AUTOSTAR SUITE USER FEEDBACK Last updated: 28 September 2006

This page is for user comments and information specific to the Meade AutoStar Suite. If you have any comments, suggestions, questions or answers to questions posed here, e-mail them to me and I'll post them. Please use an appropriate Subject Line on your message. Thanks. (The Lunar Planetary Imager, LPI, and Deep Sky Imager, DSI, are covered in the Helpful Information - Astrophotography area.)

Subject:	Re: ETX 70AT / Meade LPI
Sent:	Tuesday, September 26, 2006 10:09:42
From:	Simon Liston (spl@blackwatersystems.co.uk)
Thanks for that - I was starting to get the picture that that was the
case :-(

Kind Regards,

Simon.

Subject:	Stacking.
Sent:	Monday, September 25, 2006 14:12:03
From:	R.L. Creedon (creedon@cablespeed.com)
Back again to the fount of all knowledge (thank goodness).   Presumably
if you want to operate in the normal mode you have to first disable the
preview function, at least thats what I'm going to do next time out.
Last time I seemed to get 30 successive "previews" of M11 & retention of
only the last, or was something even more bizarre going on. I had always
assumed that stacking gave increasingly bright images by integrating the
faint ones. I have yet to see this happen (some of the previews were
worth saving).   AND  there doesn't appear to be a road out from an
"autostar envisage" window to my Kodak picture fixing software which is
actually simple enough for usage by cheap dummies... I use sneakernet to
get there.  Grateful as always for your site,           Lew Creedon

Subject:	ETX 70AT / Meade LPI
Sent:	Monday, September 25, 2006 10:19:58
From:	Simon Liston (spl@blackwatersystems.co.uk)
I've had a look through your website but haven't really been able to
find an answer.

I've had my ETX-70AT for a good few years now - I think I got it in 2001
- you were kind enough to give me some advice even back then but it's so
long ago now I can't remember what it was about! (I think it might have
been to do with getting rid of the sun warning and speed of text on the
Autostar)

I've only just been able to rustle up enough funds (for a long enough
period of time that they don't get re-directed to something else e.g.
car repairs etc.!!) to get a laptop computer.

Fortunately there was just about enough money left (and an advance on
this years Christmas present from the other half) to purchase an LPI.
[lugging my desktop machine out into the back yard was never going to be
an option!]

I'm still waiting for the LPI to arrive but I've seen a couple of places
mention that the firmware in the #494 Autostar does not support some of
the LPI functionality (in particular the auto guider function).

My Autostar firmware is version 10EL .

I can use the ACP (bundled with Starry Night and the cable to link  to a
PC) to control the 'scope (although the response times are a bit bumpy
and I have the date problem on the ACP display).

[BTW I can't find the ACP update that you often mention]

I've downloaded the latest Meade updater Version 4.3 but it reports
there is no way to update a #494 handset :-(

This seems kind of odd as one of the setup options on the Autostar is
'Download'.

Am I "flogging a dead horse"? I guess the image capture function of  the
LPI won't be affected I'm just concerned as to whether or not the lack
of auto guiding around a selected target will be a big drawback.

Given that ACP/Starry Night *CAN* make the telescope point to where it
wants it doesn't seem impossible that it's just a firmware issue rather
than something that the Autostart cannot inherently be capable of.

Any advice would be very welcome - I'd just like to add,in its defense,
that on the upside my Autostar does a pretty darn good job at
locating/identifying objects!

Kind Regards,

Simon Liston
West Mersea
England.

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