Help a newbie with a etx105pe

[Fspiders]

Hi. Firstly thanks for the nice welcome to Stargazers.

Ok. I got my Meade ETX-105-PE a few days ago it was brand new but had been displayed I presume in a shop.

The first day I didn't open the boxes and just read through as many threads relating to etx's I could find.

Last night I opened the boxes and put it all together only to find out it had a motor unit fault and it wouldn't slew horizontally. GUTTED!!! So I started putting it all back in the boxes and as it was going back I decided there was no harm in me looking inside the thing. Found the 3 screws under the pads and opened it up to have a look.. Straight away I noticed the little 2 prong clip hanging loose and within seconds found the socket it belonged to. Back together and bingo! it moves left right up and down, but still had a fault diagnosed.. After reading up and the unit not keeping time I decided to change the LNT battery. Spot on! red dot in the viewfinder. No faults.

Today I updated the autostar from 33e to the latest update.

Now the questions

My nearest location in the Autostar is Manchester is that ok? (25ml away)

Which way does the mount/computer panel face? Is it with the polar ruler nearest to me or furthest away?

I cant find polaris. I can see the pan (dipper I think) directly above me and polaris is supposed to be in direct line with 2 stars furthest from the pan handle of the big dipper (ursa major?) My problem is that I can't tell if this set of stars is the big dipper or little dipper cos I cannot find the other set of stars. To be honest there are that many big orange street lights around me I don't see anything unless it's directly up.

Because the motor didn't work and I've updated the Autostar, I've reset the Autostar/scope and it seems I have to calibrate motors and sensors and train the thing. In which order do I do that?

I've just got 2 lens 26mm and 15mm.. I find the whole viewing thing very uncomfortable from my back to my neck to my old old eyes. What lens would you recommend I need?. I just want to look at the sun and the moon and maybe Saturn etc'. What I really really want to do is sit in my living room (feet up with a southern comfort:hello2:) and control the scope outside and look at things via my laptop in real time.. I don't want photo's (unless it's seven of nine ) or movies.

I'm looking to get a 45 degree angle thing for the back of the scope so I can use it more easily esp' terrestrial. What do I need to make the view correct as in left is left and not right? Can I get that in the 45 degree angle piece or is it another type of lens?

Finally I set my scope up outside in a dark corner generally facing north, I put the scope in home position and press auto align. It goes on it's travels and basically just ends up pointing nowhere, I cannot centre it to anything as I've no idea what anything is. Can I just get it to align to the centre of the moon? Will that not make the GOTO work?

Ok that's it for tonight I guess the scope questions are mainly for someone who has a PE version because having the LNT it's a different set up than the other etx's.. I could really do with someone who knows my scope.

Appreciate you having read this far.

Regards.

[great_bear]

My nearest location in the Autostar is Manchester is that ok? (25ml away)

Near enough - should be fine.

My problem is that I can't tell if this set of stars is the big dipper or little dipper cos I cannot find the other set of stars. To be honest there are that many big orange street lights around me I don't see anything unless it's directly up.

In that case it's almost certainly the big dipper. The little dipper is very hard to see in the presence of light pollution.

I've just got 2 lens 26mm and 15mm.. I find the whole viewing thing very uncomfortable from my back to my neck to my old old eyes.

Are you using the eyepieces in hole in the TOP of the telescope rather than the hole at the back? You should be facing downwards into the top edge at the rear of the scope, rather than looking upwards "straight through" the scope.

You should find the 26mm eyepiece very comfortable. An observing chair should help too.

What do I need to make the view correct as in left is left and not right? Can I get that in the 45 degree angle piece

Yes, provided it's called a "45 Degree Correct Image Diagonal"

Sorry I can't be of any help with the ETX specific issues.

