Meade LT-6ACF Alignment Woes !

[Cliff]

Hi all,

I have had a long time interest in Astronomy but till recently had no 'real telescope' so I bought a used Meade LT-6 ACF with UHTC and Autostar Controller but as yet have had minimal success setting it up.

The size suits me as I live in a Villa in a complex easy to take in and out.

Following the instructions setting it to North and Level then going to a Star , a long way from where the star actually is so slew to it. Second star also usually long way out but slew to it ok says aligned ok. Went to track Mars and it seemed to follow azimuth ok but not elevation.I have set location and time, date.

Scope looks to be in great little used condition . Guessing I am doing something wrong. Unfortunately the guy I bought it off knew less than me.

Any ideas greatly appreciated, does it need training ? Autostar has firmware 5CE2 pretty sure.

Hoping to enjoy this Scope but not so far. One thing I missed was there is no clutch system for manual pointing .

Cliff

[raymo]

I have no experience with that specific scope, but most GOTO systems
require you to point the mount south when in the southern hemisphere.
raymo

[Atmos]

As someone that used to have a Meade LX200 (uses the same handset) I agree with raymo, as we’re in the Southern Hemisphere you need to start off pointing it South.

[iborg]

Hi Cliff


I also have a Meade, an LX90, mine does require require pointing north.


I am assuming that you have not 'trained' the scope. This can make a big difference to pointing accuracy, and should be done every so often, I am assuming that it can be done on yours!


Do you have a manual? Link below if not. Looks like appendix A (page 44) for training.


http://www.opticstar.com/Download/Astro/Doc/Telescopes/Meade/LT_Users_Manual.pdf


Good luck


Philip

[Cliff]

Thanks Philip and everyone

No I haven't tried the training yet and yes it does have that option, almost got a LX90 but a little big in my current situation.

Yes I was pretty sure it had to be pointed north initially (I used Magnetic using a compass maybe True would be better) different for Equatorial Mounts

Oh well early days still very new to all this only had a cheap Tasco when I was a kid

Really appreciate the replies and assistance,

Cliff

[Atmos]

The other thing you can do is tell the telescope to point at the first star (2 star alignment) and when it doesn't point correctly, undo the clutches and manually point it.

[Cliff]

Unfortunately no clutches just motor driven AZ/EL at various slew speeds

[raymo]

Magnetic North is useless, unless by chance the deviation where you live is
extremely small. You need true North[ or south, as the case may be].
raymo

[Wavytone]

Cliff, see the procedure I described in http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=172879

If you are using a compass to find south, the south pole is 12 degrees EAST of magnetic south, or at a bearing of 168 degrees.

As you are in Sydney get in touch one Saturday and maybe meet up, or come to an NSAS night at Terrey Hills; happy to sort out what you're doing.

[Cliff]

Thanks Nick,

I am in Picnic Point , Terry Hills is a fair hike but might be able to get up there.

Cheers
Cliff

[Wavytone]

Well, you could try to find someone in Sutherland AS,they meet in Como.

[Cliff]

Yes it is +12 deg 34' so quite a difference

[Cliff]

Probably a lot easier to get to appreciate the offer though.

[Cliff]

Hi Nick the procedure is for Equatorial Mounts mine is AZ/EL type.

[Wavytone]

Even easier.

Word of advice: RTFM. Carefully. Get the manual as a PDF and stick it in your smartphone and follow it step by step.

1. Level the tripod head - I use an app that does it to 0.1 degree. The bubble levels on most tripods are junk. The reason this matters is that I have come to the conclusion the Synscan handset assumes the tripod head is flat and doesn't really compensate for any tilt - and the Meade handset will be likewise.

2. Assemble mount and scope.

3. Go through the alignment routine. While a a 1 star alignment may suffice for a quick look at something, if you are setting up for a long night a 3 star alignment will give much better results.

The common errors for noobs are (these are D'uh moments):

a) Forgot to level tripod.
b) Failed to put the scope in the PARK position before power-on.
c) Scope is on the wrong side of the mount (this matters for alt-az mounts).
d) Latitude entered was N instead of S, or longitude is W not E.
e) Date was entered as DD MM YYYY instead of MM DD YYYY (damn those yankees)
f) Time entered, or time zone incorrect or forgot about daylight saving.
g) Aligned on the wrong star.

