astro newbee LOST in Space

I just purchased my first scope (meade Telestar DS-114 w/meade Autostar controller)so far I have been very frustrated.

1. when setting up the scope I have gone through the process of leveling the tripod and the scope. I point the scope at the north star and start to run through the easy set up. When the scope turns to its alignment stars it is always off. (and I mean not even close). I manually point the scope using the controller to the alignment stars and finish the set up until the controller tells me Allignment succesfull. Then I go to check it by sending it to mars, Well guess what OFF AGAIN! Why why why?

2. I am wanting to purchase different eyepieces for the scope. (before I invest into a new one) I think the ones that came with it are cheap-o's. my question is, Is it the eyepiece or the scope that determinds the clearity of the objects you are looking at? If the eyepieces, what kind to get? what is a good all arround focal length eypiece to try for a test? I am not affraid to spend a little money to see clearly.

Thanks for all of your help!
Fred Cheshire

Fred,

While I've never used the Meade GOTO system, I've owned two others including the Vixen SkySensor system and the Gemini system used on the Losmandy mounts. I've encountered your problems with both of these systems only to find that I incorrectly set one or more of the startup parameters. I suggest that you double check these. They include:
1. your correct geographic location--if you don't have a GPS, you can find your approximate location (lat/long) using a web search. A nearby large city is close enough.
2. be sure you have selected operation in the northern hemisphere
3. be sure you set your local time correctly. I suspect this is your problem. On many systems, you have to set your local time based on universal coordinated time (UTC)--a new term replacing the older GMT. This can be a little tricky. Again, do a web search and find UTC. Once you find it, you will have to subtract a certain number of hours from this time. For example, if you live in central standard time, you will need to subtract six hours. If UTC is 0806, your time should be 0206. If you live in eastern standard time, subtract five hours, etc. Also check to see if your system uses a 12 hour clock or a 24 hour clock. This could also be a source of error.

In regards to your second question, I would suggest looking around Astromart for a complete set of Meade 4000 Plossl eyepieces. They are of very good quality are readily available on the used market. I suggest this specific brand not because I think it is better than its competitors (e.g. Celestron), but because Meade recently offered this complete set at a low price with the purchase of some of its higher end scopes and I suspect there are a number of these EP sets for sale at very good prices.

I hope this helps. I would also suggest joining a local astronomy club and observing with others as you will gain access to their collective knowledge--you'll also find a great deal of enthusiasm!

Welcome to the hobby,

Greg

I can't help you with the mount but you do need better eyepieces. I understand these things come with .965" huygenians which is a very junky eyepiece. If you don't want to throw in a lot of money right now you can get some very inexpensive (like $15-26 each) 3-element kellners and 4-element plossls from dealers like SurplusShed and HandsOnOptics that would even be a major improvement over the eyepieces you have now and would give you some better idea of whether the scope's primary optics are any good.

Fred,

The other replies have mentioned the best places to start.

The Autostar will ask you for the current time as it reads on your watch and then ask if it is daylight savings time or not. Then it will figure out the correction to UTC for you. If you enter the correct current time for your time zone (don't do any math) but get the daylight savings time wrong, you will be off by 15 degrees in RA for everything. If you try to outwit the Autostar, it will win.

Clear skies,

Tom

When I got my Tasco Starguide for fun sometime back, the controller had the encoder resolutions incorrectly set and it was way off with its alignment and pointing. Just as you describe.

It's a Celestron system, and Meade may be totally different, but check into it. I only had to find the correct encoder resolutions on the net and plug 'em into the handset and it's been perfect ever since.