Meade 16" LightBridge Dobsonian #1645-05-02. Not
just a big scope, a big telescope that goes anywhere. The 16"
LightBridge Deluxe Truss-Tube Dobsonian goes together and can be taken
apart in just a couple minutes so you can set it up at your home or take
it to your favorite dark sky location with ease. Superior quality Meade
optics, premium components, and great portability - all for about the
same price as an ordinary solid tube Dobsonian.
The 16" Lightbridge is the largest LightBridge model. Its incredible
light grasp offers four times the image brightness as an 8" telescope
used at the same magnification and 75% more than a 12" model. This is
one BIG scope. See deep sky objects in spectacular glory especially when
used from a dark location.
The 16" LightBridge Deluxe Truss-Tube Dobsonian features a superior
Meade quality multi-coated, diffraction limited 16" primary mirror,
focal length 1829mm (f/4.5). The optics of this style of telescope are
only as good as their mounting, which is why Meade engineers gave the
LightBridge primary mirror a top of the line, fully adjustable, high
strength but light weight aluminum stress free floating multi-point cell
with built in cooling fan. The included battery pack for the fan takes 8
(user supplied) AA batteries and is used to speed the cool down process
of the primary mirror, improving image quality.
Standard equipment includes a high quality, precision machined dual
ratio 2" Crayford style focuser with 10:1 micro focus control, and 1.25"
adapter so you can use either 1.25" or 2" barrel eyepieces. Includes a
2" diameter Meade Series 4000 26mm QX Wide Angle Eyepiece for stunning
wide angle views. The viewfinder is an easy to use red dot unit with
four user selectable reticle pattern options and seven step brightness
control. Also includes bonus Meade AutoStar Suite Astronomer Edition
Software for checking star charts and planet locations.
The open truss design of the LightBridge Dobsonians means portability
of the telescope is dramatically improved over a solid tube design.
Taking only moments to set up and take apart for travel, the extremely
rigid truss frame design ensures a no-compromises view through the
telescope.
Hand driven Dobsonian style telescopes by their nature need good mounts
with smooth and stable movement to be enjoyable, and here again the
LightBridge excels. The sturdy laminated finish wooden Dobsonian mount
includes premium features such as roller bearings on the azimuth (side
to side) axis and large diameter aluminum altitude (vertical axis)
bearings with a hand adjustable variable tension brake for smooth and
stable movement.
Fully assembled weight of the optical tube is 74 pounds, mount weight
is 54 pounds.
Ships in 2 boxes with weights of 90 and 62 pounds.
Product carries full one year Meade limited factory warranty.