Re: [APML] 12" & 14" LX200

[Alan Voetsch <critter12952@yahoo.com>]

Hi Eddie,

--- Eddie Guscott <eddie.guscott@blueyonder.co.uk>
wrote:
> I understand that the 14" Meade SC is priced to
> "persuade" people not to buy
> the Celestron C14.
> If you look at the pricing structure of the full
> range of Meades, the 14"
> would "appear" to have an artificially low/good
> price.

I don't necessarily think so. They go from (I'm
rounding) $2000 for the 8", $2500-10", $3000-12",
$4300 for the 14". That last is a pretty good jump.
The tripod is the same, the drive gears and the forks
are supposed (?) to be a little beefier. That makes
the extra glass pretty pricey.

Having a 12" (that cost me $4000 plus S&H), naturally
I yearn for the next step up. We all know this as
"Aperture Fever'. :-)

 What I really want are the GPS goodies (mirror lock
and the microfocuser). It occurs to me that for a few
hundred more dollars than I paid for my 12"LX 200, I
could have the improved 14" GPS, a complete EP set,
and UHTC, which most likely equals out as 15". I'd go
for it. A note here; I bought my first LX200 (a 10")
in 1993 for about $3100 including S&H.

I have to believe that anything that gets some of our
very expensive equipment priced a little more
reasonably is a good thing. Competition helps that. If
Celestron goes out of business, no, that won't help as
they are Meade's only real competition. Personally, I
believe there has been price inflation, and price
fixing, involved here for a long time. With lower
sales, higher prices will be gotten. With mass sales,
prices can be brought down. Meade is bringing these
scopes into everyones price range, I suspect that will
do more good than harm.

Sorry, I've been rambling.

Alan




__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now.
http://mailplus.yahoo.com

--  APML Archives at <http://astro.umsystem.edu/apml/>  ---
             Unsubscribe at <majordomo@seds.org>