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The LXD55.com User Knowledgebase
Currently Viewing All User Submitted Tips
Untitled Document
Setup Tip
6/9/2004 10:48:27 AM
Submitted By: steve_arnold_63@yahoo.com
Tip: Save your polar finder scope batteries! I scoffed one of my daughter's lip gloss lids, which fits VERY snugly over the polar finder LED assembly, protecting the switch (in the off position) from accidentally being turned on. Works like a charm, and the tight fit means it's not going to be knocked off.
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Setup Tip
5/5/2004 2:42:56 PM
Submitted By: dawson.martin@Tiscali.co.uk
Tip: This is my first time on this forum, so Hello!!
Problem, had my AR-5 a year and 4 months, fine for first year on cheapo battries, but recently nothing but trouble!!! must be something in the software, out of warrenty and the thing kicks in, slow motion was a problem when ever I wanted to track the telescope it took an age to move, then last Thursday the polar shaft motor would spin, but telescope would not move, so, I opened up the case (not as easy or straight forward, to remove the case, it is the Allan socket head screw right under neath the mount, its hidden away and it is about 4.75mm A/F key, not the two chrome Allan socket headed screws (they are 5mm), undo the four self-tappers, case pops apart, found the grub screw on the brass gear was loose (no screw lock, thanks Meade!!!) rotate gear so grub screw engages flat on shaft then reassembled. First time I tried it out the telescope would whizz all over, the mount tried to rotate 3 times while looking for Arcturus. I think the new battries (Duracell) have too much voltage prehaps? It settled down only after resetting and loosing all my values!! after looking at Venus (any one done so recently??)-- the thing went mad!! would not do as I asked, eg, selecting slow speed (any) and it would still track fast, display would go on the blink, and randomly moving the telescope, fast, not much fun with 40mm of Plossel shoved in your eye!!! any ideas would be welcome, either e.mail me or post them here, have any one else had the same problem's, sorry to go on so long, hope it also helps other's....
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Setup Tip
6/17/2003 7:36:14 PM
Submitted By: ranger411@worldnet.att.net
Tip: I just ordered my sn10 and well get it in a week,what i need to no is what do i do first,they told me that the scope was collimatored,but when you send it though the mail,i think it may needed to be checked.HOW and since it is a Schmidt-Newtonian i was told it is collimated differnt.Is there some thing i need to get to do this.I want to take pictures of MARS and use my K2 PENTAX ASAHI but i dont no what attachment i need from the camera to the telescope,and do i need to use a eyepiece in the attachment between the camera and telescope.I am new at this,this is my first telescope in 30 years.Is there other things i should look at when i first get the scope.Like things that would require me to send back to meade
What is the easyest way to collimat this scope.THANK YOU FOR ANY HELP YOU CAN GIVE ME THANK YOU.
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Setup Tip
3/27/2003 1:31:29 PM
Submitted By: notify@LXD55.com
Tip: Many of you have asked about, how to setup your mouny quickly, yet still have it be accurate
This is going to be talked about more indebth, in the up-and-coming video here at LXD55.com called "Using your scope under the nighttime sky" , but...
So you want to have a quick setup? Here's what you do - (this works the same if you have the LX200 by the way)
1) Level Tripod
2) Polar Align mount
3) Set Time / Date
4) Chose an object in the sky to GOTO
huh? No alignment? RIGHT! The scope will most likely be off a few degrees (unless you are blessed with a perfect mount) when you goto the first object though, read on...
GOTO an object you know, like M42 (Great Orion Neb). Center the Object up in the field of view, press and hold Enter and sync the object with the AutoStar..
You should only have to repeat this twice.. What? Huh? You mean, it's a two star alignment kinda? - without the two stars?
YES, that's right..
Get to viewing! Not setting up!
It works nicely, and you can have your scope setup and tracking within 5 minutes..
Enjoy!
Richard
LXD55.com
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Setup Tip
1/14/2003 7:31:39 AM
Submitted By: emckinnon@northropgrumman.com
Tip: Over the last 10 years I have owned various Meade and Celestron scopes, Including a couple NEXSTAR models, a Meade LX-90 and 200, as well as an ETX-125. However until my AR-6, I haven't had to deal with Polar alighnment for about 15 years. With all the mentioned scopes I've had good and bad nights with the GOTO accuracy in ALT/AZM. I've read about a dozen different techniques for polar allignment, with some of them sounding a bit too time consuming for my taste. So, here's my simple setup for visual observations. I'm not sure if I hit all the points I'm suppossed too, or if I'm really doing it by the book, but I will say without exageration that I have never had anything fall outside the FOV using it and it is simple. It takes less than 5 minutes if you use your scope at the same latitude every night. So, here it is:
1. Place the tripod/mount at observation location, with north leg pointing north and tripod/mount resonably leveled.
2. Center Polaris in the polar finder by moving the tripod and adjusting latitude if necessary using the fine adjustment T-handles.