Of these the most common bungles are probably a, d, e and g in that order. Even after 45 years I sometimes screw this up.

[Cliff]

Also used True North best I could and that seems to have made a huge difference. I am getting there slowly. Cloudy again . Playing indoors with a Astronomy App on the tablet to locate the where the stars etc are ,and got to say it is tracking pretty well. Mars at the moment.

Well this is my 4th Day so you are a few years experience ahead of me :)

[Wavytone]

Congratulations !

I’m not sure about the Meade handset, but the SynScan ones have several obscure functions buried away and it sometimes helps to have the manual at the scope.

[Ukastronomer]

This is the problem these days, we are lulled into the false reality that when you buy a scope it is all singing and all dancing, you only have to turn it on and then all you have to do is say goto and that is it.

WRONG

I have the EDGE HD Evolution, Celestron, and star sense, I had (for me) to add GPS as I could never remember how to enter time/date/location every time I turned it on, and like you i am not daft.

This is all why my MOST used scope is my 120mm triplet on AltAz, simples .........

[redbeard]

Hi Cliff,

I have an older Meade ETX but they both use a similar 497 hand controller so I guess the setup is similar. I had a look at the manual for your scope and the setup is basically the same as how I setup so I thought I would share some hints.

You should train the drive, this is a must. And when you do it, make sure when you are pulling the distant target back into view/centre after the scope slews away, that you don't overshoot the target. If you do over shoot, redo the process. (A bit like if you tune a guitar string too tight, you have to unwind it to below tune to bring it back).
There is slop in the gears and this helps counter act that. Makes a huge difference and you only do once. (Although I would do it every few years, depending on use). When I did mine, I setup on a Sunday in a Westfield car park and had views of the distant hills about 10 - 20 km away. On top of those hills were all kinds of things to use like tree trunks, light posts etc, something that does not move. Use a high powered eye piece as you will get a tighter setup.

These are the normal nightly steps now the drive training is sorted.

Level tripod and level the actual scope too (Important).

Using a compass point to 168 degrees SOUTH again important as we are in the southern hemisphere. (I'm assuming 168 degrees is your location, I'm 172 in Adelaide). The best compass I have found is a scout/orienteering type that unfolds and has the wire through the window, flipout. You can stand behind your scope from a distance and align the compass needle, wire and your mount really easily, then with your scope, simply move the tube until the compass all lines up at 168 degrees. Compasses get affected by the metal in a scope/tripod, so I've read. ;-). But really easy.

Now on your scope you should be in the home position. Meaning level tripod, level scope and pointing 168 degrees South.
On my scope there are stops so the home position must be setup accordingly, but on your scope, looking at the pics, it looks as all the electronics are in the fork arm and the AZ motors wires are also there so it can freely spin . Better there than in the base as with the ETX.

Something I'm not sure of is, in your manual it mentions the magnetic North setting and the compass setting for alignment. I couldn't find enough info in the manual to state the difference between the two. 50/50, not sure?

At this point it sounds like you have all the actual scope settings correct. The only one I have had issues with, with my scope, is the daylight savings.
I found if daylight savings was turned off, normal time no issues, but I found when I turned daylight savings on I had to leave the time alone and it auto adjusted the difference. So in other words I don't change the actual time at all, just the daylight saving setting. I made that mistake before. You may have different firmware that does it differently, maybe?

Now you are ready to auto align by turning on the scope, (fresh batteries a must or power supply).

North is always South, if you read North, think South. With setup that is.

Another thing if possible is to locate yourself in a spot where you have a large clear view of all the sky until you get to know your scope better. That way all the stars that will be selected for the alignment will be easy to see and find and not obstructed by trees, buildings etc.

To start with use a low power eyepiece so you have a wider FOV, 25-40mm.

Do the Easy 2 star align. When the scope slews to the first star, if it is not in the eyepiece, use the red dot finder visually to narrow in using the hand controller slew keys. (Choose a speed that is not too fast as it's easier). And when you see it in the eyepiece, keep adjusting with the hand controller until it is in the centre of the eye piece. Then press Enter.
It will then slew to the next star and do the same. By rights all should be fine and do a goto.

