Meade 14" f/10 LX200 ACF Telescope with Giant Field Tripod

The Meade 14" f/10 LX200 ACF Telescope has long been a classic fixture among Meade's LX series of Alt/Az fork mounted telescopes. Incredibly compact for its aperture, the 14" f/10 ACF is ideally suited for setting up in the backyard, in medium sized observatories, and taking in the car to a dark sky site on the weekend. When disassembled, the LX200 14" is fairly manageable and can be set up quickly with a relatively little effort. Be sure to check the component weight breakdown below to make sure you are comfortable lifting the heaviest individual pieces. It is recommended to utilize two people to lift the optical tube/fork arm assembly up onto the Giant Field Tripod. Strong and stable fork arms hold the optical tube rock solid to dampen any vibrations, which is critical for high power planetary observation or long exposure deep-sky imaging. Push button controls, automatic locating and tracking of celestial objects, and a wealth of object data at your fingertips in the AutoStar II hand controller make the LX200 a joy to use.

The patented Advanced Coma Free (ACF) optics produce impressively flat fields of view with no coma, even out to the edges of larger format cameras or extreme wide angle eyepieces. This makes the ACF system ideal for visual observers and astro-imagers alike. The Ultra-High Transmission Coatings (UHTC) are included as with all Meade ACF optics, yielding maximum image brightness and contrast at the eyepiece or camera sensor. The ACF system also reduces astigmatism and eliminates diffraction spikes.

Designed and Manufactured in North America.

The ACF primary, secondary and corrector plate glass blanks are manufactured in the USA exclusively for Meade. Meade ACF telescopes, including the mounts, are manufactured and assembled in North America.

The optical path and components of the ACF telescope design

Key Features and Upgrades in the LX200 Series

The Meade LX200 series differs from the LX90 offerings in several key ways. First is the inclusion of a focus lock system, which prevents the mirror from moving while observing or during long exposure astrophotography as the telescope tracks across the sky. Turn the lock knob located just above the telescope's main focus knob and the progressive-tension primary lock completely cancels any residual image shift due to mirror movement during visual or imaging applications.

Next, for those wishing to enhance the focusing process even further, is the ability to attach the optional Electronic Microfocuser (Meade #07080), which enables precise, touch-free focusing via the AutoStar II handset. Simply plug the Microfocuser into the dedicated jack located on the motor base of the LX200 to operate the system.

Next up on the list of refinements for the LX200 series are several upgrades to the motor drive system. The maximum slew rate has been increased to 8 degrees per second over the LX90 (which tops out at 6.5 degrees per second). On a cold night, every second counts when slewing from one side of the sky to the other to acquire your next target, and the time saving will start adding up! The Smart Drive technology provides Permanent Periodic Error Correction (PPEC) on both axes over the course of one or more training sessions, thereby minimizing guiding corrections during long exposure imaging. And the Smart Mount system constantly refines the pointing accuracy each time an object is centered and updated. This works in Alt-Az mode, or even with one of the optional wedges in equatorial mode. The LX200 also uses higher torque motors compared with the LX90 system, along with even higher resolution encoders which translates into even better drive accuracy.

Speaking of alignment, the LX200 series includes automatic alignment using a built in magnetic north sensor coupled with the GPS and level sensors. With the LX200, you don't have to manually find north and level in order to set the home position of the telescope — the LX200 does that all for you!

Mechanical Advantages of the LX200 ACF Series

Mechanically, the LX200 series incorporates some notable design and feature upgrades that set it apart. More robust fork arms provide an even more stable platform for the optical tube to ride in, minimizing vibrations in the eyepiece and flexure throughout the night. This allows for the larger 14" optical tube to sit atop the fork arms — a size that does not exist in the LX90 series. The robust fork arms translate into a more stable platform — the name of the game when you're considering very high power planetary viewing, or long exposure deep-sky imaging. Because of this added stability and weight capacity of the fork arm/motor base, the LX200 series offers additional optical tube apertures over the LX90 series: 8" all the way up to the giant 16" ACF model.

Here is the weight breakdown of the 14" telescope's main components:

• Optical tube and fork base assembly: 105 lb.
• Giant Field Tripod: 50 lb.
• Assembled telescope weight: 155 lb.

