When my 10 LX200R OTA arrived I immediately noticed small aluminum shavings on the primary mirror and on the inside surface of the corrector plate.  I also had a pronounced image shift between inside and outside of focus, suggesting a non-orthagonal baffle tube.  I originally dealt with this by purchasing a FeatherTouch focuser for the 3.25 threaeded back focus on the OTA and locked the primary mirror prior to collimating. Final focus was achieved with the add-on FT focuser.

I later disassembled the OTA to add flocking and discovered that the primary mirror baffle slider had NO grease.  After re-greasing the slider, completing the flocking and blowing off the aluminum shavings, the stock focuser now performs as it should with no in/out image shift remaining.  The optical quality of the improved R OTA is much flatter than my original 10 LX200 Classic and works well with CCD chips as large as the ST-10XME.  The optics are sound and if the manufacturer would correct ongoing QC assembly issues, this scope will be quite competitive in the market.  It should be noted that not everyone is able to or willing to fix the poor assembly issues that often arrive with these scopes.

From: | Created on: 10/16/2009 1:48:54 PM

First OTA received had the non-orthogonal baffle tube issue which caused bad intra/extra focus collimation and comatic stars. Sent back to Meade and received the 2nd OTA in about 45 days which does not have the issue and is quite good optically.  Very flat field for a SCT, just what is needed to cover large imaging chips.  Has a bit of mirror movement when focusing but locking down the primary and focusing with a external Crayford focuser solves that issue. Responds well to the AP 0.67X focal reducer to get larger FOV. Recommended for AP.

From: | Created on: 10/16/2009 1:48:53 PM