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When I first got my LX200 15 years ago I accidently pushed the keypad cable into the RS232 socket. It went in crooked and put volts onto the wrong lines. It wasn't covered by warranty and not knowing much about the LX200 at the time (I have learnt a lot since). I wasn't sure what had happened but I could still work the telescope with a computer program I wrote.
I managed to get a new board as part of an upgrade kit and a new handbox. Total cost $1700. When I got the upgrade kit it also had a new handbox and the new ROMs. I got the scope working again in about a week.
Later I repared the original handbox with a new 74LS14 chip so I then had two spare hand boxes, and I eventually repaired the damaged motherboard when I knew more about the electronics.
The initial cost may have been high, higher than necessary, but the experience gained enabled me to keep the LX200 going for the next 15 years. It still works great.
Barry
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