OK, so I run power out to my new observatory base (observatory arrives
Thursday!). I have always run my LX200 off of battery power. Using the
Meade supplied transformer, I hooked everything up to my new A/C power
source. When slewing, I noticed that the RA motor sounded "different", and
seemed to have a rhythmic "whine" that would coincide with spikes on the amp
meter ( I apologize for my lack of technical correctness. definitely not my
field of expertise....). The scope seemed to move through the RA and DEC
planes correctly, although faster than I am used to from my battery pack.
However, I did not like the sound or the "spiking" I was seeing using A/C,
so I switched back to my battery pack. Everything seemed to work fine after
that. Am I better off just running the scope off the battery pack? (I have
a Meade powered by 12V, not the 18V variety).

Also on the topic of observatories, I built the foundation for my dome on
piers (a necessity in Louisiana if you want to avoid flooding), and am now
having to deal with vibrations that I never had before. Anyway to dampen
this short of cutting a hole through my floor and placing a pier? Right now
I am using the Meade tripod. I can live with it for visual observing (it
dampens pretty quickly, 2-5 seconds), but wonder how it will effect my
efforts at imaging?

Thanks for any input,

Neal

G. Neal Mauldin, DVM
DACVIM (Internal Medicine)
DACVIM (Oncology)
DACVR (Radiation Oncology)
Assistant Professor of Veterinary Oncology
Louisiana State University

504-346-3333 (voice)
504-346-5748 (FAX)

www.vetmed.lsu.edu/oncology

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