Meade 494 Autostar Instruction Manual Download Page 21

tree, or hill), press ENTER and Autostar starts
to move the telescope along the expected
satellite track. When the track clears the
obstruction, press ENTER again to pause the
telescope, then continue with this procedure.

6.  With about 20 seconds left on the countdown timer,

start watching through the telescope viewfinder (or
eyepiece if your telescope does not have an viewfind-
er) for the satellite to enter the field of view. 

7.

When the satellite enters the viewfinder field of view,
press ENTER. The telescope starts to track with the
satellite. 

8.  Use the Autostar Arrow keys to center the object in the

viewfinder, then look through the eyepiece to view the
object. 

Satellite orbits change and new satellites (including the
Space Shuttle) are launched. Visit the Meade web site
(www.meade.com) approximately once a month to get
updated information and instructions on how to download
this data to Autostar. If orbital parameters are more than
one month old, the satellite pass may not happen at the
time predicted by Autostar. Requires optional #506
AstroFinder™ Software and Cable Connector Kit. See
“OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES,” page 30.

NOTE: Satellite observing is an exciting chal-
lenge. Most satellites are in low orbit, travel-
ling at approximately 17,500 mph. When visi-
ble, they move quickly across the sky and are

only in the field of view for a few minutes,
requiring Autostar to slew the telescope rapid-
ly. Best viewing is near Sunrise or Sunset
when the sky is still dark. Viewing in the mid-
dle of the night can be problematic because
the satellite may pass overhead, but not be
visible as it is in the Earth's shadow.

User Objects allows the user to define and store in mem-
ory deep-sky objects of specific interest that are not cur-
rently in the Autostar database. See "Appendix A" for more
information.

Landmarks stores the location of terrestrial points of inter-
est in the permanent Autostar database. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: To use the Landmark func-
tion, the telescope must be located and aligned
exactly as when the landmark was added to the
database.

Select: To select a Landmark already in the database
(see "Add" below), choose the "Select" option and
scroll through the list. Press ENTER to select a
Landmark, then press GO TO and the telescope slews
to the object.

Add: To add a Landmark, choose the "Add" option.
Enter a name for the Landmark. Locate and center the
Landmark in the eyepiece, then press ENTER.

Identify is an exciting feature for an observer who wants to
scan the night sky and start exploring. After the telescope

-21-

Summary of Contents for 494 Autostar

Page 1: ...Meade Instruments Corporation Instruction Manual Autostar 494 Computer Controller...

Page 2: ...ough the list of cities Press ENTER 2 Fig 3 when the desired city appears on the display Autostar then prompts you to enter your telescope model Use the Scroll keys 6 and 7 Fig 3 to cycle through the...

Page 3: ...Object Menu 20 To Observe a Satellite 20 Event Menu 22 Glossary Menu 23 Utilities Menu 23 Setup Menu 24 To Track an Object Automatically 26 General Maintenance 27 Meade Customer Service 28 Specificati...

Page 4: ...al Display LCD Screen 2 lines 16 characters each line ENTER Key MODE Key GO TO Key Arrow Keys Up Down Left and Right Scroll Up Key Scroll Down Key Speed Speed Help Key Coil Cord Fig 3 Autostar 494 Fea...

Page 5: ...to Sync feature is accessed by mistake press MODE to return to the previous screen See HIGH PRECISION page 25 MODE Key Returns to the previous menu or data level in the Autostar database until the to...

Page 6: ...w key move backward 9 0 Z to A Speed Key Pressing the Speed key cycles through the nine slew speeds that move the telescope Each time the Speed key is pressed briefly the current slew speed displays S...

Page 7: ...x note the following parts Autostar 494 handbox Instruction manual ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS Power for Autostar is supplied through the telescope No internal batteries are required See the telescope instr...

Page 8: ...e you can use Autostar s GO TO capabilities you must first Learn how Autostar s keys move through the menus Initialize Autostar Train the drive Align the telescope Select Align Easy from Autostar s me...

Page 9: ...Help and to return to the Getting Started procedure or b Press ENTER 2 Fig 3 to bypass the Help tutori al and continue with initialization 6 The telescope tests the motors by slewing a short dis tance...

