Tris

My daughter has been given a 10" LX200 GPS ACF UHC from a workplace. We have absolutely no history on it. I have a 12" LX200, UHTC (Non-ACF I think), on which I have done the GPS patch and a few other simple-ish things over the years. She is a keen astronomer with a little 4" refractor, but  a Meade rookie.

I've donated a tripod, A.II Handset and a crayford focuser (which were all missing) and we've set it up in AltAz, with the control panel facing South, on new batteries. The drives work although the RA drive sounds a little querulous - but it started off better, and I wonder if this might be cold batteries and many set up attempts. I think I'll try a mains supply.

The GPS always defaults to 2003 on start-up but seems to hold an input time and site sporadically. So I'm assuming it needs a star patch, which I think I can do again. When my 12" GPS faulted, the 'scope would perform OK on manually input date, time and site. But this one won't. On an auto align, it always seeks Arcturus first, (in about the right place, but below the horizon). Subsequently synching it on a known star or planet seems to not change this. 

I did accept this Arcturus align "successful!" to see if it would track, and we lined up on Venus and it drifted off to the left.  I then tried a factory reset via the A.II and Venus then drifted off to the right. The Handset correctly "identifies" what scope it is on, and declares a 3.1 or 3.01 software version. (My 12" is on v. 4.2). 

I'd appreciate any thoughts at all. Among them, can anyone date the scope roughly for us? It's a crackle finish one, and looks as though it has been stored carelessly in a shed, but otherwise almost unused. The optics and most of the case look absolutely pristine.

Obviously we are really keen to get it going for her, so she can see some of the sights that I keep yacking on about. Any help will be much appreciated.

I read somewhere that it could be brighter than a full moon for a year! If so, then while spectacular, it would prevent a lot of visual astronomy. 

Well seven months later (I have been away for some of that...)

Thank you all again. In the end the way to get it right was to drift-align it, as everyone kept saying, but I was nervous about doing. It was much easier than I thought and it now finds everything as it should. So thank you all - yet again. 

Great. That's all really interesting, and helpful. I'll report back in due course...  ?

On 13/10/2018 at 22:35, michael8554 said:

Yes Tris, the standard wedge is a POS.

Tightening usually changes the alignment because the wedge bends so easily, so you have to learn to under adjust so that tightening gets you on the mark.

Pier mounted and well drift aligned, I have never bothered with 1 or 2 Star alignments, I just SYNCH on a star near the DSO.

Michael

My bold. Yes, thanks - I'll try that - it is easiest done by setting the Autostar to High Precision, isn't it? Or do you just pick a star that you know? The wedge I am using is an all aluminium Astro-Engineering  Megawedge (I think the 400) , and I've got nylon washers on the tightening nuts. I'm already starting to sort of pre-empt the movement, as you suggest.  I actually wonder if I'm over-tightening it.  I'm using a  half inch drive ratchet, not too hard, but it apples quite a bit of torque.. 

Hmm. OK. Well, I've got the hang of the upside-down bit now. I can get close enough to the pole that Polaris stays central on a reticle eyepiece while the scope is rotated 180 degrees in RA to reach the upside down position. A two-star alignment from there gets me set up OK, but the GoTo's are not as good as they were with my 12" LX90. That always used to put DSO's  in the FOV, this doesn't - they are sometimes a full FOV away.  I'm not sure why that should be as I presume that the GoTo part of the programming should be identical.

The one star alignment is a different beast altogether on the 200 as it asks you to centre Polaris and then it does so again to a slightly different point. Is that the te=rue pole? Not sure. I also tried my first drift align, but that didn't help and I don't think I did it right. Tightening the wedge, particularly in Az, seems always to throw it off again.

Plusses are that the 200 seems to allow me to see quite a lot better particularly nebulae and galaxies. And I love the way it parks and re-awakes still aligned (even if not perfectly). I also love the quick menus on the autostar 2, and the beefier forks - a lot less shake.

