There is possible while you switch the cables
to burned the Serial driver chip in the LX200
this can be happen if the Tx ( Transmit) output of chip
Short-circuit with the ground) if this is happen then you
Have to replace the Rs-232 driver.
(Rs-232 driver = TTL to RS-232 level shifter)
Unfortunately I never have seen which chip is in my LX200 as RS-232 driver.
So first you have to identify the chip. (Probably is the pair 1488,1489).
Then if the chip is on the base case is easy to remove it.
With the chip out of board you can power the scope and to see what is happen.

Good luck
George nikolidakis

Chris Vedeler (6/10/1999 6:33 ðì):
>Tonight I tried to connect my new PC (using TheSky v.5) to my LX200. I
>confirmed that the 6 wire "phone" style cable was working fine by checking it
>with my Mac (which I have been using up to this point). It and the LX200
>where working fine.
>
>I could not get the PC to establish a connection and spent a good hour playing
>with COM settings in Windows 95 and TheSky and trying different cables (even
>though the first cable works fine on my Mac). I'm using the 9 pin adapter
>from Meade, which worked years ago and I even took it apart to confirm the pin
outs.
>
>While switching cables (for about the 3rd or 4th time) I noticed that the
>LX200 was no longer showing signs of life. The power switch was on, but there
>was no reading on the amp meter. I checked the power coming from the Meade
>18v DC adapter and there was not current. I checked the in-line fuse and it
>was blown. I replaced the fuse and powered on the scope again. This time the
>amp meter went 100% with all the lights on, but over a second or two they
>faded away. Before it died again, I heard the motors start up in their usual
>way until the power faded to oblivion.
>
>I will need to go to Radio Shack tomorrow to get more fuses, but now I am
>worried that something has blown out on the motherboard. How could this
>happen when all I was doing was playing with the COM settings on my PC?
>
>Any ideas? I HATE to send anything back to Meade for repair as it usually
>comes back with something else broken (my Dec motor has never been the same
>since sending it back to Meade the first time). I'm only a few months into a
>whole new electronic package after my RA motor ran away, so I wonder if the
>repair is still under warranty.
>
>Could this be the Mac God's getting their revenge for getting a PC?
>
>Chris Vedeler
>http://www.isomedia.com/homes/cvedeler/space.htm
>Tucson, AZ

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