Meade LightBridge 8-Inch Truss-Tube Dobsonian Telescope - Deluxe Review

Best Big Aperture Value!

"I liked many of the Dobs out there but kept going back to look at the LightBridges. I couldn't justify spending an extra $250 for an 8" over the standard designs just to get a truss tube design. [...]. I had it set up within an hour. Most of the instructions were good but the manual could have used some better pictures and a parts diagram. Other than that, it was an easy setup. The scope is very solid compared to anything I've used before. It doesn't vibrate much when moved or tapped even at very high power. The bearings in the azimuth base are super smooth and the alt glides pretty nicely as well. The friction brakes definitely help though. I keep the az one tightened a tiny bit and only need to use the alt brake if I have the scope up on a table and aim it almost horizontally to the ground for terrestrial use. The included EP is awesome. You will want at least one more for higher magnification or possibly a 2" barlow for the 26mm included though. I hooked up a Philips SPC900NC webcam to it and it looks great. The focuser and 1.25" adapter are great quality as well.The scope looks awesome just sitting in my living room and it's a great conversation piece. It is super easy to move too. You just grab the OTA by the trusses and pick it up and move it elsewhere then carry the base. It's pretty easy to break down and set up the trusses again as well. I'd recommend some sort of carrying case for the OTA parts though.The included red dot finder is great. It is pretty close out of the box but I had to adjust it a little. Easy to use though and consistent. The only downsides are not having an included laser collimater and the cheap mirror cover that's included. Collimation isn't too bad out of the box as long as you stick to the included eyepiece. Any higher magnification seems to prevent anything from coming into focus completely. Once collimated though, it looks great. The mirror cover plastic couldn't be much thinner and it wasn't attached securely during shipping. It seems to be able to scratch the inside of the bottom tube/mirror cell but it's very hard to see. All in all, I would buy this scope again in a second and definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a first scope, bigger aperture than they have now, simplicity, quality, or portability."

Just after setup. The cat already loves it!

• Picture of Product