Thank you both very much. I had read the manual, but clearly I need to do so again - however you have also provided lots which is not in the manual, which is of great help. I now have to go away for a few days, so I shall go "dark", but I will let you know how I get on in due course...  Thanks again.

OK, I am struggling a bit getting the new (15 year old) scope aligned. I'm not a novice and had the LX90 polar aligned and it was perfect. The 200  has more options. The GPS is finding the right time and place. I am poplar aligned on a wedge, aim at polaris, adjust wedge, rotate 90 deg and adjust wedge again. So Polatis is properly centered.

Then I go for a manual 2 star alignment (limited sky) using Arcturus then Altair.  So far exactly as the LX 90. But the 200 won't go around to Arcturus - it stops when it is facing 180 deg the wrong way.  The only way I can get it to find the stars is to start with the scope centered on polaris, but on its back. Then it'll roughly find the 2 stars, but even when they are both centered and it declares the alignment successful, it doesn't get very close to anything.  I reset to factory and set everything up again. Same result.

And anyway, it shouldn't be starting on its back!  What's wrong?  As always, any help will be gratefully received, and I will finish off the thread for those who follow me.  Thanks in advance...  The previous owner has been helpful, but this problem is unknown to him and I completely believe that. What have I set wrong? 

FINAL FOOTNOTE

Completely out of the blue I suddenly got a chance to buy a 12" LX200, which I have quickly done. So I after all that I shall now be selling this 12" LX90 (complete with its new switch and control board). I don't think I've got enough posts up to use the selling area here, so I shall put it up on the AstroBuySell site at a reasonable price to get it out. 

OK so to finish this off, putting in the new switch was easy but Opticstar (who sold it to me for a very reasonable £26) passed on some wrong connection instructions from Meade.  Any new switch will have 2 poles for the power, and then 10 poles on the other side (the old switch has only eight as on my picture above) - two of these ten are for the GPS and LNT. The switches on the older 'scopes will only have 8 poles.

So if your scope is older and doesn't have LNT or GPS, then the two poles to leave unconnected are the two at the other end of the switch from the power poles. I attach a photo of the new 10 pole switch correctly connected for an older LX90 with no LNT or GPS. The Meade / Opticstar instructions were to leave vacant the two poles at the other end of the 10 pole row. 

You can trust me on this. I did try it the other way - nothing went "Pop!" but nothing worked either. 

As an added bonus, this 'scope never worked on batteries, only on mains - don't know why - presumably another fault on the old switch. But with the new switch it will use either. 

...and it's off! All the wiggling I could do didn't move  it. It needed a hook behind it, I used a small meccano-like bracket, but a bent coat-hanger would do, I reckon. 

All is now clear and I have ordered a new switch / "Computer Control" panel from Opticstar in Manchester for the princely sup of £26 delivered. I'll report back when I've got it back together.  I will clean and re-grease the declination gears, and I can also see that my predecessor has been in there, and lost a few screws (which isn't difficult to do). I've replaced those, so hopefully it'll be better when I put it back together then it was before. 

Thanks for the responses everyone. I'll report back to finalise the thread for the next person, hopefully with a good outcome. 

That's ever so helpful guys. It's really useful to be able to see what is behind the spur wheel, and that this is what I need to be doing. My problem (hopefully now the last problem), is that I seem unable to get the spur wheel off the inner clutch, which is the bit that he has already done prior to the beginning of this clip. I'll have a further look around... 

I have searched this but I could see nothing, so apologies, and please direct me if there is another thread.

My 12" LX 90 has a knackered 12v power inlet and needs a new control board, which I gather one can get from Meade for not too much money. But I can't get the old one out as I can't get the fork arm cover off. It's a one piece cover and there are two bolts at the bottom (which were missing anyway, and 4 screws inside the arm. I've removed those but the top of the cover is held by the declination gear. I've removed the tensioner, washer, outer clutch plate and spacer.  I cannot see how to remove the gear wheel. The inner clutch plate  has 2 pins from it onto which the outer clutch plate locates, and 2 holes through it, one of which reveals what looks like a hex bolt. I'm worried to undo it as I won't be able to get it back if it drops inside.

