Post by skyluvr on Jun 17, 2013 12:03:17 GMT -6
Let me start by apologizing for all the bad weather. Its my fault for buying a new/used telescope....I am sorry 
Browsing through Astromart a couple of months ago I stumbled upon a scope I have always wanted, the Meade 16" LX200GPS. After contacting the owner we hammered out a deal I could not resist. The owner and the scope were in California however. After discussing shipping options he agreed to meet me in Colorado and transfer the scope there. After three long days of driving the scope arrived home. Of course the weather, and work commitments have really prevented me from setting up and testing. Finally, on the 13th it was clear and cool with some wind but not bad.
Since moving this monster is a two man job I asked a buddy to come over and help setup. I must admit is was pretty hard to get the monster out of its lair in the basement. The scope is in four parts the tripod, RA axis, fork, and DEC/OTA assembly. The tripod alone weighs 70 lbs and is massive.
I setup the tripod and leveled it. This scope is designed to find level on its own. But I read that leveling the tripod first helps achieve better results when in ALT/AZ mode.
The Dec/OTA assembly mounts to the fork by four bolts. But when the fork is mounted to the RA axis it is difficult to lift the OTA high enough to set it on the fork tines. So we mounted the OTA assembly to the fork then set the fork/OTA combination on the RA axis which was not easy. After setting the assembly we both breathed a sigh of relief.
We brought out the mobile power and hooked up all the connections. We stepped back to look at it......
After powering up, the controller asks the usual questions...time...date..location...which can all be acquired using GPS. But since I was in the driveway between two houses I opted out of using the GPS guessing there would be to much interference. After entering the data manually I directed it to automatically align. It first finds home by moving each axis until it reaches the sensor. Then it detects the level of the base, and detects true north. Once this process is complete it slews to a star for a 2 star alignment. Of course the star was behind the trees. So I hit enter and the scope slewed to another star where I just hit enter also figuring I would just move the a viewable star and sync on that. After the abbreviated alignment I asked to move to Vega (positioned in view). It slewed to where it thought Vega was. I turned the focus knob and bam Vega was there at the edge of the field. I centered it and performed a sync and I was underway.
After dropping in the 20mm televue eyepiece I noticed the stars had flare to one side indicative of optical misalignment. Not a surprise after the scope bouncing in a trailer across the country. A little tweaking of the secondary cleared most of that up (better alignment later). Since I was in Lyra I though the Ring Nebula would be a good start. GOTO M57....after a short slew there it was. I checked out a few other Messier objects and ended on trying to view M101, but I just could not pull it out (maybe not in the FOV)
Now to put this thing away for the night. I had some 3 wheel movers skates, so I put one under each leg and carefully wheeled the monster toward the garage. The wheels on the skates where so small they would get stuck in the divisions of the driveway. I had to be very careful that the skate did not pop out! I wrapped everything up around 11:30....thinking dam got to go to work tomorrow. Overall I am pleased with the new toy and I am anxious to see how the 16 performs under better conditions.
Rick
Browsing through Astromart a couple of months ago I stumbled upon a scope I have always wanted, the Meade 16" LX200GPS. After contacting the owner we hammered out a deal I could not resist. The owner and the scope were in California however. After discussing shipping options he agreed to meet me in Colorado and transfer the scope there. After three long days of driving the scope arrived home. Of course the weather, and work commitments have really prevented me from setting up and testing. Finally, on the 13th it was clear and cool with some wind but not bad.
Since moving this monster is a two man job I asked a buddy to come over and help setup. I must admit is was pretty hard to get the monster out of its lair in the basement. The scope is in four parts the tripod, RA axis, fork, and DEC/OTA assembly. The tripod alone weighs 70 lbs and is massive.
I setup the tripod and leveled it. This scope is designed to find level on its own. But I read that leveling the tripod first helps achieve better results when in ALT/AZ mode.
The Dec/OTA assembly mounts to the fork by four bolts. But when the fork is mounted to the RA axis it is difficult to lift the OTA high enough to set it on the fork tines. So we mounted the OTA assembly to the fork then set the fork/OTA combination on the RA axis which was not easy. After setting the assembly we both breathed a sigh of relief.
We brought out the mobile power and hooked up all the connections. We stepped back to look at it......
After powering up, the controller asks the usual questions...time...date..location...which can all be acquired using GPS. But since I was in the driveway between two houses I opted out of using the GPS guessing there would be to much interference. After entering the data manually I directed it to automatically align. It first finds home by moving each axis until it reaches the sensor. Then it detects the level of the base, and detects true north. Once this process is complete it slews to a star for a 2 star alignment. Of course the star was behind the trees. So I hit enter and the scope slewed to another star where I just hit enter also figuring I would just move the a viewable star and sync on that. After the abbreviated alignment I asked to move to Vega (positioned in view). It slewed to where it thought Vega was. I turned the focus knob and bam Vega was there at the edge of the field. I centered it and performed a sync and I was underway.
After dropping in the 20mm televue eyepiece I noticed the stars had flare to one side indicative of optical misalignment. Not a surprise after the scope bouncing in a trailer across the country. A little tweaking of the secondary cleared most of that up (better alignment later). Since I was in Lyra I though the Ring Nebula would be a good start. GOTO M57....after a short slew there it was. I checked out a few other Messier objects and ended on trying to view M101, but I just could not pull it out (maybe not in the FOV)
Now to put this thing away for the night. I had some 3 wheel movers skates, so I put one under each leg and carefully wheeled the monster toward the garage. The wheels on the skates where so small they would get stuck in the divisions of the driveway. I had to be very careful that the skate did not pop out! I wrapped everything up around 11:30....thinking dam got to go to work tomorrow. Overall I am pleased with the new toy and I am anxious to see how the 16 performs under better conditions.
Rick
