticulous about leveling and aligning the 'scope, the GO TO function is incredibly accurate and the optics first-rate! I have seen more objects (planets, galaxies, Deep Space Objects) with this telescope than in all my life prior to owning it! Imagine seeing the unseeable in light polluted skies!

GNH Providence, RI

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9 Mount:8 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=321978

Meade LX-90 8"
Bought my LX90 a couple of months ago. Optics hugely impressive compared with my 1986 LX3 (no defect visible in Ronchi grating; star test identical - far as I can tell - either side of focus), but focusing mech a little rough and focus shift worse than the LX3 (can't have everything I suppose). GOTO incredible - but I'm sure they all are after 18 years of star-hopping. I bought this scope as a "chuck-in-car and go" alternative to my C14, which is a bit big and heavy for that sort of treatment. I don't particularly like the RA clutch compared with the LX3 (and the LX200 for that matter) - it is awkwardly placed and one never knows just how hard to tighten it down. This is a personal preference however. All in all, a scope of good quality and value. Recommended.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9 Mount:7 Ease of Use:9 Value:9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=338593

Meade LX-90 8"
Overall, a seductive marketing job that falls well short of the mark. The AutoStar system is balky, the LPI imager/software is so buggy it's almost useless, and Meade Tech Support is the worst in the industry. My biggest concern is that Meade's slick marketing may seduce many into an interest in astronomy, only to turn them away with their shoddy products.
You can, however, fiddle with the LX and get it to perform somewhat as advertised. You just have to remember that with mediocre optics you'll get mediocre views. A far better option in my opinion is to get hold of a small APO refractor such as the TeleVue 76 or 85, or the Takahashi FS 60C, FS78, or the Sky 90. The AutoStar system is, in my opinion, a gimmick that will prevent you from learning your way around the sky; it's usefulness is so compromised by poor quality that using it stands in the way of enjoying the night sky.

Overall Rating: 3
Optics:5 Mount:4 Ease of Use:3 Value:5
Weight: 0
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=358838

Meade LX-90 8"
I love my LX90. It is easy to use, a snap to setup and quite portable. Very user friendly, I like the tours function in the Autostar and the views are great.For the price trhe best thing out there that I am aware of.If you tune into the LX90 users group at Yahoo, they are a bunch of happy campers with their scope so I think the scope is very popular with its purchasers. Hard to go wrong here.
Greg.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9 Mount:9 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=366353

Meade LX-90 8"
Sturdy quality and a reasonable price... plus it "takes you where you want to go" - in the sky, that is. What's not to like?

Overall Rating: 8
Optics:8 Mount:7 Ease of Use:8 Value:8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=374909

Meade LX-90 8"
This was my first decent scope. Overall I loved it. The autostar is very easy to leanr and use, the go-tos were extremely accurate. It was easy to setup. I even had it on a wedge and autoguiding long exposures with a scope piggybacked.

Plenty of accessories.

The tracking on mine was relatively poor though and could not really get beyond 15 second DSLR exposures which is poor. Optics were OK for the price but not as good as my Nexstar 11 which are superb.

Easy to handle physically and packs away very quickly. Great for field trips that way.

A great low cost scope that is packed with features and overall ease of use and enjoyment. You will probably want to progress beyond it though so factor that in.Plan on being satisifed for about a year or less before you want the upgrade to a better but more expensive scope!

Greg.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:8 Mount:8 Ease of Use:10 Value:9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=421257

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