In reading the messages at Yahoo I found this post, and Tom only the object locater "times out" movement of the scope does not prevent this. You must press a button within the 15 min to keep it going. I agree with you on all of these points that they are nuisances. If you are willing to put up with the slight inconvenience, you can work around each of them: > 1) controller shuts off after 15 mins Purchase the upgrade to extend to 50min, or use the trick with a pc planetarium program with the test mode. > 2) Planet location are not calculated correctly Best way around is as someone pointed out, use a pc or palmtop to get the correct coordinates, and use the coordinate display of the locator to find them. > 3) no external connector for external power supply If you don't want to modify your locator, you could use a pair of alligator clips inside the battery compartment to clip onto the terminals. Alternatively, something I have done in the past is to cut a block of wood the same size as a 9V battery, then tape wires at the end so that they contact with the locators contacts. Have these wires hang out. > 4) Controller cant be upgraded. It uses a single microcontroller, a > Motorola MC68HC705C8A. This is a one time programmable . Now I could > be wrong. Yes, it is OTP. There is an upgradeable flash chip, but I am 99% certain this is only used for the database, and not the control program. > 5) Display light should be red NOT green. I've been considering doing a mod to replace these with red. Is there a lot of interest out there? To do so, it would require soldering surface mount components inside your locator. ----- Original Message ----- From: <SaguaroAstro@xxxxxxx> To: <az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, November 11, 2004 5:37 PM Subject: [AZ-Observing] Re: Orion fix > > > Personally I wouldn't call it a fix as much as an "Upgrade." In my opinion a > fix would be free. Considering you're no the only person I've mention this > feature as a problem, I'm surprised Orion Just doesn't make this feature go > away or a least put the option in to turn it off, For free. > > My 2.61717 Kazakhstani Tenge worth. > > > Rick Tejera > Editor SACnews > Saguaro Astronomy Club > Phoenix, Arizona > SaguaroAstro@xxxxxxx > www.saguaroastro.org > > > > > > In a message dated 11/11/2004 11:47:20 US Mountain Standard Time, > a.goodwin1@xxxxxxx writes: > > Thank you for your email to Orion. > > We currently offer an optional upgrade for the auto shut-off feature on the > Intelliscope Object Locator. It's not a bug fix or upgrade patch. Instead, > it is a change that can be made to increase the auto shut-off time. The > shut-off won't be disabled, but it will be increased to 50 minutes instead > of 15. > > Because the EPROM is built into the hand controller, we will need to service > the unit to implement the longer shut-off. The optional change costs $30 + > $6.95 S&H. The turnaround time takes approximately 2-3 weeks. > > > > > > > -- > See message header for info on list archives or unsubscribing, and please > send personal replies to the author, not the list. > > -- See message header for info on list archives or unsubscribing, and please send personal replies to the author, not the list.