3. Level tripod/mount. I use a simple line bubble, checking various locations.
4. Recheck polaris and if necessarry recenter by moving the tripod (usually less than an inch or two in any direction, if this much).
5. Attach the OTA and set in Polar Home position (eye-ball). Tighten the RA and DEC knobs.
6. Check for Polaris through OTA. Adjust using the fine adjustmant knobs and/or T-handles.
That's it and your ready for Autostar. Works for me and I've had better and more consistant goto results. After the first time you do this, it literaly takes only a few minutes to setup especially if you use it at the same location.
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Setup Tip
12/31/2002 3:22:15 PM
Submitted By: notify@lxd55.com
Tip:
A Quick Setup with Equatorial drive in motion
1) Setup Scope, level and align Polar axis using Polar finder
scope (rough alignment is okay)
2) Turn on power, set date and time and observing location
3) When the AutoStar prompts for an alignment method - hit
the Mode key (Your now in Terrestrial Mode)
4) Press the scroll key a few times to bring up the Targets
Menu, switch from Terrestrial to Astronomical
That's it, you now can use the Arrow keys to go anywhere in the sky, or Slew
-and you can disconnect the drive locks to move the scope manually if you want.
You basically have a working GEM mount with a running RA drive.
Richard Harris
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Setup Tip
12/15/2002 4:25:30 PM
Submitted By: gemmalady@msn.com
Tip: Using your Palm Pilot to drive your telescope, or tell you what your scope is currently pointed at.
You need the #505 cable (same one you use to download Autostar firmware to your telescope), a gender changer, a null modem adapter and the Hot Synch cable that came with your Palm.
Also, you can use Planetarium software (mentioned elsewhere here) and the LX 200 driver loaded onto your Palm.
When connected, a telescope icon will let you know you are hooked in.
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Setup Tip
11/5/2002 12:12:26 PM
Submitted By: brett.black@mindspring.com
Tip: For pytom -- In reply to your question on using the polar alignment scope. There's not much to it, really, and it is described step by step in "Appendix B: Enhancing Pointing Precision" of the LXD55 manual.
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Setup Tip
11/3/2002 5:49:53 PM
Submitted By: pytom@texas.net
Tip: Sorry, but this is a question rather than a tip....
I now have my first German mount since I bought a C8 about 20 years ago and recently purchased an LXD55 as a mount for a 4" Genesis and a 6" CR-150HD. Can someone help me with instructions for using the polar alignment scope that came with the LXD55? The Meade LXD55 Users Manual is even less helpful than the new LX200GPS Users Manual. I will appreciate any help and am quite impressed with the mount itself. Thanks, Tom
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Setup Tip
11/1/2002 10:58:38 AM
Submitted By: tom_gideon@hotmail.com
Tip: Planetarium Palm Software... The tip from Tom was missing the biggest feature. If you have the Meade #506 cable, and a 9-pin null modem adaptor, you can drive the mount using the Planetarium software and the stylus. VERY COOL.
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Setup Tip
10/31/2002 9:35:55 PM
Submitted By: mykrowyre@yahoo.com
Tip: Having trouble finding that bright star during alignment?
Buy a palm pilot (you can get an m100 for around $50) and download/buy "Planetarium" from http://www.aho.ch/pilotplanets .
When autostar picks a star, you can look it up on your palm pilot and see a star chart of it's location in the sky. This makes setup much quicker.
Also, if you are doing a rough align by sync'in on a bright star, you can look it up on the palm and then select it on autostar and hit sync.
Planetarium has a database similar in size to autostar.
-tom
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Setup Tip
10/27/2002 11:22:48 AM
Submitted By: kdahlen@ivwnet.com
Tip: Planetarium Software.
GoTo: http://www.hnsky.org/software.htm
This software, HNSKY, in my opinion is the best FREE planetarium software for AutoStar controlled scopes that money can buy! (Sorry for the puns, couldn't resist).
It will display all of the names of the objects in the sky, so you can print-out an area of the sky, and go out to your scope, and just start pluggin in numbers into Autostar. You can also change the level of magnitude at which it will display. Although it cannot do a range, which would be nice.
If however, your into having your PC control Autostar, then Cartes du Ciel is a good choice. I personally, do not like using the PC because I think it's more of a pain that it's worth. With HNSKY, I can print out an area of the sky (like Zenith if I'm in my backyard), go outside to my scope, and browse that area without ever having to go back into the house. I also have the added bonus of not running the phone wire, and it getting in the way the whole time. My experience is that Autostar does a better job than a PC because of it's direct connection. For whatever reason, sometimes the PC connection just stops functioning. Why bother? The PC is better for getting overviews, Autostar can do the rest, and with HNSKY, no need for RA and DEC coordinates, just punch in it's Messier, NGC, or IC number and your off.
