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Subject: Re: [M]: APO 5 and 6" owners!
From: Valerie & Bob Goff
Reply To: mapug@shore.net
Date: Sat Oct 05 08:08:18 1996

>I'm interested in hearing from Meade 5" APO refractor and even 6
>inch refractor owners to hear how you like your scopes and if there are
>somethings you'd like to see changed. I like the size factor of a 5 inch
>refractor but is there enough aperature for sharpness at wsing a 4.8mm
>nagler for 237x or a 7mm with a barlow to get sharp planetary images at
>about 300x. At what point does the sharpness die out, at 40 50 60x per
>inch of aperature? This applies to both city and dark sky viewing. I
>would not be buying it for deep space since I aleady own a 10inch lx-200,
>I'd be more interested in planetary sharpness and especially portability
>and the computer driven aspects. How are they for color correction? I
>haave heard from AP refractor owners that the meades still show a little
>color coming thru, is that true? How is the 6 inch for all of these same
>queations?
>
> Thanks. Ralph
>
>
>ps... I have no interest in purchasing a over priced Astrophysics
>refractor, my interests in refractors is solely with meade for a portable
>5 inch refractor with computer driven capabilities...

I have tested several 5"ers. There is a range of qualityfrom mot as good as
an 'expensive' apo to much worse than an 'expensive' apo.
To Summerise, I've tested 3 Mead's. The best one of the three had 80% of the
monochromatic rays of light in 1.1 arc seconds. That was attributed to zonal
aberrations, not spherical aberration. That indicates poor craftsmanship,
quality control, and customer service. I have tested $ apos buy that other
company that you dont want to do business with. Only one of them was not
diffraction limited, and only marginally so.
Buy your own ticket and take the ride that excties you most.
Test before you buy.
Bob
Senior Master Optician