Meade LX200 GPS 10"

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Meade LX200 GPS 10"
[webmaster note: vote moved from description]

I was worried that perhaps the Meade 10" optics would have been below average or Ok... I have owned several poor quality SCTs in the past... but as it turned out, the optical correction of this unit is extremely good.

I am also very happy with the go-to capacity...seems to be quite accurate and efficient. Overall the quality is much better than I expected and if I may add, I am very impressed with the all the advance features...including the CCD focuser. I rate this unit a 10.

Over the years of using various type telescopes, (several hundred)...I have discovered the reward of using a very high quality diagonal...the wave front error is carried thur the diagonal... don't allow a cheap diagonal to be the weakest link in the optical chain.

I purchased the new 2" die-electric coatings diagonal ($270 from Astro Physics) to use with this 10" LX200 GPS...an excellent addition to a fine optical system.

KD...

Overall Rating: No Vote
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=89730

Meade LX200 GPS 10"
Tough for beginner to start up. Fantastic after learning curve. Now I love it.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:10 Mount:10 Ease of Use:5 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=91624

Meade LX200 GPS 10"
This is a hefty scope. It would not fit in the trunk of my 4 door sedan or in the backseat (unless you take it out of the box).

It's hard to set it on the tripod, because the tripod head is smaller than the scope base.

The dec lock is tight and needs modification.

The scope's GOTO accuracy was not great out of the box. It required that the drives be trained and the sensors calibrated to get objects centered (they were consistently just out of the FOV on a 12mm reticle.)

Once it i set up and calibrated, it's a great scope. Super images.

Overall Rating: 8
Optics:9 Mount:9 Ease of Use:6 Value:7
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=94346

Meade LX200 GPS 10"
Great Scope once you get past learning curve like previous review said...I would incourge everyone to read as much of the manual as possible before tinkering with scope on your own...especially when setting up the GPS...once set up GOTO is dead on very fullfilling after my 4 to 6 hrs of trying to figure it out on my own...DO YOURSELF THE FAVOR AND READ BEFORE SETTING UP....OPTICS GREAT MOUNT GREAT!

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:10 Ease of Use:8 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=98022

Meade LX200 GPS 10"
I like this scope alot despite its weight.I bought the JMI case (almost a must) and a mounting assistant plate by peterson MFG ("A" MUST) plus the Meade super wedge for my CCD camera. Also get a good diagonal, I'm using a everbrght 2", but this is probably overkill for a SCT. I also purchased the "eye-opener" from
peterson's that not only increases light and image quality, but allows me to pop on & off the focuser rather than screwing it on & off. I have a large selection of 1.25 eye pcs but last month I (finally) purchased a 31 nagler. I stopped by Lumicon and happened to find a 2x,2" powermate, teleview sent them to try. this is a prefect combo for this scope and about all Im using most of the time. Getting back to the scope the mirror lock is nice,& the quick hot keys are great,saving time by allowing you to go to caldwell/NGC/messier ect. very fast. The optics very good for a SCT(Jupiter and saturn looked great) and the new optical coatings seemed to make a substantial difference on galaxies(any body do a side by side test yet???)
My scope is front HEAVY with the meade dew shield and you need the counter weights(or that 31 Nagler) but I also have a Losmandy dovetail on it which may add to the problem. I had problems with the dec knob slipping and the GPS lock but Meade repaired it and now it works great. As far as the GPS the reciever is fast but It seems if I am at a site thats far from the auto site its better to enter the true long/lat numbers.
DOES ANYBODY KNOW A WAY TO SKIP THE COMPUTER SELECTED STARS AND SELECT YOUR OWN ALIGHNMENT STARS IN THE "AUTO" MODE? I live with a limited Earthly FOV in my back yard and the automatic mode is the only mode that self levels the scope. This sucks. You never know for sure where its going and if it slews into a tree or house your screwed , you have to shut down level the tripod and use the 2 star method, about a back breaking 15 min. proceedure vs setting the scope on the tripod and turning it on.

