Browse by Manufacturers

More Information  · Images of Some Features Price $24,999.00 Warranty 1 year

The Meade MAX go-to robotic German equatorial mount on a permanent pier is truly the last telescope mount an astronomer will ever need. With a payload capacity of 250 pounds – over 400 if you include the counterweights – the 5’10" tall MAX mount is capable of handling any available commercially-made telescope optics. Not just capable of handling a heavy payload, but handling that payload with superb precision and accuracy for critical astrophotography. Just consider this specification . . . a periodic error of only two arc seconds, less than half that of a star’s Airy disc on nights of sub-par seeing. Or consider this specification . . . sub arc minute pointing accuracy during go-to operation. One of the Meade 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 mechanical features include 13.625" diameter right ascension and declination drive gears with 652 teeth on each. Each gear is driven by a high torque Pittman DC servo motor turning a clutchless 1.1667" diameter fully-enclosed and permanently precision-adjusted spring-loaded worm. The right ascension shaft is 3.84" in diameter. It is supported by two high payload ball bearing races – one 5.9055" OD x 3.9370" ID x 0.9449" wide and one 3.9370" OD x 2.5591" ID x 0.7090" wide. The declination shaft is 2.90" in diameter. It is also supported by two high payload ball bearing races – one 4.5276" OD x 2.9528" ID x 0.7874" wide and one 3.9370" OD x 2.5591" ID x 0.7090" wide.

The mount can be operated over a 0° to 90° latitude range for use anywhere in the world. Internal cabling eliminates the potential cable tangles that are possible with lesser mounts that use external cabling to the drive motors. The mount does not use the traditional (i.e. Losmandy-style D-plate) dovetail. Instead, there is a custom quick-release dovetail plate available for custom drilling by the purchaser to fit any optical tube/tube ring hole pattern.

Electronic features include local control while standing at the scope through two multi-function/multi-port panels; remote control through a LAN from a nearby location (from inside your warm house, for example, while the mount works flawlessly outside in your observatory building in sub-freezing temperatures); or remote control from any distant location via the internet, even from another continent. The mount’s main control panel is identical to the main control panel on a Meade RCX telescope. The mount’s saddle panel has the same connections as those on the RCX OTA panel. This includes three USB connectors for accessories such as cameras and auto-guiders. A cable connects between the RCX OTA and the mount’s saddle panel to let the AutoStar controller (handbox) operate the optical tube’s focuser and collimation motors, fan, and dew heater. There are no dangling cables between the RCX optical tube and the body of the mount,

The MAX mount has a software-controlled meridian limit of 8 degrees beyond the zenith to prevent accidental pier damage when the telescope and its equipment are aimed at the zenith. The user can decrease this if a custom set-up limits this further. There are also horizon limits built into the software that are user-definable if you have trees or buildings blocking your view of the horizon.

The mount has open loop tracking; 3 USB 2.0 ports; an AutoStar II hand control with a 147,541 star and object library. The hand control has expanded AutoStar II-based software features, such as AutoAlign and an electronic mount balancing program. There’s a built-in 16-channel GPS system using a Sony GPS receiver that can be disabled if the mount is permanently installed in an observatory dome. The GPS system can also be left enabled in an observatory to provide an accurate time/date reference, even if the latitude/longitude function is not used. There’s built-in Smart Mount Technology to constantly train and improve the already high pointing accuracy of the telescope with every object that you center precisely and synchronize on during a night’s observing. The Smart Drive system has a new advanced PPEC (Permanent Periodic Error Correction) circuit to improve the typical five arc second raw tracking accuracy to a superb two arc second accuracy for astrophotography.

The mount slews in RA and Dec at the following user-selected speeds: 0.01x to 1.0x sidereal, variable in 0.01x increments; 2x, 8x, 16x, 64x, and 128x sidereal; and 1°/second to 2°/second, variable in 0.1°/second increments. In addition, you can select from pre-set sidereal or lunar tracking rates, or any of 2000 custom-selected incremental rates (for tracking the Sun for solar observing, for example).

The MAX mount uses the same optional 110 volt AC to 12 volt DC power adapter used by the Meade RCX telescopes (#RCXAC). This AC adapter is rated for a 5 amp capacity. This is enough current to run the fan and the dew heater of an RCX optical tube, in addition to operating the mount.

The MAX German equatorial mount is shown here on its standard 22" tall, 39 pound pier for permanent mounting in an observatory building. When aimed 45° above the northern horizon, the mount puts the eyepiece of a 20" catadioptric scope at a height of approximately 5’4" above ground level. Other custom pier heights are available and the desired pier height should be specified at the time your mount is ordered. The mount is also available in a transportable (although not truly portable) version with a heavy duty tripod (#MAXTRI). This allows the mount to be used in an observatory building (with the tripod giving you the option to also take the mount into the field).

The Meade MAX mount is manufactured at Meade’s state-of-the art design and manufacturing facility in Irvine, California.