I have inherited an old Meade LX90 EMC but the AutoStar handbox is not functioning. Next steps?

[Carter Hanson]

Hi all. I am a new member and have been having a blast this year learning the night sky with my Celestron binoculars mostly at Metcalf. My dad is giving me his Meade LX90 EMC 8" Schmidt Cassegrain telescope! The scope has been in storage for at least 14 years in its original packaging in a basement. It was purchased in 2001 but is in excellent condition. It has only been used maybe 30 times ever and looks and feels practically brand new. The only problem is that the AutoStar handbox does not work.

We unboxed the scope and tested setting it up properly tonight. When we turn on the power the AutoStar does light up but does not display any text. It should normally first display a warning about not pointing your scope at the sun and should then prompt you to start getting it aligned. We tried unplugging the HBX cable and plugging back in from both sides and even used electrical contact spray but nothing got it to work unfortunately. I think the handbox is just faulty after sitting in a box for 14+ years.

According to Meade's website the new AudioStar model handbox is compatible with all LX90 telescopes and is the best option for replacing a handbox used on an older telescope. Is this true? Link here: https://www.meadeuk.com/2016-06-14-Auto ... ained.html

Are there any other troubleshooting steps you guys recommend before I spend $200 on their new AudioStar handbox? I was hoping to bring this scope to the Beginners Observing Session at Metcalf this Saturday October 21st. Fingers crossed for clear skies. Anyone happen to have an extra AutoStar or AudioStar controller?

We were able to observe with the scope tonight manually without the computer control and were able to clearly see the rings of Saturn, moons of Jupiter, and M31 so the scope definitely still works just fine even without the AutoStar. I do have some photos in case that helps at all. Thanks for any help/thoughts!

[Sureshks]

Hi Carter,

If the hand controller turns on but does not display anything I'm wondering if the firmware needs to be reflashed. I'm a Celestron owner and don't have an LX90. But if that happened with one of my scopes... that's where I would start, especially if it's been sitting all these years.

You can try contacting Orion telescopes (telescope.com) abd asking them. They acquired Meade a few years ago and may be able to diagnose the problem. They might even allow you to send in the hand controller for inspection.

One other thought is whether there's enough power getting to the hand controller. There might be a faulty cable.

Good luck!

Suresh

[Ron Schmit]

Carter: I've had problems like this and often times it was the cable. Where are you located? If you want to swing by with your scope you could plug in one of mine and see if that takes care of it. Let me know!

[Carter Hanson]

Thanks for your suggestions Suresh and Ron! My dad got on the phone with Meade customer support yesterday. After some troubleshooting it seems most likely the hand controller itself is the culprit. We have ordered their new AudioStar hand controller. The support guy did confirm it will work fine with this older LX90 from 2001. It comes with a 30 day money back guarantee so if it turns out that wasn't the issue we can just return it. Thanks for that offer Ron, I'm over in Maplewood/Woodbury area. If we can't get it working I'll contact you but hopefully this does the trick.

[Ron Schmit]

Sounds great! Good luck!!