Buck's Precision Gears & Buck's Tune-Up

Upgrade & Optimize Meade telescope drives

Significantly improve mechanical precision of both AZ and DEC drives
Improve PEC and reduce mechanical backlash
Replace damaged or low precision plastic gears where appropriate
For Meade LX 200 and LX600 SCTs produced from 2001 to current

Meade’s scope drives are capable of exceptional performance but even the most current production rarely achieves the level of precision inherent in the design. In older scopes there’s a problem with the use of weak non-precision plastic gears. And with all scopes there’s an equally significant problem associated with factory level adjustments, assembly, and installation. (For one thing, all Buck’s upgrades add the capability of adjusting gear mesh – something that can’t be done at the factory with the existing design.)

Optimization of drive performance is critical for imaging. But even visual observation can be adversely effected because software can’t fully compensate for excessive mechanical backlash. Or when a drive is hanging with one mounting screw.

There are 2 basic versions of this upgrade. The Tune-Up and the Gears

The Buck’s Tune-Up kit is a minimal cost way to achieve all of the mechanical performance that your drives are capable of. It contains upgrade parts and a 17 photo-illustrated pages of inspections and adjustments.

The Buck’s Gears kit contains everything in the Buck’s Tune-Up plus super precision gears (tolerance ±0.0005 inches) to replace existing plastic gears.

The Tune-Up kit and the Gear kit each have 2 basic sub-catagories. The more common Standard version is for 8″ thru 12″ SCTs. And the other Big Scope version for the 14″ scopes and for any sized RCX400.

So. There are 4 different upgrade kits:

For a detailed independent analysis of improvement in Periodic Error see Geof Wingham’s study:

What do our customers say?

Buck’s Tune-Up or Buck’s Gears – which do you need for your scope?

In 2001 Meade incorporated a new and much improved drive with the introduction of the LX200 GPS telescope, and an even more sophisticated drive in the 14″ version of the LX200 GPS. These two basic drive designs are still used in all later fork mounted scope versions including the LX600.

Scopes sold between GPS introduction in 2001 and February 2005 utilize plastic gears and will benefit from the full Buck’s Gears upgrade. Scopes produced after June 2006 shipped with precision brass gears and will benefit from Buck’s Tune-Up. During the transition period Meade mixed gear types and drive types.

If you have an 8″, 10″ or 12″ Meade LX600, LX200 ACF, or LX200R

If you have a Meade 14″ LX600, LX200ACF, LX200R, LX200GPS or anyRCX400 telescope

If you have a 7″, 8″, 10″ or 12″ LX200GPS

… manufactured before February 2005

… manufactured after June 2006

… manufactured between these periods, or you don’t know the manufacturing date

If you have a 14″ LX200 GPS or any sized RCX400

… manufactured before February 2005

… manufactured after June 2006

… manufactured between these periods, or you don’t know the manufacturing date

These upgrades do not fit any LX90, nor do they fit the LX200 “Classic”