Rail-mounted counterweights are provided to achieve this, but they require a hex key to adjust their position – thumb screws would have been better. The LX600 includes a feature known as StarLock, which enables high-precision pointing accuracy and autoguiding functionality.įor StarLock to work correctly, the telescope tube must be well balanced. Meade LX600-ACF 12-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain High-precision pointing This is a satisfyingly solid, angled platform used to convert the LX600’s altaz fork mount to equatorial mode for long-exposure imaging. Our test setup included a sturdy field tripod, which is included, and an optional Meade X-Wedge. Once in place we found it fiddly and time-consuming to fit all eight of the locking hex bolts and washers in place, and far too easy to drop them.Ī bridge connection, via a pair of nine-pin D-plug leads, is required to allow the Go-To computer at the base of the forks to communicate with the declination drives across the fork breaks.Īnother eight fiddly thumb screws need to be tightened to ensure a good connection. One arm stub can’t be locked and swings freely, making locating it that bit harder to fit. There are two arm stubs fixed to the optical tube – these connect to the main forks via two bolted plates.Ī locating pin is provided for each plate. Lifting this arrangement onto a tripod or equatorial wedge is not for the fainthearted, although the design of the LX600 does include a means to split the fork arms, so reducing the component lifting weight. A Go-To computer is fitted in the base of the mount.