Meade ETX-90 Firmware Udate Issue

[ehorvath]

I got an ETX-90 and it is way off on the alignment stars and after centering them and pressing enter, about 75% of the GoTo objects are also WAY off!  I had this problem with my Oriion mount as well so I updated the firmware and it fixed it.  I'm trying to do the same on the ETX but it's not finding the handbox.  I have the appropriate cable via a USB port on Com 3 (which is working properly).  I also DL'd and installed the Meade USB com port from their site. I have the cord plugged into the hand controller, turn on the scope and then start up the program to update.  When I click on Update or Connect I get a message stating.....Could Not Find Autostar - Check your connection and try again.  Does anyone have an idea of what's wrong???  I want to make sure the firmware is up to date and also do DL the info for comet Lovejoy and I was hoping it would fix the horrible accuracy of the GoTo.  Thanks for any advice.

Eddie

[Steve Ward]

Considering that the 'sky' hasn't actually moved that much since the 90 was made ... ruling out a database update fix  , and along with the fact that you had the same issue with another mount , I suspect the problem lies with the data fed into the mount ... i.e. Location , Time , Date etc. 

This is usually the problem with inaccurate Go-to.

It might however be worth checking the "Meade computerised 'scopes" section on CN  ( http://www.cloudynights.com/forum/91-meade-computerized-telescopes/ ) as there are a lot more users of the ETX on your side of the pond , I have the ETX 105 but as OTA only ....

[ronin]

Going to sound odd but have Meade ever made a firmware update?

I have 2 Meades and I know that for one of them there never has been an update and you cannot actually updagte the thing anyway.

Oddly it makes life immensly easy, you don't have to think about it.

Half suspect the use of USB, they were designed for a 9600k serial port, maybe even as high as 19200k.

Have you the correct Autostar Updater? Reading the Meade Support that is as clear as mud, the latest is 6.0 and should identify the handset and get the right firmware, question is do I believe that.

Latest for the #497 is the 43Eg, issue date 4/13/07. So the "latest" is 8 years old.

Have always found the Meade to be accurate, so I would also suspect data. It is very easy to get one item wrong. Actually easy to get several of the things wrong.

Check the Lat (=59  36 N), Long (= -110  49) or (110  49 West), Timezone = -7.

Not sure when DST starrts in the US, or if applied to UT (2 US states do not do DST)

I would set you own custom location, (Price is not a big place is it ) the Meade options may be a bit too far away to use a "standard" offering from the supplied ones. If the option is Salt Lake City then that is some 150-180Km away.

Here is an odd one - what are yopu using to set the scope up pointing North?

Don't use a compass, the magnetic deviation may be such that it is highly inaccurate.

Back to the Updater, which one did you get?

There is/was a problem with 5.9.2, well it was OK but Win7 upset it: http://www.meade.com/support/downloads.html

Do you actually have the "right cable" ?

Meade made up cables and I guess there is a cross over somwehere inside.

[ehorvath]

Thanks for the info.  Price is small but is the largest city within a 90 mile radius.  I believe our opulation is over 20,000 the last I seen.  The controller has no option of lat/long, elevation or time zone (i.e. +/- 7.....Utah is -7).....only the city by entering the city and state names or by using the zip code (I used the zip) and by entering the current time and using daylight saving or not.  I asked Meade about this and it's accuracy, especially if I'm in the desert or high in the mountains and they said using the nearest city is accurate to within 200 miles and elevation has no bearing on goto mounts!  My time is correct and we are on daylight savings time....all inputed information is correct.  The hand controller has the 45E and the newest firmware update for the controller is ver 6.0 which I was trying to reload and also enter comet Lovejoy as it is not in the controller....only about 6 other comets that stay in our galaxy are listed and I love looking at Lovejoy but once it's gone....it's gone!  LOL.  The other thing I noticed on their web site and reading the readme file in Updater 6.0 is there was no mention of Windows 8 or 8.1 which is what I use....only previous version of Windows.  I set the scope up on the steel tripod it came with which has a tilt plate.  It is 100% level in both directions when I put the scope on it and I start with GPS for alignment and once it is dark I verify it with Polaris.  It's so accurate that when I push the scope up, Polaris is right in the center of the FOV.  As for the cable I'm using the USB since our computers no longer have a serial port, I'm using a Keyspan high speed adaptor for the serial cable and the cord is the 595 if memory serves me correctly.....it's specifically made for Meade.

[ronin]

If the handset is the #497 then the site is defined under:

Select Item, Setup, Site, Add, then you add a custom site of your location by whatever name you want, then supply Lat, Long and Timezone.

