LX200 drive problems

[Merlin66]

Has anyone got any experience with motor/ gearbox drive problems on the Meade LX200 Classic ( not the GPS version)??
I read on the LX200 forum that the plastic gears were pretty poor and cause noise and wear quickly. Any feedback??
The GPS version has the option of changing the gears to metal ( Buck's Gears) but not the LX200!

[h0ughy]

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=3599 I dont remember plastic gears in my lx200, on the lx50 yes but my lx200 has metal gears

[rogerg]

I haven't ever noticed any plastic inside my LX200 but I'm sure it's there.. perhaps in that enclosed gear box I've never touched. Are you having a problem with your LX200? You haven't really said. My 12" classic is still going strong, with a little backlash in DEC and tiny retrograde motion in DEC. It's as it was when first purchased and does a great job of tracking.

I have occasionally adjusted the position of the DEC motor to try and remove the backlash & retrograde.

I'm sure if it's possible to do what you're saying, it'd be mentioned on MAPUG.

Roger.

[Merlin66]

Good to hear that. I was just interested, as it's no longer produced I'm assuming getting spares in the future might have been an issue.

[rogerg]

The fact it's out of production and support is of concern, I hope I don't have a problem with it until I can afford a new scope (unlikely to be that lucky, it could be a while away). Of greater concern to me is the electronics, I've heard of more problems with them (including the motherboard and hand controller) than the motors and gears themselves.

I almost bought a spare service kit when they went out of production, just in case. But decided not to in the end, it was going to cost about $600 I think. So far so good, I haven't needed it.

On the bright side, with so much help and after-market support out there I'd think if I ever had a problem it would be solved reasonablly cheaply. There are people who have backward engineered all the electronics and the mechanics are have always been a subject for improvements by those inclined to do so. So there's reasonable support & knowledge out there to get around all but the worst of problems I expect.

Considering how many of these LX200 classic's sold, I figure there must be an awful lot out there still running that we don't hear about.

Roger.

[Merlin66]

Interesting... would it be possible with a bit of lateral thinking ( and effort!) to fit the newer GPS motor and gearboxes into the LX200??? I know the dec housing is completely different, but that may just be part of the challenge.