Meade 312. What should I expect ?

Hello all. I just bought a used Meade 312 (80mm f/11.25, Japan,80's model) from A-mart and was wondering what I should expect from it. I am very pleased with it for what I paid for it and what I wanted. But here is a couple of things I want to know about it. I have a Lanthanum 5.2 that I used to look at Mars and could not get much detail at all(172x). I was thinking that would be about the max but nevertheless I thought I would be able to get more details. Saturn and Jupiter was the same. Jupiter was low in the sky and I know that had something to do with it. But I could not see much on Saturn either, not even the division really. I'm thinking a 6-7mm would show more details but then again, I thought the 5.2 would too. I tried it in front and back of focus on a few bright stars to they looked totally different. Not sure if I did it right though as that was my first time to try a star test and not sure what I should look for. So I'm wondering if this scope should be kept at 150x or lower or might it need collimated or something. I also used a Meade MA 25mm and a cheep short barlow in front of the 90 and still not much detail. I must say that M42 was really nice with the 25mm but yet still not much detail. I have read that this scope is quite nice but I'm not sure if I am expecting more than it will do or does it need adjusted. Again, I am pleased with it but I want to make sure a I get the most out of it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for the time.

Nate.

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Hi Nathan,

I would suggest a 9mm Plossl eyepiece, this will provide a .8mm exit pupil. I know it's only 100x but you aren't going to get much more out of an alt-az mounted 80mm achromat. A .8mm exit pupil is, IMO, about the smallest that is comfortable for most high power observation. That is why aperture is nice, it allows you to maintain a large exit pupil even at very high mags. Train your eye to see detail and don't expect too much detail from an 80mm scope. If you enjoy astronomy you maight consider getting an 8 or 10" Dobsonian as a companion for your refractor.

Don't Give Up!

Steve

Nathan,
Unless your scope is an exception it should perform very well. I am assuming that your optical train has no weak links ( decent diagonal and eyepieces). Don't get frustrated over the inability to use higher magnification all the time. Seeing is really important. I have been observing Mars with a 5" SCT and a 90mm achromat over the past several weeks from my home. There were only three nights in this period where I was able to see the detail that I knew both scopes could reveal.
I have used 76 mm and 80mm achros on Mars in the past and, when the atmosphere permitted, the views were great and higher magnification ( about 180x) was used to used to full effect.
I've viewed through a few Meade achros and have no reason to expect you will not get the same results
Larry