Meade LXD650 Owners...let's hear some experiences.

Im purchasing my first goto mount ever (never tried DSC's yet either)...its an LXD650..i read about it...compared slewing rates, object database size, weight capacities, price, ease of use, and other factors coming to the decision of this mount...it was either this or the Orion Atlas...but i am getting a great deal of $850 on this mount, when I believe it originally sold around 2500 or more. What is everyones experiences with it? Also..what kind of OTA's do u have atop it? Im going to use my meade 10" reflector OTA on it for now..its 31 lbs I believe.

Clear Skies!

Mike,

I had a lxd650 with a 10" SCT and I loved it. The mount worked wonderful...it was solid, smooth, easily balanced, and the goto worked well. I generally think of this as a very nice piece of equipment...I know the atlas is its stiff competition but I believe this has a greater degree of quality.

I also liked the rather "old school" computer looks and the classic lx200 controller...this was the most popular goto interface for like a decade, and with good reason. Yes, it may not have 17 biggilion stars in its library but who needs all them anyway...10,000 or so is fine for me.

The 10" SCT is just about at this mounts limit...mine was 36 lbs.

There's also an active user community, which is a plus.

Good luck and enjoy...850 is a nice price.

Hi Mike,
I have the LXD650 mount and it is pretty nice. The Go-To is accurate, the slewing is fast with a bit of noise. It is very stout and the tripod is steady and strong.
I did have to adjust both drive worms for lash and re lubricate the gears. There was binding and a lot of noise, but after adjustment the noise was abated and no binding.
I have the 127ED with an 80mm EO APO that I use together on this mount. The load is probably about 28-30lb. It handles the load just fine, but I did need extra counter weight. I bought 7lb and 4lb weights here on Astromart used, and drilled the centers to the proper size for the shaft. They were Orion weights I believe.
The weight limit is listed at 30lb I believe, but it is probably very conservative for visual use.

Attached Image: