On Tuesday, March 31, 1998 5:52 AM, Dan Howard

> I am considering buying a 12 in LX200. I will use it for astrophotography
> primarily. Does anyone else out there use it for that purpose? What
> have your experiences been? Is it tripod/wedge stable enough? Are the motors
> strong enough or do they strain? Does it align well? Thanks for your
> help. What problems have you had?
>

I have owned the 12" LX-200 for 4 years. The optics are superb.
You can test your optics quite easily, but seeing should be good.
I believe Ed Stewart's Topical Archive has something on this:
http://www.austin.cc.tx.us/astro-ES/AstroDesigns/ I suggest
discussing what the dealer will he will do if you are not satisfied
in advance of your purchase. Write down details, dates and
names so that you can remind the dealer what was promised
in writing, if you are concerned.

I do not baby my 12" LX-200, rather, I abuse it. The motors have
been adequate for 4 years, however, I have always kept it well
balanced. I have modified my Dec drive with roller bearings so
that I can abuse it more. Most should not need to do this. It
resides in an unheated observatory and is used in sub-zero
temperatures. For visual use, the built in alignment routine
works extremely well. For CCD and emulsion work, I always
drift align, about 20 minutes with practice for up to 1 hour
exposures.

As for astrophotography potential, see Doc G's web site:
http://www.mailbag.com/users/ragreiner under Imaging,
CCD Imaging & Accessories, Color Imaging Methods
with the CCD Imager.

The Giant Field Tripod is very beefy and stable if placed on the
ground. For concrete use for projection imaging of planets, the
has made anti-vibration pads out of simple materials.

The Superwedge is cast aluminum- very rigid with a fit and finish
similar to the LX-200 castings with matching black powder coat.
It has a built in circular level which is typical of this type in precision.
The bottom castings are quite smooth easily allowing the use of a
more precise level if desired, though I rarely do so since when in the
equatorial mode, leveling is only needed to determine the horizon
which is used by the LX-200 to compensate for refraction in an area
where one tends to avoid taking astrophotos.



--
Michael Hart
Husen Observatory

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