Meade Instruments Corporation
Instruction Manual
ETX-90EC Astro TelescopeETX-105EC Astro TelescopeETX-125EC Astro Telescope
Page 1: ...Meade Instruments Corporation Instruction Manual ETX 90EC Astro Telescope ETX 105EC Astro Telescope ETX 125EC Astro Telescope ...
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Page 3: ...Polar Alignment 28 Setting Circles 28 Appendix D You and the Universe 29 Objects in Space 29 The Moon 29 Planets 29 Deep Sky Objects 30 CONTENTS WARNING Never use a Meade ETX Astro Telescope to look at the Sun Looking at or near the Sun will cause instant and irreversible damage to your eye Eye damage is often painless so there is no warning to the observer that damage has occurred until it is too...
Page 4: ...e lights flicker on the Electronic Controller Press any key and the motors briefly move the telescope The Electronic Controller is now operational Use the Electronic Controller Arrow keys H to move the telescope up down left and or right To change the telescope s slew speed press the SPEED key I The indicator lights signify the speed with the upper light showing the highest speed Each press slows ...
Page 5: ...and ETX 125EC are identical with the exception of the size of optical tube and the type of viewfinder included as standard equipment TELESCOPE AND ELECTRONIC CONTROLLER FUNCTIONS Fig 1 Inset Computer Control Panel A On Off switch B Auxiliary ports C Handbox port D 12v connector E Power indicator light E A B B C D 8 12 14 18 17 ...
Page 6: ...ockwise unlocks the telescope enabling it to be freely rotated by hand about the vertical axis Turning the vertical lock clockwise to a firm feel only prevents the telescope from being moved manually but engages the vertical motor drive clutch for Electronic Controller operation When polar aligned the vertical lock serves as the Declination or Dec lock see DECLINATION page 16 Note The vertical loc...
Page 7: ...ip mirror control in the up position as shown in Fig 2a light is diverted to the eyepiece With the flip mirror control in the down position as shown in Fig 2b light proceeds straight out the photo port for photography See PHOTOGRAPHY page 18 Note The flip mirror control is in the up position when the control is vertical perpendicular to the telescope tube To place the flip mirror in the down posit...
Page 8: ...PEED KEY below Important Note If you reverse directions while using the Arrow keys to slew to objects there may be a slight pause as the telescope motors compensate for the reversal of the internal gears Indicator Lights 2 Fig 3 The four red LED Light Emitting Diode lights indicate the current slew speed of the telescope Note For purposes of this manual the lights are identified as 1 through 4 wit...
Page 9: ...coil cord of the Electronic Controller into the HBX port 10C Fig 1 Attach the Viewfinder ETX 90EC 8 x 21mm Viewfinder Slide the eyepiece end of the viewfinder through the front of the viewfinder bracket 1 Fig 5 ETX 105EC or ETX 125EC 8 x 25mm Right Angle Viewfinder Slide the front cell end of the right angle viewfinder through the rear of the viewfinder bracket 2 Fig 5 Unthread the six alignment s...
Page 10: ...ment screws 4 and 6 Fig 6 and slipping it out of the bracket 2 Loosen the knurled lock ring 2 Fig 6 located near the viewfinder s front lens cell 1 Fig 6 Unthread this ring counterclockwise as seen from the eyepiece end of the viewfinder by several turns 3 Look through the viewfinder and focus on a distant object Slowly rotate the front lens cell in one direction or the other until the object appe...
Page 11: ...ngth of 9mm has a higher magnification than an eyepiece with a focal length of 26mm The SP 26mm eyepiece supplied with your telescope gives a wide comfortable field of view with high image resolution while an optional SP 12 4mm eyepiece for example provides a smaller field of view but higher magnification when seeing conditions permit Low power eyepieces offer a wide field of view bright high cont...
Page 12: ...ions from low to high The standard equipment SP 26mm eyepiece yields 48X 48 power on the ETX 90EC 57X on the ETX 105EC and 73X on the ETX 125EC A variety of powers may be obtained with the addition of optional eyepieces as well as the 126 2X Barlow Lens which doubles the power of an eyepiece see OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES page 20 Use this formula to calculate the magnification obtained with a given eyep...
Page 13: ...ntroller supplied with your telescope assists with the tracking function The Electronic Controller Functions of the Electronic Controller include Slewing moving the telescope s optical tube assembly to an object Turning on the telescope motor drive to automatically track celestial objects when the telescope is polar aligned Changing the hemisphere of operation when required Changing tracking speed...
Page 14: ...w the telescope to objects In addition the telescope s internal motor drive is turned on enabling the telescope to automatically track celestial objects You can configure the two screws on the bottom rear of the Electronic Controller handbox to change the default mode of the Electronic Controller to Alt Az or polar When in polar mode you may also set the alignment to the hemisphere in which you ar...
Page 15: ...xtensive astronomical applications it is recommended you use Polar or Equatorial mounting By tilting one of the telescope s mechanical axes see Fig 10 to point at the celestial pole i e by pointing one axis of the telescope to the North Star Polaris you may follow track astronomical objects through the sky The telescope s optical tube turns on only one axis of the telescope instead of simultaneous...
Page 16: ...ht Ascension R A This celestial version of longitude is measured in units of hours hr minutes min and seconds sec on a 24 hour clock similar to how Earth s time zones are determined by longitude lines The zero line was arbitrarily chosen to pass through the constellation Pegasus a sort of cosmic Greenwich meridian R A coordinates range from 0hr 0min 0sec to 23hr 59min 59sec There are 24 primary li...
