Re: I'm want to beat this XT-12 vs. Lightbridge-12 horse a little longer.
- From: "Jan Owen" <janowen1z@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2006 13:52:12 -0700
I'll address the individual questions I can under your questions...
--
Jan Owen
To reach me directly, remove the Z, if one appears in my e-mail address...
Latitude: 33.6
Longitude: -112.3
http://community.webshots.com/user/janowen21
"Starboard" <errol_winn@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1167506330.638784.104460@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi SAA folks -
Seems as though I got the twinkle in my eye for more twinkle. SAA
advised me a year ago (when I was ready to graduate from binocs to a
scope) to start with the XT-8 and I can say that the scope has served
me well. The boys and I got many fantastic nights of observing in last
winter. With Saturn and Jupiter together at opposition, and Mars not
far off. we got our planets full.
I added a few more eye pieces, filters (Sky Glow and others), and a
Barlow to better equip myself. I moved on to the DSO's; logged/enjoyed
twenty five or so; completed the Mini Marathon published in Sky &
Telescope (I think, maybe it was another magazine) early on in the
year.
Nonetheless, the aperture fever is setting in and I think the meds are
either XT-12 or Lightbridge 12 Deluxe.
I went back and read many earlier threads, but still have a few
questions that I don't think were addressed.
1) I read a rating that was a complaint about the base laminates coming
apart after only a few uses. Has anyone else had this problem?
This has not been a problem for me, but I live in the low desert of Arizona,
so I have less dew problems than many folks... On one surface, on my
Lightbridge, they forgot to install the edging strip. I just painted it
black, with two thick coats of black urethane. It's an invisible surface,
but at least now, it's sealed. The main thing to watch out for on EITHER
scope is that the edges of the "wood" surfaces are well sealed, and that
there is NO "wood" exposed to moisture... If all is sealed well, you should
not have any problems with either scope... If either scope has wood exosed,
get some paint and SEAL it, post haste... Also check the bottom of the
ground board, to make sure there is no "wood" exposed in any oversized screw
holes...
2) How well does the collimation hold, the scope being of the truss
design? I understand that if the unit is transported over any
appreciable distance, road imperfections will jostle the mirror cell
causing the need to re-collimate. But what if I gently move the scope
from inside the house to outside. Is there enough slop in the truss
that when it is moved, or disassembled and reassembled, that
collimation WILL be necessary. I find that my SkyQuest XT-8 can be
moved around considerably without the need for collimation. This in my
mind is a serious plus for XT-12 (assuming the 12 holds up as well as
my 8)
The first thing you should do with EITHER scope is tighten all the screws
that hold the spider assembly to the tube, and the secondary holder to the
spider. And make sure the primary cell is firmly attached... And the
screws that hold the trusses to the tube assemblies are nice and tight (I
don't mean you have to make them REALLY thight, but you DON'T want any
movement, either). Once everything is good and snug, if it's a Lightbridge
12", replace the primary cell collimation springs with much stronger ones as
sold by Scope Stuff, the Astronomy Shoppe, and Bob's Knobs. And at the same
time, replace the primary and secondary collimation adjustment screws with
Bob's Knobs, or the equivalent, as sold at the other two places I just
mentioned... These are good choices for both scopes, though not a
necessity. Once you've used them for awhile, you'll THINK they're a
necessity. I don't know about the primary cell springs on the XT-12. But,
if it's a LightBridge, once you have the strong springs in the primary cell,
you have the option to eliminate the *locking* screws... I removed mine,
and have had no problems with the scope losing collimation, other than a
solid bump, or something like THAT... It holds collimation quite well week
after week, with little or no adjustment necessary to hole even VERY tight
collimation via the autocollimator...
If you take the OTA structure apart for transporting it to another site,
mark your trusses, so that you put them back in the same position every
time... This will minimize the amount of collimation you will have to do
when you put it back together (but you WILL have to collimate)...