Overall Rating: No Vote
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=108769 

>I like this scope alot despite its weight.I bought the JMI case (almost a must) and a mounting assistant plate by peterson MFG ("A" MUST) plus the Meade super wedge for my CCD camera. Also get a good diagonal, I'm using a everbrght 2", but this is probably overkill for a SCT. I also purchased the "eye-opener" from
>peterson's that not only increases light and image quality, but allows me to pop on & off the focuser rather than screwing it on & off. I have a large selection of 1.25 eye pcs but last month I (finally) purchased a 31 nagler. I stopped by Lumicon and happened to find a 2x,2" powermate, teleview sent them to try. this is a prefect combo for this scope and about all Im using most of the time. Getting back to the scope the mirror lock is nice,& the quick hot keys are great,saving time by allowing you to go to caldwell/NGC/messier ect. very fast. The optics very good for a SCT(Jupiter and saturn looked great) and the new optical coatings seemed to make a substantial difference on galaxies(any body do a side by side test yet???)
>My scope is front HEAVY with the meade dew shield and you need the counter weights(or that 31 Nagler) but I also have a Losmandy dovetail on it which may add to the problem. I had problems with the dec knob slipping and the GPS lock but Meade repaired it and now it works great.  As far as the GPS  the reciever is fast but It seems if I am at a site thats far from the auto site its better to enter the true long/lat numbers.            
>DOES ANYBODY KNOW A WAY TO SKIP THE COMPUTER SELECTED STARS AND SELECT YOUR OWN ALIGHNMENT STARS IN THE "AUTO" MODE? I live with a limited Earthly FOV in my back yard and the automatic mode is the only mode that self levels the scope. This sucks. You never know for sure where its going and if it slews into a tree or house your screwed , you have to shut down level the tripod and use the 2 star method, about a back breaking 15 min. proceedure vs setting the scope on the tripod and turning it on.



I have the same problem in my backyard with regards to alignment stars. When you computer has finished the GPS sync and displays an alignment star you can simply press the 1 of the two arrow buttons at the bottem of the hand controller. This is also handy when the computer choses a star that is surrounded by other stars.
Meade LX200 GPS 10"
You better have a good back! This scope is heavy
and bulky. Finding and dropping it on a single mounting screw
is no easy task for one person. I finally bought a JMI 'Wheeley
bar". This made life MUCH easier.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9 Mount:10 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=143743

Meade LX200 GPS 10"
Nice SCT,it's a must.
Not recommended for beginner. it's heavy for mobile use.
Better to have some skills in mecanics and/or electronics!

Overall Rating: 8
Optics:8 Mount:8 Ease of Use:7 Value:9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=156921

Meade LX200 GPS 10"
you won't be dissapointed with scope,I've had mine for a few months and all I can say is WOW what a great scope.
Spend the extra few bucks and get the UHTC option,its well worth it.

Overall Rating: 10
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=178423

Meade LX200 GPS 10"
Takes a bit of strength to set up. I'm fine with it, but my wife would never do it.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=253934

Meade LX200 GPS 10"
People using this scope need to have some good knowledge in informatics, electronics, mecanics....
eventually in astronomy.

Overall Rating: 7
Optics:8 Mount:6 Ease of Use:5 Value:9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=357467

Meade LX200 GPS 10"
A very nice scope with many available aftermarket upgrades

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=488472

Meade LX200 GPS 10"
This is a great scope, I upgraded from a 5" reflector GOTO and this scope beats it hands down in every catagory. It is rather heavy but that is to be expected for a 10" with all the features in this scope. There are plenty of after market accessories for ease of mounting and transporting, as well as upgrades for photography. Anyone getting into astronomy should know that this is a very expensive hobby, especially starting off, ie. eyepieces,filters,guiders,finders,imagers,dew heaters,batteries/power sources. None of these accessories are cheap and there are so many. The setup is not for the impatient for the first time. Once you get the setup for a site done, it is much quicker the next time around. The smart drive and drive training increase the GOTO function accuracy if you take the time to set these periodicly. I have 5 observing sites setup in the computer and can be up and viewing in less than 10 minutes after turning on the power at these sites. I only wish I the 12" LX200 now. I've had this scope about 5 months and aperture envy is setting in already.
This is not a first scope, but it has been a great second scope for me. Keep looking up, clear skies for all.

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=582885

Meade LX200 GPS 10"
This was my first "serious" scope. It served me well for about 3 years before I decided to go all out and get a Takahashi TOA-130F. As far as the LX200 is concerned it is one fine scope. It has a bit of a learning curve, especially if you have never used anything like it before, but once you get the hang of it frustration turns to joy. With it's 10" aperture deep space objects are very satisfying to observe. If you can get to a really dark sky site the optical performance is outstanding. I would suggest investing on good quality accessories. Although it is not a necessity I find it to be more pleasing. The only thing that I consider to be a negative is the scope's size and weight. For me personally it was never a problem but I can see it being an issue for some people. The reason that I give it an 8 and not higher is because after experiencing superior optics and engineering its difficult to justify it rating this scope as high as those. Nevertheless if you were to get this scope I don't beleive that you will be disappointed at all.

Overall Rating: 8
Optics:8 Mount:8 Ease of Use:8 Value:8
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=585979

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