Aircrftr
sage
Reged: 09/29/06
Posts: 242
Loc: Claremore OK
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Well, my 14" LX200R mount died on me the other night. I took it apart and checked all the ribbon cable connectors, wire connectors, etc. for secure connection. What happens is when I turn on the power switch on the control panel, the handset background lighting comes on, the relay inside the handset clicks, then the lights inside the handset dim. No letters ever come up on the handset and the power LED on the control panel never lights up. No motor whir, no nothing. I've tried battery power as well as verified the Meade power supply works. I've disconnected everything from the main board and powered up and still no power LED.
Now, Meade will not sell me a main board to try. They say I have to send it back for 500 bucks. I hate this option but it appears I have no choice. I'd like to take this opportunity to maybe change my equipment to better gear up for serious astrophotography. Currently I image with a Cannon 20Da and also have an Orion 102ED that I do most of my imaging through while just using my 14" for the guide scope. I'd like to enlist all your collective expertise to build a serious AP setup. I was thinking of maybe getting the scope fixed and demounting the 14"R and mounting it(along with a .75x telecompressor(27TVPH) and the 102ED on an AP1200. The Ap1200 will take some heavy duty schmoozing to get past the wife though.....
What are your opinions? Also what would I expect to get for selling the LX200 mount after it's fixed?
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14" LX200R
Orion 102ED
Cannon 20Da
DSI PRO (for autoguiding)
All stored in my "Mt. Wilson Observatory" elev.610 ft.
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Joseph Gillman
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/06/05
Posts: 2335
Loc: Boothwyn, PA
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DId lightning strike nearby? Was anything else in your observatory damaged?
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Meade RCX400 30cm --
People dont like when I stick up for Meade but they're just jealous of my RCX 
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Aircrftr
sage
Reged: 09/29/06
Posts: 242
Loc: Claremore OK
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Nope, have a computer in the observatory and it works fine. 
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14" LX200R
Orion 102ED
Cannon 20Da
DSI PRO (for autoguiding)
All stored in my "Mt. Wilson Observatory" elev.610 ft.
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JAT Observatory
Space Freak
Reged: 02/20/05
Posts: 5606
Loc: Eastern PA
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Don't bother fixing the forks it will save you the $500 shipping cost. Defork the 14" and buy an AP1200 or Paramount ME. Mount the 14", piggy-back the 102ED and you're off to the races.
I got my Paramount because of problems with my 10" LX200GPS dec drive. Meade wanted me to send my unit back also but I managed to convince them to provide me the parts, but it took over a month to get them after they agree to send them to me. In Meade's defense they ended up providing the parts at no charge, a motor and control board. That was 2 years ago.
I can't image why anyone would even consider buying a Meade mount. Their policy of not selling parts is not helping their business. Don't get me wrong I like Meade's optics, and I have had a number of Meade products. I just purchased a used 12" R for me Paramount, but I would never consider buying a new complete mount, or any other expensive electronic product from them. As far as sending the old one back my personal feeling would be to cut my loses.
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Aircrftr
sage
Reged: 09/29/06
Posts: 242
Loc: Claremore OK
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Thanks for the advise Marcus. What about selling both the R and the mount (after it's repaired of course) and buying a good APO? Wife isn't on board with the AP1200 pitch. (I made the mistake of asking for permission instead of begging for forgiveness...LOL). Suggestions?
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14" LX200R
Orion 102ED
Cannon 20Da
DSI PRO (for autoguiding)
All stored in my "Mt. Wilson Observatory" elev.610 ft.
Edited by Aircrftr (07/07/08 04:05 PM)
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Rick Woods
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/27/05
Posts: 4262
Loc: Inner Solar System
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If you're resigned to getting rid of it anyway, why not have someone look at it who's good with electronics? If you know how to do all the tests (much as I don't), it'll probably turn out to be something simple that can be repaired relatively cheaply.
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- Rick
14" LX200GPS
8" Meade 826C
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letimotif
no complaints
Reged: 05/20/07
Posts: 1065
Loc: Far Flung Isles of Langerhans
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Quote:
Suggestions?
Replace wife?
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Celestron CPC 1100
Celestron C6R-GT
Orion 120ST
B&L Banner Astro 80mm
Astro Telescopes 'tis a mystery 80mm ED
Sundry Oddments
Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a Heaven for?
Ad astra per aspera
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remdome
newbie
Reged: 07/02/08
Posts: 1
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Aircrftr,
Your problem sounds very familiar to me. I have a 12" Mead LX200R and the electronics just didn't start up on June 29th. There was no lightning in our area and we have surge protection on the premises anyway. I checked the power supply to the unit and it was putting out proper voltage and the 12VDC output on the board had good voltage. However, the Panel Power LED would not light and the hand control would only give a dim glow but would not initialize. As you stated I had to send the unit back to Mead for repair and it will be gone for at least 5 weeks. With their present financial problems, I'm concerned about future problems with this mount.
Remdome
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Joseph Gillman
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/06/05
Posts: 2335
Loc: Boothwyn, PA
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On my RCX 12, the autostar screen almost never comes on teh first time. Scareed the heck out of me the first time I powered on. power-off-power-on, all is normal. Weird but I have lived with it. Stupid question but I hope you cycled your power at least once before concluding it was unrepairable (by us anyway, meade can always replace the internals easier than we can).
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Meade RCX400 30cm --
People dont like when I stick up for Meade but they're just jealous of my RCX
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JAT Observatory
Space Freak
Reged: 02/20/05
Posts: 5606
Loc: Eastern PA
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An APO might be a option but what size and what mount?
