Meade 12-Inch LightBridge (f/5) Truss-Tube Dobsonian
by Meade
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Customers in the UK,
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for British Pounds
Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: MeadeModel: 1205-05-02
Product features:
- It's not just a big telescope, it's a big telescope that goes anywhere
- LightBridge dobs give you high-quality Meade optics, premium components and ultra portability
- Telescope Features: Red Dot Viewfinder, Open Metal Truss Design, Crayford Style Focuser
- Includes: Fan, Autostar Suite Astronomical Software
- Magnification: 500.0
- Focal Length: 1219.0 mm.
- Objective Lens Size: 0. mm.
- Eyepiece Type: SP 26mm
- Optical Tube Dimensions: 0.34 Dia x 0.34 L
- Recommended Use: Astronomy
- Weight: 80.0 Lb.
- Warranty Description: 1 Year Limited Manufacturer Warranty 100% Parts,Labor,Up to $200 Replacement
- Corel Photo & Video Pro X3 Bundle [Old Version]
- Meade 2x TeleXtender 2-Inch Eyepiece
- Meade® 1.25" 15mm QX Wide Angle Eyepiece
- Meade 1.25inch 20mm QX Wide Angle Eyepiece
- Meade 2inch 36mm QX Wide Angle Eyepiece
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Meade 12-Inch LightBridge (f/5) Truss-Tube Dobsonian
Customer Review: Good, solid instrument, with minor flaws
Summary: 4 Stars
As someone with a renewed interest in Astronomy, I wanted a telescope with good light gathering power (better than what I had as a child, both a 50mm refractor and a 6 inch reflector). I also wanted something I could easily take with me in a standard passenger car to a deep sky site.
I was happy to see that these "truss dob" telescopes are now available on the market. As I'm not someone who is naturally good at "do it yourself" projects, I wanted a commercial product that could be assembled easily enough by me, and also portable. This 12" Meade Lightbridge does this rather nicely.
I received the telescope in 2 boxes. One thing that Meade still needs to work on is designing a mirror cover that actually stays on the mirror during shipping. Mine was off, and rattling around loose in the "light bucket". Fortunately, it somehow never came in contact with the mirror, or if it did, it didn't rub against it very hard. I could see no obvious scratches.
Assembly of the telescope was relatively straightforward, although a couple of the diagrams were a little confusing to interpret. After studying them and using some common sense, I was able to figure out the assembly.
Performance of the telescope is very good, even with my moderately light polluted sky (northern Kentucky, about 15 miles from Cincinnati, OH). I have been able to easily pick out individual stars in several Messier catalog globular clusters, and can easily resolve the 4 stars of the trapezium in the Orion nebula. I haven't been able to "split" some double stars, but that could be just because I was using low power at the time. Most notably, I observed the recent flare-up of Comet Holmes in late October/early November 2007, which was quite impressive in the wide view of the included 27mm eyepiece.
I do have a few minor complaints about the telescope. I don't know why this is, but the focusing assembly simply will not move out far enough to bring objects into focus with the included 27mm eyepiece. This isn't a show stopper, as I can loosen the gripping ring, move the eyepiece out a bit, and retighten the ring. Still, I'm surprised that this was the case, given I was using the included eyepiece. I recently acquired a 9mm eyepiece, and it does not have this issue.
Also, the reticle that shipped with the telescope could not be calibrated. I think something was jammed inside, because one of the adjustment screws would have little to no effect when I turned it. I called Meade, and they shipped another one. They didn't ask for a credit card or anything as collateral, nor did they include instructions on shipping the old one back. I'm guessing that these are a "dime a dozen". The good news here is the replacement sighting worked correctly, and I am able to find several deep sky objects now without too much trouble.
Another small annoyance: the bottom of the "light bucket" rubs against the tension knob of the base when tilting the telescope about 60 degrees. It isn't a huge problem, but sometimes getting an object centered in the eyepiece requires more effort.
If you are interested in buying this telescope, I would highly recommend purchasing the laser collimator as well. Like the previous reviewer said, this telescope has more of a tendency to "slip alignment" since it can be disassembled, so having a laser collimator makes things MUCH easier.
So, overall, I would recommend this telescope to anyone who wants to make a "step up" from a previous, smaller rig they own. It isn't perfect, but still a good quality, solid instrument. With its ample light gathering power and its ease of transport, I think it is a good choice. I'm now looking forward to a moonless night in a dark sky area to really appreciate its potential.
Description of Meade 12-Inch LightBridge (f/5) Truss-Tube Dobsonian
Aperture: 12-Inch. Focal Length: 1524mm. Focal Ratio: f/5. It?s not just a big telescope. It?s a big telescope that goes anywhere. New LightBridge truss-Dobs from Meade take down and set up quickly. So you can take one of these massive windows on the universe out to your favorite dark sky locations with ease. LightBridge Dobs give you high quality Meade optics, premium components, and ultra portability ? all for about the same price as an ordinary tube Dob. So get a LightBridge truss-Dob. And prepare to cross the universe. FEATURES: Diffraction Limited Optics Meade optics consistently outperform telescopes of similar and larger aperture. Consumers know that ?Meade Optics Inside? means that what they see through our telescopes will be views that are detailed, crisp and full of contrast. 2-Inch Crayford-Style Machined Aluminum Focuser With 1.25-Inch Adapter Smooth precise focusing is achieved with this classic design. A unique focus tension knob and focus lock design gives complete control over focus. Built-In Primary Mirror Cooling Fan Bring the telescope into thermal equilibrium quickly and efficiently with the battery powered cooling fan. The fan is mounted to the rear of the ?vented? primary mirror cell for fast cool down.Reflectors
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