This month both Sky & Telescope and Astronomy magazines published detailed product reviews of Meade’s LX400 Advanced Coma-Free telescope. Dennis di Cicco, S&T’s lead editor and product reviewer tested the RCX400 for over 5 months and performed 100s of long-exposure astrophotographs. He gave the RXC400 4.5 stars out of a possible 5 - stating, “The pictures here speak for themselves, but the bottom line is that the RCX400 does indeed perform like a Ritchey-Chretien.” He concludes by writing, “Some hobbyist mistakenly believe that a product review without equal doses of praise and criticism is biased or unbalanced. Truth is, I can’t find many negative things to say about the RCX400… Even when you judge it by the demanding criteria imposed by long-exposure imaging, the RCX400 is a winner. It’s ready to use right out of the box; just add a camera.” Astronomy magazine also reviewed the RCX400 this month and it’s reviewer, Robert Kuberek wrote, “As I put it through its paces, I found its optical and mechanical quality to be top-notch.” Robert concluded by saying, “All things considered, this scope more than lived up to my hopes. It is well-made, easy to use, and has high-quality optics… This scope delivers Ritchey-Chretien-like performance at a fraction of the cost.”

How does Meade top this? By engineering and manufacturing a 16” and 20” RCX400 on Meade’s new MAX MOUNT to create the world’s first fully integrated telescope system (telescope/mount/software). For under $30,000, serious astronomers can now have 20” of RCX optical performance on a giant robotic equatorial mount. A dedicated-amateur could still piece together a lesser system the old fashioned way for 3 times the cost, but why? The MAX is truly the last mount an astronomer will ever need. With a 20” OTA, MAX is larger than Goliath and has a total payload capacity of over 400 lbs! (including counter weights). One of our beta testers commented on his experience with the MAX MOUNT by saying, “it’s built like a tank made by Swiss watchmakers.” A few of its features include: 650 gear teeth on the RA and Dec drive (the gears are the same size on the RA and Dec. axes. The worm is 1.1667” in diameter and the worm gear is a massive 13.8” in diameter), 0-90 degree latitude, internal cabling, interchangeable quick-release dovetail plates, local/network control, remote/web control, 3 USB2 ports and a clutchless, fully-enveloped, hard-loaded worm drive. The MAX MOUNT and ALL RCX400 telescopes will be manufactured at Meade’s state-of-the art design and manufacturing facility in Irvine, California.