LX90 Alignment trouble

[Patw#73]

The last couple of times I've had trouble aligning my LX90. I have used the Easy align and Two star and get the same problems. During alignment when it slews from the home position it finishes miles away from the chosen star, I have to move it quite a bit, centre the stars and alignment is "successful". However, when I try to use the 'go to' it ends up miles away again each time.

This never used to happen and during the alignment process it always ended more or less on the target star.

Anyone got ant ideas, it's driving me mad?

[MrGoatsmilk]

I have been getting the same with mine as it's a new scope to me. I have trained the drives and calibrated the sensors and that has helped, I found that advice in a thread somewhere. Tonight I have just updated the Autostar software, so wonder how much that will help. Hope to set it up in a min to give it a whirl.

[Patw#73]

Yeah, I've trained the drives etc, but I'm wondering whether I perhaps made it worse somehow. It's just started to happen for no apparent reason. How exactly do you go about setting the home position?

[MrGoatsmilk]

Yeah, I've trained the drives etc, but I'm wondering whether I perhaps made it worse somehow. It's just started to happen for no apparent reason. How exactly do you go about setting the home position?

Not fully sure as I'm still learning to use it, but on the autostar update I did see under tools an option to edit user details I think you can put your location in there, but you can more likely do it via the handset alone without linking to a PC

EDIT

Think I misread that, no doubt you refer to this How to Perform Automatic Alignment of Your Meade LX-90 Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope | eHow.com

I'm going to give that a try

[Patw#73]

My lats longs, time etc are all bang on, I aim at Polaris, get it centered then set it in the home position. Go through the alignment process - all seems fine but each time it slews it's way off! I've done it loads of times, no trouble, now it's playing up.

Still a great scope though!

[MrGoatsmilk]

My lats longs, time etc are all bang on, I aim at Polaris, get it centered then set it in the home position. Go through the alignment process - all seems fine but each time it slews it's way off! I've done it loads of times, no trouble, now it's playing up.

Still a great scope though!

I'm with you as I have spent most of my time setting up instead of observing

[Patw#73]

Well I've been using mine tonight and just not bothering with the 'go to'. At least it tracks alright. Been driven in though by both clouds and cold!

[MrGoatsmilk]

Went outside where mine had been stood cooling ready to get set up, looked up clouds clouds and more clouds. I'm now back in and scope is away.

[barkis]

Have you investigated your Power Supply, be it PSU, or Batteries.

Also it only takes one poor connection on the HBX Cable to send it all haywire. Are they LNT scopes, and if so, is the Internal battery OK?. Do some continuity checks on the cables, and check the resistance on each line.

I had lots of funnies going on with my LX90 too, and it came down to a bad connection. Where they enter the eight pin RJ Connector, they are pretty vunerable if they are not gripped on entry into the connector, and any strain applied can soon yank one out of the brass strip. You would never know just looking, it needs testing with an Ohmeter.

Just something to work on Guys.

Ron.

[MrGoatsmilk]

Got it aligned properly last night. Trained the drives and then calibrated the sensors, during which it asked for Polaris, I lined that up hit enter, then used Auto align, lined up the 2 stars it found. After which it slewed to everything I wanted.

May be worth trying that again yourself, worked a treat for me.

Stu