I re-entered astronomy by purchasing a Meade 10" LX200 scope on eBay (before I knew about Astromart). This was a good starter system, but as I learned more, I craved more aperture, and also had my eye on the LX200R version - which incoporated "Ritchey-Cretian like" optics for flatter field, and less coma in the corners (as I already knew that I was most interested in imaging). In mid-December 2007, I found a 12" LX200R scope (and accessories) for sale on Astromart from a guy in Florida. I negotiated the deal and bought the scope just before Christmas. The scope was packed-up and shipped by the seller, and was delivered by Fed Ex the last week of December. My joy was quickly dampened when I opened the box ... |
It was late December 2007, and I was extremely excited to have the 12" LX200R arrive! Fed Ex had delivered the box up our driveway and into our garage. I made space, and prepared for the grand opening. Here, you can see the double-boxing of the scope, as provided by Meade. |  |
 | I lifted up the inner box lid, and found the sculptured foam that holds the LX200R firmly in place inside the shipping box. |
And here it is! It's a BIG scope. But ... why is the finder just sitting there, not packed in anything, or protected from rattling around in the box and damaging the scope? Also, there seemed to be quite a bit of 'dust' in the box ...
|  |
 | I lifted the finder out, and found that it was covered in 'white dust'. I tried to imagine what it was from ... was the foam disentegrating? |
Then, I lifted the scope out of the box. I heard a "tinkling" sound (like glass), but as the scope was covered with a bag, I really couldn't see anything until I set the scope on the ground, stepped back, and looked ... As you can see, the entire corrector was fractured!!! |  |
 | Everything else about the scope was beautiful ... but obviously the broken corrector precluded any possible use of the scope. It was obvious that the corrector would have to be replaced by Meade. I was mainly afraid that the chunks of glass from the corrector would fall inward, and damage the primary mirror! As it turns out, that shouldn't have been a concern, as BOTH the corrector and primary mirror (and secondary) must be replaced by Meade, if either one is broken - they are fabricated as a matched set. Therefore, you cannot just replace a broken corrector, and expect to get decent optical performance with these scopes. |
Another view of the broken scope. It almost made me cry! To make a LOOONG story short, I had Fed Ex pick up the scope; they had to deal with the person from whom I bought it (in Florida), as he was the shipper. Fed Ex claimed that they didn't do anything wrong ... but when I looked at the aluminum front cap of the scope (unfortunately, I don't have any pictures), it was DENTED IN in a circular pattern, exactly matching the size of the secondary mount. So, it became obvious what happened: This 12" scope doesn't have long enough fork arms for the scope to fold downward, so it is shipped in its box with the scope facing out. So, even with a double box, and aluminum lens cap, there is only about 1/2" from the outside of the box to the secondary. We believe that during shipment, the box was stood on end (even though it had "This Side Up" stickers everywhere, indicating that it should always be horizontal) ... and something - think a set of barbell weights (!) - was placed on top of the Meade box. Whatever it was had to be very heavy, and smaller than the diameter of the scope. Basically, it pressed so hard, that it pushed the double box and lens cap into the secondary, eventually causing enough force to cause the corrector to fracture. |  |
 | So, the scope was sent back to Meade, with Fed Ex paying some (unknown to me) amount. The scope had actually been on the 3-year warranty program, so I don't know the specifics of how much was paid to whom. In any case, after about a 3-month (!) repair process - where the primary, secondary, and corrector were replaced - I received the scope again (this time, in good shape with a whole new set of optics!) in late March 2008.
|