Meade 12 SCT Flexible Dew Shield
Astrozap
$65

After a recent experience with very heavy dew at the observatory, which has happened only a couple of times in the 9 year history of Cassiopeia Observatory, I decided to get a dew shield for the Meade 12" LX600. There are several options for dew shields, both homemade and commercial.

I previously used an Astrozap flexible dew shield on my Meade ETX-90, and flexible and metal Astrozap dew shields on my Meade LXD55 8" SC.

I also used the metal Astrozap dew shield on my Meade 8" LX200-ACF.

I have always appreciated the quality products that Astrozap offers and their excellent customer support so I immediately thought of them for a 12" LX600 dew shield.

As seen in the photo at the top right of this page, the LX600 has a counterweight rod beneath the Optical Tube Assembly (OTA). I wondered if there would be an interference problem with their Meade 12 SCT Flexible Dew Shield. I emailed Astrozap and got a response within minutes. They stated there would be no problem using the dew shield on the LX600. I placed the order and the dew shield arrived a few days later.

The dew shield was shipped rolled up inside a box. When unrolled it looked like the photo on the left below. The photo on the right shows the flexible dew shield ready to be attached to the telescope. Velcro is used to hold the ends of the dew shield together. Rubber padding to protect the telescope tube and give a good grip on the tube is visible at the top.

I used a long strap of double-sided Velcro to hold the dew shield rolled up for storage in the observatory:

The Astrozap Flexible Dew Shield fit nicely on my 12" LX600:

The counterweight rod is visible in the above photos. I may cut a small notch at the end of the dew shield to allow the shield to slide down further on the telescope tube. That would only be needed to provide extra security under windy conditions when there is also very high humidity. Of course, I'm not likely to be observing in those conditions.

Summary

The Meade 12 SCT Flexible Dew Shield is another great product from Astrozap. Dew shields are a superb way to provide protection against dew forming on a telescope corrector plate glass or refractor telescope aperture lens. They can also block off stray light from impacting the end of the telescope. I hope to not need the Astrozap dew shield in the future but I am very glad I have it just in case.

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