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Meade LX850 ACF 14" f/8 GOTO Telescope

Meade LX850 ACF 14'' f/8 GOTO Telescope
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Meade LX850 ACF 14'' f/8 GOTO TelescopeMeade LX850 ACF 14'' f/8 GOTO TelescopeMeade LX850 ACF 14'' f/8 GOTO Telescope
Price:  £13,135.00(Inc. 20% VAT)
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Model:  1408-85-01
Brand:  Meade
Design  SCT
Size  14" (356mm)
Computerized  Computerized GOTO
Level  Advanced
Mount Type  Equatorial

Delivery:  Courier Delivery

Availability  

  

Generally In Stock, Please Confirm Before Ordering



2 Year Warranty On All New Items
(Excluding Batteries & Globes)



Meade Instruments proudly introduces the new standard in astrophotographic and visual performance, the LX850. The fast f/8 Advanced Coma Free optical system produces a wider, flatter field with no coma for pinpoint stars out to the edge of larger imaging sensors and extreme wide angle eyepieces. Includes StarLock dual imager integrated full time guider, Ultra Precision Pointing and Assisted Drift Alignment, 5.8" 225 tooth polished bronze worm/gear drives with low periodic error, internal cable routing, GPS receiver, AutoStar II GOTO system with over 144,000 object library, heavy-duty adjustable height tripod with anti-vibration pads, Universal AC Adapter, Meade Zero Image Shift Electronic Micro-Focuser, telescope to computer USB cable and AutoStar Suite software.

Designed and Manufactured in North America.

Features top of the line Meade Advanced Coma Free (ACF) optical design offering the coma-free pinpoint star images and flatter image fields greatly desired by discerning amateur astronomers, astrophotographers and professional observatories alike. This patented system also reduces the astigmatism and eliminates diffraction spikes found in classical RC designs.

This 14" LX850 has 14" diameter f/8 ACF optics (focal length 2438mm) and Ultra-High Transmission Coatings (UHTC) for maximum image brightness and contrast. The all new OTA includes an internal Crayford style zero image shift focusing system with two speed, 7:1 reduction control.

Includes StarLock — the advanced technology that makes target acquisition on your imaging sensor and accurate guiding during exposures completely automatic. With Meade's exclusive LightSwitch technology at its core, StarLock uses an 80mm f/5 optic and two camera sensor system to provide computer assisted polar alignment using the drift method. Once aligned the StarLock is guiding the mount in real time, and even automatically programs periodic error correction, achieving a guiding accuracy of up to 1 arcsecond in good seeing and with the capability of guiding on stars as faint as 11th magnitude.

The LX850 mount, constructed of machined stainless steel and aircraft grade aluminum is a rock solid platform for the most demanding applications, with a 90 pound payload capacity and pointing accuracy as good as one arcminute. Features include precision roller bearings on each axis, a 1.75 stainless steel RA shaft, 5.8" main gears, fine manual adjustment controls on both axis, illuminated reticle output port. Mount main body weight is 55 pounds. The fully height adjustable (29 to 45") tripod features massive 3" diameter legs for rock steady performance and weighs 36 pounds. Includes three 26 pound stainless steel counterweights, additional weights sold separately.
Telescope comes fully equipped with a Meade Series 5000 2" diagonal prism featuring enhanced 99% reflectivity, Series 5000 HD-60 25mm eyepiece, and 8x50 viewfinder with quick release bracket. Also includes bracket for alternate OTA mounting of StarLock if desired. Universal AC adapter included. DC field battery and DC cable sold separately.

Warranty:
Limited Warranty against defects in materials or workmanship for two years from date of purchase. This warranty is provided by Meade for the benefit of the original retail purchaser only. For complete warranty details contact Meade
 

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Some items that are showing as in stock are in stock at our holding warehouses, not at the shop. To double check the stock levels at the shop, please contact us on 01909774369 or sales@rothervalleyoptics.co.uk.

The delivery times for most items is 1 - 2 days but again, please double check stock levels on important orders before placing an order via the website.

The delivery costs for courier next day are for mainland UK only. If you live in the Scottish Highlands/Islands, Channel Islands or Northern Ireland, then a shipping surchage will apply. please contact us for prices. Smaller items can still go 1st class via Royal Mail.