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-Marcus
The problem with free speech is even the stupid have a voice.
http://jatobservatory.org
12" LX200R on a Paramount ME
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Aircrftr
sage
Reged: 09/29/06
Posts: 242
Loc: Claremore OK
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Quote:
If you're resigned to getting rid of it anyway, why not have someone look at it who's good with electronics? If you know how to do all the tests (much as I don't), it'll probably turn out to be something simple that can be repaired relatively cheaply.
Well, If I get rid of it, I definitely want to be able to say it was repaired by Meade. I wouldn't want to buy anything like this that was repaired by a friend of a friend... you know.
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14" LX200R
Orion 102ED
Cannon 20Da
DSI PRO (for autoguiding)
All stored in my "Mt. Wilson Observatory" elev.610 ft.
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Aircrftr
sage
Reged: 09/29/06
Posts: 242
Loc: Claremore OK
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Quote:
Quote:
Suggestions?
Replace wife?
 very interesting idea....On one hand I'd have a lot more time to devote to the hobby, but on the other hand that would probably cost quite a bit more than the AP1200..or a whole crate load of em... 
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14" LX200R
Orion 102ED
Cannon 20Da
DSI PRO (for autoguiding)
All stored in my "Mt. Wilson Observatory" elev.610 ft.
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Aircrftr
sage
Reged: 09/29/06
Posts: 242
Loc: Claremore OK
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Remdome, What was the repair on the bill of work?
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14" LX200R
Orion 102ED
Cannon 20Da
DSI PRO (for autoguiding)
All stored in my "Mt. Wilson Observatory" elev.610 ft.
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Bill W.
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/09/05
Posts: 1437
Loc: Western PA, USA
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There are not too many mounts that will tote a 14" SCT. Did you ever think of selling the LX200R 'as is' ... by the time you figure in shipping cost plus the actual repair cost it may not be worth the gain over what a 'broken' LX200R would sell for. Some people aren't intimidated by a small electronic problem like that. Good luck!
-Bill
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Orion Atlas EQ-G (EQMOD), SBIG ST-2000XM & AO7
Stellarvue SV66ED
Skunk Hollow Observatory
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Aircrftr
sage
Reged: 09/29/06
Posts: 242
Loc: Claremore OK
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Quote:
An APO might be a option but what size and what mount?
Yeah, this is where I need the help of you experts. I would like maybe something with a fairly large aperture and fast F ratio. Doesn't necessarily have to be a refractor but hopefully there something like that that has a very good mount for under 6 grand or so??? It would have to be a little more compatible with my 20Da than my LX200 is as far as image scale goes...
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14" LX200R
Orion 102ED
Cannon 20Da
DSI PRO (for autoguiding)
All stored in my "Mt. Wilson Observatory" elev.610 ft.
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Bill W.
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/09/05
Posts: 1437
Loc: Western PA, USA
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What kind of objects do you prefer to image? Large refractors with fast focal ratios are expensive. Did you ever think of buying a gem mount and a smaller LX200R optical tube such as an 8 or 10. The use the Orion 102ED too.
-Bill
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Orion Atlas EQ-G (EQMOD), SBIG ST-2000XM & AO7
Stellarvue SV66ED
Skunk Hollow Observatory
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Aircrftr
sage
Reged: 09/29/06
Posts: 242
Loc: Claremore OK
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Quote:
What kind of objects do you prefer to image? Large refractors with fast focal ratios are expensive. Did you ever think of buying a gem mount and a smaller LX200R optical tube such as an 8 or 10. The use the Orion 102ED too.
-Bill
Yeah, I want to get a gem but the good ones are pretty expensive. The AP900 is just a little less than the 1200...both pretty pricey.
Also, I like doing mostly DSO's.
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14" LX200R
Orion 102ED
Cannon 20Da
DSI PRO (for autoguiding)
All stored in my "Mt. Wilson Observatory" elev.610 ft.
Edited by Aircrftr (07/07/08 10:12 PM)
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southmike
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/22/04
Posts: 2820
Loc: Fayetteville, NC
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well the idea of selling the mount is not bad...but
the 14 is not very common vs the bunch of 8 and 10" otas floating around.
you could possibly claim the scope as storm damage
( I believe that is what you said) but I have found that eventually homeowners insurance goes up anyway but might be an option.
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group scope pic
my refractors
LX200 10"-St120
LX200 8" f6.3-Orion 80ed
LX200 8" f10-Orion 90 Mak setup pic
Meade 102ED LXD650
Sky Watcher 100 ED Triplet prototype
Nexstar 5
etx125
etx70's
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Coliwabl
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 01/01/05
Posts: 809
Loc: Dallas, Oregon, USA
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I had the same problem a few months back. I got a new handset and the system worked again.
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SkyWatcher Pro EQ-6 w/Skyscan
SkyWatcher 180mm MAK
Meade LX200 8" GPS SMT
Meade 80mm 5000 ED APO
WO 66SD + Flat-2 Focal Reducer
Orion Starshoot Autoguider
Astronomik Ha,OIII,and SII Canon cmos clips
Canon 20Da
Registax 4.0
Photoshop CS2
Images Plus 2.8
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Aircrftr
sage
Reged: 09/29/06
Posts: 242
Loc: Claremore OK
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Quote:
I had the same problem a few months back. I got a new handset and the system worked again.
You know, I've got an idea that needs a new post... stay tuned.
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14" LX200R
Orion 102ED
Cannon 20Da
DSI PRO (for autoguiding)
All stored in my "Mt. Wilson Observatory" elev.610 ft.
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