Weasner's General LXD55 Feedback Page

GENERAL FEEDBACK

Last updated: 18 April 2004

This page is for user comments and information of a general nature or items applicable to all LXD55 models. If you have any comments, suggestions, questions or answers to questions posed here, e-mail them to me and I'll post them. Please use an appropriate Subject Line on your message. Thanks.

Subject:	Where to buy a replacement tube ring for AR5
Sent:	Friday, April 16, 2004 11:59:45
From:	"Cliff" (cjfn@sympatico.ca)
I have a broken tube ring for my LXD 55 AR5. Any idea how I get a
replacement or from whom? Does anyone specialize in selling the myriad
of little bits and pieces for scopes that break, go missing, etc.?

Best regards,

Cliff

Mike here: Try Telescope Warehouse (link on the Astronomy Links page on my ETX Site).

Subject:	LXD-55 SN8 Focuser question
Sent:	Monday, April 12, 2004 04:51:18
From:	Matt Green (mattg1967@yahoo.com)
I am a frequent visitor to your Astronomy site, and I appreciate all the
work that you put into it, and all the information that I have learned
from your site. I am living in Greece, and am a relatively new amateur
astronomer (just over 1 year). I jumped straight in with a Meade LXD-55
SN8, because after a lot of research it fit my budget and seemed to do
everything that I wanted it to do. I am pretty happy with it, except for
one thing. The focuser on it seems to be, shall we say, not quite top
quality. There is a good deal of play in the knobs before the gears
engage and move it, and what appears to be quite a bit of image shift
when I rack the focuser back and forth, even the tiniest bit. I have
changed the grease on it, but it still wiggles back and forth and plays.
Unless you know of a way to improve the focuser that came with the
scope, I am looking at buying a JMI crayford focuser. Can you tell me if
there is any way that I can improve the focuser on the scope, or would
it be best (easiest, most economical, least hassle) to replace the whole
thing? I am also doing a lot of astrophotography with a digital still
cam, and am frankly having a lot of problems getting a decently detailed
pictureand I think that's because of the (in)sensitivity of the
focuser, not my astrophoto experience, limited though it is Here is a
picture of Jupiter that I just recently took. It's the sharpest one that
I have been able to get, because of atmopheric conditions and the
focuser. Everything must have been just right that night, because the
rest of my planet pics don't show this much detail.

I really appreciate your web site, because I'm all alone over here
without access to any clubs or more experienced astronomers, and the
info on your site has helped me out enormously. I really appreciate it!

Thanks,

Matt Green

Mike here: I'd say you have managed to overcome any problems. Many times, seeing is the culprit of poor photos, although poor focus can certainly ruin them. As to focuser, I've seen good reports on the JMI ones.

Subject:	Meade SN 8
Sent:	Sunday, April 11, 2004 09:55:06
From:	"Allyne Armitage" (chikadeee@earthlink.net)
My Dad just ordered a meade LXD55 SN-8 EC.(Age 14)I've never had a
real scope before (just a little refractor) so I'm pretty excited. I was
just wondering if you had any tips on set up. Is it pretty easy to set
it all up? I heard a report that a piece was the wrong length and he
couldn't use the scope until he got the right piece. Does that happen
often?

If you don't have anLXD55 SN I would alsoreally like to hear from
someone who has gone through the process ofordering, recieving,
unpacking,putting together, and finally using an SN.I just want to
know what to expect. I want my firstsky session to go as smoothly as
possible.

This site is great!!! I've beenlooking for a place like this for a
while. Thank you for taking the time to respond to my letter!!- 3
yearamature-Allyne Armitage

Mike here: You will enjoy the telescope. When it comes ,or if you can't wait, you can get the manuals from Meade's website: http://www.meade.com/manuals, read the manual, three times. Then when you have the telescope play with it indoors where it is well illuminated. Once you are comfortable with the setup and control, then you can go outside in the dark and begin to explore.

And:

I was just wondering what you can see with 31x in an 8" SN.
What kind of view do you get of theM51 thewhirlpool galaxy? Or of
M42The Orion Nebula? And what about Jupiter and Saturn? I heard the
26mm eye piece affords about a 1 degree field of view. Is that true?
Thanks- Allyne Armitage

Mike here: You will be able to see craters on the Moon, cloud belts on Jupiter and the four brighter moons, the Ring around Saturn, brighter and larger nebula (like M42 and M31), star clusters (open and globular), and fainter objects like M51. Of course, from a dark site, the fainter DSOs will appear as "faint fuzzy objects" with little detail visible. Don't specifically know about the 8"SN but the 26mm typically gives about a 1/2 degree, depending upon the telescope.

Subject:	31mm Nagler on a 10" LXD55
Sent:	Saturday, April 10, 2004 08:45:04
From:	"Smith, David CW3" (david.smith@tb13.arfor.army.mil)
If I mount a 31 mm monster Nagles Type 5 on a 10" LXD55 (I haven't
actually bought either, yet) will I experience a blind spot in the
middle of the field?

