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The LNT battery lasts for a couple of years. When you first acquire the scope, you need to set the time and date, but after that, it should remember (via the LNT module) until the battery goes low. When you power on, after the Autostar Message, it should show something like 'getting time and date' and then proceed to ask about setup/align. If it asks you to enter time and date, then the battery is flat.
To my understanding LNT does not remember the drive training information. This is held in the Autostar handpiece.
I had all sorts of trouble with mine when I started a couple of years back, but it was all pretty much operator error. Initially I had set my longitude in the wrong hemisphere! There is a need to train it where North (or South is) since this is what calibrates the internal chip to allow for magnetic variation. I think I did mine in daylight by working out magnetic deviation fo my location, then using a compass with the appropriate offset and a long piece of string radially away from the scope mount in that direction. When it asks to point at Sigma Octans, ignore the declination part, and adjust for the correct southerly direction along the stingline.
That got things pretty close. Rarely did the first alignment star end up in the eyepiece, but always in the finder scope.
Note: 1 minute of error in your clock time relates to an error in pointing angle of 15 minutes.
Since then I have not had any problems. Occasionally I retrain the drives to stop rubber-banding, but not often.
Hope this helps. Just practice and experience will build confidence.
Cheers Brian
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