I've never used a Meade LX 200 before, but from everything I've read, they're comprable in most respects to the Celestrons. However, the Meade's have a few advantages. The Meades are easier to use an autoguider system with since the input will go directly into the hand pannel for when you're doing eyepiece projection and long exposures. I also noticed that the LX 200 looks like it has a compass built into the base which is a helpful feature to make sure you're aligned properly. However, this will only give you magnetic north and you'll still need to hit true north. Thus, I usually use Polaris to align my tripod.

The LX 200 also looks to have the renowned "Go-To" capability so it can find your objects for you. From what I've seen of it, these work quite well, but many amateur astronomers don't like them because finding things and learning to star hop is half the fun.

I think I mentioned in my previous post that I purchased my telescope used. It's actually supposed to come in the mail tomorrow. Obviously, it's dangerous to purchase a used scope if you can't check it out before hand. However, judging by the equipment that I've gotten for mine so far, the previous owner of mine took excellent care of his scope.

But just in case, here's some useful tips:
-Ask for high res pictures of the corrector plate, if possible: If there's a lot of dust, or scratches on it, then it's not worth buying.
-See if it's from a non smoking household: While it may not seem like much, the smoke particles do degrade the quality of the optics over time.
-Judge what comes with it: A user who has lots of expensive equipment and seems like more than your average amateur is more likely to take care of their equipment.
-Make sure you get insurance on your scope: It'd really suck to have a $1000 scope get damaged on the way here. If the seller doesn't understand this and require it anyway, I might consider this questionable too.

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head. Any more questions? Let me know.

~Jon
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