Hi Rick,

I took delivery my 14"LX in June and am happy with it.
The glass seems fine but I've not done any critical
measurement. The Double-double (my quick and dirty
test) looks pretty good even through the soup we have
to look through here in the Pacific NW. Both
components were easily split.

Electronic and pointing performance seems fine so far.
Though I have not got a lot of miles on it yet.

The scope is pretty big...definitely a two-man lift to
safely mount it on the tripod/wedge.

I've found the 14" to be more wiggly than the smaller
LX200s (I have a 10" and 12"....need to sell the
12"<g>). Especially in polar mode. I expected this
since the drive base did not appear to be very
different from the smaller scopes yet it wieghs a lot
more than the 12". It is not awful though. Significant
inprovement in this area would require a great deal
more beefy drive/gear system. If you let the scope do
the work (slewing/focusing) so physical contact is
limited, the longer vibe dampening times should not be
a show stopper.

This baby is transportable but it is a chore to take
into the field. My is destined for a pier...just got
to get around to making one.

Cheers,
Ken Milburn
www.milburnwedge.com




On Wed, 22 Oct 2003 00:16:37 -0500, David Olmstead
wrote:

>
> Rick,
>
> Boy, I would love to see one of these big hummers.
> From the pics I have
> seen, the fork arms look beefier than the smaller
> LX200s. I have been
> hoping for reviews of this scope, especially some
words
> on the stability
> of the scope when mounted on the wedge. The base
looks
> to be the same
> dimensions as the smaller ones and I have to wonder if
> the tremendous
> weight would put too much stress on the RA bearings
> resulting in bad
> flexure for imaging purposes. If and when you mount
> this polar, perhaps
> you could let us know how stable it is. Mounted
altaz,
> it looks to be
> quite a nice performer.
>
> Thanks for the report. Our neighboring astro club
> (CVAS), close to Eau
> Claire Wisconsin, has a new 14 inch and I am hoping to
> get over there
> soon to check it out.
>
> Regards,
>
> Dave
>
> Rick Woods wrote:
> >
> > This is my first attempt at sending an email to this
> site, so I don't
> > know if I'm doing it right but here goes.
> >
> > I haven't seen many postings on the 14" LX200. I
took
> delivery on one
> > in June, and I thought I'd share my experiences. In
a
> nutshell, the
> > telescope is terrific. I've read many postings where
> people have
> > complained about mechanical, optical, or software
> problems with their
> > LX200's. My scope has none of these problems. At
> first I suspected an
> > optical problem, but I got the scope checked by a
> local guy who is very
> > good at that. He reported only very very slight
> spherical aberration,
> > and that the optics were about as good as I was
going
> to find in a
> > commercial telescope of this type. (The problem I
was
> having was a
> > combination of a lousy Meade 2" diagonal, which I
> resolved with a Tele
> > Vue Everbright, and air turbulence, which I have to
> live with).
> > Mechanically, the scope is tight as a drum. No slop
> in the gearing
> > whatsoever. The fork is quite massive, and you can
> beat on it with your
> > fist without inducing much in the way of vibration.
> The vibration
> > suppression pads do make a difference, too.
> > The assembly is, however, quite nose-heavy, and I
> need to cobble
> > together a balancing system. For now, bungee cords
> and ankle weights
> > are doing just fine.
> > The go-to is dead on, and after the auto alignment,
> the scope will put
> > objects within the field of a high-power (15mm)
> eyepiece no matter where
> > they are in the sky. I believe my software release
is
> 1.06B, but I'm
> > saying that from memory.
> >
> > The down side: the thing is heavy! The OTA/fork
> assembly is 110 pounds.
> > Two people can lift it onto the tripod without too
> much trouble, but
> > putting it on the Superwedge is almost impossible.
> The wedge will remain
> > unused until my observatory is completed, and I can
> permanently mount
> > it.
> > Speaking of the wedge, it had all the slop, etc.
that
> everyone on this
> > site said it would. I combined the information from
> several people's
> > postings, and installed thrust bearings, nylon and
> teflon washers, etc.,
> > and got it working nice and smooth. (But I haven't
> actually tested my
> > improvements yet, see above). I'm not going to worry
> about backlash,
> > since it will be permanently mounted and I'll only
> have to adjust it
> > once.
> >
> > So, if any of you are thinking about upgrading,
> here's a firsthand
> > account. If you can part with the bucks (or even if,
> like me, you
> > can't), this is a really good product. I don't
intend
> to do any
> > upgrading of the software, including the Smart Mount
> upgrade - it works
> > great just like it is, and if it ain't broke, I'm
not
> going to fix it!
> >
> >
> > Any questions? Email me, I'm always ready to talk
> about this scope!

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