Page 10: ...ough AM PM or blank The blank option selects the 24 hour i e military time clock Then press ENTER to start the clock TIP When multiple choices are available within a menu option the option that is cur...

Page 11: ...hat menu selections are set in a loop Fig 5 This means that pressing the Scroll Down key 7 Fig 1 cycles down through all the available options within a given category then returns to the first option...

Page 12: ...Autostar menu structure works the following exercise calculates the Sunset time so an evening observing session can be planned NOTE To perform an accurate calculation Autostar must be properly initia...

Page 13: ...Press v until it is centered ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER MODE Press the Scroll Up key once Access the Setup menu Multiple presses Scope slews left Bring target back to...

Page 14: ...The fastest and easiest way to start observing with Autostar s GO TO capabilities is to perform an Easy Two Star Alignment Autostar automatically picks two stars from its database for the Easy Two Sta...

Page 15: ...ered in the eyepiece The alignment star should be easily recognized and be the brightest star in the area of the sky where the tele scope is pointing Press ENTER Repeat procedure for the second alignm...

Page 16: ...night sky 3 Press ENTER The telescope slews to the star for alignment Use the Arrow keys to move the telescope until the star is visible and centered in the eyepiece 4 Press ENTER Repeat procedure for...

Page 17: ...to use the Arrow keys to center Saturn precisely in the eyepiece Autostar then automatically slews moves the telescope so that it tracks Saturn or whatever other object you may have chosen i e Saturn...

Page 18: ...200 x sidereal 300 arc min sec or 5 sec Speed 2 2 480 x sidereal 120 arc min sec or 2 sec Speed 3 1 240 x sidereal 60 arc min sec or 1 sec Speed 4 0 5 120 x sidereal 30 arc min sec or 0 5 sec Speed 5...

Page 19: ...Vernal Equinox Winter Solstice Summer Solstice Tour Objects A Accretion Disk Etc B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Timer Set Start Stop Alarm Set On Off Eyepiece Calc Field of View Ma...

Page 20: ...ion from brightest to dimmest Deep Sky is a database of objects outside our Solar System such as nebulae star clusters galaxies and quasars Star is a database of stars listed in different categories s...

Page 21: ...iting chal lenge Most satellites are in low orbit travel ling at approximately 17 500 mph When visi ble they move quickly across the sky and are only in the field of view for a few minutes requiring A...

Page 22: ...the time that the Moon rises or sets on the current date Find rise and set times for other dates by entering a new date into the Setup Date menu See DATE page 24 Moon Phases displays the date and time...

Page 23: ...MENU The Utilities menu provides access to several extra features within Autostar including a countdown timer and an alarm The Utilities functions include Timer selects a countdown timer This feature...

Page 24: ...the list See LANDMARK page 21 Sleep Scope is a power saving option that shuts down Autostar and the telescope without forgetting its alignment With Sleep Scope selected press ENTER to activate the Sle...

Page 25: ...eed at which the tele scope tracks targets in the sky a Sidereal The default setting for Autostar sidereal rate is the standard rate at which stars move from East to West across the sky due to the rot...

Page 26: ...s may be stored Scroll through the list of Countries States Press ENTER when the site you wish to add displays Then choose the desired city in the same manner Delete Deletes a stored site from the dat...

Page 27: ...ances Take care when storing the cord so that the connectors do not become crushed or abraded TROUBLESHOOTING NOTE See the telescope instruction manual for additional troubleshooting ideas The followi...

Page 28: ...splay 2 line 16 character LCD Backlight Red LED Coil Cord 24 AUTOSTAR DIMENSIONS Length 14 2cm 5 60 Width LCD end 78 0cm 3 08 Width Connector end 53 5cm 2 10 Depth 23 5cm 0 93 Autostar net weight 0 16...

Page 29: ...ed see INITIAL IZING AUTOSTAR page 8 and the telescope has been aligned and set to the Alt Az home alignment position see EASY TWO STAR ALIGNMENT page 14 2 After the telescope is aligned Select Item O...

Page 30: ...ason when these stars are prominent in the night sky This list aids the observer to find alignment stars at various times of the year For example if it is a midsummer evening in the Northern Hemispher...

Page 31: ...roduct must include a written statement detailing the nature of the claimed defect as well as the owner s name address and phone number This warranty is not valid in cases where the product has been a...

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