After having owned Celestron scopes in the early 1970's, and dreaming about astronomy for 40 years, I finally bought a Meade 10" SCT in late 2007, as an impulse buy on eBay (and not knowing about Astromart, at the time). This is what got me back into astronomy and, within a short time, into astro-imaging. My purpose in buying this scope was to re-learn visual astronomy - polar aligning, finding objects, using the AutoStar control, and generally getting to know how to operate a scope again. I think the Meade 10" LX200 served its purpose well for this, and set me up for my next adventure, the 12" LX200R.

The strange letters on the scope model indicate some of its features. SMT refers to "Smart Mount Telescope", an incarnation of the Meade telescopes which incorporated GPS and electronic level to assist in initial alignment of the scope (every time it is taken out and set up). When this is activated, it finds its position and current time via GPS, and then rotates the scope East and West to determine the level of the scope. It then selects bright stars, which the user centers via the manual controls. Once this is done, and a "sync" is performed, the AutoStar system can guide the scope to over 64,000 objects (or any position in RA and Dec requested by the user). I found the pointing accuracy to be reasonable - for such a low-price system - at around 3-5 arcminutes typical (probably around 2-3 arcminutes, RMS). This is sufficient to get an object onto a small CCD chip (such as the Meade DSI II, which has approx. 7x9 arcminute field of view with this scope, at 2500 mm focal length). tPoint can be used to improve the pointing of the LX200 to around 2-3 arcminutes RMS.

The other part of the name, "UHTC", refers to "Ultra High Transmission Coatings", which are multi-layer dielectric coatings (TiO2 and SiO2) over the usual aluminum coatings used on most telescope mirrors, increasing the optical transmision (light throughput) as shown below:

A full description of the UHTC coatings are given on the Meade web site:     http://www.meade-instruments.com/catalog/uhtc/index.html

The 10" LX200 comes with the AutoStar wired controller with holder; the Field Tripod; an 8x50 straight-through finder in adjustable, quick-connect mount; a 26mm Plossl eyepiece, a 90-degree star diagonal; and a [so-called] "zero shift micro-focuser". The scope itself includes the OTA (optical tube assembly) and the fork mount. All of these accessories can be seen in the photo above, and the full-length photos of the scope on the Field Tripod below:

The LX200 is a Schmidt-Cassegrain type telescope (one member of a family of "catadioptric" scopes - which use both mirrors and corrector plates at the front of the scope), and therefore uses a primary mirror (10" in diameter for this scope), a secondary mirror, and a special corrector lens. By virtue of the cassegrain configuration, the scope is "folded", so that the 100" focal length (10" diameter x f/10 optical system) fits into a tube length of only 22". The Schmidt corrector plate at the front of the scope, supporting the secondary mirror mount can be seen in the photos below:

The three screws in the secondary mount are used to collimate the scope - i.e., align the primary and secondary for obtaining the best image (smallest spot size, with symmetrical spot, rather than a 'blob' when the scope is focused on a star in the center of the field). The primary mirror moves back and forth on a tube to focus the scope (i.e., adjusts the distance between the mirrors). The focus knob is on the back of the scope as shown below (lower knob); the second (upper) knob is used to lock the primary mirror for imaging - so that it doesn't "flop" on its mounting tube when the scope is aimed to different parts of the sky. I put a graduated dial on the focus knob (which I thought might help return focus position, after changing eyepieces, etc. however, the range of travel of the primary mirror requires many turns of the focus knob, and there is so much backlash that it is very difficult to return to the same place, once the knob has been turned). Once the scope had been roughly focused, I usually used the electronic micro-focuser to re-focus on various objects.

The "zero-shift electronic microfocuser", shown in the photos above, is a Meade stndard accessory for the LX200 scopes that provides fine focusing of the scope, using the AutoStar controller. It can be used with automatic focusing programs (PCFocus, FocusAide, and the focus routine built into MaximDL). However, it does not provide absolute position (only relative position from when it was turned on or zeroed), so it cannot be used effectively with FocusMax for an unattended set-up (some people have added encoders to the Meade focuser, but at that point it's easier and cheaper to buy a good focuser).

The control panel of the LX200SMT scope is shown below. It includes the 12V power input jack and on-off switch; the connection to the focuser; an illuminated reticle output (to control the lighting of an eyepiece reticle); the AutoStar handbox connection; an autoguider input (from a CCD camera); and computer connections (to control the scope and/or update the firmware in the mount). You can also see the RA (right ascension) ring at the top of the photo. "Peterson Equipped" indicates that this scope has had modifications to improve its drive gears, focus gears, and other items, from Peterson Engineering.

The 10" LX200 scope is about the biggest that can be reliably handled by one person (in my opinion - but I'm small). It can be lifted from its case onto the tripod (the Giant Field Tripod is shown below), and centered with the help of another Peterson device - the "Mounting Assistant", which helps in guiding the scope onto the tripod in the correct position to tighten the center screw, which comes up from below, and is 'blind' to the person mounting the scope.

As I had planned to take this scope into the field (for really dark skies - only 30-45 minutes from my home), I also purchased a JMI fitted rolling case for the scope, which really protects it - even if only being used in the backyard. This case is shown below, with the scope snugly placed into the foam. There is room for the micro-focuser, a couple of eyepieces, and a few more items. The finder needs to be put in a protective 'bag' and placed between the scope and the fork. I didn't appreciate how nice it was to fold the scope face-down, so that the corrector and secondary is well-protected inside the case ... until I received my 12" LX200R in late December 2007 (the 12" scope is too long to fold down, so the corrector plate faces outward, at the edge of the case ...).

Wanting a more sturdy mounting, and knowing that I would probably be buying a bigger scope at some time, I bought a Meade Giant Field Tripod, which I used with the 10" LX200 scope. The GFT is a great tripod (included with the 12" and 14" LX200 scopes) that provides a very firm mounting when placed on solid ground (e.g., the driveway). The Meade tripods incorporate spreaders which are tightened as the center bolt is used to tighten the scope onto the tripod. The GFT and its components are shown in the photos below:

In using the LX200 in my backyard, I learned very quickly about dew formation on the corrector plate. This makes it impossible to see anything, and must be cleared - usually with warm air from a hairdryer. I had not yet learned about clectronic dew controllers and dew strips. I did, however, have another accessory that helps prevent dewing - a "dew shield". This lightweight extension of the telescope tube both helps prevent dewing and also shields the scope from neighborhood lights. It does look a bit unweildy, however:

Overall, I would recommend the 10" LX200 scope to anyone starting out in astronomy who can afford the weight and cost of such a large scope. The "Go-To" system is good, the alignment is easy - especially with the SMT option (and now with the "LightSwitch" technology), the tracking is very good, and the optics are quite respectable. The scope gives high power views (limited, of course, by the atmospheric seeing conditions) of deep space objects, and can also be used for lunar and planetary work.

I also had a full-aperture Baader film-type solar filter that could be used for observing the sun (sunspots only, as flares typically require narrowband filters that may cost nearly as much as the LX200 scope, itself). As usual, CAUTION is advised, if you plan to use any telescope for viewing the sun!!! No scope (even a finder) should ever be aimed at, or close to, the sun, without protective filters or caps in place!