GoTo: http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/billa/astrosoftware.html
and you can decide.
Clear Skies!
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Setup Tip
10/19/2002 12:08:32 PM
Submitted By: mykrowyre@yahoo.com
Tip:
Get a small wagon and put the tripod, EQ head, and accessories in the wagon. You can carry the OTA and pull the wagon along behind you. This way you can avoid making three trips to get all of the scope components from your car to your observing site. I live in the city and dont like the feeling of leaving anything unattended while running back for something else.
-tom
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Setup Tip
10/16/2002 9:20:09 PM
Submitted By: Sixspeed24@aol.com
Tip: Richard, every user of this site should check out the Sky and Telescope magazine website. They have an interactive star map that will show you the constellations in your viewing area by zip code, and will also allow you to punch in the time, and watch the constellations change hour by hour. This is a really handy site. I believe the correct site is www.skypub.com,...if not, do a search for sky and telescope magazine. I hope this will help everyone. Jim
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Setup Tip
10/10/2002 10:26:18 PM
Submitted By: jorge_877@hotmail.com
Tip: I would want to know what is the little box at one end of the handbox cable, I put it at the Autostar controller end and it works properly, but I put it at the other end and Autostar does not work.
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Setup Tip
10/10/2002 6:12:14 AM
Submitted By: jreddick@umich.edu
Tip: Fingerprint removal from corrector plate..
I am not sure what to tell you to do, but I am absolutely certain about what NOT to do: the instruction manual describes a cleaning solution made of isopropanol and water. DO NOT use their procedure!!! I tried this and while the fingerprint was removed, this seemed to have some effect on the coatings. If I look at it an angle, I can sort of see where I was wiping with the solution. I don't know if its a stain, removed coating, or scratches.
This really freaked me out, but the telescope still performs ok.
If you are interested in cleaning this correcter plate, look up this site:
http://www.arksky.org/
then go under the "Guides" section. There is an article there about a great cleaning solution and a procedure for using it. Obviously, I found this after I attempted to clean my scope, and I haven't tried this new procedure out yet. This guy wrote this specifically for the LXD55 series, I believe.
Good luck!
Jason
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Setup Tip
9/27/2002 8:53:40 PM
Submitted By: beck@conorbyrnepub.com
Tip: An LXD-55GPS(SN)?
Yes, I have achieved this "poor man's" version of a GPS scope. With my $99 GPS (no mapping) and a GREAT new watch from Timex. This is the Expedition watch with built-in electronic compass. The item to look for is #77862. It incorporates an avionics-grade magentic compass with 1 degree precision...and for just $55!
I've attached the watch to the "star" North leg of my LXD-55 SN. It allows input of local magentic delciantion so what you see displayed to the degree on the watch dial is "True North". It is accurate and after zeroing in on on True North" it is easy to find Polaris ans setup the 4-star alignment in the reticle. Beyond that, I have found that even WITHOUT POLARIS alignment, I have been able to do a two-star alignment based onthe co-ordinates suplied by my cheap GPS and my Timex watch.
There are many methods of attaching the watch, but Velco(tm) seems to work OK for me.
=> http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/seg/gmag/fldsnth1.pl
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Setup Tip
9/12/2002 8:08:35 PM
Submitted By: paulo.lima@sympatico.ca
Tip: I would like to post a tip for new LDX55 users, here is my story ...
After buying a LXD55 SN 10" I came back home from work all excited to set it up. I followed the instruction in the manual and some time saving tips from this portal and go the telescope all set in the manual mode. As I didn't have any batteries I ran to the supermarket to by the 8 D cell need to supply the 12 VDC using the battery pack.
I carefully inserted the batteries (it's really hard to misplace them anyways) and plug all the electronics, turn the switch on and ... nothing happened, actually the wire was heating up.
Checked and recheck until I decided to take the mount back to the store the next day. Once at the store we tried my battery pack on the LXD55 on display and it also did not work, then we compared my battery pack with the display telescope battery pack and they were identical (which means the other telescope would not work either). The store had a power supply, we tested the computer on my mount and it beeped happilly.
When comparing the voltage between the battery pack and the power supply we notice that the polarity was reversed. Incredible but true! To cut short a already long story we cut the wire and reverted them back to what they should be and then everything worked.
So the tip is, if you get a new LXD55 and you computer does not work, measure the voltage on you battery pack, if the positive is not in the core of the connector it's wrong, just cut the wires and switch them (don't forget to insulate them and so on.
Happy stargazing.
Paulo Lima
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Setup Tip
9/12/2002 6:24:55 PM
Submitted By: kdahlen@ivwnet.com
Tip: Autostar my not slew in Quiet Mode. Switch quiet mode Off, make one slew, and turn Quiet Slew back on for proper operation.
Additional note: Automatic slew speeds cannot be altered by trying to change speeds by pressing the number buttons. Pressing the number buttons only changes manual slew speeds.
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