Re: meade lightbridge. Was BIG dob recs

I was very close to getting a 10" one today. I may yet get it since I have
to wait almost a year for a Plettstone but I had a chance to play with a 12"
in the store a while back.

The focuser was smooth and seemed well made. The top piece and the mirror
box are made of metal, the whole ota was NOT light. The rocker box is
typical Meade/Celestron Dob. I did like the alu Alt bearing, felt smooth
but not having much experiance using dobs, I can't tell you if it is smooth
enough.

The 12" had a problem though. It seems mirror box would hit the friction
adjustment knob, that is situated inside the bottom of the rocker box, when
you get past 45deg. It almost seemed like the side panels on the rocker box
were not tall enough. I think Meade sent a new one to replace the defect
piece when I asked about it today.

As for the knitty gritties, I can't say anything about it yet since I've not
had 1 to play with under the stars. But keep watch this channel, it may
happen soon.

vincent

On 11/29/06, Bill Cone <cone@No-Spam> wrote:
>
> There was a 12" Lightbridge up at the Sierra Buttes class this
> summer. While it looks good in photos, I was unimpressed in person.
> Fit and finish up close is mediocre. The supplied red dot finder was
> a piece of garbage that could not be properly adjusted. I worked on
> that one awhile, and could only drive the reticle "close" to the
> center of the eyepiece field. Unbelievable. Collimation on the scope
> was way off. You could not bring an object to a sharp focus. One of
> the instructors spent about 40 minutes helping the student get it
> closer. From the sounds and dialogue in the dark, it was clearly a
> frustrating process.
> I would NOT recommend this scope to anyone when there are so many
> well made scopes on the market. Better to buy a used, well-crafted
> and designed scope than a new "affordable" scope is my advice.
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