The optical quality of my 8 inch Meade scope is quite good. I have not noticed any significant optical problems. The well known focus knob/image shift problem is almost non-exsistent fot this particular scope. I have had no problems with the optical system of this scope.

The drive motors and electronics have given me what I consider more problems than they should have. I have had three telescope failures related to the telescope's computer and drive motors. Even with these failures I still think that the Meade scope is the best bang for the buck and unless you have a lot of extra money and time, its the best way to go. When the scope is working properly, it does everthing Meade says it does and does it well. When well trained, the SmartDrive works great. I routinely make unguided 3 minute exposures and get nice round star images. Over 3 minutes and I usually use the ST-7's autoguider. 45 minute long exposures are almost perfect. I have talked to other LX200 users and many have had no trouble with their scope over several years. It is quite a complex telescope and you can probably expect to replace some parts since it was not really designed to be heavily used in a robotic observatory. Replacement parts are cheap and easily installed. As I said earlier, the scope is a good value for what you are getting.

I purchased the scope from Astronomics for $2680.41 USD in 1995. It is the High Precision Pointing model (HP). The Meade product number is #8206.