[APML] Need Help With Meade 9mm Guiding Eyepiece

[Mmalone116astro@aol.com]

I have recently just started using, or should I say, trying to use
the Meade 9mm illuminated recticle guiding eyepiece
I need some advice about the following issues:

*I have trouble finding suitable stars bright enough to see clearly through the eyepiece.
I have had trouble when using the eyepiece with the off-axis guider
and also when using the eyepiece straight on.
Sometimes I can see a star, but when I turn the recticle on,
the 'guide' star becomes essentially invisble, even at the lowest 
possible brightness setting (which seems too bright anyway)
I've searched nearly a full 35mm field (near M13, high in the sky) of view without finding much more than 
dim stars that can hardly be detected when the recticle is on.

*The star image (when I have one) never seems to be steady.  the star is always bobbing around, and just slight movements of the hand controller cord seem to make this worse.  Under normal observing magnification (80x), my obvious vibrations seem to damp within a couple seconds. I had success guiding exposures while piggy backing with a 300mm zoom Lens (test shots with  and without guiding show clear difference), but I am concerned about prime focus.  I am using a Meade LX90, with counter weights and vibration pads.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

-Mike Malone