GPS Lock

beren · #1 31-01-2005, 10:41 PM

I was unsure when i wrote up a review of my meade LX200 wether to include my problems in getting a lock with the included GPS function . I thought maybe it may taint a otherwise great scope given that the feature is handy but not a primary part of the system.
When i first got the scope i put the problem down to the obstuctions around my home location , but when i finally got a chance to take it to a wide open rural locale and it still didnt work i knew something was amiss. I quickly tried all the tips offered by the net and still nothing , took it to the dealer and he arranged a new GPS unit to replace it.
Well this is the interesting bit , this was done last Sept and today i finally recived it , installed it and hooray it works . But as you can probarly understand the wait was somewhat ....long

....i was orignally told it would take a week and then a long list of promises and excuses followed until finally today . My guess is the dealer was filling a quota before getting shipments in , if anybody is thinking of purchasing a costly bit of kit ask questions first to escape the kind of frustration ive had {bintel for instance has i think orders for meade come in bi-weekly}.In any event my decision to go local proved to hold no advantage.
Well at least it works now , in fact as soon as i powered it up the GPS had acquired a signal within a couple of seconds ...cool . Just a note to other LX200 owners , check inside the left arm cover and check the clips that hold down the GPS cable , they come very close to the balance sensor as it swings when you move the OTA in elevationplus they are stuck on and maybe with extreme heat changes they may fall off. Also the new GPS unit is different from the orignal one , the outer casing is squarish and looks better i think

.
Lastly i tried at one stage to contact meade directly over the phone to hasten the process {the dealer couldnt provide me with consignment numbers etc}but that proved fruitless. Had to endure the usal ping-ponging from different operators until finally a customer support person told me to contact Meade Australia to sort the problem out , this was after he told me he didnt know meade exported scopes outside the US

.....

rumples riot · #2 31-01-2005, 11:32 PM

I know some of what you were feeling. When I first got my scope it failed to obtain a fix, despite deleting Irvine as the home site, and changing it to Adelaide. I tried all sorts of things like going to an open paddock and trying for a fix. I told the retailer about it and he gave some rather glib replies which did not help my frustration levels. Finally, I decide to take things into my own hands, I decided to open the left hand fork arm, I completely pulled apart all the wiring and checked to see if there was any metal swarf was lodged in the connections. Nothing seemed astray. I put everything back together and double checked that all connections were completely home. I had the scope set up in my main bedroom and had heard that the scope should not be setup indoors. By this time I did not give a hoot what I should or should not do, I was angry that I had paid so much money for this scope and it did not work the way it should. True I could still do a manual aligment, but I bought this scope on the basis that it had GPS. So I turned it on and did the auto align. Then it did this strange beep that I had not heard before. Thinking that now I had really stuffed it, I looked at the handbox to discovery that it had now seen the satellites and that it was now in another position and did I want to change locations. Anyway as they say the rest is history. That three and a half weeks of anxiety is now all behind me. But for a while there I was not so sure.

So Stuart you are not the only one to be hampered by this problem and I can assure you you wont be the last. I feel sorry for you having to wait for so long, in fact I would have gone off like a volcano by now. So praise to you for not loosing it. The main thing is that you now have a fully functioning scope. Good on ya.

regards.

Dave47tuc (David) · #3 01-02-2005, 12:29 PM

X fingers I've never had a problem as you have said Stuart.

My GPS has allways found the signal. Was a bit slow on firmware 1.4g. On 1.7k and above never a problem

So yours is all fixed great. Dealers can be slow

Happy viewing.

Best.

Striker (Tony) · #4 01-02-2005, 01:36 PM

How many asterous appear on the handset before you all get a fix...mine ranges from 3 to 6 sometimes.....most of the time 3......but never less then 3.....just curious but I havn't had a problem yet getting a fix.

Dave47tuc (David) · #5 01-02-2005, 06:09 PM

Mine has always been 3 since I updated to 1.7k and above.

I now use 3.0i

Also my alignment stars since i updated to 3.0i has been fantastic.

I use my 8.8mm (288x) the first star was just outside the field, then the second star is in the field for a quick centering

Then my Go To's have then always been in the field of my 12mm
(212x) in any part of the sky.

Glad it's all fine now Stuart

Best.

[1ponders] (Paul) · #6 01-02-2005, 07:31 PM

Apart from a few niggly design blunders (like that stupid central bolt idea), my LX200 rocks. GPS always only 3 asterisks except when I'm inside

But even then sometimes I'll still get a fix once the first line nearly fills with *s