EZ Focus™ Kit
This kit is intended for use with all
Meade 7" through 12" Schmidt-Cassegrain and Maksutov-Cassegrain
telescopes - including the LX200GPS, the LX200 Classic, the LX90, the LX50 and
the LX10. It also fit the LX200R 8", 10" and 12" scopes, as
well as the 16" LX200R and LX200GPS. The kit removes most of the backlash in Meade's focusing system
and consistently provides a light precise feel to the focuser knob.
Note that the kit does not fit Meade's 14" LX200R and LX200GPS. The 14" is a major redesign of the GPS line, and it incorporates the EZ Focus thrust bearing design.
The EZ Focus™ Kit is used to modify the Meade focus system - it does not replace it. By substituting precision thrust bearings for the existing nylon washers, this kit greatly reduces the need for separate costly, bulky backplate mounted focusers and motorized focus controls. (Or in the case of the LX200R and LX200GPS, the need to waste time in switching over to using Meade's Microfocuser.)
The procedure is simple, and the instruction sheet contains highly detailed step by step photo illustrated instructions. Installation does not require going into the optical tube assembly. You simply unscrew the focuser from the scope backplate to work on it. The only tool you need supply is a simple pair of pliers.
This extremely effective approach to improving focuser action was developed by Michael Hart. Mr. Hart's basic design is posted in the MAPUG archives. The EZ Focus™ Kit significantly improves on the basic design and modification procedure. In addition to the very detailed instructions and step by step photographs that anyone can follow, the kit contains a collection of difficult to obtain items - 2 precision miniature thrust bearings, a custom stamped stainless steel thrust washer, an Allen wrench, a mirror cell retaining bolt, and a packet of special synthetic grease.
Click here for a detailed explanation of what the EZ Focus Kit will and will not do.
CUSTOMER COMMENTS:
From North Carolina: IT WORKS! IT WORKS! IT WORKS! Yea !!!!! Finally something that works like it
says it does !!
From Isle of Skye, Scotland: What a difference! I can even now tell by the
feel of the focuser alone whether the mirror is moving up or down.
From Massachusetts: This is the first time I have ever written any company about any product
they've made that worked well.
For the first time in the 5 years that I have owned my 8" f/10 LX-200 I feel
I finally have the ability to extract the most from the telescope's optical
potential. I am strictly a visual observer. Observing at sea level near the coast is always a challenge, but it
seemed I never could get a good focus at higher magnifications, no matter how much I fiddled with the collimation, which I thought was the reason why
the focus was so poor. I was pretty much resigned to having 100x as the
telescope's highest useful magnification.
I installed EZ-Focus last Saturday and used it that night. The difference
was dramatic. I was able to achieve excellent focus up to 200x, splitting double stars near 1" of separation
consistently. Globular clusters were in focus at 200x, not just a smear of
light at that magnification.
From Florida: Your product has improved my telescope's performance beyond the point that I
thought it was capable of. Congratulations. Thanks for a great product. Your EZ Focus Kit is excellent and only took 10
minutes to install. All the backlash is gone in my 12" LX200.
I may not need that Crayford upgrade after all!
From Arizona: ... let me congratulate you for the improvement in the focuser
on my Meade 10" SCT! Jimminy Christmas what an improvement and it "feels right" now!!
From Michigan: I had to let you know how I feel about the EZ Focus Kit. This relatively inexpensive purchase saved me the cost of a
Crayford focuser. It is amazing how well it works. It eliminated 75% of the image shift in my 8" LX200 and gave the focuser a VERY smooth and positive feel. It took longer to read the directions than to install
it.
From Virginia: I
can't believe how much your kit improved the focus movement, backlash and even
image shift on my new 10" LX200. This was the best $30 bucks I have
spent in a long time.
From Colorado: The kit
arrived in yesterday's mail, and I leisurely installed it in the
afternoon. Installation was easy - I was able to disengage the focuser on
my 8" SCT without trouble, and disassemble it by hand. I was so pleased
when I focused the telescope and found that I could move the focuser from inside
to outside of focus, and back to the best focus position so easily. I can
hardly wait to try the telescope with my CCD camera on a star field. I'll
be that my days of soft star images are over at last. Thanks.
