The big Meade 14” ACF (Advanced Coma-Free) catadioptric optical
tube brings the astronomical image quality of a professional observatory
to your back yard, at a down-to-earth price. The Advanced Coma-Free
optics of this Meade 14” optical tube are designed to emulate the
coma-free optical performance of the Ritchey-Chrétien optics used in
most professional observatory telescopes and the Hubble Space Telescope,
but at a fraction the cost of a true R-C.
The optical system uses a premium Schott Borofloat glass corrector
plate. An oversize low-expansion borosilicate primary mirror provides
brighter field edge illumination. The system is fully UHTC (Ultra High
Transmission Coatings) multicoated for 15% higher light transmission
than standard single-layer optical coatings.
The aluminum body of the 14" Meade has high-efficiency glare-stop
baffling in the central baffle tube to improve contrast. A progressive
tension primary mirror locking system locks the mirror firmly in place
once a photographic focus has been achieved. This eliminates the
possibility of the system changing focus while taking an image.
Performance is guaranteed to be diffraction-limited. For more details,
click on the “ACF optics” icon above.
This
14" Meade optical tube comes with a Losmandy-style "D-plate" dovetail
that lets you mount the OTA on any German equatorial mount that has a
Losmandy-style dovetail saddle plate. With a weight of 57 lbs, be sure
that your mount has the payload capacity necessary to carry the scope,
particularly if you have a full complement of visual and imaging
accessories adding to the weight.
Most OTA buyers typically already have an assortment of star diagonals,
eyepieces, finderscopes, etc. on hand, so no visual or other accessories
are provided with the 14” Meade OTA, other than dust covers. This
allows you to customize the optical tube as you see fit. The 14” Meade
OTA has a standard 2”-24 thread Schmidt-Cassegrain rear cell of the type
used for decades by Meade and Celestron. Accordingly, virtually any SCT
accessories (thread-on star diagonals, visual backs, camera adapters,
off-axis guiders, etc.) can be used with the Meade OTA. The front and
rear cells are drilled and tapped with the same hole pattern as a
fully-mounted 14” Meade scope, so a wide variety of finderscope brackets
and accessory dovetail rails can be fitted to the OTA with ease.
While the large aperture of this 14” Meade optical tube will perform
well under mildly light-polluted suburban skies, it is at a remote site
with truly dark and steady skies that you’ll best be able to take full
advantage of its superb coma-free optical performance and the extra
light transmission of its UHTC optics. It’s not a scope that’s at its
happiest staying in a heavily light-polluted city or suburban observing
environment.
This big 14” Meade optical
tube has enough premium Advanced Coma-Free performance to keep you busy
observing and imaging for the rest of your life. If you need a
top-quality optical tube, and a high payload capacity mount to carry it,
this 14” Meade with Advanced Coma-Free optics and UHTC multicoatings
may be the perfect OTA for you.
| Optical Design
|
Catadioptric
|
|
Aperture
|
14.0" / 35.6 cm
|
|
Focal Length
|
3556 mm
|
|
Focal Ratio
|
f/10
|
|
Eyepiece Barrel Diameter
|
N/A
|
|
Diagonal
|
None
|
|
Finderscope
|
None
|
|
Tripod
|
None
|
|
Mount Type
|
Losmandy-style dovetail plate
|
|
Power Source
|
None
|
|
Optical Tube Dimensions
|
Not specified by manufacturer
|
|
Weight
|
57.0 lb / 25.9 kg
|
Meade LX200-ACF 14"/356mm Catadioptric Optical Tube Assembly (3048mm f/10.0)
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