Meade LX90 ACF arrived :)

Markaus · #1 12-05-2011, 08:33 PM

Set it up, aligned it and off we went for a guided tour, Saturn..... Never seen Saturn before... wonderful.

Jewel box, some clusters all fantastic....

have a slight GPS alignment issue as most items are about 2cm off center. Ive switched the system off and on and re aligned then manual guide to the item being viewed...

given its my first night and im just all over the place im sure to get it right but if anyone has any GPS tips please, fire away

Just viewing with a standard 26mm EP from Meade and im wondering what opens up with different EP's!

Mark

ps excuse my handcam picture... but im impressed

h0ughy (David) · #2 12-05-2011, 08:41 PM

there is nothing like seeing your first result with a new toy.

mozzie (Peter) · #3 13-05-2011, 05:15 AM

hi markaus
did you centre your alignment stars in the eyepiece or just pressed enter when it asked you to.... if your gps is on there's no problem with it, it's the process there after.. still great start for first night..i remember my first night with my scope what a disaster..keep asking the questions that's why were here.!!!

Markaus · #4 13-05-2011, 06:05 AM

The first time I just hit enter, but there after I centred them in the EP. But I wasn't sure if I centre using the arrows or centre manually?

jenchris (Jennifer) · #5 13-05-2011, 08:37 AM

Use the arrows - on about 5 or 3 slew speed.
Read the book a few times- there's a lot in there that you miss the first and second time.
Did you get the 8"?
defocus the stars to a big donut it's easier to work out where they sit in the EP.
If you point it North, do it with the Mag compass AWAY from the base - there's some deviation if you don't.

Once you have it set up, if you are a little out when you goto a star, centre the star and hold down the enter button for about 4 seconds - then release it - the beep that sounds indicates it is synchronising the star - then press enter again and it will use the synch to refresh the tuning. VERY useful if you're going for a faint fuzzy. You go to a known star nearby and synch then you know the faint fuzzy will be centred when you goto it.

DavidTrap (David) · #6 13-05-2011, 10:55 AM

I have found that "training the drives" and ensuring the tripod top is dead level give the most benefit in improving GOTOs with my LX-90.

As for eyepieces - try adding a 32mm Televue Plossel for widefields.

DT

Markaus · #7 13-05-2011, 12:25 PM

thanks for the inputs, will try that tonight when i get back...

so lens wise my list now contains

32mm TV Plossel for widefields
41mm TV Panoptic
13mm TV Nagler

Not sure I need a Barlow if i were to get a Nagler.

DavidTrap (David) · #8 13-05-2011, 01:52 PM

If you've only got an 8 inch scope, I think the 41mm might not be that appropriate as it's a 2 inch barrel???????

DT

Markaus · #9 13-05-2011, 04:59 PM

Popped in to the shop on the way home and bought the TV 32mm plossal and the TV 13mm Nagler.

That's it....spend over for a while...should be set now for some time to come...unless of course I see a bargain!

mozzie (Peter) · #10 13-05-2011, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Markaus

Popped in to the shop on the way home and bought the TV 32mm plossal and the TV 13mm Nagler.

That's it....spend over for a while...should be set now for some time to come...unless of course I see a bargain!

how's the boy's at bintel !!!!
that's great markaus your going to get some great views out of them..
i was chasing some d/stars in crux tonight and gave up the high cloud come in..oh well there's always tomorrow night.

wayne anderson (Wayne) · #11 13-05-2011, 07:25 PM

Hi Markaus,

Great to hear you have the new scope and a selection of good eyepieces.

You asked about GPS alignment tips, I found that when I first set up my LX200 the GPS alignment stars were so far out that the alignment stars were no where near the field of view of the Guide Scope (often several degrees out).
Even after manually aligning the goto,s were slightly out.

Two things fixed these problems for me (and I think should work with your LX90)

1. Make sure the alignment stars are as close as possible to the exact centre of the eyepiece. (Use an Illuminated Reticle Eyepiece, double cross hair type is good for this)

2. Do a calibrate censors just as the Meade instruction manual suggests.
Before doing this remember during this process the scope will goto Sigma Octantis (Sig Oct - SAO 258857) you will be asked to centre it.(this star is hard to distinguish in the eyepiece if your not familiar with it).Spend some time making sure you recognize it in the eyepiece before calibrating censors even take note of position of scope when centred on it, I used the setting circles on the scope (good to know they are not totally useless or just for show)

The link below has some helpful information as well
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=68593

After I followed these two steps I noticed the GPS alignment stars were always well within the field of view of the guide scope and often even within the field of view of the eyepiece, only a small amount of precise centering was needed,

All the best with your new scope.

Wayne.

Markaus · #12 13-05-2011, 09:36 PM

Wayne thanks for the tips, i will have a look at that. It behaved tonight as was doing goto's ok with only some minor adjustments. when i did the align i made the stars look like doonuts!. However I parked the scope when the clouds came in and then went back out, powered up said goto saturn and it pointed straight down. i powered down, aligned again and it worked fine

did a tour and went to a Nebula, cant recall what but i thought my EP had fogged up but on focus saw very faint clouds (i think)

The BinT guys are good mozzie.

until tomorrow... off now for a cup of tea and to read that manual some more

Mark

Markaus · #13 18-05-2011, 08:10 PM

Just a quick question, is it worth keeping an eye out for a powermate or Barlow?

Im loving the views of plantes, clusters etc but wondering if i can get a little more zoom....

Thanks

renormalised (Carl) · #14 18-05-2011, 09:30 PM

Mark, go to Bintel and grab yourself one of these...Orion SteadyPix Deluxe. You'll be able to get a nice steady pic with your handheld if you use one of these. Only $69

Markaus · #15 18-05-2011, 10:17 PM

The SteadyPix is to mount a camera?

renormalised (Carl) · #16 19-05-2011, 01:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Markaus

The SteadyPix is to mount a camera?

Yep....just go to the Bintel site and have a look in their imaging section.

Markaus · #17 20-05-2011, 09:22 PM

renormalised hi

got a SteadyPix, got some pics tonight of saturn.... perfect!! great start to it

BUT any tips on alignment of the camera! im all over the place trying to square it up with the eye Piece! one minute i can see saturn, the next its go... its almost like im not looking into the EP right as it cant see anything half the time...

cheers

renormalised (Carl) · #18 20-05-2011, 11:00 PM

What slew speed do you have your drives set at???. To keep the planet visible in the live screen, use the slowest slew setting and keep an eye on how the planet moves off screen, then compensate for the movement with the arrow keys. What I also do is set the camera with a delay in the shutter so that after firing off the shot, it has time to settle down and stop shaking. You'll have to post your piccies!!!

Markaus · #19 21-05-2011, 06:59 AM

Hi Carl, thanks

Ill check the slew speeds, i think slow but not sure, my main issues is the initial camera alignment to the eyeP... I found it so hard to actually see anything through the camera and this resulted in moving the camera left/right/up/down etc etc until i actually could see saturn... once found its good.

cheers, PS i posed a pic of saturn.