Ive had a 6 inch (150mm) dob for about 4 years and I want to upgrade. I really like dobs because they are easy to set up and very easy to use. Ive been interested in the Meade Lightbridge for a while now and I saw one in action over the weekend. It was a 16 inch scope. I want to get a 10 inch scope. Has anyone ever used a Lightbridge? If so, did you have any problems with it at first?

Also, my 6 inch scope is a Celestron and I was wondering if I could use my Celestron eyepieces with a Lightbridge scope. Or do I need to get Meade eyepieces?

I haven't used a Lightbridge, so I can't help you there. Sorry!

Eyepieces come in two standard sizes, 1 1/4 inch and 2 inch diameter. Your Celestron EPs will work just fine in a Meade scope!


OK, just for the nit pickers, three sizes, if you count .965 inch for really cheap (junk) scopes

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T. Anderson

Thanks for the info. Im seriously considering buying a Lightbridge scope in the very near future. I was quite impressed with the one I saw on the weekend (at an astro camp). Plus it will be good to upgrade to a bigger scope. My 6 inch dob has been great and Ive had lots of fun with it but I want to see more!!

Don't forget 0.965"

I own a 10" lightbridge and I love it to bits. Its been a real eyeopener showing me some wonderful sights in the past year.

Its easy(ish) to setup at your viewing site and colimination doesnt take long. Im normally ready to start observing within 5 minutes.

I've seen approx 50 galaxies in fairly light polluted and restricted skies. I can find M1 on a moonless night no bother at all.

It does take a little bit of getting used to. Mistakes I've made include marrying top and bottom halves wrong way round, not seating truss rods correctly and forgetting to remove mirror cover before putting on the lightshroud.

Unless your'e blessed with total darkness I'd suggest you invest in a lightshroud. It protects against unwanted stray light and acts as a dew shield for primary mirror.

The 2" 26mm eyepiece that comes with the scope is a cracker.

The lightbridge of course is no use for astrophotography and its not great at the planets. Saturn does look great. Mars is a struggle although once I learned how to coliminate properly I did see limited surface detail. This scope excells at faint fuzzies.

If you have any further questions please feel free to pm me.

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Aperture fever strikes again!

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T. Anderson

I didn't forget! See bottom of my post:

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Not standard sizes by any means but there are also 3 and 4" eyepieces as well.

Dave Mitsky

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Not quite. Over the years there have been some very high quality 0.965" planetary eyepieces on the market, the Pentax SMC 0.965" line for example:

"Pentax SMC 0.965 inch Eyepieces: These are perhaps the finest planetary eyepieces ever made, although they use the somewhat inconvenient 0.965 inch barrel OD."

http://www.physics.mq.edu.au/~dalew/Eyepieces.html

I've used a couple of the Pentax SMCs and they are indeed excellent.

The Carl Zeiss Jena 0.965” orthoscopics are also highly regarded:

"I have owned over 30 different eyepieces from Kellners to Naglers. The Zeiss 0.965 inch orthoscopics are the best in terms of sharpness, freedom from noticeable aberrations and contrast. In fact the only eyepieces to perhaps equal or exceed these eyepieces are the slightly older (and considerably heavier) Zeiss 0.965 inch orthoscopics that had brass construction."

http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=287

Dave Mitsky

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I've used a few of them at star parties and they seemed to be reasonable buys for the price. At any rate, they are the least expensive truss-tube Dobs on the market to the best of my knowledge.

Here are some reviews:

http://www.bpccs.com/lcas/Articles/m...dge_review.htm

http://www.astromart.com/articles/ar...article_id=419

http://www.epinions.com/content_225305005700

http://imjeffp.blogspot.com/2005/12/...ghtbridge.html

Dave Mitsky

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Yes I want to get a light shroud too. Where would I get one from?

I ordered my lightbridge 10" online today!!! I thought the price was quite reasonable too. Dobs are great because they are cheaper than other scopes. I also like being able to find objects in the sky myself - its very satisfying. Ive seen a few goto scopes in action and although I was surprised at how fantastic the images looked in them, I still like dobs. A few amatuer astronomers that I know from astro camps consider goto scopes as 'cheating scopes' or the 'lazy telescope' because you just have to punch in a few co-ordinates and it 'does the rest'.

Try Astro Zap Light Shrouds.

I haven't used these, but they look fairly nice, and the prices are reasonable. Have fun with that Lightbridge. I'm researching a telescope purchase too, and the Lightbridge series looks fine for the money. Just realize that you'll want to tinker with the telescope after you get it. These are built to a price point, and most owners find a few things to modify after using them for a while. That doesn't mean they're bad telecopes, just that they can be improved easily.

Scope Stuff carries many Lightbridge accessories, including the Astro Zap light shields.

Enjoy.

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I checked out the Astro Zap Light shrouds but the international shipping cost is almost as much as the light shroud. I live in Australia but I can't find anywhere online over here that sells light shrouds. Im not spending almost $200.00 on a light shroud, when I can easily make one myself.

There's a generally favorable review of the 10" Meade LightBridge in the May 2007 issue of Astronomy. There are also reviews at the Sky & Telescope site but other than this article they are not free of charge.

Dave Mitsky

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i just ordered my lightbridge 8" scope today. i am brand new to astronomy. the telescopes i have had in the past where mickey mouse cheap pieces of junk. i live in the burbs and didnt have a ton of money to spend so i choose the lightbridge.

i also had to order the astro zap shroud cause they didnt have the cheaper shroud in stock. its a great looking product just didnt make sense when the 10" shroud is $10 cheaper than the 8".

i also ordered a meade 5000 plossl 14mm eyepiece. any comments on this eyepiece from anyone?

i want to get a 3xbarlow but i cant find one by meade so i found a zhumel 3xbarlow. anyone use this product before?

I cant wait for first light.

I don't think shrouds are all that useful, actually. Given good secondary blocking, and good blocking on the mirror rocker box, the shroud really doesn't do anything except catch the wind and swing the scope around when you are trying to look through it.

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really, well thats dissapointing? i saw shrouds on so many dob pics i fugured that they were a useful tool for such things.

Maybe it depends on conditions. I can easily see the horsehead in my solid tube 6" f/4 or solid tune 10" f/5 but I can't in our club's 13" truss dob unless the shroud is on it. Even then its better in the solid tube scope. I've never had a wind problem with it either with the shroud on it. Not a lightbridge but homemade by club members. Though I never tried it in gale force winds.

Rick

yea i kept going between the solid tube and the truss. i finally went with the truss cause im going to need to transport alot and i dont have a big car for a solid tube. theres too much light pollution here in miami so i'll be taking this scope out frequently.

Congrats on your first scope. Can't wait for first light!
What? I need to see that.

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