That is the same on the #494 and #497.

It is a lot more accurate.

You may need to scroll through a few cities before you get the Add option, Meade sort of make a list of everything and if you go the wrong way (up or down) getting to what you want can be painful.

As even the latest 43Eg was 4/13/07 Lovejoy came around several years later so it will have no idea about it.

I would say the best you can do is check for adding your own location, honestly should be there, then find out the present RA/Dec for Lovejoy and enter that. You may (should) be able to supply them then tell the scope to goto that position, and you may be able to enter Lovejoy as a new item.

Then drop a nice wide view eyepiece in.

Lovejoy is sort of "cute". That is honestly about the best description.

It will be back in something like 8,000 years, just wait around.

Google says Price has a population of ~8,500.

Which is why I said small.

1. Price is a city in Carbon County, Utah, United States. The city is home to the USU-College of Eastern Utah, as well as the large USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum affiliated with the college. Wikipedia
2.  
3.  
4. Area: 10.88 km²
5. Weather: 22°C, Wind S at 11 mph (18 km/h), 9% Humidity
6. Population: 8,491 (2013)
7. Local time: Sunday 15:08
8. University: Utah State University Eastern

[michael8554]

I second ronin, just put in the latest RA/Dec for Lovejoy.

You could also sync to the nearest recognisable star before the GoTo to Lovejoy.

There's also an alternative updater called StarPatch, which apparently is much more user-friendly than the Meade updater.

Michael

[ehorvath]

Thanks for that information!!!  I had no idea the option was available to enter coordinates and Mead did NOT inform me of that info/option!  I bet that will solve my problems!!!  Price had a population explosion about 3-5 years ago when the gas and oil well companies moved in.....it blew up our population to over 20,000.  We've had several businesses come in and our Wal-Mart went from a normal one to a Super Center and went from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. to a 24 hour store.  We've also had more motels built as well.  I cannot wait to try out the scope with these new coordinates!!!

[ronin]

When you said 20,000+ and the other said 8,500 with 2 years different there had to be an error or a reason.

Meade's are "simple" little things, Meade did not seem to believe in updates either.

Hope the custom location helps, it should.

Hope you have a wide eyepiece for alignment, just makes it easier.

[ehorvath]

Yeah, we had an explosion of humans!  roflol  I also got an email from one of the designers of this scope and he said there is a design flaw with it.  It ALWAYS pics Sirius and Capella for it's Easy 2-star alignment.  His recommendation was:

"NEVER use the Two Star Auto Align....you must use the TWO STAR MANUAL align where YOU pick the two stars.
 
Also, because of the nature of the celestial mechanics of the sky (the RA angle of Sirius and Capella) never use those two stars....you should be using (just a suggestion)  Aldebaran and Pollux, or Hamal and Betelgeuse early in the evening and maybe Pollux and Arcturus around midnight for alignment.
 
The Auto Align is flaky at best."

I'll defintely do this as well.  I don't care if its "spot on, dead center" as long as I can at least get the object withing the FOV.  My biggest Wide eyepiece is a 40mm which is what I predominantly use for everything.

Eddie

[bingevader]

I haven't used my Autostar for a few years, but my Auto Align was never flaky!

My most common mistake was DST and although no one told me either, living out in the sticks, I soon realised you could enter your own coordinates.

You used to be able to just skip stars you didn't want until you found a more suitable one.

You also used to be able to realign once you'd found what you were looking at for greater accuracy.

If I'd set up well, the object would always be in the FOV of the 26mm plossl.

Has everything gone to the dogs over the last 15 years?!

[ehorvath]

You can realign after an object is found.....get it centered and hold down ENTER for about 2 seconds, let go and quickly press ENTER again and it saves it.  I don't know how true it is but I was told by Meade that it is best to only do that on Stars for bette alignment of DSO's.  Once in awhile I use the 26mm but normally use a 40mm instead....provides excellent views and if I want a magnified on I'll use the 26mm   I was hoping to get out tomorrow night and try out the new tricks but apparently we're supposed to have some wicked wind

[ehorvath]

This is a long time update on my scope but it ended up being totally defective......they had me set it up and had me do some technical stuff thru the hand control and I told them what it said and the company gave me a brand new replacement one and it's been great since the day it came!!!

[Dave In Vermont]

Owners / Users of Meade ETX telescopes may find this site helpful to you:

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/MeadeETXOwners/info

I have found a warehouse of helpful advice on these Yahoo astronomy groups. They have a specialized site for just about everything! Here's a link to an overview of the different sites:

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/dir/1600082805

Bon chance,

Dave