Please note that if you are wanting to take advantage of our Saturday and Sunday timed services or next day pre 12 or pre 10:30 services, you MUST check that the stock is here at the shop before placing orders. Also, orders using the Saturday and Sunday services must be placed before 1pm the previous working day. Also, please remember to check that the stock is here at the shop before placing orders. If the stock is not at the shop, we won't be able to ship on any of the timed services. 

Please note International customers will need to contact us for a shipping price prior to ordering via the website. We don't ship all items internationally. It is at our discretion what we ship outside of the UK. This all depends on the size and weight of the items. Please get in touch with us for any postage costs. Please note we do NOT ship telescopes or heavy items outside of the UK. This is due to massive postage costs and problems regarding returns.

If you have any questions regarding stock levels or delivery, please get in touch.

Zygo Interferometer Testing For ED Refractor Telescopes!

We are extremely pleased to announce our Zygo Interferometer is now installed and ready for use! Our experienced staff can test refractor lenses up to 120mm aperture and provide a comprehensive 2 page report showing the optical quality and Strehl ratio, plus much more information. We are using the very latest Zygo MX software to provide a more detailed report compared to other standard reports.

 

The interferometer is essentially a measuring instrument. Within the interferometer is a calibrated laser that is pointed through the optical test surface, then onto a high quality reference sphere, then back through the test subject then to an internal camera which gives us the measurement on the screen. From this, we can adjust the position of the test optic and the reference sphere to obtain a perfectly calibrated system. The more central the laser to the test optic and then on return, the better and more accurate reading and measurement we can take. This takes a lot of adjustment to get the best results from the optical surface. Once the measurement has been taken, we are provided with a series of results that show the optical quality of the surface plus other information. Continue reading for an explanation of the individual values and you can also see a test report that was done on one of our RVO Horizon 60 OTAs. 

We are offering certain telescopes with a Zygo test at an extra cost. Mainly ED doublets and triplets. All available telescopes with a Zygo test report are listed here. Just select Zygo Test Report from the drop down box at the top of the listing and we will test the optics in house and provide a full 2 page report with your scope. This will show you the optical quality of your telescope optics. We can also offer this service on your refractor telescope. Please get in touch for more details about this. 

At Rother Valley Optics, one thing we pride ourselves on is customer service and quality of our equipment. When we test your telescope, we will ensure that it is of the highest quality otherwise, we will reject the scope under our strict quality control and test another model for your peace of mind. One of the main values to look at when testing a refractor is the Strehl ratio. The higher this number, the higher quality lens you have. At Rother Valley Optics, we will guarantee the highest possible Strehl ratio for your telescope.  We will aim to provide 0.95 Strehl or higher on Takahashi, RVO Horizon, William Optics and many more! Generally, the higher the Strehl ratio, the lower the Astigmatism and Coma meaning a better image quality from your instrument. 

Other measurements such as the PV and RMS are important too. With these measurements, the lower the number the better as it shows less curvature on the lens. The flatter an optical lens, the better it will perform. The PV rating (Peak To Valley) is a measurement from the highest point (Peak) to the lowest point (Valley). From this we get the RMS (Root, Mean, Square). This is a similar figure to the PV and measured exactly the same way. The RMS is basically an average height difference from the PV so again, the lower the better. As you can see form the example below, we measured an RMS of just 0.027 wave which is a very good value.

We also measure the Power with our systems which is essentially the error from the reference sphere to the test optic. The reference sphere we use on our system is a very high quality sphere so the closer to zero the Power, the less error between the 2 elements thus ensuring a higher quality optical surface. 

You will also see some more values such as Astigmatism and Coma. Again, these are measured by the interferometer when we take measurements of the optical surface after adjustment. These are values which ideally would be at 0 but as our test optics are all curved lenses, there will always be astigmatism and coma present. The lower the number, the less of these aberations you will effectively see but with most refractors, you can buy field flatteners which will compensate for the coma anyway. The astigmatisms value is explaining the error between the symmetrical curvature of the lens. Basically, no lens will be perfectly symmetrical, the lower the astigmatism, the more symmetrical the lens surface is. 

Once the Zygo test report has been completed, the optical alignment is thoroughly tested and tuned to ensure they are spot on before they leave us. 

All available telescopes are on the website at the link below and ones we've tested already that are available straight away are also listed.

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/zygo-tested-refractors.html

Here is an example of the test what we provide. This was a test on one of our Horizon 60 ED OTA's.

For any questions about this amazing new service, please either call 01909774369 or email sales@rothervalleyoptics.co.uk.

 


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