Get yourself a good set of collimation tools... CatsEye or Tectron have
excellent tools... I have a laser collimator, too, but I mostly use the
Tectron tools I already have, though I've been eyeing the new CatsEye 2"
set...
3) I read that the Lightbridge does not hold position well when
observing object near the horizon. I know that that is a the catch 22
trade off for ultra slick bearings. When large 2" ep's are used (with a
Barlow), I suppose a small counterweight could be added being the
mirror to increase stability when using the scope horizontally. But
does the Lightbridge have a means to increase bearing friction? Knob,
etc..?
This is not a serious issue, and is a good thing, if you like your movement
in both axes to be smooth and easy... I use magnetic counterweights with
felt backing to prevent scratching the tube... These are available at Scope
Stuff. How many you need will depend on your largest eyepieces... I have a
lot of eyepieces, and several VERY large ones, so I ended up buying several
magnetic weights... Works like a charm, without screwing up the "feel" of
the scope... Or you could build your OWN counterweight system...
4) Meade support. I have had absolute perfect service with Orion.
Although I received flawed products, Orion replaced everything
promptly, no questions asked. One time, I had the item for 4 months
before I actually discovered the defect, and although it was past the
30 day return policy, they took it back anyway and gave me a credit.
Can I expect the same level of service from Meade?
I've had perfect support from Meade for about 25 years, now... But getting
to TALK to someone there can be trying at times... I generally buy my
(Meade and other) scopes and accessories through Astronomics, who have
excellent service in their OWN right, and who CAN be reached. Been dealing
with Orion for many years, too... Excellent service there, too... Hard to
complain about either one. But as sure as I've said this, someone will feel
compelled to tell their Meade war stories... I don't doubt them, but many
of these may be at least partially related to the person's attitude when
contacting the company rep...
5) The inside of the tube assembly of the XT-12 is painted flat black
to dampen stray light. The Lightbridge is only partially painted black
and only in the primary and secondary mirror assemblies. The truss are
white. Shouldn't these be black as well? An easy fix I know, but
wanted the groups opinion.
There are some areas of the Lightbridge tube assemblies that should be
painted flat black, but weren't. How significant that will be to YOU
depends on your viewing site... If you live, or observe, at a dark site, it
probably won't matter much. If you have lights in the area, or a lot of
light pollution, or both, it would probably be advisable to paint those
parts. And it wouldn't be a BAD idea to do it anyway...
6) Included accessories: The XT-12 now comes with the 9x50 right angle
finder and a laser collimator (which I have yet to find one worth
having. I had two, neither one worth a crap). The Lightbridge, a red
dot finder.
I used to insist on at least a 60mm optical finder on my scopes... But over
the last couple years, I've been changing my scopes over to Rigel
Quickfinders. The Rigel works, is easy to collimate with the scope, and
even more important, it's LIGHT... I replaced my Meade Deluxe Lightbridge
red dot finder with a Rigel. Not because there was anything WRONG with the
Meade supplied unit, but because the Rigel is significantly lighter, and is
easier to collimate quickly... And probably mainly because I just like the
Rigel and will soon have them on EVERYTHING... Maybe even my lawnmower...
7) Cost: XT-12 is $869. The Lightbridge $999.
I think they are both offer good value... Depends on how much the
portability pluses of the LightBridge are worth to you... They both weight
about the same, overall, but the LB can be pulled apart and made quite a bit
more compact, if that's important to you...
I'd recommend EITHER to you. Mostly depends on your PERSONAL equation of
what's most important to YOU, not to any of us out HERE... But I will
finish by saying I've been doing amateur astronomy for several decades, and
have owned (and still own) quite a few scopes, but the LightBridge became
one of the all-time favorites right away...
Your thoughts....
Errol
Pasnola
You'll probably get a variety of answers to your questions, but the most
important thing to remember is; everyone out here has their own set of
needs, experiences, and biases. So take the time to read EVERYTHING you can
find on these things, and make your OWN decision. Treat everything you read
as just one more piece of data that either will or will not fit into YOUR
puzzle...
Good LUCK!!!
Jan
.
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