Lidl LXD75 telescope help thread

That is mentioned, but probably on the wrong page. The instructions in several parts of the manual do not appear to be sequential.

John,
It may indeed be mentioned elsewhere but I didnt find it clear.
I assembled the telescope first thing without screwing the rod into the threads in the mount. I actually tightened up the bottom spreader also - it was only when I tightened the azmuith fine adjust knobs that I noticed the mount wasn't sitting flush to the base that I began to suspect a problem. But at that stage I was outside looking for the Orion Nebula!

The guys who write instructions need to understand the mindset of people playing with new toys- as a 'techie' I always follow the rule - If it doesn't work first time, then and not before, then do you bother to open the manual!

Anyway apart from this my LXD75 worked well first time out of the box, and as complete starter in this its great so far.

Mine worked well out of the box. The only problem I had putting it together was the fiddly e-ring to hold the mount screw in place. You really needed 2 people for that.

I too found the instructions a bit troublesome. The main irk for me was the constant reference back to figure 1d or 1c which was at the front of the book. I wish they'd reproduced these figures near where the relevant instructions were situated. In any case, I put the rest of the scope together at the weekend and it's pretty sturdy I must say.

No trouble from any of my motors but I'm curious to see how long they will last anyway. Over the past few nights I'd hoped to take the scope outside but the fog and cloud for the past few days prevented this... maybe tonight!

For the moment I'd better get used to using the scope but the next things on the agenda are to get some more eyepieces as the Lidl set only included a 26mm one which I'm sure you're all familiar with. After that I'm going to try to get the scope hooked up to a mac book pro via the autostar.

Valen,
I also found the C clip a bit fiddly but managed it by myself, there are two ways to do it-
Assemble the lower part of the shaft first, obviously.
Use a pair of long nose pliers to hold the clip at its centre, then with your other hand push the shaft up through the hole in the base. Present the clip to the second slot as per the instructions. Apply a slight pressure with the pliers to push just the outer two grips on the clip onto the shaft.
At this stage the clip is probably above horizontal and only partly attached to the shaft. Remove the pliers and use the tip to gently press the clip into a horizontal position relative to the shaft which is vertical.
Then lower the shaft a little so that the clip enters the hole in the bottom of the base and press the shaft sideways so that the middle of the C is pressed against the wall of the hole, a little more gentle pressure will fix the clip properly in place.
Verify that the clip is secure by pulling down on the shaft with a bit of pressure from below.

The second method is for those too lazy to look for their long nose pliers. This was really how I did it first time. Drop the clip into the larger (upper) hole in the base with the open part of the C facing the shaft. use a flat end eg the end of the supplied Allen key to push the clip towards the edge of the hole, again present the shaft slot to the clip and use the flat edge to push the clip partway onto the shaft. Then proceed as in the second stage above after making sure the clip is horizontal.

Do not press on the clip too heavily in case it springs free and you lose it in the room. Ensure that heavy pressure is applied only when you have it in the lower hole and to prevent loss hold your free hand over the shaft when pressing or pulling downwards.

Sorry if this was long-winded but it worked flawlessly for me both ways.

My replacement RA drive arrived finally today.
Will attempt the surgery in the next few days...

Good luck Frank - hope it works out for you.