Meade equipment sale

Micheal

Do you think I could get my C8 ota on this mount?

Conor

Conor,

I see no reason why not. The LXD55 already sells with an 8" SCT. I doubt there would be much of a weight difference between the OTAs.
www.meade.com/catalog/lxd55/lxd55_sc8.html

However, if you do take this step - be warned. As I understand, most if not all SCTs on fork arms need to factory aligned. If you remove the scope from the arms of your fork mount, it most likely will be an irreversible step as to place it back on the arms properly again may require accurate alignment in the Celestron factory.

I presume you might also need something to connect the scope to the mount. From looking at the pics, you may need some sort of dovetail bracket/saddle to connect it to the mount.

Mount is complete with tripod and all hardware, but please note that it is provided without optical tube, saddle plate or rings for an optical tube. Product line tubes, saddle plates and rings are not available from Meade, so custom parts will need to be made to mount your optical tube of choice to the existing dovetail mount on the equatorial head.

However, I doubt this would be too difficult, especially to a man of your skills!

Have you considered this Ken? What scope do you plan to put on it and how?

Michael

Hey Guys,
It's been said that the Meade LXD55 is a bit beefier than a Vixen Great Polaris, according to the Vixen site a GP mount's capacity is 22.1lbs, the estimated capacity of the LXD55 is 30lbs

Look at it this way, I don't think shipping from NJ to Ireland would cost more than 50. -100. USD. A good quality GoTo mount for 342. USD is still a great deal, plus sometimes refurbished equipment is better than new.

I'm on vacation next week for our 4th of July holiday (going tuna fishing in North Carolina) so I won't have access to my work email. I'll send a message to Seanie & Conor with my home email address and we'll work something out. A few words of caution .... if you really want to do this we better move fast.... the Meade store has been putting out lots of 10 mounts at a time, they have gone through quite a few lots already and who knows how many they have left.

Michael, I intend to put my Orion 80ED scope on this mount and I already have the tube rings. I have a machine shop at my disposal and a dovetail bar is easy to fabricate.

Kindest regards,
Ken

estimated capacity of the LXD55 is 30lbs[/b]

It will hold 30lbs, but will be wobbly (as a LXD55 SN10 owner I can testify!).

Look at it this way, I don't think shipping from NJ to Ireland would cost more than 50. -100. USD. A good quality GoTo mount for 342. USD is still a great deal, plus sometimes refurbished equipment is better than new.

342+100=442
442+21%tax = 535 (customs will notice a mount coming in!)
535USD ~= 450EUR

The LXD55 is getting phased out and replaced with the LXD75, so there should be plenty of good bargains going with the LXD55's.

I have a machine shop at my disposal and a dovetail bar is easy to fabricate.

Anyone near Dublin have access to a machine shop out of interest?

Hi Albert,
Sorry, I didn't make myself clear about pricing....

242. USD cost of mount
50.-100. USD estimated cost of shipping (NJ to Ireland)
342. USD total (not including customs fees)

Something to concider ... Although the LXD55's are being phased out, does Meade sell mounts alone or do they usually come as a package
(mount & scope) ? Also, these mounts are factory refurbished with a 1 year warranty. You're not going to get a warranty if you purchase a used unit from a private individual.

No, I do not have stock in the Meade company, I'm just offering to help my buddys across the pond! For persons living in the states this is a good deal, it's up to you to decide if it's a good deal for y'all.

Just thought I'd share......

Kindest regards,
Ken



Orion Atlas 8 EQ
Orion 80ED w/ Meade LXD55

Right, so how many of these LXD55's are available? It seems like there are 3 interested parties here! I think I could almost go for one myself.

For me, my scope's OTA is going to weigh around the 25-30 lbs when fully loaded with camera mount and a 3" reflector piggybacked on it. Therefore, I would need stability.

So, in Alberts opinion, I should refrain from jumping the gun and purchasing this mount. On Meade's site, they only have scopes up to 6" shown on the LXD55 mount, so that doesn't offer much confidence for me that this will solve my financial crisis versus telescope mount.

Oh well...