HyperStar lenses are now available for select Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes.  The first models are now available for 10" and 14" telescopes.  The HyperStar for the Meade 14" SCT is compatible with a variety of digital SLR cameras as well as CCDs.

Compatibility

Please note that not all Meade telescopes are compatible with the HyperStar lens.  Only f/10 models with removable secondary mirror assemblies will work.  To see if your telescope is compatible, compare its secondary assembly to the pictures below which show compatible and non-compatible versions.  Compatible telescopes will have six screws on the secondary mirror assembly: three for collimation and three more outer screws which hold the mirror assembly in place.  Scopes with only the three collimation screws are not compatible with HyperStar.

Above:  Note the six screws on the compatible version, indicating a removable mirror housing

Converting Non-Compatible Telescopes

Starizona offers a kit to convert a non-compatible Meade SCT to a HyperStar-compatible system.  Currently this is available only for the 10" model.  Installing the kit involves removing the telescope's corrector plate, and installing the secondary mirror into a new housing which allows easy interchangeability between the normal SCT configuration and the HyperStar mode.

Above:  The conversion kit consists of three pieces: a mirror holder, lock ring, and baffle tube.  These parts replace the original secondary mirror holder, allowing easy removal of the secondary mirror for HyperStar imaging.

To retrofit the telescope, the corrector plate is removed from the telescope.  The original baffle tube is unthreaded, removing the entire secondary assembly.  The collimation screws are removing, allowing the secondary mirror to come out of its holder.  The mirror is attached to the new holder.  The lock ring and baffle tube are threaded together onto the corrector lens.  The new secondary holder is attached using three screws, and the whole assembly is re-installed into the telescope.  The optics must now be collimated.  Removing the secondary mirror is now done by removing the three screws attaching the mirror holder.  Collimation is retained by an asymmetrical screw pattern.

Features

The HyperStar lenses for Meade telescopes are very similar to what has been available in the past for the Celestron scopes.  Both Meade models are fully adjustable for collimation purposes.  The 10" version is compatible with a variety of CCD cameras.  The most impressive feature of the 14" model is its compatibility with not only CCD cameras but also digital SLRs such as the Canon EOS 20Da.  The HyperStar M14 is intended to illuminate a very large field of view, allowing large format DSLRs and CCDs like the Starlight Xpress SXVF-M25 to be used.

Please see the What is HyperStar page and the HyperStar Specifications page for more details on the HyperStar lenses for Meade telescopes.

LX200R Compatibility

The current HyperStar lenses will only work with Meade SCTs such as the LX200GPS or LX90.  The new LX200R optical design is slightly different from a standard SCT and would require a modified optical design for the HyperStar lens.