Posts Made By: Wayne Vignes

Matthew I don't know if you figured out your goto probs. yet, but just curious as to whether or not you went through the drive "training" routine first before attempting to use the goto? If not the manual explains this easy process which is done on terrestrial objects in daylight. Unmentioned in the manual is a smart way of proceeding. Start this process with your widest view eyepiece and repeat the process a couple or so times using progressively higher mags on the terrestrial targets. This gradually increases precision in the goto mode. If you haven't done this the goto pointing accuracy will be off-way off?

Also when in the "polar home position" assuming your lattitude\altitude adjustment is correct, you can move the dec. axis (unlock and move tube)to center polaris in an eyepiece. Once centered, lock axis and rotate the dec. circle to read 90 degs.

Good luck as the LDX55 goto is a kick to use.

Wayne Vignes

Jake many of the more "image aesthetic" aspects of scopes you seeem to be considering (given a price range) I would suggest are secondary considerations. Meaning, for example, that the issues of aperture and resolving power should be considered first, again in such a price range. In all cases of my experience the larger aperture scopes I've viewed through showed the greatest detail, just like the Physics says they do. To compare a 5" to a 6" in these terms is somewhat more valid than 3", or 4" to 6". Three inchers resolve to about 1.5 arc second, 4" to 1.1, a 6" jumps to 0.75 or 0.8 approx. A 5" at about 1.0 or 0.9 roughly. So you would expect a big difference visually and you'd be right-there is. I purchased an AR-6 and held my breath until I got a look through it. At a very cloudy star party I compared it to a flourite (APO) TV Genesis. Real sharp images for a $1300 (OTA and case only) 4", but again noticeably more deatail in my 6" Meade. I was using a 2" William diagonal and VR-1 violet reduction filter. It wasn't a subjective take I realized on my part; viewers passing by looked through my AR-6, last in line of scopes set-up that night. I heard several times, "That's the best view of em all." We could only view moon, saturn, double cluster and pliades that night. To summarize, false color of the AR-6 at f\8 is not what you'll see at f\5 or f\6, it's very tolerable, you have enough light grasp over smaller apertures to filter a smidgen away, and detail is possible that physically is not in smaller aperatures, nice contrast is also there. And the corker(!!) a sweet little go-to computer mount, albeit with insufficient tripod leg stability. But all for less than $1000-----WOW. I love mine. Good luck and have fun deciding. That's what it's about.