They have announced they are now making available a replacement for the original Meade LX200 Hand Controller for the 8″, 10″, and 12″ Meade LX200 “Classic” telescopes, version 3.0 0 or above.Ĭlearline Technology’s new replacement controller offers a new power efficient design, functionally equivalent and in the same form factor as the original. Among its current lineup are the Motor Encoder Board – LX200 Classic/LXD650/LXD750 Calibration Tool for LX200 Motor Encoder Board and a Boot-Up Emulator for the Meade LX200 Hand Controller. I had to move the scope over rough ground on a trolley as I was on my own so maybe something got dislodged concerning the GPS bit.Clearline Technology uses modern materials, components, and processes to create replacement parts for the venerable Meade Instruments LX-200 telescope such as its new Meade LX200 Hand Controller. It worked fine indoors taking a couple of minutes to GPS lock, but the GPS just times out once I'd moved it to the shed. ? Much quicker and reliable than Meade ASU. Using the trial version for the update means it's free too. I can confirm that Starpatch from StarGPS works fine if you want to update it. ?Īs you say, if the scope is only at one location then the GPS offers no benefits. If I realized they were PIC chips in the handset I'd have been a bit more careful. ? I'll get one to to have a complete setup again though they are a bit pricey.

Everything works better without it. GoTo is more reliable and setup takes a fraction of the time.

? as long as yours is the GPS model, and not the classic.(non GPS) ?īy the way, since the time bug of a couple of years ago when the Meade GPS stopped working, I simply stopped using the GPS entirely rather than risk a patch.

Thanks in advance for any insights or experience. Wouldn't a normal manufacturer, making a radical change, call it Autostar III? Telescope Service tell me that an identical looking Autostar II handset which they can supply will only be compatible with an LX200 ACF.ĭoes anyone know whether there really are compatible and non-compatible Autostar II handsets? This strikes me as pretty bizarre. It has always had the 'Autostar II' handset from new. My scope is not an ACF but nor is it the original kind of LX200 with the substantial square-ish handset. I just need to buy a replacement but - it seems not to be as simple as that. The handset of my 14 inch LX200 GPS has packed up after threatening to do so for a while.

Meade autostar 2 controller