16" Meade LX200GPS OTA for sale [OTA SOLD, rings availa

...unless you piggy-back Seanie and use him as a finderscope. :mrgreen:

that alone would be worth the upgrade!
He'd be tied...nay, NAILED onto the mount! :twisted:

Everything is in perfect working order,

Sheer curiosity ... how are the optics?

and was in use until last week when my 16" APM Mak-Cass arrived.

I saw your thread on CN ... many congrats! I am sure I speak for all us about being interested and eager to learn of your first light results.

Jeff - out of curiosity, for the moment...

Can the dewshield and the heater strip be made fit a C14? Also, is the heater strip connector kendrick compatible?

The OTA is VERY tempting - I don't think I'm in the market for it but you never know... So here's a few questions specific to the OTA:

1. How well does the mirror lock stop mirro flop?
2. How well does the OTA perform WRT its age/condition?
3. How good are the tube rings/radius blocks/dovetail WRT flexure? (i'd imagione the Parallax rings are top drawer)
4. Is the DM16 AP1200 compatible?

I'm just off to buy a Lotto ticket

Cheers
Dave

He'd be tied...nay, NAILED onto the mount! :twisted:

Ah, c'mon Michael, you wouldn't want to damage the anodised finish... I'd use adjustable steel straps. That way you could tighten them up - necessary because Seanie would be losing weight daily...

Anthony --

I'd say the optics are about average for this size SCT. The dominant defect is spherical abberation (I'd say on the order of 1/4-wave, although I'm no star testing expert). The mirror isn't as smooth as something you'd expect from Zambuto or Takahashi, but then it's no where's near the price either.

On the plus side, the optics/aperture were sufficient to reveal Abell PN 79 to me from NELM 5.5 Irish skies, which I'd say is no mean feat.



Cheers,
-- Jeff.

... the optics/aperture were sufficient to reveal Abell PN 79 to me from NELM 5.5 Irish skies, which I'd say is no mean feat.

As someone with a VERY big interested in planetaries and especially those within the Abell catalog, I know how difficult these objects are to observe and/or image.

One of the initial projects I will be revisiting is the Abell catalog once the new scope arrives.

I know full well what you mean above ... aperture is KING and it does not matter if you are observing or imaging. It is applicable to both camps and makes a world of difference.

Anyway, such a scope and even without lambda/10 optics can easily be put to very effective and productive use!!!