Like the Princess, I wanted it to be easy. Hardly.

I've wanted the Meade ETX90 for a while now. Using a 10"dob for a bit, I was quickly converted to the "goto" scope. Give me a computer, or give me death. I used a friend's LX90 once and was impressed, but also wondered about my true use. I settled upon the LX200 8" f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain. Well within the parameters of my amateurness, and just enough outside of my skills to allow for a fun long learning curve.

I bought the scope at ScopeCity in SF at Fisherman's Wharf. This is one hell of an expensive hobby.

The scope worked admirably for a while until something went wrong. Each time I turned it on the dec motor would kick in to high gear and not stop until I shut the thing off. I called Meade tech support. Their response was to send $500 in replacement parts via a do-it-yourself kit. Oh joy. I replaced the mother board and the dec motor. The problem remained. Then, on a whim, I checked the dec cable interface on the front panel: a pin was slightly bent. I bent it back and now the scope works. Go figure. Now I've got lots of spare parts.

That fiasco lasted about three weeks. I don't consider it lost time, because I learned a whole hell of a lot in the process. The insides of the LX200 are fairly ordinary. Nothing to write about. The motors and motor assemblies are finely crafted. What strikes one as odd is the amount of play within the system. You would expect a tighter fit for such precision. The mother board has a lot of space, and for computer hardware junkies, it's quite easy to understand. The meat is in the two database ROMs, which needed to be transferred to the new mother board. Overall: suprising simplicity for high precision. I wish I had taken some pictures while the scope was in the O-R.

Portability is not so simplistic. A scope of this size is right on the border line of being difficult to lug around. A large luggage carrier is a must, as is the carrying bags. I found a *perfect* carrying case for the scope down on Fisherman's Wharf for only $17. It fits around the scopes foam packaging with ease and provides enough room for easy in-out. Furry seat belt shoulder cushions attached to the handles makes it comfortable enough to sling on to your shoulders. It is possible to carry ALL the equipment this way, but after 100 yards one collapses and is pinned under the weight. The luggage cart solves the problem. Pictured here is all the equipment listed on the eBservatory cased up on the cart and ready to roll.

Observatory on the go:

All setup and ready to go:

Setting the scope up for viewing is quite simple. In the process one wishes for better handle grips on the forks for easier manipulation. I was a little taken aback when I learned that the mirror in Schmidt-Cassegrain scopes flops around a bit. Luckily the LX200 is one of the ones that experiences this less than others. One is quick to learn that cable placement when setting up the scope is important. Too much dangling cables get tangled up as the scope slews. Proper cable management is key and ongoing within a viewing session.

The next step in the learning process is getting the software down. The handlink is a bit of a detriment in this process. One wishes for a bigger LED screen and a more contoured design. Overall though the LX200 has some great features for querying the star database and making it easy to find your targets. A basic pocket star chart is helpful, but needed less and less with increased star knowledge. It is easy to see that computer knowledge is very helpful. The firmware interface to the star database definitely comes from an engineers perspective. But it's still easy to figure out.

Alignment of the scope is a snap. With practice I've gotten a one star alignment down to under a minute. A two star alignment takes another minute. When I finally get a wedge I'll have to learn a new alignment procedure. But that's the fun, right? The star database contains enough stars to ensure proper alignment 365 days a year any time of day. To help the process I've installed a glow in the dark 2" diameter compass on the lower spider of the tripod. I used velcro for the attachment for ease of removal and external application. Now, aligning the scope's front panel to the north is as easy as turning the compass dial and sighting the front panel edge along the east-west compass line. Thank God for red LED flash lights. Meade should catch on to this idea and have that sucker pre-installed.

Once setup and aligned the real fun begins.... but first you must learn how to dance.

The eyepiece-equipment-dew-dance is probably the most fun, if not active, part of this hobby. Switching from eyepiece to eyepiece requires a slightly dextrous flare ...and good eyesight. Especially when you have a bunch. Problem solved with a fanny pack. Next is a waltz meant to keep the equipment free of too much dew and provide operation. Rotate the bags, cover the computer, switch eyepieces, have a look see, adjust the scope, rotate the bags, ......you get the picture.

Dew is the main enemy in the field. The dew shield works very well at keeping the collector plate clean for about 2.5 hours. Beyond that a more expensive solution is needed like a dew heater. The cheapest I was able to find was $120 for the heater and the controller. Build it yourself heater plans were found on-line, but the time to build is worth the purchase cost of a premade heater. I've got mine on order and it should arrive soon.

At this point on the learning curve we're about to plunge down the fun side of usage. Please check the for viewing session and more learning logs in the future.