Lozano Observatory - Telescopes

     The first scope is a Meade 12" LX90-GPS (Now known as the Meade LX90-ACF) SCT with UHTC Coatings. This scope was purchased during September of 2006 from www.astronomics.com (which I highly recommend due to their personal customer service, in-depth knowledge of astronomy and common sense advice). I do have to say this scope is the largest I have ever owned, and it is the first SCT in my fleet. I'm very impressed by the accuracy of this telescope, the GPS unit performs very well and I recommend this telescope to anyone who is interested in astronomy without the hassle of time-consuming alignment when simply wishing to visually observed deep sky objects. I especially like LX-90GPS because it has the ability to be programmed with your favorite objects as a guided tour simply by entering the information in a text editor such as Word® or Note Pad® and downloading the information into the AutoStar computer.

      The 66 mm Astrotech refracting telescope rides piggyback for astrophotography and visual observing. I am very impressed by its performance, the FOV is crisp and sharp edge to edge! This scope features a 2" Crayford focuser with a Micro-focusing knob and adjustable focusing positions with the built in focus release ring. The Astrotech brand (www.astronomics.com) is one of the up-and coming manufacturers that is producing a wide array of quality products from eyepieces to Richey-Chretien Astrographs!

    I must admit that I am primarily in Messier object (i.e. The Orion Nebula, The Whirlpool Galaxy) astronomer probably because they are popular and well-known. Many of the Messier objects offer the best opportunity to impress visitors to your site! I can choose "Messier Marathon" under the guided tour of the LX90-GPS, and the telescope automatically locates the objects that are able to be seen at that particular time so you don't waste time!

    I have recently increased the number of IC and NGC objects I am observing. The drive train of this telescope is incredibly strong and although there is a significant amount of weight on the scope it never fails to pull the entire amount without much effort (of course that's assuming that you have balanced the telescope properly).

    I have recently given up on direct power wiring of this telescope and have opted instead to go with a rechargeable battery, typically a 12 volt DC 7.5 AMP that sits just behind the lower portion of the equatorial wedge. I'm sure everyone out there has had the unfortunate situation of either having the power cord strangle the telescope or actually become disconnected when observing.

   The reflector is a Meade DS 114 and is the primary scope my eight year old son uses while we are observing. The DS scope has very sharp optics and I originally purchased this scope to check on my interest in getting back into observing and of course as it appears this scope started my astronomical addiction! This scope does have GOTO capabilities and when aligned correctly offers very accurate object acquisition and was enjoyable to use! One of the disadvantages to this scope is the lack of a serious mount which limits this scope to visual observing only; I am actually in the process of purchasing a equatorial mount with GOTO capabilities that will allow for wide-field imaging. I would highly recommend this scope for beginning astronomers and children because this scope offers a solution to what drive most people away from astronomy, GOTO! I remember as a teenager becoming very frustrated at locating deep sky objects and I almost gave up observing (and actually did for 10 years). Many parents and my own son have told me locating objects simply bores children to the point they lose interest, GOTO is the solution. My advice? Don't even think of purchasing a scope for ANYONE if it does not have GOTO capabilities!

    Overall? My recommendation, this telescope is well worth the money ($3,299 base price) and I would strongly encourage those considering a purchase to do so without hesitation! How much are reasonable start up costs? With all the imagers, the Astrotech scope, eyepieces, filters, scope buggy, field reducers, diagonals sky charts, Telrad finder, equatorial wedge and vibration pads right around $5,500, it's an investment!!

You aren't disposing of cash, you are converting one asset for another!!