Meade 1645-05-03 LightBridge 16-Inch Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope, Open Truss Review

Are you into some serious astronomy? If the answer is “yes”, then the Meade 1645-05-03 LightBridge 16-Inch Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope, Open Truss may be the exact piece of equipment you need. The largest telescope made by Meade, this work of art is dedicated to the seasoned astronomer who wants the best value for the spent money.

Very large in size and providing so much light gathering power it’s mind-blowing, the Meade 1645-05-03 LightBridge 16-Inch Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope, Open Truss is also easy to carry to your favourite night sky observation spot. We talked about some of the best Meade telescopes so far, but it’s time to visit the big league now and look at some of the best professional telescopes for the serious astronomer. If you want to join the ride, let’s see what this Meade 1645-05-03 LightBridge 16-Inch Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope with Open Truss can do in terms of deep sky observations.

What is the Meade 1645-05-03 LightBridge 16-Inch Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope, Open Truss?

First, let us emphasize on the fact that Meade sells for years in a row some of the best Dobsonian telescopes on the market at very affordable prices. If you read other Meade company reviews, you know what we are talking about. This being said, let’s see what this particular Dob features in terms of tech specs and innovations.

One of the most striking features of this professional telescope is its aperture and mirror size: 406.4 mm (16″), with a focal length of 1829 mm and a focal ratio of f/4.5 and so much light gathering power, it becomes an open window to the vastness of the Universe itself.

The mirror is perhaps the most precious component of them all, as it is a multi-coated, diffraction limited 16″ primary mirror with a fully adjustable high strength aluminum stress-free floating multi-point cell which has a built in cooling fan working with 8 AA batteries in order to speed up the cooling process of the mirror – thus enhancing the sharpness and clarity of the obtained images.

We cannot go further with this Meade 1645-05-03 LightBridge 16-Inch Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope review until we say something about what exactly you can see during a clear night with dark skies. This telescope allows you to actually see deeper in the sky than ever before. Besides the crystal clear, crisp, beautifully colored and contrasting images of the Moon, we are not talking about far-away planets, nebulas, clusters, solar system formations, celestial bodies which can be seen now in full detail. From this point of view, if you were looking for some of the professional astronomer tools out there, you just found one.

The Meade emblematic optics which are famous all over the world are completed by a 2″ diameter Meade Series 4000 26 mm QX Wide Angle Eyepiece for incredible wide angles of view, also complimented by a dual ratio 2″ Crayford focuser with 10:1 micro focus control, and 1.25″ adapter which allows upgrading the telescope with several models of eyepiece barrels.

The Alt-Azimuth mount and the red dot viewfinder make the Meade 1645-05-03 LightBridge 16-Inch Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope images to be easy to obtain. If course, collimation is necessary, but there are no tools necessary, so the pro-astronomer will get things done in a blink of an eye.

This is a heavy piece of machinery, or so it looks, but in truth, the Meade LightBridge 16inch Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope is incredibly light and easy to carry. The water-resistant laminated particle board is one of those nice touches the Meade LightBridge telescope series features for its most dedicated of fans.

It takes half an hour to assemble the entire system with only one screwdriver, and it’s so easy to disassemble, you’ll have this Meade 1645-05-03 LightBridge Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope come together with you in all camping trips and field trips. It can be carried by only one person, but generally it takes too to put together the entire system.

A few words on the Meade 1645-05-03 LightBridge 16-Inch Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope price before we sum up the pros and cons of using this scope. Given the fact that this is a pro telescope meant for deep sky viewings and dedicated to the seasoned astronomer with some years of experience, the telescope is rather affordable. Compared to the best computerized telescopes and the most affordable professional telescopes on the market, this product is the “best bang for the buck” to quote one enthusiast Meade 1645-05-03 LightBridge 16-Inch Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope rating.

(Click image to see more pictures on Amazon)

Pros and Cons to Using the Meade 1645-05-03 LightBridge 16-Inch Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope, Open Truss

PROS:

• Perfect optics and features (aperture, length, ratio, light gathering power – 3300 more times than the human eye) for crystal clear lunar viewings and perfect planetary viewings, together with deep sky formations (clusters, nebulas, double and triple stars, solar system celestial objects);
• The Dobsonian design, with the Crayford focuser, the four-reticle red dot finder and the 26 mm QX Wide 2″ Eyepiece makes the telescope a serious professional telescope;
• The mirror is fully coated with magnesium fluoride for sharp planetary and deep space images;
• The mount is lightweight, waterproof and easy to assemble and disassemble;
• There are smooth controls which allow the telescope to move in any direction very easily;
• The telescope also comes with a bonus Meade AutoStar Suite Astronomer Edition Software for planetary recognition, sky charts and sky tours;
• The whole system is easy to carry and transport, and sturdy and stable to be used on any surface;
• This is one of the best open truss telescopes on the market at a very affordable price considering the tech specs and the overall Meade 1645-05-03 LightBridge 16-Inch Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope functionality.

CONS:

• This is perhaps not one of the best suited telescopes for astrophotography, but rather for deep sky viewings.

Where to Find the Meade 1645-05-03 LightBridge 16-Inch Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope, Open Truss?

You will find the Meade 1645-05-03 LightBridge 16-Inch Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope, Open Truss for sale on Amazon at the best price of $2,259.95. Dedicated to serious astronomers who want to invest in a professional astronomy tool for years to come, the telescope can be considered relatively cheap in comparison to other products in the same niche.

Extra Info:

Maintenance Advice

The Meade 1645-05-03 LightBridge 16-Inch Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope, Open Truss comes with mirror dust covers, but we suggest you invest in professional dust covers for the mirror – that is the best part of the telescope. We also recommend you to keep the scope safe from humidity and dust, powerful sunrays and of course, physical shock.

Telescope Accessories

Among the other accessories we mentioned before, the Meade 1645-05-03 LightBridge 16-Inch Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope, Open Truss comes together with a 4-vane spring steel diagonal mirror support with adjustable mirror holder, a primar mirror cooling fan, a laminated Alt-Azimuth mount with steel azimuth roller bearings and aluminum trunnion bearings with altitude friction adjustment. Besides these, there are other available accessories such as eyepieces, dust covers and so on.

Warranty and Guarantee Information

Meade offers a 1-year limited warranty for normal wear and tear of the product, including repairs and replacements.

Our Recommendation

Just as many other Meade 1645-05-03 LightBridge 16-Inch Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope reviews said before us, this is a work of art in terms of tech specs, light gathering and functionality. Besides allowing deep space viewings in crystal clear, sharp and contrasting images, the Meade 1645-05-03 LightBridge 16-Inch Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope, Open Truss is easy to assemble and disassemble, to carry around and transport, being light, compact and easy to understand. All you need is a screwdriver, but the system is so intuitively built and so professionally, you won’t have problems in putting it together in half an hour. We also recommend you to watch a few Meade 1645-05-03 LightBridge 16-Inch Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope YouTube videos for a better understanding of what this telescope really is. In terms of price, this is more than affordable considering its power and capabilities.

(See more product details and prices on Amazon)