New at two star alignment

I have a Lx200 Meade 10", got it all setup but having one small problem. When I do a two star alignment, all goes well but I seem to be off-accuracy if I "goto" a part of the sky 180 degrees from my last object. The scope is level, and my time is accurate+- 5 secs. If I stay in the same general area the accuracy is fine, and the object is in the eyepiece, but if I go about 180 degree the object is in the spotting scope, but off center. Any suggestions, or is this normal?? Thank, Ted

That sounds reasonable for a modest alignment. Do you use a crosshair eyepiece for the centering/alignment? Also, is the scope "eye" level or do you use a precise bubble level?

Also, the fork and OTA may be a bit skewed and the drives may have some play in them. If you don't mind tinkering, check out www.mapug.com (or .org) and especially Dr. Grainer's site. He has about every detail on the LX200 that you could want.

If you don't like to tinker, I'd suggest Dr. Clay Sherrod's Supercharge service. He'll do all the little mechanical and optical alignments that need done. He cleans, fixes and secures everything and really makes the scope a dream. There is a link to his service in the ETX forum.

Also, search for a program called "Best Pair". I don't have a link handy, but it selects the best pair of alignment stars for you (too close or too far apart can hurt the GOTO accuracy).