Can anyone tell me how to get the gear wheel off? (either as one large piece, or I suspect, separately from the inner clutch plate, which it sits around).  

2 hours ago, Davey-T said:

I found the best way to set up originally was to aim the forks at Polaris, aim the scope at Polaris aligned with the forks and then rotate in RA and adjust until Polaris rotated in the eyepiece using something like a 26mm eyepiece, then refine the polar alignment using drift aligning and a 12mm illuminated reticle.

It also helps if you make sure the wedge is level in an east west direction, north  south obviously not critical.

When finished observing use the "park scope" option buried in the utilities menu somewhere

Syncing on a star overides any previous alignments.

When imaging I usually just switch on from the previously parked position, sync on a star near to where I'm imaging and then GOTO the target which will be on the Atik314 chip.

Dave

My bold. Yes that's what I thought it should do. But it never really has, on either of my LX90's in AltAz or now in Polar. 

Thanks Dave. The fork / scope position that you describe is what i am doing (Polar home parked). The rotational idea sounds good. I'll get a reticle eyepiece and give that a go. I'll also check my wedge W.E. level. But isn't that the same as what I am doing with a spirit level across the forks now, when I am in Polar home? Or am I missing a point? I'll also read up on drift alignment.

Hi and thanks for the response. No, I just centered it on a fairly high magnification. Maybe I need a reticle eyepiece. But the objects I am seeking are not even showing in the telescope's FOV (although they are well within the FOV of the 8 x 50 finderscope). That fact makes me wonder if I have some alignment problem with the scope or the mount, of which I am unaware

Can anyone help? I'm an old hand, but new to polar alignment. Here's what I have done.

Mounted my 12" LX90 on a height adjustable pier and an Astro engineering mega-wedge.

Put the 'scope into "Polar home" position using a spirit level to make it parallel to the ground in Azimuth terms.

Lined it up to Polaris using the mechanical adjusters on the wedge.

Set the day and time.

Selected "One star" Meade alignment on the 'scope, which causes it to rotate a little, then decline a touch.

Re-aligned it to Polaris using the wedge adjusters,as per Meade instructions.

Lined up the one star that the 'scope selected (Capella). 

So that's where I am. The 'scope will not now accurately find things. it seems to go to a consistent amount a few degrees "off" each one. I have tried "Synching" items when on them, but the scope doesn't hold onto the synch, just reverts to a few degrees off. 

It looks great. The colour looks like one of the Ducks Back range - I used Ducks Back on mine. I love the way you've done the roof and my wife is envious of the summerhouse - or is it a children's house?

Anyway all the very best with it. It's such fun doing something like this, and having it work. 

14 hours ago, ArmyAirForce said:

The roof panels are drying overnight, and I expect to be able to fit them tomorrow. After fitting some bolts to hold the roof shut, it should then be weather tight.

Yes the bolts are important, i reckon. I put one on each of the 4 walls to hold the roof on in a gale. we've had the gales, and the roof remained on. You can see two of the "twist shut" padbolts that I used in my photo. They were very cheap, and work very well. 

Thanks Derek. I sort of just dreamed it all up in my head and to my absolute amazement, it all worked! The sheds are kit ones and the astroshed is obviously pretty modified. 

There's an irony, in that we have just spent 5 years away, with brilliant rural skies, but it was rented, so i couldn't start building things. The sky here at home isn't really great - urban and not great horizons. But there's still plenty to see.

I have a heater in the next door shed. Nominally, that one is my wife's shed. But hey! You know how it goes...      

Great to see someone else's take on this. Here's what I did from November through to January.