Eddie Casey said:
Just been reading a few first light reports on the Meade RCX, not for buying info, curiosity mainly. Particular interest is a review by a respected contributor to the mapug list. Seems this scope is streets ahead of the LX, visually at least. Another guy had the 10"RCX setup next to his C11 and described the differences as huge on observing jupiter. Anyone here had a nosey down the ep of one yet? Forgive my cynisicm but, all things being equal, I wouldn't have expected such an appreciable difference between a SCT and the RCX for planetary viewing. Seems Meade's advo is being answered anyway!
Ed
Hi Ed.
The 10" RCX is probably a very good instrument. About as good as a 10" with a near 40% obstruction can be. Should it outperform a similarly fine 10" SCT for visual use? Not really.
If the scopes are both cooled and well collimated and of equal optical quality, you won't see more with an RCX. For on-axis sharpness, the RCX design has no inherent advantage over an SCT.
It's certainly a neat-o scope with lots of gadgetry. Some folks report it's actually fun to play with the focus/collimation feature. I was brought up to believe that if you have too much "fun" with something, you're likely to end up breaking it.
One very weighty thing to consider about the RCX scopes... they're heavy! The 10" tips the scales at around 160 pounds, as set up on the tripod. This is without a wedge. Much heavier than equivalent size SCTs. The manuals even contain a health warning about this. I don't think Meade has advertised the weight issue. Probably because it might scare off potential buyers.
In any event, we'll have a clearer idea of how good these scopes are after the first year of use in the field.
Clear skies,
Clive.
