pros/cons of these 2 scopes?

Hi,
I'm looking at an Orion Skyquest XT 12" and a Meade Lightbridge 12"
I was wondering what people though of each one, is one better than the
other, pros or cons of each?
Your opinion is much appreciated.
Thanks
Eric

Eric wrote:
Hi,
I'm looking at an Orion Skyquest XT 12" and a Meade Lightbridge 12"
I was wondering what people though of each one, is one better than the
other, pros or cons of each?

Superficially, the main difference is that one OTA (XT-12) is a solid
tube close to 5 ft in length while the other is a truss design (main
tube separates into top cell, bottom cell and truss elements) which
should make it more portable in a smaller vehicle. The XT-12 has been
around for a while and there are likely reviews of it (and there is a
Yahoo group on the Skyquest series. The Meade Lightbridge is new to me
and I've not seen a review.

I would expect them to provide similar performance -- assuming similar
(likely off shore) optics source *and* that the truss in the Meade does
not compromise alignment (there are high-end, excellent truss Dobs, but
this may not be one of them).

Phil

Eric wrote:
Hi,
I'm looking at an Orion Skyquest XT 12" and a Meade Lightbridge 12"
I was wondering what people though of each one, is one better than the
other, pros or cons of each?
Your opinion is much appreciated.
Thanks
Eric


There is a thread here which touches on (and speculates about) the
Lightbridge line.

http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthrea.../o/all/fpart/1

The mechanics of the dob mount are a little tricky. For instance, the
Starhoppers are notoriously bad. The Meade is obviously unknown. The
Orion's are known to be very, very good. Smooth movement, adequate
vertical friction, usability near the zenith, etc. Easily the best of
the mass-market dobs. Interestingly, the Classics' and the
Intelliscopes' mounts are completely different, but both good.

But, if a 60" long tube won't fit in your car, the truss tube has got
to be considered. If it will, the Orion is a no-brainer. I also think
much more highly of Orion as a company. They're consistently good,
while Meade is consistently inconsistent.

Greg

I've not tried either one, but I do trust the Orion line. So far two
telescopes, two mounts, some eyepieces, quite a few finders, and accessories,
and every one worked well right out of the box. If it were me, the Orion is the
way I'd go.

-- Dave
--
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pinprick holes in a colorless sky
Let inspired figures of light pass by
The Mighty Light of ten thousand suns
Challenges infinity, and is soon gone




"Eric" wrote in message
. ..
Hi,
I'm looking at an Orion Skyquest XT 12" and a Meade Lightbridge 12"
I was wondering what people though of each one, is one better than the
other, pros or cons of each?
Your opinion is much appreciated.
Thanks
Eric

Eric wrote:
Hi,
I'm looking at an Orion Skyquest XT 12" and a Meade Lightbridge 12"
I was wondering what people though of each one, is one better than the
other, pros or cons of each?
Your opinion is much appreciated.
Thanks
Eric

Since the Lightbridge scopes are not yet in the hands of users, you're
not going to get an informed opinion of them unless you hear from a
beta tester.

What does it boil down to? Do you want a solid tube or truss tube
scope? A truss tube scope is going to be much easier to transport in a
vehicle. Historically, the Meade dobs have had good optics.

Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of _Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope_

Like SCTs and MCTs?
Join the SCT User Mailing List.
http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/sct-user

See my home page at
http://skywatch.brainiac.com/astroland/index.htm
for further info

For Uncle Rod's Astro Blog See:
http://journals.aol.com/rmollise/UncleRodsAstroBlog/

What does it boil down to? Do you want a solid tube or truss tube
scope? A truss tube scope is going to be much easier to transport in a
vehicle. Historically, the Meade dobs have had good optics.

The ability to break down the truss scope is an advantage, but at some
(probably slight) cost of having to collimate more often. There are also a
number of other ergonomic factors:

1) Quality of altitude/azimuth motion - sufficient friction without
stiction.
2) Quality of focuser and amount of travel.
3) Ease of adjusting collimation - secondary and primary adjustment.
4) Cooldown time.
5) Susceptibility to dewing.

Somebody needs to do a good review/comparison!

Dennis

Dennis Woos wrote:
What does it boil down to? Do you want a solid tube or truss tube
scope? A truss tube scope is going to be much easier to transport in a
vehicle. Historically, the Meade dobs have had good optics.


The ability to break down the truss scope is an advantage, but at some
(probably slight) cost of having to collimate more often. There are also a
number of other ergonomic factors:

1) Quality of altitude/azimuth motion - sufficient friction without
stiction.
2) Quality of focuser and amount of travel.
3) Ease of adjusting collimation - secondary and primary adjustment.
4) Cooldown time.
5) Susceptibility to dewing.

Somebody needs to do a good review/comparison!


Exactly! Many such for the Orion XT series and other Synta/GS Dobs, but
none yet for this new Meade truss Dob .. at least none I've seen.

Phil

Meade has a pretty dubious history with Dobs, so I'd be a little
suspicious. I personally think having to assemble and disassemble a
truss Dob every night out would be a royal pain, including the need to
recollimate. But of course if you couldn't fit a solid-tube Dob in your
car that might be the way to go. A truss Dob without a shroud is going
to lose some contrast if there is any ambient light, compared to the
solid-tube XT.

The Orion XT12 IntelliScope uses a Pyrex mirror, has altitude friction
control, and of course, the option for computerized pointing for just a
few more dollars than the Lightbridge, which has none of those things.
I'd go with the XT12 IntelliScope.
Joe

"RMOLLISE" wrote in message

Historically, the Meade dobs have had good optics.

I've heard that Meade has sourced the optics for this line from Guan Sheng,
but that strikes me as odd with GS now owning Celestron. Anybody got the
inside scoop?

Ed T.