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StarWars
Postmaster
Reged: 11/26/03
Posts: 13760
Loc: CyberSpace
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Dealing with RA Tracking Problems.
http://home.att.net/~jblessin/etxra.htm
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seeker372011
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 03/05/04
Posts: 915
Loc: Sydney , Australia
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The link to the Microstar drive corrector page doesnt seem to be working?
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ED 80 on a CG5 mount;ED 127 on EQ6; QHY8, 20 x 80 LW Obies;PST;10 inch GSO dob
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StarWars
Postmaster
Reged: 11/26/03
Posts: 13760
Loc: CyberSpace
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Quote:
The link to the Microstar drive corrector page doesnt seem to be working?
Here is another link to the Microstar drive corrector page ..
http://www.weasner.com/etx/microstar1.html
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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I think the existence of this thread might answer my question, but...
I've been struggling over the course of several nights to get my ETX-125EC to track correctly for long-exposure photography. The tracking error seems to be in only one axis, namely, RA. Unfortunately, adjusting the tracking speed with the controller still doesn't create very satisfying results.
Now, I've been spoilt by using professional astro facilities for photography before I got my personal scope, and wanted to see if anyone else had problems with the ETX models having less-than-precise clock drives, or if I was just being picky.
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StarWars
Postmaster
Reged: 11/26/03
Posts: 13760
Loc: CyberSpace
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Supercharge the ETX-125 ..
http://www.arksky.org/supercharge.htm
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Rainbow
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/27/04
Posts: 662
Loc: Norfolk, UK
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The etx series is not designed for long exposure photography - instead you need to take lots of short shots and use image stacking software.
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Meade ETX 90 UHTC, 497 Autostar, 884 tripod, right angle finder.
CALIBRATE MOTORS and TRAIN DRIVES!
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rogerandgarf
sage
Reged: 06/01/05
Posts: 227
Loc: Arlington, Wa
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Remember that the autostar has a high-precision setting for tracking,etc.
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Roger Johnson
18"F4.2 Goto Starmaster
12"Antares Dob
Televue Genesis
5" Mak
ZAOIIs w/barlow
Denk II BVs/x switch
Swarovski, Leica, Canon IS,
Fuji, Obie bins/Unimount
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JAT Observatory
Got Cookies?
Reged: 02/20/05
Posts: 6775
Loc: Eastern PA
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The high-precision in the Autostar is not for tracking. It is used to make goto's more accurate by forcing you to align and sync on a bright star near the object you are slewing to.
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-Marcus
The problem with free speech is even the stupid have a voice.
http://www.jatobservatory.org
Currently a SV102A, WO 66mm & 10" LX200GPS OTA on a Paramount ME
(these OTAs subject to change without notice)
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tom r.
sage
Reged: 07/14/06
Posts: 470
Loc: Seattle, Washington, USA
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just returned my etx-125 to meade throught their Sky Assurance program. i have had this scope for over a year and a half when tracking and slewing problems started. it has not been a real pleasure dealing with meade. having to wait on hold for an average of about 45 minutes, once as long as an hour and 10 minutes, to get to a service support technician is poor service, IMHO.
tracking was jerky as the object would drift out from the center of view and then snap back to the center with a clicking noise eminating from the drive base. time will only tell how long their turn-around will be in returning the etx. after i receive the etx i plan on sending it our for supercharging and really start enjoying the precision tracking that this scope is capable of.
knowing what i know about meade's after sales support, i will be going elsewhere for that next upgrade (subliminal message ORION).
i think meade should heed my read and others should follow up with either their satisfaction, or dissatisfaction, with meade support.
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Learning is my passion, remembering what I've learned is my greatest challenge.
Seattle, WA
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StarWars
Postmaster
Reged: 11/26/03
Posts: 13760
Loc: CyberSpace
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I think the supercharging involves replace factory gear Lubricant with a quality Lithium Lubricant plus optical adjustments.. 
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Sony Digital Media player..
MX 460 earbuds
Celestron 2x Barlow Lens
Orion Collimation Eyepiece
Rigel Quick Finder
Assorted Bino's 
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NoiseJammer
super member
Reged: 09/16/07
Posts: 178
Loc: Gone walkabout
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I've stripped my ETX105 several times in an attempt to improve the pointing and tracking. The components are identical. The short version is that unless you plan to confine yourself to shallow space, you probably need to mount the optics on a new mount, and even then it will be hard work.
The drive problem arises from two places... the basic drive mechanism and the time it takes the scope to respond to guiding corrections.
The first problem is (I think) dominated by the worm wheel which is about 38mm diameter - this is way too small to achieve ~2 arcsec tracking which you need for open loop imaging. It's also possible that the gearbox introduces a lot of periodic error - but there is no mechanism for correcting this.
The second problem relates to the control bandwidth. This might be specific to my scope (or how it's set up) but I can't get the delay down to less than several seconds. This is generally not going to help correcting your drive.
A final observation might be useful - you can gain a lot against drive problems by using a focal length reducer. Depending on your chip size, reducing to f/5 _may_ be possible, and f/10 probably is. This will reduce the exposure (9x at f/5, 2x at f/10.)
Clearest
Bruce, Toronto
Modified LX200/12, FLT110, ETX105
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