I have a Meade LX 125 - new since April last year and used about 2-3 times 
per month. The last outing in mid-December, I got a message on the Autostar 
that there was a motor failure and the 'scope would try and go past the hard 
stop during Autoalign, using the 2-star method. I switched off and on again 
and, whilst it seemed OK, the fine tuning motors did seem to have trouble. A 
week ago I re-calibrated the motors and everything was fine. Last night, 
same problem - went well past the star it was aligning on and had a motor 
failure message. I switched off and on again and it worked fine (but clouds 
plus moonlight made seeing Mars). Is this a common problem with Meade 
scopes?

Thanks

Peter,
Mine is at least a year older - never had this problem. My Autostar lead 
became intermittent a few months ago, probably my fault for hanging the 
handbox from the lead, even dropping it a few times! Lead replaced, no 
problems.
I find that pointing North fairly carefully and levelling the tripod makes 
the GoTo work surprisingly well!
Good luck!
Pat

"Peter Tomlin"  wrote in message 
news:DIudnfttS742e-7anZ2dnUVZ8rCdnZ2d@pipex.net...
>I have a Meade LX 125 - new since April last year and used about 2-3 times 
>per month. The last outing in mid-December, I got a message on the Autostar 
>that there was a motor failure and the 'scope would try and go past the 
>hard stop during Autoalign, using the 2-star method. I switched off and on 
>again and, whilst it seemed OK, the fine tuning motors did seem to have 
>trouble. A week ago I re-calibrated the motors and everything was fine. 
>Last night, same problem - went well past the star it was aligning on and 
>had a motor failure message. I switched off and on again and it worked fine 
>(but clouds plus moonlight made seeing Mars). Is this a common problem with 
>Meade scopes?
>
> Thanks 


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"Peter Tomlin"  wrote in message 
news:DIudnfttS742e-7anZ2dnUVZ8rCdnZ2d@pipex.net...
>I have a Meade LX 125 - new since April last year and used about 2-3 times 
>per month. The last outing in mid-December, I got a message on the Autostar 
>that there was a motor failure and the 'scope would try and go past the 
>hard stop during Autoalign, using the 2-star method. I switched off and on 
>again and, whilst it seemed OK, the fine tuning motors did seem to have 
>trouble. A week ago I re-calibrated the motors and everything was fine. 
>Last night, same problem - went well past the star it was aligning on and 
>had a motor failure message. I switched off and on again and it worked fine 
>(but clouds plus moonlight made seeing Mars). Is this a common problem with 
>Meade scopes?
>
> Thanks

Motor failure messages can occur for a variety of reasons. The most common 
though are poor connections and low power. Check that the cable plugs to the 
handset to the scope are clean and secure. You don't say what power supply 
you are using. If you are using the built-in batteries, then it's likely 
this is the problem - the ETX doesn't like the voltage to drop by much. It's 
preferable to use an external power supply (220v input to 12V output) or a 
lead/acid gel battery, which is what I use for all my scopes. Try getting a 
good power supply if you don't have one. Most Autostar issues can be 
resolved by doing a RESET, CALIBRATE and TRAIN DRIVES. I've only had one 
'motor failiure' message and that was down to the power dropping in my 
external battery on a very cold night. Check out the ETX-guru Mike Weasner's 
site for all things Autostar. www.weasner.com

Bob Hill"  wrote in message 
news:Dysdj.33281$jy3.25764@newsfe7-win.ntli.net...
> "Peter Tomlin"  wrote in message 
> news:DIudnfttS742e-7anZ2dnUVZ8rCdnZ2d@pipex.net...
>>I have a Meade LX 125 - new since April last year and used about 2-3 times 
>>per month. The last outing in mid-December, I got a message on the 
>>Autostar that there was a motor failure and the 'scope would try and go 
>>past the hard stop during Autoalign, using the 2-star method. I switched 
>>off and on again and, whilst it seemed OK, the fine tuning motors did seem 
>>to have trouble. A week ago I re-calibrated the motors and everything was 
>>fine. Last night, same problem - went well past the star it was aligning 
>>on and had a motor failure message. I switched off and on again and it 
>>worked fine (but clouds plus moonlight made seeing Mars). Is this a common 
>>problem with Meade scopes?
>>
>> Thanks
>
> Motor failure messages can occur for a variety of reasons. The most common 
> though are poor connections and low power. Check that the cable plugs to 
> the handset to the scope are clean and secure. You don't say what power 
> supply you are using. If you are using the built-in batteries, then it's 
> likely this is the problem - the ETX doesn't like the voltage to drop by 
> much. It's preferable to use an external power supply (220v input to 12V 
> output) or a lead/acid gel battery, which is what I use for all my scopes. 
> Try getting a good power supply if you don't have one. Most Autostar 
> issues can be resolved by doing a RESET, CALIBRATE and TRAIN DRIVES. I've 
> only had one 'motor failiure' message and that was down to the power 
> dropping in my external battery on a very cold night. Check out the 
> ETX-guru Mike Weasner's site for all things Autostar. www.weasner.com
Also make sure you have set the correct HOME position before aligning - if 
it's trying to go past the hardstop, then it suggests that he HOME position 
is incorrect: level tripod carefully: rotate in azimuth anticlockwise gently 
until fork hits hardstop; rotate back clockwise until left-hand fork tine is 
aligned centrally over the control panel (which should face West); place 
tube in horizontal position level with the horizon (use a spirit level); 
check scope is pointing true north - adjust tripod position/level if 
necessary - recheck level; align. The more accurate you make it, the more 
accurate it will be.