Of course, ergonomically designed handles on the fork arms make installation quite easy. They're very handy for astronomers who must set up and break down their rig for each observing or imaging session, and ensure a stable and secure grip when holding the telescope during the assembly/disassembly process.

One last mechanical upgrade to mention — slow-motion controls located on the fork arm and base. Both altitude and azimuth include a geared slow-motion knob, in case you need to manually adjust the position of the telescope. This normally would not be necessary when using the computer system, but suppose you are using the telescope out in the field without power, and you forgot to bring a set of batteries to power the AutoStar II GoTo system. In an event like this, the telescope can still be used completely without power and the slow-motion controls will allow for easy tracking, even at high planetary magnification.

Advanced Electronics and AutoStar II GoTo Pointing Technology

The "brains" of the LX200 is the included AutoStar II computer system with its 145,000 object-library (almost 5x the database size of the LX90!), multiple guided tours, and High Precision GoTo Pointing capability. The AutoStar II system provides control of virtually every telescope function. The AutoStar II handbox has soft-touch keys, an LCD display that's backlit with red LEDs to preserve your night vision, and intuitive key arrangement and menus that make AutoStar wonderfully easy and fun to use.

Precise star alignment is performed quickly and nearly effortlessly with Meade's level north technology alignment system, incorporating a 16-channel GPS receiver. The drive base of the telescope has multiple input/output ports including an RS-232 PC interface, Autoguider port, illuminated reticle power, and 12v output power. Mount and electronics are internally powered by 8 C-cell (user-supplied) batteries, which will typically operate the telescope for around 20 hours (an optional Meade Universal AC Adapter is also available).

Optional Equatorial Wedge Transforms the LX200 Into an Imaging Powerhouse

The LX200 is a highly versatile instrument, able to adapt to the needs of the user. An optional equatorial wedge, the Meade #07028 X-Wedge, is available to convert your Alt/Az LX200 telescope into a polar aligned, EQ mounted instrument for deep-sky imaging. There are two distinct advantages to using a wedge for deep-sky imaging. First, it will eliminate any field rotation inherent in an Alt/Az tracking system. This will allow you to take longer sub-exposures without field rotation artifacts. Second, no meridian flip will be required as with a German Equatorial mount. This is a huge inconvenience because imaging must be interrupted while the flip is performed, then a guide star must be re-acquired and the guiding re-established and stabilized. That all requires user supervision and wastes valuable imaging time. Of course, for visual use the wedge is not necessary.

The optional Meade X-Wedge installed between the drive base and the tripod

Quality Borne of North American Manufacturing

Designed and manufactured in North America to exacting quality standards, the Meade LX200 series of fork mounted Alt/Az Advanced Coma-Free GoTo telescopes are perfect for the discerning visual astronomer or dedicated astro-imager. The Meade 14" LX200 ACF features an 14" aperture, 3556mm focal length, and f/10 focal ratio with Dual-Fork Mounting. The Ultra High Transmission Coatings (UHTC) and a resolving power of 0.33 arc-seconds provide an improvement in brightness and resolution on everything from star clusters, fine detail in nebulae, to greater surface features on planets. Includes a Series 4000 26mm Super Plössl eyepiece (137x), viewfinder (8x50 optical with crosshair), 1.25" diagonal mirror, and Giant Field Tripod.

Whether at home in your backyard, in a domed observatory, or on road trip to beautiful dark skies, the versatile Meade 14" f/10 LX200 ACF Telescope will provide years of astronomical exploration and amazement.

• 14" f/10 Advanced Coma Free Optics - 3556mm (f/10) focal length
• AutoStar II GoTo system (145,000 objects) and built-in GPS included
• Ultra-High Transmission Coatings (UHTC)
• Mirror lock to completely eliminate any residual image shift
• Includes Series 4000 26mm Super Plossl, 8x50 finder, 1.25" diagonal, and Giant Field Tripod

Instruction Manual:

• EN: Meade LX200-ACF 12" f/10 Telescope with Giant Field Tripod

• EN: Meade X-Wedge for LX200 and LX600 Telescopes

Software Downloads:

• Autostar Suite Astronomers Edition (Lite Version) (67.9 mb)

• Autostar Suite version 5.53 (full DVD) (1.4 gb)

• Meade AutoStar Updater Program