Hi Dan,

The only way I know of to upgrade your scope is to purchase a kit from
Meade. The kit includes all new electronics, keypad, cords and converter.
Unfortunately, the kit costs $495.

Suggest that you recheck set up information...time, location,etc.

Al
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2001 1:12 AM
Subject: [M]: New user, old scope (longish)


> Just took purchase of a used LX200 I won off E-bay. Seems I was the
only
> bidder, perhaps that should have been my first clue. Upon delivery, the
> scope looks great. Its last owner took good care of it, at least
> cosmetically. There are no scratches, dents, or dings anywhere and the
> scope is well collimated. However, when I took it out for the first time
a
> few nights ago I began to notice some problems. After setting up the
scope
> in alt-az mode I followed the manual and performed the one star alignment
> procedure. Everything went smoothly up until I did a GOTO to another
star.
> The scope missed by a fair amount. According to the Telerad, the scope
> stopped 1.5-2 degrees shy of its goal. After centering the new star and
> syncing on it, I performed a GOTO back to the original star, the same
> pointing error occured as well. Figuring I missed something in the setup
> procedure, I started all over again this time using another star for the
> alignment. A goto to another star showed the same error, only this time
> instead of centering the star I immediately did a goto back to the
original
> star figuring it would hit it if it was the software causing the error.
No
> such luck. While it didn't miss by much, the scope was still off by .5-1
> degree. I have had many people recommend the two star alignment, but
alas,
> I have no feature built in the hand controller. Read the manual back and
> forth looking for the two star setup. A quick glance at the copywrite
date
> of the manual told me why I couldn't find it: April '93. This is one of
the
> first models to hit the market. Runs off of 12V instead of the now
current
> 18v. The scope is in great optical condition. I've been having a blast
> getting great views of Mars, and it seems to track well. Spent several
> hours each night with Mars at 230X and needed very little adjustment to
keep
> the planet in view. I figure the scope just needs a good cleaning, but
> being new to this scope and not knowing what to look for on the website, I
> was hoping someone would be kind enough to guide me. A few other
questions
> also: 1) Is the software in the hand controller upgradeable or do I have
to
> purchase a new controller? (I have access to an EPROM burner). 2)I do not
> intend to add any heavy items to the scope, would I gain anything by
> upgrading the electronics to the 18v system? 3) If I did all of the
above,
> would I have been better off just buying a new LX200, despite all the
other
> goodies I got with it, i.e. hard case for scope, JMI focuser, Telerad,
Scope
> Saver accessory tray, battery pack, Sky Atlas 2000, eyepieces, and
semi-soft
> case for accessories. Just be kind if you feel I got jipped.
>
> Thanks, Dan
>
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