[Pete Presland]

"My nearest location in the Autostar is Manchester is that ok? (25ml away)"

i would have thought that would be fine,i think i used Cambridge a similar distance away for me

"Which way does the mount/computer panel face? Is it with the polar ruler nearest to me or furthest away?"

if i remember correctly the power input panel faces west,not sure its that important

"Because the motor didn't work and I've updated the Autostar, I've reset the Autostar/scope and it seems I have to calibrate motors and sensors and train the thing. In which order do I do that?"

calibrating/training the drives is something that is recommend periodically to ensure top performance,not sure what you mean about sensors

"I've just got 2 lens 26mm and 15mm.. I find the whole viewing thing very uncomfortable from my back to my neck to my old old eyes. What lens would you recommend I need?. I just want to look at the sun and the moon and maybe Saturn etc'. What I really really want to do is sit in my living room (feet up with a southern comfort:hello2:) and control the scope outside and look at things via my laptop in real time.. I don't want photo's (unless it's seven of nine ) or movies."

if your using it for the sun you must get a reconised solar filter before you use it

i am no expert but i cannot invisage you sitting in your living room and being wowed by the images on your laptop without a lot of effort first.

"Finally I set my scope up outside in a dark corner generally facing north, I put the scope in home position and press auto align. It goes on it's travels and basically just ends up pointing nowhere, I cannot centre it to anything as I've no idea what anything is. Can I just get it to align to the centre of the moon? Will that not make the GOTO work?"

the first movements are to find north and get the tube level,hence the LNT level north technology after this is done you do a two star alignment,you do need to know your way around the sky for this a it will ask you to confirm whether the scope is pointing at the right object,this time of year it will probably be capella and sirius maybe.

try this website its the best etx one around

Weasner's Meade AutoStar Information

[Capricorn]

The ETX will not align itself you need to do that.

It has the electronics on it to work out where North and Level are, but that is it. Not sure how accurate this is either.

You have to do the alignment.

If it is sat in a dark corner then even if it wre the LS versions it probably could not align itself as they have to be able to see the sky, a dark corner would prevent a scope seeing the sky. Put it in the middle of the garden, in a nice open space that has no visual blockages.

The scope will need aligning whenever you switch it off or move it. By move it I mean if you power it on, align it then pick it up to move to another part of the garden.

Use the autostar hanset to enter your own location, Setup, Site, Add.

As to eyepieces, if the ones supplied are causing problems then I can only suggest something like planatary's that have more eye relief. However get used to the scope before buying more bits.

[great_bear]

As to eyepieces, if the ones supplied are causing problems then I can only suggest something like planatary's that have more eye relief.

- as I say, the 26mm is about as good as it gets in terms of eyepiece comfort, so I suspect that something else is the issue here.

[Fspiders]

Thank you very much for all your input...

I'm using the top lens hole and it seems I have to press my eye fairly hard against the rubber to get a full viewing circle otherwise it's just a small view with a fairly large black outer circle.

Unfortunately I have very little open space... House 10ft to the left, Conifers 10ft to the right and behind, and a flipping large tree in front of me . I'll be in Brittany in the summer for a bit so hopefully I'll get some good views then.

I've ordered a astro engineering FI094 solar screw on filter and a moon filter. I've been bidding on a Meade #126 Barlow lens on ebay but it's getting a bit pricey esp' as I'm not sure how much they are new. But everyone seems to own one, don't want to be left out lol. I'll also look for a 45 Degree Correct Image Diagonal while I'm at it.

Tonight I'll try and add my location. I have my long and lat and elevation. (from the car gps lol)

The "Calibrate Sensors" thing is gobbledygook it says in the manual.

"It calibrates to correct slight mechanical misalignment due to transport, vibration, or ageing. It is recommended that calibration be performed after the LNT battery is changed." The telescope slews to Polaris then prompts you to centre polaris so it can find level and fine tune the position of north. Unfortunately neither the scope nor I can find Polaris.

Once again thanks for the help.

Regards.

[Charon]

Wish I had gone for the 105 instead of the 80 hey ho sigh!!!!!

