Tag Archives: lxd75

Dec 13 2019

Early Winter project


Turning into winter again with turbulent cloudy skies; so it is a good time for changes and building the new. I have just acquired another EQ6-r Pro mount and have set it up with my Celestron C6. I have just added an electronic focuser to the C6 with the Orion mini autoguider. A new BeeLink mini PC manages it all.

This rig will be used primarily for DSLR and close-up imaging, as the C6 is at f/10 with a focal length of 1500mm as compared to the LXD75 sn-10 at f/4 and 1016mm. I have been wanting to get a good close-up image of Neptune: December is a good time for that.

Oct 15 2013

Telescope upgrade


Some changes have been made.

The Meade DSI II CCD is now used as an auto-guider and is part of the piggy backed 3” refractor. The Crayford motorized focuser is still doing its job superbly, and a new focus mask helps with the initial focus to give me sharp focus.

Meade LXD75-sn10 Steve Johns

Meade LXD75-sn10 Steve Johns

The Crayford 2” focuser can handle a lot of weight and always holds its focus: it is very solid and will serve me for decades to come. As you can see, I have flipped the OTA by 90deg because of balance issues, and now with the weight of the focuser and camera the weight is more evenly distributed and equal to the finder scope on the other end of the plane.

The guide scope rings and base plate have been replaced with a lighter replacement from SCOPESTUFF.COM as well as the new 6” counterweight extension. This telescope was a little top heavy so instead of adding more weight to the mount (as it is at its limit with this big 10” scope), I simply obtained the extender to more shift and distribute the counter weight. To further reduce the load on the mount motors, I enabled the quiet slew option which enables a slower skew: I am not in a hurry.

Now to get one of those new Meade LX850 series mounts…

Meade LXD75-sn10 Steve Johns

Meade LXD75-sn10 Steve Johns

Meade LXD75-sn10 Steve Johns

Meade LXD75-sn10 Steve Johns

Meade LXD75-sn10 Steve Johns

Meade LXD75-sn10 Steve Johns

Clear skies!