Last night i had the LX200 out and first up had the moon , saturn and later on jupiter all lined up to enjoy the good seeing the night had provided . Soon noted something amiss with the microfocuser , it sounded like it was operating but the tube sleave wasnt travelling back and forth ......aya caramba .....spent the next 1/2 hour to check fully and still nothing . Pulled some allen keys out and took the microfocuser off and gently took the upper casing off to reveal the motor and two gear wheels . The small wheel that drives the larger that in turns moves the tube had come loose and slipped off the larger gear . Each gear has a little screw with a allen head to hold it on to there respective shaft . Crumbs....didnt have the right size allen key to tighten down the small gear , very unfortunate because the seeing was great and i really wanted the benefits of the microfocuser . Went out today and sourced the right sized key and tighted down the gear and all seems well now . I use my microfocuser quite a bit so its something that all LX200 owners should be mindful of .
Slipping gears is a big problem with the Meade LXD 55 series of mounts as well, there is a 100% slippage rate, definitely not good enough. This is the reason I purchased the Losmandy G11. The gears on my LXD55 keep coming loose, obviously cheap Chinese construction. Must admit I didnt think these problems would happen on the LX200 series.
Thanks Stuart, glad you were able to fix it, I am surprised that my microfocusor is not like that, I use it heaps and it has even had a drop from 2 metres of my new deck onto concrete. Must have the luck of the Irish on my side.
However, that said, I will certainly take a look inside soon just for good measure. If it needs tightening up I will do it then, just to prevent a breakdown later.
