Meade has been offering refractors for more than 25 years. Their aggressive marketing strategy has resulted in a plethora of model numbers, many of which represent identical or near identical telescopes. Following is a table of the most of these models.
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| Meade 294 | Meade 395 |
| Model | Dia-foc'l | Mount | Ac'sories | Finder |
| 222 | 60-f/11.7 | Alt-Az | .965" | 5x24 |
| 223 | 60-f/11.7 | Alt-Az | .965" | 5x24 |
| 224 | 60-f/11.7 | Alt-Az | .965" | 5x24 |
| 225 | 60-f/11.7 | Alt-Az | .965" | 5x24 |
| 226 | 60-f/11.7 | Alt-Az | .965" | 5x24 |
| 227 | 60-f/11.7 | Alt-Az | 1 ¼" | 5x24 |
| 228 brass | 60-f/11.7 | Alt-Az | .965" | 5x24 |
| 230 | 60-f/11.7 | Alt-Az | 1 ¼" | 5x24 |
| 264 | 60-f/11.7 | Dlx Alt-Az | .965" | 5x24 |
| 277 | 60 f/5 | Alt-Az | .965" | 5x24 |
| 280 | 60-f/11.7 | Eq | .965" | 5x24 |
| 285 | 60-f/15 | Eq | .965"* | 5x24* |
| 289 | 60-f/11.7 | Eq | .965" | 5x24 |
| 290 | 60-f/15 | Eq | .965" | 5x24 |
| 291 | 60-f/15 | Eq | .965" | 5x24 |
| 294 | 60-f/15 | Eq | .965" | 5x24 |
| 295 | 60-f/15 | Eq | .965" | 5x24 |
| 300 | 75-f/?? | Alt-Az? | .965" | 5x24 |
| 310 | 80-f/11 | Alt-Az | 1 ¼" | 5x24 |
| 312 | 80-f/11 | Alt-Az | 1 ¼" | 5x24 |
| 314 brass | 80-f/11 | Alt-Az | 1 ¼" | 5x24 |
| 320 | 80-f/11 | Eq | 1 ¼" | 5x24 |
| 323 | 80-f/11 | Eq | 1 ¼" | 5x24 |
| 330 | 75-f/?? | Eq | .965" | 5x24 |
| 386D | 90-f/11 | Eq | .965" | 5x24 |
| 390 | 90-f/11 | Alt-Az | 1 ¼" | 6x30 |
| 395 | 90-f/11 | Eq | 1 ¼" | 6x30 |
| 420 | 100 f/15 | Eq | 1 ¼" | |
| 430 | ||||
| 440 | 102 f/10 | Eq | 1 ¼" | |
| * Some units from the early '90's have 1 ¼" accessories and 6x30 finders | ||||
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In 1992 Meade introduced a line of high quality refractors. The optical tubes were available in sizes from 4" to 7" diameter and used extra-low dispersion (ED) elements in the objective lenses with multi-coatings, and oversize focusers with holders for both 2" and 1 ¼" accessories. The mounts were impressive German Equatorial Mounts with worm gears in both RA and declination. These were placed on heavy tripods, the lightest of which was the same tripod used on the SCTs. Optional DC motor drives and a completely computerized "go to" system for up to 8000 objects were available. The computer system also provided several drive rates and the Permanent Periodic Error Correction (PPEC) that had become popular in Meade's line of SCTs. An electronic drive system with various drive rates, but without the computerized "go to" was also available as an option. In 1994 the electronics in the mounts for the above telescopes were updated in a manner similar to what was done for the LX200 telescopes. The model numbers were updated to LXD650 and LXD750 as the worm gears were improved to reduce backlash and the drive motors were replaced with higher torque 18vdc motors. 102ED - 4" f/9 OTA with LXD600/650 mount 127ED - 5" f/9 OTA with LXD600/650 mount 152ED - 6" f/9 OTA with LXD700/750 mount 178ED - 7" f/9 OTA with LXD700/750 mount |
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| 178ED | ||