LX200 alignment issue

[Longinthetooth]

Hi folks,

At the end of last year I was in the unfortunate position of having, to all

intents and purposes, a dead scope. So I posted the problem here and on a number

of other websites. I was astonished and very grateful for all the assistance I

received at that time, which led to the scope's resurrection!

I now have my 10" F/10 LX200 classic permanently mounted, and following a long period when it

was out of action, I am in the process of aligning the scope in its new home. I

have it pier mounted, altaz mode. I believe the scope is facing pretty much

south (checked with shadow from sun). When completing a 2 star alignment I get a

misalign message, check stars. A one star alignment followed by a goto (to

check) results in the scope being a considerable distance short (east) of its

target.

In the GMT zone so have entered our current local time and GMT+1 for the

time zone for daylight saving time (1hour forward from GMT at the current date).

I believe there is no place in the alignment procedure on the classic handset to turn

DST on or off.

I wondered if anyone here could offer some advice.

Many thanks

John B

[alan potts]

I am not sure if I understand your problem but my LX 200 home position is always North, not South. I would also have thought that you can turn daylight saving on and off as many parts of the world don't use it and Meade sell all over the place.

There must be others on this site with the LX 200, mine is 4 years old but I don't think they have changed that much.

Sorry I can't help more.

Alan.

[Longinthetooth]

Thanks Alan,

I know I may be doing something stupid in the classic alignment process - but there doesn't appear to be anywhere in the hand set process to turn dst on or off - the manual only shows USA time zones and by analogy I had set mine to GMT+1 to suit dst here in UK.

Each clear night (and remarkably there have been a few recently) I try a diifferent variation on the time/time zone setting only to be disappointed with the result!

Hey ho! - keep on trying!

Cheers

JB

[alan potts]

Yes I was in England for 3 weeks and only flew back last Saturday, there were a good few clear nights, but before I went it was wall to wall rain, must be me.

I would check some of the USA sites for help, Meade must have sold many in America and they will still exist as they are all well made. The other thing that may be worth go is contact Telescope House, they have been the Meade dealer in the UK for, well, since the beginning. I have always found them helpful but sometimes they take a while to anwser the phone.

Alan.

[Longinthetooth]

Thanks again Alan - it was Steve Collingwood at Telescope House who resurrected the scope for me - outstanding service. I'll maybe drop him a line.

Cheers

JB

[alan potts]

I would if I were you, I am sure that he will not think bad of you and although I do not know him I am sure he will help, I used them when they were called Fullerscopes back in the 1970's, Patrick Moore put me on to them, higher praise there is not. Post an answer as i would like to know how you get on, one day I may need their help.

Alan.

[Davey-T]

My newer LX2OO has an option to use Universal Time UT I use this as it's same as GMT, don't know if older version has this option.

Have you tried the 200 GPS Yahoo forum ?

Dave

[Graham Darke]

I used to have the LX200 Classic. For a two star align you did not have to point the tube in any direction before you started. When the handset prompted you to point at the first alignment star you could loosen the clutches and move the telescope manually until the first alignment star was centred then lock down the clutches and use the motors to centre it up. After pressing enter the scope would prompt you to a second star. It was essential that the scopes motors be used to centre this second star by using the direction buttons on the handset. Once centred and enter pressed that was it.

[Longinthetooth]

Thanks for that Graham - it could well be that I haven't obeyed all the rules regarding centring the alignment star(s). I'll try using the handset alone.

Thanks Davey - I have posted on the LX200 Yahoo site - need to check it! As far as I can see there is no option on the classic which would select UT.

Cheers

John B

[Longinthetooth]

Hi folks,

Followed Steve Collingwood's suggestion and set to GMT-1. This seems to have done the trick!

Thanks again

John B