I made the mistake of buying a "walmart" meade 5 inch,,but I am impressed with the autostar-especially the What's in the sky tonight-guided tour. It allowed me to learn a lot in a short time( don't want to start the vs sky hopping debate) I have enough intrest now to buy a real scope...so maybe it wasn't a bad first scope!! or maybe I have found another damn expensive hobby!! The lx200 in 10 or 12 inch is the next purchase. I want one with the guided tour option in the goto...Do they all have it?? I have seen the term "classic", does it have it?? I would be dissapointed if the one I buy (used) doesn't have this neat "newbie" feature....P.S. first post---more to follow as I try to learn,, thank you
Question about autostar- guided tour
Started by Dale Ro, 01/21/2004 12:51AM
Posted 01/21/2004 12:51AM
Opening Post
Posted 01/21/2004 03:07AM
#1
Hi Dale,
The "classic" LX series do not use the Autostar system, but have some goto features (although not as full-featured as the autostar). I do not think they have a guided tour. The GPS series also have the enhanced coatings which I think are worth the extra $. Hope this is helpful.
John Theodossy
The "classic" LX series do not use the Autostar system, but have some goto features (although not as full-featured as the autostar). I do not think they have a guided tour. The GPS series also have the enhanced coatings which I think are worth the extra $. Hope this is helpful.
John Theodossy
John Theodossy
http://geocities.com/myastrostuff/
Posted 01/21/2004 04:10AM
#2
Dale,
I have a scope with each computer type.
I have also enjoyed the Autostar guided tours, I think they are fun to use. In addition to the built in tours, if you did not know, there a many other tours you can load into the Autostar. My favorites are the best of each constellation by Dr. Clay. You can find these tours and an excellent overview of the objects at the Mighty ETX web site.
Back to the LX200 question…As the other post states, the LX 200 does not have a guided tour feature, but you can do something very similar. There are a number of target lists for LX200 users. These lists contain some of the best objects for viewing or for star parties. Most of the lists that I have list object by constellation. What I do is print the list and let the computer do the pointing. The lists are easy to follow and the objects are easy to enter into the LX200 computer. The Meade Advanced Users Group is a good place to start.
While the LX200s does not have all of the features of the new GPS models, I have found mine to be well built and dependable. So far, I have owned 2. I live in Wisconsin and my LX200 was out for over 5 hours last night in below zero conditions without a hitch. I think they are good values.
If you want an Autostar controlled computer telescope, your choices from Meade are:
The ETX series of Maksutov scopes.
The LXD55 Series of scope with various optical tubes.
The LX90 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain
The LX200 GPS series of Schmidt and Maksutov Cassegran scopes.
Good luck, Paul G.
I have a scope with each computer type.
I have also enjoyed the Autostar guided tours, I think they are fun to use. In addition to the built in tours, if you did not know, there a many other tours you can load into the Autostar. My favorites are the best of each constellation by Dr. Clay. You can find these tours and an excellent overview of the objects at the Mighty ETX web site.
Back to the LX200 question…As the other post states, the LX 200 does not have a guided tour feature, but you can do something very similar. There are a number of target lists for LX200 users. These lists contain some of the best objects for viewing or for star parties. Most of the lists that I have list object by constellation. What I do is print the list and let the computer do the pointing. The lists are easy to follow and the objects are easy to enter into the LX200 computer. The Meade Advanced Users Group is a good place to start.
While the LX200s does not have all of the features of the new GPS models, I have found mine to be well built and dependable. So far, I have owned 2. I live in Wisconsin and my LX200 was out for over 5 hours last night in below zero conditions without a hitch. I think they are good values.
If you want an Autostar controlled computer telescope, your choices from Meade are:
The ETX series of Maksutov scopes.
The LXD55 Series of scope with various optical tubes.
The LX90 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain
The LX200 GPS series of Schmidt and Maksutov Cassegran scopes.
Good luck, Paul G.
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