My LX200 Modifications
Current Modifications
Below is a list of all the projects/modificaions I've preformed to my LX200 setup. Feel free to do any of these yourself, but PLEASE NOTE: Some of the modifications WILL void your warranty!
To-Do list:
- Rebuild of the Meade Superwedge
- Make a new Dew Heater to permenently mount to scope (Already started)
Right Ascension Relube
Having more time on my hands than clear skies, I finally got around to the re-lube on Draco's right ascension gears! As with any project that requires disassembly of your scope, if you are unsure of yourself, please do NOT attempt a complete disassembly as I did here. You can however add fresh grease without full disassembly, only you will not be able to clean and inspect the worm and main gear as I did.
First step in my project was to remove the motor/gear assembly. Great care is taken in this step, as the wires and connectors are very thin and fragile! Notice in this picture that the spur gears have NO grease on them at all! This is one reason I needed to do this re-lube.
Since I wanted to clean and relube the main gear as well, I decided it was best to remove both circuit boards so I could minimize the chances of doing damage to them. This picture shows the "gutted" base.
Here's a picture of the main gear before I cleaned and re-lubed it. Notice how there is very little grease, as well as it being thin and dirty. This is of course why I wanted to clean and re-lube the main gear.
And here is the after picture. Nice and clean. And that Mobile 1 synthetic grease is nice and thick! All this will be spread out when the gear and worm mate.
The completed project, fully assembled. You can see the new grease on both spur gears, as well as the main gear. And although not seen in this pic, the worm has a nice layer of new grease as well. Once assembled, I ran the motor for a few minutes in both directions to spread the grease out on the main gear and worm. Of course when doing this there was a slight excess of grease that squeezed out. I used a small swab to pick up this excess so it would not possibly cause problems with either of the home sensors on the assembly.
Having the whole scope re-lubed, it now runs quieter, and I'm sure smoother!