[Fspiders]

Wish I had gone for the 105 instead of the 80 hey ho sigh!!!!!

It's ok cos I wish I had your baader zoom lens

[great_bear]

I'm using the top lens hole and it seems I have to press my eye fairly hard against the rubber to get a full viewing circle otherwise it's just a small view with a fairly large black outer circle.

Ah OK.

In that case you'll benefit from either the TMB Designed Planetaries as sold here, or the Lacerta SPLER long eye relief eyepieces (same as William Optics SPLs). The SPLER are more expensive, and optically there's not much in it apparently - but they do have a little bit more eye-relief than the TMB Designed ones (although the TMBs have more than enough for those who don't wear spectacles).

Alternatively, if you've got more cash and want to treat yourself, Tele Vue Radians would be a good choice.

You'll find that "Plossls" and "Orthos" won't suit you.

[Fspiders]

Thanks for the links I'm trolling through them now.. I should have mentioned that I'm very long sighted. Everything within a foot is a blur without glasses. Do I wear my glasses when looking through the scope?

Found Polaris last night and managed to get a successful auto alignment. So I know my scope is working well. Great fun watching it move around up and down.

What's a kidney bean effect?

Regards.

[great_bear]

Glasses are usually only needed if you have astigmatism in your eyesight - and even then, not when using the shortest focal-length eyepieces. There's usually more than enough focal travel to accommodate extremes of long and short-sightedness.

Kidney-beaning is an optical effect that happens on some wide-angle eyepieces. What happens is that you get a "blackout" in the middle of the view, which changes size, shape and orientation as you move your eye. The blackout is in the shape of a kidney bean.

[Charon]

Used the baader last night for the first time, Saturn was very clear at 8mm even with my little etx80, well worth the money (I think) .

[Fspiders]

Boy do I feel stupid now! I just cannot work out how to set up a barlow lens.

I got the meade #126 from ebay and there are 3 pieces. First piece is the tube with the finger tightener and the lens at the bottom. I kinda figured just drop this in the hole at the top of the scope and then pop in my eyepiece.

2nd piece is a chrome tube about 1" long threaded inside at both ends. It seems slightly larger inside as nothing threads into it.

3rd piece is a lens threaded at one end (this fits both my plossl eyepieces) with just less than 1/2" length of barrel. It drops into the barlow but it can go either way.

The barlow came with the chrome piece inserted inside and the lens piece on top inserted flush with the top of the barlow and held by the tightening screw. If left this way I can't insert my eyepiece.

I thought at first that it was a spare lens but it doesn't fit the barlow or the chrome barrel.

Any help would be most appreciated.

Regards.

[Ender Of Days]

Id recommend you buying a good book too,as even with a goto it helps to know your way round the sky,

I downloaded and printed out charts with every "named star" that my auto star uses as I always use the manual 2 star alignment,

The control panel must always face west,the scope has to be turned toward the west until it won't turn (it should be pointing south west) then when turned to the north the scope "knows" where its roughly pointing,

Im not familiar with your etx but with mine when I align the star,it will be out of the field of view,I then use the handset to centre the star and press accept,once the 2ND star is done the same way it should be OK,

Once you get it keep on practicing the same technique

Hope that helps,

JJ..

[twotter]

I'm not familiar with your barlow but a quick google showed up this image which may give you a pointer as to how it should go together...

[Fspiders]

This is my Barlow. Call the items A B C from left to right

C doesn't screw into A. But will slide into the empty end.

B is just a tube threaded both ends and neither the lens at the end of A nor C fit B.

This is how it arrived.

If I leave it like this how do I attach my eyepiece?

Regards.

[Pete Presland]

i would recommend one these power supply units as well at some stage,these baby's eat batteries

Astro Engineering AC317 12V IC-Regulated AC Mains Power Supply Unit 1200mA

[Fspiders]

Fortunately it came with a power supply. I'm now bidding for a "turn left" book. Still can't work out the barlow..