Here we are at the moment to make a nice review of the new frame which I installed in the observatory. The frame is then considered the Meade LXD750.
The purchase of this frame is acquired under the advice of my friend James and he immediately piqued my interest.
The reasons that led me to change the frame for the observatory are two-fold: firstly, to have a really fixed frame, not to move around more, which I had to do with the EQ6 to make public comments on the evening in second place I needed to go on a frame "heavy" that had a range exceeding the EQ6 so that you can take to better my newton 250 mm, and then who knows in the future means of 300 mm or larger apochromatic.
We come now to write a review without her going, starting with the packaging that I have noticed that the packaging is masterfully created and is robust enough to protect the wedge by the accidental ..
The Meade LXD750 just taken dell'imaballo
out of the box you'll immediately notice its strength, is massive and wonderfully made with a head weight of about 26/27 kg, removing the cap that covers the polar scope (optional) will immediately notice the bearing of the axis of AR, which truly mammoth suffered from a feeling of great build quality. Another note about the tripod is supplied with the mount, just a word for it, great. The height is impressive build quality, has a terrific sound and is really the top as rigidity and stability.
I mounted the LXD on a fixed column and then not use the tripod, but I'm already thinking about a small change to the use of the wedge with this fabulous EQ6 tripod.
Once attached to the frame column appears in all its glory, I made a special attachment plate in order to use the attack Vixen / Losmandy. The LXD
in my possession is the version with Autostar computer 1697 and is operating with a 18V power outlet or network or with a cigarette lighter (optional).
Once on the Autostar seems to be at home, easy, fast and intuitive. We propose to first turn to enter the coordinates of where you are and time, then a buffer memory will remember this information.
For alignment there are several procedures, the easiest and simplest solution is to place the RA axis at 90 degrees and then automatically he will point the North Star and the mechanical movements of the North Star center, once completed this Autostar operation will target a star of its catalog and we will have centers with electrical movements, even after completing this step will be perfectly aligned and the LXD tracking is very precise.
But the real jewel of pointing LXD, which is essential in CCD imaging, is the function of matching.
This function is used to point in a very precise and Deepsky objects is a star point (usually the principal) and a constellation point indicated once is enough to make the object you want to goto ritrovarselo perfectly to the center of the eyepiece or CCD.
Another interesting feature is really useful in long-exposure CCD imaging is the smart drive. This feature improves
significantly pursuit, and is to record the error of the mating worm gear RA and DEC movement when tracking a star, and then replicate continuously during the shooting. In the field, the frame behaves really well, with all tubes movements are still very fluid and precise. I tried several times extreme points, from one part of the sky ever noticing a remarkable precision in the focus deep sky objects, and planetary subjects point in the error was minimal.
With the pipe 250 mm Newton I noticed that the damping of vibration occurred in about 2 seconds, a sign of good mechanical engineering.
A real treat for a frame in its class is also the presence of two Monopoly manual micrometer for movement.
I also made photo sessions and Hi-Res and deep sky. For the first I could easily make shots with long focal lengths of 180 Mak. Shooting for deep sky I still waiting, I found a small cable original file compatibility for SBIG autoguiding do, in fact, the electrical connections are reversed and I carry a cable ad hoc. I made some shots without cmq guider and trouble shooting I did about 2 / 3 minutes without scoring any stretch of the stars.
A negative note is listed the polar scope, which my experience is not very precise and difficult collimation, besides this I also noticed a bit 'of backlash in DEC but the specific function significantly improves the problem that needs to disappear completely recorded mechanically coupling the worm wheel gear.
Ultimately this is a very good LXD750 Meade mount electronics with really beautiful and functional, the LX200 protocol always works very well, mechanically very good pair is made with good materials and well designed (indeed seem to be too oversized).
The Meade LXD750 on its tripod.
The Meade LXD750 in an evening observing.
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