Limerick Astronomy Club

Hi Guys,
I'm new to this so take it easy
Was looking to buy my first telescope.
Found a used one for sale on the internet, ad goes like this

Meade LXD75, German-type

Polar Illuminated Viewfinder: included

RA Control System: 9-speed, microprocessor-controlled, 12v DC, 72mm (2.83") worm gear

Declination Control System: 9-speed, microprocessor-controlled, 12v DC, 72mm (2.83") worm gear

Hemispheres of Operation: North and South

GO TO Pointing Precision (approx.): 15 arc mins.

Slow-Motion Controls: electric, both axes


Auto star Hand Controller: PIC 16C57 microcontroller; 2 line x 16 alphanumeric character display; 20-button keypad, red LED backlit

Main Telescope Controller: Motorola 68HC11 microprocessor; Batteries (user-supplied): 8 x D-cells. LXD75-Series models may alternatively be powered from an automobile cigarette lighter Battery Life (approx.): 40 hours

And I thought subnetting was bad!
Does it matter that it's a german type telescope?
Any pointers much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

Tom Walsh.

Hi Tom. Welcome.
A lot of that description is just fluff.
A 'German' type is a 'German Equatorial'
or just 'Equatorial'. It's the type of mount
The scope (tube / OTA or optical tube assembly) is on:
http://www.astronomyhints.com/mounts.html

So you have 3 important parts to any setup:
The mount, The OTA & how it's controlled.

First bit of advice I'd give you is if you don't
already own a pair of binoculars to go buy a pair.
You will ALWAYS use them.
A great pair are the Lidl 'Bressier' 10X50's
(€18! Last time they ran the offer)

Scope wise. Be ultra careful buying online.
One of the best sites to buy second hand gear
from is the US based Astromart. Or closer to home UK Astro Buy & Sell.
Stay away from EBay or the like.
Also if you are buying from an online shop,
shopnaround! The prices / delivery charges vary wildly.
Also DO NOT buy from an Irish based shop
unless talking to us first.
There is one biased shop out there that
are overpriced to put it nicely.

Lastly, all I'd say is if you have not
actually seen an EQ mount or the difference
between aperture of OTA's
(The club has a 10" & 12")
and lots more besides owned by members.
Come to an observing session and
take a good look thru and at ours!
Think of it as a working showroom.
You can then decide what size and type
interests or is right for you.

Hope this helps a bit.
Best thing to do is talk to us
at one if the meetings.

Best
Frank.

In all that description you dont mention the aperture of the scope, thats by far the most important aspect of any scope.

Thanks for the info Frank!

Its given me a lot to think about.

Dave the aperture is 8 inches, The guy says it's in perfect condition and selling it for €300.00?

I guess thata a good price if the mount is in full working order, and with that mount, thats a big question.
so long as you get a returns gaurantee , then you should be ok.

300 is good for this scope.
Lidl were selling it a few years ago at xmass
for 500.
Though with that cones the lidl 30 day no quibble return + the years guarantee from 'bressier' (meade's sister co. For Europe. )
For a first scope I'm bot sure I'd reccomend it.
There are plusses for the mount but only for
astrophotography reasons.
It's a tonne weight also!
Not a grab n go!

Grand, say no more, I'll wait.
Thanks guys.

Hi Guys,
Christmas came early!
I received my new Celestron CPC 9.25 today
I got a great deal from Andy in Northdown Telescopes.
I just want to say thanks to everyone who gave me advice!
Can't wait for the clear nights to come!

Thats great stuff Tom,
It's all ahead of you, its a fine scope, very portable and will serve you very well, looking forward to seeing it. !

Well done Tom.

Simon

Nice one. The C9.5 is a nice instrument and a great planetary scope. Get a webcam.

Well done on the buy.
that's a fine scope

Hi John
Funny enough I have 2 logitech quickcam pro 4000 webcams thrown in a box for a while now, don't know if they would be any good for imaging?
Quick spec,
Colour, CCD, Resolution=1280 x 960.
What do ye think?

not really Tom.
this is the one to start with:
Phillips SPC900 (discontinued)
http://www.robertreeves.com/900NC.htm
there is the world of info about using this cam
for planets / moon.
all my planet images were taken with one.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/franks_astrophotography/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Frank-Ry ... 0542957880

you can pick them and the eyepiece adapter & IR filter up on eBay still.
I've ordered one myself there last week
as my old one was broken.

to go further on what Frank was saying,
only a spc900/toucam pro/toucam pro2 will work as a planetary webcam.
You can try what you have but dont expect good results.
all the planetary images on the clubs gallery were done with a webcam.

It isnt so much the size of the cmos\ccd sensor in the webcam thats important, but how sensitive it is to low light levels. These 3 webcams work amazingly well in very low light levels.