LX10 - Any comments? Can it be made a Goto?

I just checked apogee and they are selling these old 8" LX10 scopes at a
bargain US900+ for the normal one and $1100 for the UHTC version. This is
the only place selling this scope (I thought
it was discontinued as Meade does not list it on its site.)
Can I check :

1. Is this scope an obsolete model?
2. Does it come with OR can it be used with the Autostar?
3. How is this scope compared to the LX90 and Nexstar 8 for visual use?

Thanks in advance

--
If replying directly, please delete "abc" from e-mail address.
Thanks

Al wrote:

2. Does it come with OR can it be used with the Autostar?

No. Well, anything can be modified. When I was much younger, we thought
nothing of putting a Chrysler engine in a Ford. You could also put autostar
in an LX10, but it would cost too much. There does not seem to be any space
in the LX10 fork to install a dec motor and drive unit. If you modified the
fork to accept a dec unit, the fork would still be much too weak.

Meade sold a dec motor unit as an option for the LX10 as part of the
Deluxe option kit. It was sold separately and user-installed so it may
not be available from Apogee now. It was just meant for manual
pointing, though, not goto.

3. How is this scope compared to the LX90 and Nexstar 8 for visual use?

For visual use the LX10 is fine. I find the fork, however, to be not too
stiff and the tripod is not nearly as stiff as that of an LX200.

I checked out a couple of them and agree they're fine for visual but not
great for imaging.

Mike Simmons

"Jornada" wrote in message
...
I just checked apogee and they are selling these old 8" LX10 scopes at a
bargain US900+ for the normal one and $1100 for the UHTC version. This is
the only place selling this scope (I thought
it was discontinued as Meade does not list it on its site.)
Can I check :

1. Is this scope an obsolete model?

Since Meade no longer sells this scope, you can call it obsolete.

2. Does it come with OR can it be used with the Autostar?

No. Well, anything can be modified. When I was much younger, we thought
nothing of putting a Chrysler engine in a Ford. You could also put autostar
in an LX10, but it would cost too much. There does not seem to be any space
in the LX10 fork to install a dec motor and drive unit. If you modified the
fork to accept a dec unit, the fork would still be much too weak.


3. How is this scope compared to the LX90 and Nexstar 8 for visual use?

For visual use the LX10 is fine. I find the fork, however, to be not too
stiff and the tripod is not nearly as stiff as that of an LX200.

Al


Thanks in advance

--
If replying directly, please delete "abc" from e-mail address.
Thanks

old 8" LX10 scopes... I thought it was discontinued as
Meade does not list it on its site.

Meade still makes the LX-10, shows it in their catalog and at the website.
The LX-10 is not old, it's just requires 'your' computer. ;-)

http://www.meade.com/catalog/lx/lx10.html

"Mike Simmons" wrote in message
...
Al wrote:

2. Does it come with OR can it be used with the Autostar?

No. Well, anything can be modified. When I was much younger, we
thought
nothing of putting a Chrysler engine in a Ford. You could also put
autostar
in an LX10, but it would cost too much. There does not seem to be any
space
in the LX10 fork to install a dec motor and drive unit. If you modified
the
fork to accept a dec unit, the fork would still be much too weak.

Meade sold a dec motor unit as an option for the LX10 as part of the
Deluxe option kit. It was sold separately and user-installed so it may
not be available from Apogee now. It was just meant for manual
pointing, though, not goto.

I'm almost certain that the dec unit you're talking about is used with the
tangent arm already on the LX10. If this is true, the maximum movement
would be only a few degrees...no good for GOTO.

Al



3. How is this scope compared to the LX90 and Nexstar 8 for visual
use?

For visual use the LX10 is fine. I find the fork, however, to be not
too
stiff and the tripod is not nearly as stiff as that of an LX200.

I checked out a couple of them and agree they're fine for visual but not
great for imaging.

Mike Simmons

"Jornada" wrote in message
...

1. Is this scope an obsolete model?

I think it's still in production. It is a good, reliable telescope.

2. Does it come with OR can it be used with the Autostar?

No, but from companies such as JMI, you can buy digital setting circles.
That's a system where the computer finds the objects, but you move the
telescope. That is, it tells you which way to move and tells you when you
get there.

The motors in the LX10 track the stars -- that is, on an equatorial wedge,
they hold an object in view as the earth rotates. They do not (as far as I
know) move the telescope from one object to another.

3. How is this scope compared to the LX90 and Nexstar 8 for visual use?

Identical. Same optics as the Meade 8-inch f/10 LX90 and LX200.
Practically identical to the Celestron 8-inch f/10 in its various
incarnations.

I think you're getting a bargain.


--
Clear skies,

Michael Covington -- www.covingtoninnovations.com
Author, Astrophotography for the Amateur
and (new) How to Use a Computerized Telescope

"Mike Simmons" wrote in message
...

Meade sold a dec motor unit as an option for the LX10 as part of the
Deluxe option kit. It was sold separately and user-installed so it may
not be available from Apogee now. It was just meant for manual
pointing, though, not goto.

For guiding corrections in photography, actually. It only covers a range of
a couple of degrees.

3. How is this scope compared to the LX90 and Nexstar 8 for visual
use?

For visual use the LX10 is fine. I find the fork, however, to be not
too
stiff and the tripod is not nearly as stiff as that of an LX200.

I checked out a couple of them and agree they're fine for visual but not
great for imaging.

Good point; that's what you get for the lighter weight. For perspective,
this is an appreciably better telescope than the original (1970s) Celestron
8. I suggest making a wooden tripod to damp out vibration.

1. Is this scope an obsolete model?
2. Does it come with OR can it be used with the Autostar?
3. How is this scope compared to the LX90 and Nexstar 8 for visual use?

Hi:

1. No, it's still in production.
2. No.
2. The optics are exactly the same as the 90 and comparable to the NS8.

Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of _Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope_
Like SCTs and MCTs?
Check-out sct-user, the mailing list for CAT fanciers!
Goto http://members.aol.com/RMOLLISE/index.html

2. Does it come with OR can it be used with the Autostar?

This scope is the basic SCT with a RA drive and not much else. If you want
GOTO, then buy a scope that comes with GOTO like the LX-90. If you try to
upgrade the LX-10 to GOTO it will end up costing your more money than a LX-90
and you will not have the reliability or capabilities of the LX-90.

That is if you want GOTO....

jon

"Michael A. Covington" wrote:

"Mike Simmons" wrote in message
...

Meade sold a dec motor unit as an option for the LX10 as part of the
Deluxe option kit. It was sold separately and user-installed so it may
not be available from Apogee now. It was just meant for manual
pointing, though, not goto.

For guiding corrections in photography, actually. It only covers a range of
a couple of degrees.

Yes, small motions such as guiding but I was also thinking of centering
(which I probably shouldn't have called "pointing").

Mike Simmons