As much as it is a pain to do all the tedious tasks, it is absolutely necessary if you want fun looking at things that stay in the eyepiece while the scope tracks rather than chasing them with the hand controller all night. And when things track well, it is so much easier to get cool objects like planets etc, using an iPhone.., webcam, zwo cam, etc. :-)

Fire away any questions you may have or if something I typed is not correct.

Cheers,
Damien.

[Cliff]

Thanks for the reply Damien,

Unfortunately my Scope is dead , the luck of buying used gear, pulled it apart and found a burned out IC on the Azimuth drive board and also the motor has gone open circuit. I can get the IC but not sure how to get a motor or motor assembly for it.

A different mount for the scope is a possibility if I can fit it. Most mounts use Dovetails so would have to fit it to the Meade LT-6 .

Cheers
Cliff

[Cliff]

Hi Jeremy,

Unfortunately my second hand LT-6 Scope decided to fail yesterday, found the fault burnt out IC and open circuit Azimuth Motor, Now to see if I can get parts.? Or put it on another mount?

Might just get a pair of Binoculars :)

Not enjoying Astronomy at the moment.

Cheers
Cliff

[redbeard]

Gee, that's no good.

Don't give up though, get a different mount, EQ with warranty? 6" Meade aperture is a good thing. Good pair.

Give Bintel a call and ask them about options/hints to put a dovetail on the deforked tube, correct length, etc and see if parts are available.

If you have seen Saturn, then there is no turning back. :thumbsup:

Cheers,
Damien.

[Cliff]

Thanks for the encouragement Damien, buy used you take your chance ! But at least the Scope itself is in excellent condition and it did come with extra stuff.

Looking at a couple of mounts like the AZ/EQ types but they are expensive.

Best of both worlds, I guess a good mount will last many years though.

Something I can grow into perhaps. The Meade only weighs about 4.4kg once removed.

Cheers
Cliff

[sil]

Buying a good mount is essential if you want to do astrophotography, as sturdiness (weight) is needed for accuracy over time. But an AZ/EQ mount may seem like the best of both world but in practice maybe too much grief. a jack of all trades master of none situation. Would be good for others experienced to say if the dual type is worth it or best to get separate az and eq mounts better fit for purpose (visual and imaging). depends on your needs etc. Your 6"meade should be easy to mount on something else, OTA rings and dovetail mounts etc are available to let you use what you want on any OTA, but best to sort out your mount issue first as what you put on the OTA depends on the mount. There are usually two sizes of dovetails and you may not be able to use both on the mount you get, for example the narrow type mounts dont often open far enough to also use the wide types. take it slow sort your mount needs then you can start collecting OTAs and standardise their mounts so you can put whatever you want on the night on the same mount. there are also piggyback and sideby side options. but dont cheap out on the mount, yes good ones are expensive, with good reason but getting that part correct you are set for life basically. get a cheaper wobbly mount and no matter how much money you spend on the OTA you're experience will always be limited and its unfixable. get the right mount first or maybe avoid spending until you are able to do this we all have our early buying regrets gathering dust, best to not waste that money in the first place, just wait until you have the money to get the good mount from day one. No reason you cant get a ring with 1/4" threaded hole to attach a camera tripod plate and just use for visual from any old camera tripod in the mean time. I understand the thrill of spending and getting new toys up and running fast :)

[Cliff]

Thanks Steve,

You maybe right dual type mounts have to a compromise somewhere. So far no joy finding a dovetail mount to fit seems 8" Meades and up are catered for but not 6" , interesting idea using it with rings on a standard camera tripod might be an idea though have no experience using rings etc... Have a ok tripod might be worth a try.

Appreciate the ideas and suggestions

Cliff

[Cliff]

Hi Steve,

Just an update on my Meade issue, I removed the Faulty Az Motor Worm drive Assembly so the Az axis is freely rotating not ideal no way to lock it unless I put a wedge in between the rotating part.but at least I can use it somewhat.

Cheers
Cliff
PS: Bought some Binoculars they'll probably get more use .

[Cliff]

Just an update I got the Motor going after disassembling and cleaning, polishing the armature. Has had a lot more use than I was told.

Now to fix the burnt out PCB. PCB fixed and working

Motor still has an issue ordered a replacement. Waiting!