10" Meade LX200 Classic Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope

The Meade LX200 Classic, shown above piggybacking the Tak FSQ-106, is a Schmidt-Cassegrain GOTO scope useful for a wide variety of applications including visual, astrophotographic, and for use in an observatory.  I modified this scope myself with upgraded declination bearings in the fork arms to give frictionless movement.  This mod allows for better dec performance with heavier piggyback loads and less pressure on the drive for basic use.

While the LX200 is capable of piggybacking some good sized loads, doing so with 4" or larger refractors are not recommended for astrophotography, especially in polar alignment mode when using an equatorialwedge. It will work for visual observations if the LX200 is in its ALTAZ configuration, but it should not be considered an worthy alternative to a solid German Equatorial mount.  In general, these fork mounted scopes are not stable enough to hold excessive amounts of weight, especially in the wind. Once the fork arms start to vibrate, an oscillation develops that take many seconds to settle, if at all.

As for the Meade Superwedge, it cannot recommend it for astrophotography due to flexure issues.  Any one of the third party wedges, while more expensive, would be better alternatives.   I would also recommend an upgrade to the larger Super Field Tripod that is standard with the 12" scope, or foregoing the tripod altogether and placing the SCT on a permanent pier.   The standard tripod that comes with the 10" LX200, especially when used with the Superwedge, is a large source of vibration and instability when doing astrophotography.