This page contains descriptions and links to amateur astronomy articles & videos on this website
and on my YouTube channel : https://www.youtube.com/user/tomstda.

 To view the astronomy videos, click the link below to open the Astronomy Section, then click one of the playlists to select a video.

Astronomy section: https://www.youtube.com/user/tomstda/playlists?sort=dd&shelf_id=19&view=50

My latest system  to set up either Meade 12" LX200 or LX600 telescopes (on this website):  "How To Set Up Meade 12 Inch Telescopes Without Help"

How To Build A Telescope Dolly
This video series shows how to build a wooden telescope dolly for under $100.  The dolly allows you to leave your telescope set up on the dolly, and wheel it outside for observing.

The following videos are in playlist "Misc Astronomy".

CCAS Star Party 6/13/15:
Drone video of a Central Coast Astronomical Society star party at KOA campground, Santa Margarita Lake, CA.

How To Align GPS Telescopes
This video shows how to align the Meade 12 LX200 GPS telescope, but these steps can be modified for other GPS-equipped telescopes. Refer to your telescope user's guide for additional information.

To align the telescope, turn on the power, Depending on your software version, you'll be asked to press the enter or "0" key to start automatic alignment. After your telescope spends several minutes determing the tilt and azimuth of the telescope mounting, the direction of north, the observing time and location (using the GPS system), it chooses 2 alignment stars, then automatically points near each star and prompts you to center the "bright" star and press enter.

There are several problems that may occur during alignment:

There may be a cloud or other obstruction blocking an alignment star. Either press the arrow key at the bottom right of the control to choose a different alignment star, or move the telescope. If you have to move the telescope, turn the telescope off and on and repeat the initialization process.

The telescope may be pointing near several bright stars and you may not be sure which star to use, or it may not be pointing near ANY bright stars. This problem is probably caused by the telescope sensors, and you should recalibrate them, using the "calibrate sensors" function in the setup menu. Sensor calibration uses polaris, so you must be able to see polaris with your telescope. Move the telescope if necessary. After calibrating the sensors, repeat the alignment steps.

If you have calibrated the sensors and still can't identify or locate the alignment star, press the "?" key on the Meade control. Meade changes the "bright" star message to include the NAME of the star. Search for that star either in an atlas, or by using a star gazing app on an iphone or ipad. I recommend the Skyview app for the Ipad ($1.99). Search for the star by name with Skyview, use the Skyview display to identify the alignment star, center it in the telescope, and press enter.

GPS Date Error

Many Meade (and other) telescopes had a firmware error that caused the telescopes to use an incorrect date when aligning. (Thanks, Muriel for pointing out this error!) It first happened in April, 2019.  This caused a 6-month error in the date, making it impossible to align the telescope.  The telescope points nowhere near the alignment stars, and may point into the ground.  The solution is to update the telescope firmware from the Meade website.  I had to do this for my LX200 andLX600 telescopes, and this fixed the problem.  See URL:  https://www.meade.com/support, scroll down to "GPS Rollover Issue".

How to update Meade telescope firmware: 

Required cables, and how to download the autostar updater are at URL:  https://www.meade.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/HowToUpdateTelescopeFirmware_REV1A.pdf

References:

1. The user's guide for your telescope.

2. Playlist: "How To Use The Skyview Stargazing App For the Ipad".
Quickstart Guide: "Quick and dirty" startup guide for the Skyview star-gazing app for iphone/ipad. This app both identifies items in your current view of the sky and shows how to move the ipad (and yourself) to locate an object elsewhere in the sky.
Users Guide: Shows ALL the features of the Skyview app.