Hi, Craig!

Welcome to the wonderful world of amateur astronomy and telescopes!

To get at your problem, we need a little more information. I'm familiar
with the model scope you have (I have a 10" LX3 that's now an LX5, but I
still have both drive bases, and both are still perfectly functional), so
let's ask a few questions...

Is the red (Power) light on the console lit while you're observing? And
if so, can you hear the motor drive running? Are objects just slowly
drifting out of the field (like everything is working, but something is
just not adjusted properly) or is everything moving out of the field as if
there was no motor drive movement at all?

Does your tripod have a bubble level? And if so, did you level the tripod
with the bubble level before you performed your polar alignment?

Once the tripod head was level, did you adjust the equatorial
wedge/telescope base mounting plate accurately to the angle of your
latitude?

Note here; if you adjust the mount so that the scope's polar shaft is
pointing in exactly the right place, a level tripod isn't really
necessary, but it helps make the process easier to repeat if it is level,
and you do it the same way each time. Note also, that if you always
observe from home, you should never have to set your wedge again (unless
you take it apart for some reason), if you set up with a level tripod.
After the first time, just level the tripod carefully and the polar shaft
should be at the right latitude angle, so all you have to do then, is get
it pointed north properly...

Does your scope have the polar alignment finderscope? Or does your tripod
use a magnetic compass to find North? If it has the polar finderscope, is
the scope aligned well with the main scope? If it has the magnetic
compass, did you apply the correct offset from indicated North for your
location? Describe how you performed your polar alignment...

--
Jan Owen

To reach me directly, remove the Z, if one appears in my e-mail address...
Latitude: 33.662
Longitude: -112.3272


"craig510a3" wrote in message
ups.com...
Anyone have any suggestions to help a newbie? Bought an old lx3 and
the drive is not keeping objects centered (after proper polar
alignment).

Thanks,
Craig