Meade Instruments 1205-05-03 LightBridge 12-Inch Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope, Open Truss (Black)
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Product Specifications
- Open truss tube design with new anti-reflection coatings on trusses and castings
- 12-inch aperture and a focal length of 1524-millimeters
- Focal ratio is f/5
- Laminated base features roller bearings on the azimuth axis
Comes with a 1-year limited warranty
Product Description
The Meade 1205-05-03 LightBridge 12-Inch Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope is a big telescope that goes anywhere. The setup and takedown are quick so you can take one of these massive windows to the universe out to your favorite dark sky location. LightBridge Dobs give you high quality Meade optics, premium components and ultra portability- all for about the same price as an ordinary tube Dob. Meade optics consistently out-perform telescopes of similar and larger aperture because of the Diffraction Limited Optics. This telescope also features an open truss tube design with new anti-reflection coatings on trusses and castings. The 2-inch Crayford style (10:1 dual speed) machined focuser with 1.25-inch adapter and (Series 4000 QX Wide Angle) 26-millimeter, 2-inch eyepiece produces views that are detailed, crisp and full of contrast. The laminated base features roller bearings on the azimuth axis, variable tension altitude brake, advanced 4-reticle red dot viewfinder, cooling fan and AutoStar Suite Software. This LightBridge (f/5) telescope features a 12-inch aperture and a focal length of 1524-millimeters, while the focal ratio is f/5. The Meade 1205-05-03 LightBridge 12-Inch Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope comes with a 1-year warranty. For years serious astronomers have flocked to Meade telescopes for their quality optical systems and patented technology. Consumers know that “Meade Optics Inside” means that what they see through our telescopes will be views that are detailed, crisp and full of contrast. Look through a Meade this evening and see what you’ve been missing.
Product Reviews
AMAZING scope!!! Well worth the investment!
I have had this telescope for a few months now and I can honestly say that this scope is awesome! That being said, there are some things that you should consider before you get this scope. First off is that it’s approximately 5 feet tall and weighs around 70 lbs., but that does not mean that this scope is not portable. Since it is a truss design it is able to break down into 4 pieces, the base, the primary mirror cell, 3 pairs of detachable trusses, and the secondary mirror cell. It can fit into my Honda Accord fairly easily and it can be assembled by one person in less than 10 minutes. Now the main reason why I chose this scope over the Celestron sky-watcher is that this truss design is much sturdier than the 3 polls that hold together the sky-watcher, also this telescope has a duel speed focuser which is gives you the option between fine and coarse adjustments. Also the fact that it is an open truss design I would highly recommend that you get a light shroud, which blocks ambient light from hitting the primary mirror, you can get a decent shroud for like $50 or you could be cheap and put a black trash bag over the trusses. One thing to keep in mind is that once this scope is assembled you need to wait about half an hour for the primary mirror to reach ambient temperature, with a big scope such as this it would normally take about an hour but the cooling fan on the back of the primary mirror cell really speeds up the process. The reason why you need to let the mirror reach ambient temperature is because large mirrors such as this actually change shape in accordance to the temperature, which means that if you collimate the scope (the term for aligning your secondary mirror with your primary mirror) before it reaches ambient temperature it can actually through off your alignment and you’ll get crappy views. Also keep in mind that this does not come with any sort of collimation tool, so I would highly recommend that you invest in a quality laser collimator, it will make your life so much easier! Also this scope becomes top heavy and will tend to drop down if you use a finder scope with large 2” lenses, in order to circumvent this from happening I would recommend that you buy a set of counter weights which are sold here on Amazon for like $50, BE AWARE the counter weights are meant to replace the “Locking screws” on the primary mirror BUT they were designed for the older generation of this scope and they won’t fit properly because the screws are not long enough to lock the mirror, so you’ll need to figure out some way of attaching them, (I removed the black plastic feet that are on the bottom of the primary mirror and used steel putty to secure them to the back of the telescope). It comes with one 26mm plossl eyepiece which is decent but I would highly recommend that you get some more eyepieces to go along with the scope, remember that a telescope is only as good as the eyepieces that you use with it, so don’t get cheap ones, try and invest in some quality plossl’s…. Other than that the scope is AMAZING! The optics are very crisp and since it’s got such a wide aperture you’ll have no problem seeing planets or deep sky objects such as Andromeda or the Orion nebula. It works great for people who live in highly light polluted areas such as myself, I live about 30 miles outside of NYC and I’m right next to a maximum security prison and I can still see deep sky objects and nebula’s. Also beware that this scope is NOT on a motor driven mount, it’s mounted on a dobsonian base and this model requires manual adjustment to find stars. Orion makes a dobsonian that is motor driven…. but its $3000. The fact that this is not a motorized telescope means that it is NOT suited for astrophotography. But if you want an amazing Newtonian telescope than this is definitely for you!
This is the best deal for what I wanted
Did some reading (The Dobsonian Telescope: A Practical Manual for Building Large Aperture Telescopes) and studied the reviews. This is the best deal for what I wanted. Anything larger then 12” would be to hard to take in and out every night. So far I’ve enjoyed this scope and have no buyer’s regrets. If you buy one you may experience this problem; the collimation knobs stick causing the mirror cell to remain stationary as a knob is turned. Solved the problem by using Bees Wax on the adjusting screw threads, at the moment this is working. I also placed self sticking felt disks on the mirror cell adjustment stop knobs so I could identify them by touch from the collimation knobs.
Classic Dobsonian
As a newcomer to the hobby, I wanted a simple telescope that could bring to my eyes the most bang for the buck, something I can really feel connected to and rely upon for many years to come. This scope has all I need: It’s got a large aperture, but is transportable in my Camry; it’s easy to set up and takes maybe 5 minutes; its 2” eyepiece lets you get a wider field of view than a 1.25”; the 26 mm eyepiece is high quality (although I purchased an even better, 31 mm Televue lens with it); and I didn’t have to buy another finder scope like I thought I might have to (this one works fine with a little adjustment and some error-correction). I personally enjoy the practice of finding DSO’s without a computer, so unless you just want a point and shoot kind of scope (or if you want to take pictures), this basic model is perfect for exploring everything that’s out there, just like Galileo did. I’ve used it several times now, once in the city with great viewing, but even better out in the desert!I also bought a 3-piece counterweight set to balance the heavy top-part. They work very well at keeping the scope steady, but at a more horizontal position I use the brace piece to keep it from moving.
Great telescope! This 12-inch monster gives some really incredible …
Great telescope! This 12-inch monster gives some really incredible views of the night sky. It takes a little over an hour to initially screw all the pieces together and get it set up. Complete set up and tear down can be done in less than five minutes, making transporting or moving this very easy. The only problem I keep running into is when I try to center an object in the eyepiece, the telescope will then “settle” as I take my hands off of it, making it so I have to anticipate where the telescope will move.A quick side note. Sometimes when using a high magnification eyepiece, it can be difficult to properly focus objects into view. Then again, that may be due to the sub-par eyepiece itself, rather than the telescope. So take these words with a pinch of salt.
… this item but so far it has been a great product–came well packed and and in good condition
need more clear nights to fully use this item but so far it has been a great product–came well packed and and in good condition.
Awesome
I love itAny questions email me foxtrotplt12@gmail.com
Assembly went together rather smoothly!
Arrived ABF Freight, all items intact, yet to give visual as raining, always happens with a new scope!Went together decently.
I am in a rural place and with relatively dark skies and with no clouds I expected better. I am not trying to bash Mead and …
I gave this four stars because it came with the focuser ready to fall off and the scope BADLY out of collimation.
Five Stars
Excellent..
Five Stars
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