From Georgia: I received the kit
today and installed it in a little time. Although it was cloudy tonight, I
HAD to test this enhancement promptly, so out to the back porch I went. I
zoomed in on a streetlamp and tested the focuser, noting that cylinder rotation
is much smoother. Intra and extra focal images do not suffer backlash
anything close to what I was experiencing with "stock" components. My
electric focuser even sounds like it is laboring less! This is a common
sense, very simple, highly-useful, non time-consuming modification that every
LX200 owner must perform. I encourage it highly. Thanks!
From Melbourne,
Australia: G'day from Downunder, I received the focus kit yesterday and with
trembling hands I replaced the three washers and added the grease. Hmm, it
certainly was easier than expected! Tried my LX90 on a bright moonlit
night last night and wow, the focusing was silky smooth and far easier to get
any object in focus! Boy, 3 washers and grease and I've got a more accurate
focusing system and a lot of backlash gone! So thanks Peterson Engineering
Corporation and to Michael Hart for his original design.
From Florida: Congratulations on having great instructions included with your EZ Focus kit. I studied them here at the office, went home at noon and installed both the Mounting Assistant Classic and the focus kit. My scope is an 8" LX200 Classic and I was able to remove the focuser from the OTA. Meade certainly does use a lot of grease on the focuser. Everything fit perfectly, in fact after I had attached the focuser to the OTA, it was so smooth and effortless that I thought I had not attached the focuser to the 1/8" pin so I took it back off, and yes it was attached. I'll put it to the test tonight if this high cirrus stuff goes away. Again, great products and great instructions. My friend will be calling to order one for his LX200GPS even though he has not yet received it.
From Massachusetts: Your EZ Focus worked like a dream on my second-hand LX200 Classic. NO image shift now, smooth and easy focusing with no backlash. Thanks!
From Massachusetts: ...I absolutely love the way it feels and works as compared to the original that was on my 10" LX200 Classic. Thanks for such a great & low cost product.
Posted on Yahoo LX200GPS user
group: Just my $.02 about Peterson's EZ Focus: I was not at all
thrilled with the focusing action of my LX200 Classic. There was WAY too
much mirror shift, lots of backlash, and with each change in direction, a big
"dead-space" where the focus wouldn't change at all, then would change
dramatically all of a sudden. So I ordered an EZ Focus, and a JMI manual
Crayford-style focuser ($169). They both arrived on the same day.
Bottom line is the EZ Focus improved things so much that I returned the JMI
focuser. The backlash is gone, mirror shift is only a few arc-seconds; in
short it works the way it always should have. Thanks for an excellent
product.
Email rec'd 21 Oct 05: Last week I
installed the EZ Focus kit on my LX 200 GPS 10". I also installed the EZ
Clutch kit. Of course as soon as I did so It rained for a week.
:-( But it did clear this week and I took my scope out for a
shake down cruise. I put my scope on the tripod (using the Mounting
Assistant!) and went through the alignment procedure. I did not use the
electric micro focuser the rest of the night. This is big. Prior to
installing the EZ Focus kit the coarse focuser was exactly that. Very coarse. So
bad it was essentially unusable with major backlash and mirror shift. So to
spend an entire observing session without once using the micro focuser is
phenomenal. Thank you very much. .............. PS The EZ Clutch
works pretty good to. And I as so happy with these products I just ordered an
EyeOpener as well. I wish you made more stuff!
From the UK "Finally got around to installing the EZ Focus Kit and used it in anger for the first time. It really is a huge improvement. I can now almost spin the focus knob as everything moves so much more freely, and most importantly, the focus action is now direct and without lag. Meade deserve a kick in the tweeds for making such a hash of it in the first place - especially given that the purchase price of the 12" LX90 was not insignificant to me! The EZ Focus Kit (minus postage) cost me a shade over £15. I really don't understand Meade scrimping over that sort of money, I would have gladly paid the extra for good focus control - which let's face it, is an absolutely essential telescope function! Enough preaching to the converted, cheers Pete, if only all my Astronomy purchases were so cheap and made such a difference!"
Installation
of this kit does not void your Meade warrantee.
$29.99 plus postage
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Peterson Engineering Corporation
Sky Division
405 New Meadow Road
Barrington, RI 02806
For
orders or inquiries from within the USA or Canada during business hours
telephone or
FAX Toll Free
(888) 712-9332
For orders
or inquiries from outside of USA
telephone or FAX (401) 245-6679 during business hours
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