Meade LX200GPS 8" won't initialize on power up
My LX200GPS will now power up correctly. When I connect the AutoStar hand controller then power up the scope, one of 2 things will happen: the top row on the AS display turns to white boxes, almost like a progress bar) from left to right. When the line is full, everything just stops. The other thing that sometimes happens is the display just stays blank. The scope never moves. None of the buttons on the hand controller do anything. I tried connecting to an XP laptop via the serial cable adapter that came with my LPI and the left RS232 port, and the autostar software doesn't see the it.
Optics - Meade - LX200GPS Telescope
Answers & Comments
Try doing either a garbage collect or a safe load-- and then reinstall the hand controller firmware--
Instructions-- depending on the type of controller
Autostar 495 or 497: You enter Safe Mode by holding the [enter] and
[scroll down] keys pressed when you power up the telescope. The
Autostar will say "Flash Load Ready"... now go start the ASU.
Autostar II: if you need to use Safe Mode to recover from a disaster,
turn on the telescope, and key 999 before it says "Initializing"
The Autostar will say "Flash Load Ready"... now go start the ASU.
LX200gps: BEFORE proceeding further, click on the OPTIONS item on the Top Bar.
Now click on "Garbage Collect Hbx" ... this will perform data cleanup
within the Autostar which will avoid potential mess-ups.