ETX Autostar display fixed

my etx90 is up for sale. there are inquiries but not a serious buyer yet. the only issue with my set is the display on the autostar that 'disappeared' . so i opened the autostar again last night to try and fix it. just to confirm if the issue was with the lcd cable, i did a reseat then checked the lcd. tried to view it against a white paper first and i noticed it was working!

then looking at the white paper on the 'backlight', i noticed it has faded and is already off white. so i thought maybe it needs a bright white as a backlight.

fortunately i still have some photo paper w adhesive and cut a portion that will fit the backlight... and it actually worked :)

i hope this can help other etx autostar users out there

another thing i observed/learned from this...

at some point in setting up the autostar the backlight will dim and when that happens i noticed i cant read any text again. but if i use my cellphone's camera, the text is visible. asked help from my boys to try and read it - they can! after some experimenting i noticed i can read the text if i put the autostar at ~arm's length. i guess i need to have my reading glasses calibrated again.

btw, i decided not to sell it anymore :D realized it's expensive to have a light 1250mm scope so i'll just make the most of it and do more moon shots while learning more of post processing.

some pictures of the autostar:

Lunar Eclipse/First Light

Philippines experienced a full lunar eclipse last night. It will be my first time to use a couple of gadgets in my astrophography gear specially the Skywatcher Adventurer 2i which I got 5mos ago.

One issue that disappointed me was the 'backlash'. After the event I had to google and find the recommended fix while opening the unit and see for myself why the backlash is happening. Most of the video I found also included opening the unit...

I soon found out that the "fix" is a documented screw adjustment that can be found in the manual nyahahaha. Facepalm moments.

The screw is #24 called Worm Gear Meshing Adjustment Screw. There's not much mention of it in the document but looking inside made me realize that it's a very clever way of adjusting how to secure the worm gear. Just don't tighten it too much.

I hope this will help other owners out there :)

Some pictures from last night's event.

a7s2 with the rokkor 500rf, cropped

a99 with the etx90, camera struggling w the exposure :P

and just another shot for/from the a99. cropped.

I tried to keep the exposure as close to how I was seeing the eclipsed Moon. It was really dark even when using binoculars.

Cheers

 The Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i

After years of owning the 'now defunct' Meade ETX-90 Tabletop Mount Maksutov telescope with GoTo electronics, I decided to sell it and upgrade my gear. I never really used the electronics of the ETX-90 much. Mostly used the OTA which is great on shooting the Sun and Moon during eclipses. It's effective FL being 1250mm. Aperture is f/13.

This year 2025, a lot of comets sprung up. Most of them are faint and fuzzy and given the chance, my current setup will not be able to image them properly. Hence I decided to dispose the ETX and move to the Adventure 2i which is a very good entry level celestial tracking head.

My unit ordered from abroad arrived today. Consequently it started raining :D

It is a wi-fi enabled gear and will connect to the SkyWatcher app. Can't wait to try the features specially the Time Lapse function which can operate an attached DSLR via shutter cable.

Hope to post another update soon... while i'm in this new rabbit hole :D