Thanks!

     CW3 David Smith 
     Camp Wolverine, Kuwait

Mike here: Possibly. It may not be a full obstruction but you might be able to see a small blurry image of the secondary. It may be invisible on faint objects; more readily visible when viewing bright objects (like the Moon or Jupiter).

And:

Thanks for the fast response!  I'm impressed!!  Ever considered
enlisting in the Army?  I could use ya in my office!!!  One more quick
question:  I'm about to buy an ETX 125, to 'hold me over' until I get
back to the States (probably in 11 months), at which time I'm going to
invest in a 10" LXD55. My plan is to invest in some Nagler eyepieces now
to use with both scopes. I'm a little concerned about the weight of the
Naglers relative to the that of the ETX125;  I think this will be OK,
from what i've read on your website and elsewhere.  What I'd REALLY like
you to comment on, however, is this:  I would just LOVE to mount both
the 17mm Nagler Type 4 and the monster Naglernator 31mm Type 6 on the
ETX, the problem being, of course, the fact that both are 2" mounts
while the ETX accepts only 1 1/4".  Is there any kind of adaptor that
would enable this?  Would it be too heavy in any case?

Thanks again, Mike.  I have every intention of contributing liberally to
both your websites going forward.

     CW3 David Smith
     847th Personnel Services Battalion
     Camp Wolverine, Kuwait

Mike here: Actually, I was in the Air Force; fighter pilot.
You can use 2" eyepieces, with an adapter, however, you would get some vignetting, especially with the wider field ones. And weight could be a problem, but it can be offset by adding a counterweight system. One other problem would be if you used the eyepiece at the rear port; you would find that some orientations will cause the adapter/eyepiece to hit the base.

Subject:	10" LX200 Scope on LXD55 Mount & Tripod 
Sent:	Friday, April 2, 2004 20:44:22
From:	Jadevro@aol.com
Just discovered your site and the photo of you at the 8"SCT. I am new
at computerized T-scopes but due tofairly recent neck and low back
surgeries, am not able to use my old 13.1" Odyssey Dob anymore.

I bought the10" LX200 OTA, LXD55 Mount & Tripod from Astromart members.
I picked that combo because I have smaller & lighter components to set
up.

The weak link in the setup is the LXD55 tripod. Could you send me a
close up photo of the mount & tripod that you use so that I can see how
they mate, or would you tell me who makes the tripod and any adapter
that you use?

I'll keep this short as I expect that you don't have enough time in a
day to keep up with all of your activities.

Thank youin advancefor any guidance that youmay beable to send my
way.

Walt Devereaux

Mike here: Do you mean the telescope mounted to the GEM head or the GEM head attached to the tripod legs? If the former, there is a different bracket for the 10" vs the 8"SC.

And:

Sorry that I wasn't more specific. I am going to mount the LXD55 GEM to
myMeade LX10 field tripod. I will need an adapter to mate the base of
the LXD55 GEM to the head of the LX10 tripod.

Thank you,
Walt D.

PS: Visited Weasner's Corner on OPT. You do very nice work. I'll be
checking your sites & Weasner's Corner often as Inow have an ETX125 and
the 10" LX200/LXD55 GEM setup.
LXD55 GEM

Mike here: There is no adapter in the setup from Meade. Check the article "My Initial LXD55 8" SC Experiences" on the LXD55 Site for some photos.

And:

I built the 10" LX200 Scope onthe LXD55 Mount & Tripod from parts
bought from Astromart members. I like what I've got because with my neck
and low back operations I am limited to the bulk and weight of the
components that I can lift.

The weak link is the LXD55 tripod, so I need tofigure out a way to
usemy LX10 tripod which is very stable.

I'llcheck outyour article, "My Initial LXD55 8" SC Experiences".

Thanks,
wjd

Subject:	31mm Nagler
Sent:	Friday, April 2, 2004 11:09:04
From:	david.lowrie.smith@us.army.mil
Will it work with an f4 10 inch LXD55?  There is a rule of thumb that
says 7 times the focal ratio is the upper limit on eyepiece focal
length;  for the SN 10 inch scope that is 4 times 7 for 28mm as the
theoretical limit;  the Nagler is 31.  If I buy the scope (which I
probably will in any case) will I be able to use the 31mm Nagler without
noticeable problems?

Mike here: I don't have either to verify but I would suspect you could get some vignetting and perhaps see the secondary mirror when using that eyepiece. Whether either are bothersome will depend upon your likes and the extent of the effects.

Subject:	Replacement Parts for LXD55
Sent:	Friday, January 2, 2004 09:35:41
From:	"Theresa Figurski & Kerry Chartrand" (figurski@mts.net)
Can I get replacement parts for an LXD55? The plastic cover on the Dec.
motor is cracked on mine. Great web site. Keep up the good work!
 Kerry

Mike here: Meade will supply some replacements; contact them. For others, try Telescope Warehouse (link on the Astronomy Links page on my ETX Site.

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