My Compaq Presario 1200 laptop with DVD/CD drive had trouble reading the Meade software install CD. The software did not install from the CD correctly.

Software installation problems from the CD.

Meade Autostar Image Processing for Windows version 3.0 Augdoes not support 24 or 32 bit PC color displays.

It looks like you can take and save an image about every 1.5 seconds.

No AVI mode to take lots of images fast.

This may be the result of different focal planes and the Tele Vue 5X Powermate I was using.

Image scale seems smaller than the Philips ToUcam PC camera.

More testing is needed to be done on comparing these two cameras.

The LPI seems less light sensitive than the Philips ToUcam PC camera.

Meade technical support was helpfull sending me a second CD.

Meade’s technical support number is on their web site.

Auto file save with increment number so that it will not overwrite existing files.

Images are saved in various file formats and are not compress like AVI files.

Longer exposures than the Philips ToUcam PC camera.

The good support from Sean's Astronomy Shop on using a second installation CD to get me going.

I do not own any Meade telescopes therefore I use the LPI on non-Meade telescopes. Meade AutoStar Suite includes the LPI camera, LPI camera software, image processing software, planetarium software and cables to control Meade telescopes. The Meade LPI Camera is operated with the Meade LPI camera program that is a part of Meade's AutoStar Suite. The LPI can be used as an autoguider to control Meade telescopes through the AutoStar Suite software. The Meade LPI (Lunar Planetary Imager) camera is a small 640x480 color camera that is used with a computer with an USB interface. Later I processed these images with RegiStax software. I set up the LPI to take a series of images and save all the images as BMP files. Philips ToUcam I used the LPI without reading the manual. The clouds where moving in that night so after I took some quick Saturn images with the I used it for the first time that night to image Saturn (see above image).

I acquired the Meade LPI from Sean's Astronomy Shop on December 21, 2003. Saturn image taken on December 21, 2003, 22:36.7 days 2 hours 24 minutes old Moon image taken on December 29, 2003.Jupiter image with two moon shadows taken on March 20, 2004.

Jupiter image with three moon shadows taken on March 28, 2004.Venus, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter and Moon crater images taken on April 26, 2004.Moon Clavius Craterlets image taken on May 1, 2004.

Meade autostar software