Page 17: ... to 67 uses high latitude hole 44 5 to 56 5 uses alternate hole Thread the appropriate leg into the required hole to a firm feel only Set aside the tripod leg that is not to be used 6 A small thumbscrew 6 Fig 16 is attached to both the standard and high latitude tripod legs Loosening the thumbscrew allows the outer section of the leg to slide over the inner section so that the leg can be extended ...
Page 18: ...sible with any 35mm camera body with a removable lens In this way the telescope effectively becomes the lens of the camera For through the telescope photography turn the flip mirror control 5 Fig 18 to the down position allowing light to pass straight through the telescope and out the photo port 15 Fig 1 With the flip mirror control in the down position and the photo port s dust cover removed you ...
Page 19: ...onal focusing screen available from the manufacturer for use with a long telephoto lens This screen provides a brighter and clearer image to focus and is highly recommended 4 Correct shutter speeds vary widely depending on lighting conditions and film used Trial and error is the best way to determine proper shutter speed in any given application Note The camera used with an ETX model may have an e...
Page 20: ...achable for all but the most dedicated of amateur astronomers AstroFinder Software 505 Cable Connector Kit With Meade AstroFinder software Fig 22 loaded into your PC Autostar equipped ETX 90EC ETX 105EC and ETX 125EC telescopes may be remotely controlled from the PC display The 505 Cable Connector Set permitting connection of ETX Autostar and PC is included with each AstroFinder package Eyepieces ...
Page 21: ...and 1247 Electric Focuser ETX 125EC Meade engineered for smooth rapid focusing with any ETX model each electric focuser Fig 29 includes coarse and micro fine speeds The standard equipment hand controller accepts one user supplied 9 volt battery and focuses the ETX telescope On the ETX models the focuser plugs into and is powered by the telescope s control panel with operation effected through eith...
Page 22: ...accumulate water condensation While such condensation does not normally cause any damage to the telescope it is recommended that the entire telescope be wiped down with a dry cloth before being packed away Do not however wipe any of the optical surfaces Rather simply allow the telescope to sit for some time in warm indoor air so that the wet optical surfaces can dry unattended In addition the dust...
Page 23: ... movement If all physical obstacles are removed and the telescope still does not move properly turn off the power and unplug the Electronic Controller Plug the Electronic Controller back in and turn the power back on Unable to see an image through the eyepiece Confirm that the lens cover has been removed from the telescope Confirm that the flip mirror control 14 Fig 1 is in the up position if usin...
Page 24: ...ks are tight see TELESCOPE CONTROLS page 8 Telescope does not move past a certain point The built in vertical or horizontal rotational stops may have been reached see NOTE with bullet page 6 Telescope pauses when changing slew direction This pause is normal see ARROW KEYS page 8 A terrestrial object appears reversed left for right An eyepiece in the standard 90 observing position 4 Fig 1 reverses ...
Page 25: ...nting fork type double tine Setting circle diameters Dec 3 81 RA 7 8 Input voltage 12 volts DC Motor Drive System DC servo motors with encoders both axes Slow Motion Controls electric 4 speed both axes Optional Autostar Capability yes Hemispheres of operation North and South switchable Bearings Altitude ball bearings Azimuth PTFE thrust bearing and radial ball bearing Materials Tube body aluminum ...
Page 26: ...l If the object you re tracking is moving faster than the sidereal rate look through the eyepiece and continue to press the IN key until the object remains centered with little or no drifting in the eyepiece Note The tracking rate can be increased by up to 65 127 presses of the IN key 4 To use a rate slower than sidereal press the OUT key 6 Fig 3 until light 4 blinks again sidereal rate Press the ...
Page 27: ...bon Portugal 39 N London England 51 N Madrid Spain 40 N Oslo Norway 60 N Paris France 49 N Rome Italy 42 N Stockholm Sweden 59 N Vienna Austria 48 N Warsaw Poland 52 N Star Locator Following is a list of bright stars with their R A and Dec coordinates along with the Northern hemisphere season when these stars are prominent in the night sky This list will aid the observer to find alignment stars at...
Page 28: ...rated level the optical tube 5 Fig 1 so that it is parallel to the drive base Loosen the smooth knob covering the Dec setting circle until the setting circle moves freely Reposition the setting circle so that the 0 setting aligns with the Dec pointer 5 Fig 16 Retighten the Dec knob Right Ascension Setting Circle Since celestial objects move in R A the R A setting circle Fig 32 must be reset as eac...
Page 29: ...th and is best observed during its crescent or half phase when Sunlight strikes the Moon s surface at an angle It casts shadows and adds a sense of depth to the view Fig 33 No shadows are seen during a full Moon causing the overly bright Moon to appear flat and rather uninteresting through the telescope Be sure to use a neutral Moon filter when observing the Moon Not only does it protect your eyes...
Page 30: ...assemblies of stars nebulae and star clusters that are bound by gravity The most common shape is spiral such as our own Milky Way but galaxies can also be elliptical or even irregular blobs The Andromeda Galaxy M31 is the closest spiral type galaxy to our own This galaxy appears fuzzy and cigar shaped It is 2 2 million light years away in the constellation Andromeda TIPS FOR BEGINNERS Further Stud...
Page 31: ... from state to state Meade reserves the right to change product specifications or to discontinue products without notice This warranty supersedes all previous Meade product warranties WARNING This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a CLASS B digital device pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful ...
Page 32: ...N C E D P R O D U C T S D I V I S I O N Meade Instruments Corporation World s Leading Manufacturer of Astronomical Telescopes for the Serious Amateur 6001 Oak Canyon Irvine California 92618 949 451 1450 FAX 949 451 1460 www meade com 2001 ...
