Hi Steve,
I found that my Lhires III worked out of the box, other than initial setup like focusing and finding the micrometer setting to view the H-alpha line. It is a more complex instrument than an Alpy, so there are more things to adjust and it may not be the best place to start out in spectroscopy.
I managed to get some decent results on my first night, helped by the fact that I had previously been using an L200 which has a lot of similarities with the Lhires III. I did see improvement from my first observations to later ones as I tweaked the setup and learned how to get the most out of the spectrograph. It is a continual journey, and I am sure in a few years I will be getting even better results.
To show you what I mean, below are some observations from my first light with my Lhires III. First a spectrum profile of zeta Cas.
Here is one of the spectrum images.
Then about 18 months later here is a spectrum of chi Cyg.
And the underlying combined spectrum images.
Cheers,
Andy