Building on the legendary reputation of their predecessor LX200 telescopes and the result of a two-year design effort at the Meade Irvine facility, Meade LX200GPS models take previous telescope technology to a level heretofore unimagined.

 Announced in September, 2001, few telescopes in the thirty-year history of Meade Instruments have aroused such intense interest, or been so quickly accepted, among both beginning and experienced amateur astronomers.

New Heavy-Duty Fork Mounts: All-new LX200GPS fork mounts are the strongest, most rigid mountings ever made available for telescopes of these apertures. DC-servo-motor-controlled (12v DC) worm gear drives with almost two hundred selectable drive speeds, combined with the Meade Smart Drive on both telescope axes, permit observatory-level precision in tracking, guiding, and slewing.

Photo-guide speeds are selectable from 0.01x to 1.0x sidereal, in increments of 0.01x; fast-slew speeds are selectable from 1°/sec. to 8°/sec. in 0.1°/sec. increments. Use the 8°/sec. speed for rapid motion of the telescope across the skies; once near the target, switch instantly to a speed of 1.5°/sec. or 3°/sec. for centering in the viewfinder. Observing in the main telescope, use the 16x or 64x sidereal speed to place the object in the center of the field.

Precision GPS Alignment: Telescope alignment is accomplished automatically using signals from the Global Positioning System (GPS), a satellite system that enables extremely precise communication to the telescope of the observer"s latitude and longitude, as well as local time. Integrated true-level and North electronic sensors in combination with a 16-channel GPS receiver located in the left-hand fork arm result in accurate telescope alignment to the sky at the touch of a button: Just press the ENTER button on the Autostar II hand controller and watch as the telescope measures level, points North, and slews at 8°/sec. to its first alignment star. Magnetic declination compensation designed into the telescope software automatically engages during the alignment process.