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14

10. Secure the eyepieces in place with their respective thumbsrews.

Tip:

Always start observing using a low power eyepiece to get a nice wide field of view.

Later on you can change to high power, if so desired. But high powered eyepieces have
a much narrower field of view and it’s more difficult to locate objects using high powered
eyepieces.

11. You can focus the eyepieces by turning the focus knob.

Tip:

The focus knob has a very fine focus, so you may have to turn the knob 20 com-

plete turns or more to focus on an object.

Connect the AutoStar Handbox

12. Lift the battery cover. Now gently remove the battery holder from the compartment so

you don’t accidentally pull out the wires attached to the holder. Insert 6 user supplied
“AA” batteries in the holder. Refer to the diagram on the holder to orient the batteries
properly. Replace the holder back into the battery compartment and replace the lid.

13.

Make sure that the computer control panel power switch is in the OFF position. Remove

AutoStar from the packing materials and plug it into the HBX port.

14. Flip the Power Switch on the computer control panel to the ON position. The copyright

message lights on AutoStar’s LCD display.

15.

Press the key prompted by AutoStar to accept the Sun warning.

Stowing your Gear in the Backpack

First disassemble the telescope assembly.
1.

Loosen the vertical lock. Now move the tube to an upright position so that it is pointing
straight up through the fork arms and re-tighten the vertical lock.

2.

Loosen the bolts on the underside of the tripod base, rotate the telescope counterclock-
wise, and lift the telescope off of the tripod. Now remove the bolts from the base.

3.

Unscrew the dew shield. Thread the dust cover over the end of the telescope. Then flip
the dewshield over and place it over the end of the tube.

4.

Next, close and lock the tripod: Hold the tripod by its handle and turn the locking ring to
loosen the tripod mechanism.

5.

Lift the locking ring as far as it will go. Turn the locking ring to tighten the tripod in place.

Caution:

Be careful not to close the tripod legs on your fingers.

Now, place the accessories and telescope into the backpack.
6.

Put the eyepiece container into the provided pouches in the accessory compartment with
the “lip” at the top.

7.

Place the bolts, prism into their respective pouches. Zip up the accessory compartment.

8

Stow the ETX telescope in your backpack. Use the velcro tape inside of the backpack to
further secure it in place. Place the AutoStar handbox into the lower section of the pack.

9.

Zip up the pack.

10. Slide the tripod under the loops on the pack so that the feet will face downward when

you carry the pack. Secure the tripod using the loop lock: Hold the knot with one hand

and move the lock down toward the tripod with your other hand.

Safety Precautions

• 

Take care not to allow the telescope to be jolted severely while hiking.

• 

Try not to run for any significant distance. Don’t toss the telescope in the pack on the
ground. Excessive vibrations may damage the telescope.

• 

The backpack is made of water-resistant material, but isn’t waterproof. Some areas, such
as the zipper seam might allow rain to penetrate and cause damage to the 
telescope.

Fig 10. Focus knob.

Fig 11. Insert batteries.

Fig 12. Plug AutoStar into the
HBX port of the computer 
control panel.

Fig 13. Thread the dust cover
onto the tube.

Fig 14. The dewshield.

Fig 15. Secure the telescope
in the backpack using the 
velcro strap.

Summary of Contents for ETX-80AT

Page 1: ...Instruction Manual ETX 80AT BB Backpack Observatory MEADE COM...

Page 2: ......

Page 3: ...talled batteries void your Meade warranty If you are anxious to use your telescope for the first time read the QUICK START GUIDE on page 4 Quick Start Guide 4 Telescope Features 6 AutoStar Features 10...

Page 4: ...olts over the key like holes on the base of the tripod and slide the bolts into the holes Rotate the telescope clockwise until the bolts fit into the hole bays Then reach under the tripod base and tig...

Page 5: ...opyright message lights on AutoStar s LCD display Step 15 Press the key prompted by AutoStar to accept the Sun warning Observe Step 16 You can now use the AutoStar Arrow keys to move the telescope up...

Page 6: ...e 7 Eyepiece holder thumbscrew 8 Fork arms 9 Optical tube 10 Objective lens cell 11 Dew shield 12 Dust cap 13 Vertical lock 14 Horizontal lock 15 Focus knob 16 Computer control panel A HBX port B LED...

Page 7: ...e computer control panel A HBX port B LED C On Off D AUX port Fig 3 The tripod 21 AutoStar 22 Tripod bubble level 23 Base 24 Handle 25 Adjustable legs 26 Locking ring 27 Leg braces accessory holders 2...

Page 8: ...ig 1 H Eyepiece Holder Thumbscrew Secures the eyepiece Tighten to a firm feel only I Fork Arms Hold the optical tube in place J Optical Tube The main optical component that gathers the light from dist...

Page 9: ...ted to the eyepiece in the 90 eyepiece holder 5 Fig 1 With the flip mirror control in the down position light is diverted through the rear cell port 4 Fig 1 for use with the the 45 prism and eyepiece...

Page 10: ...f any celestial object Take a guided tour of the best celestial objects to view on any given night of the year Download the latest satellite data and software revisions directly from the Meade website...

Page 11: ...ain to return to the previous menu e GOTO Key Moves the telescope to the coordinates of the currently selected object While the telescope is moving or slewing the operation may be stopped at any time...

Page 12: ...E to return to the original screen and continue with the chosen procedure I Coil Cord not visible in diagram Plug the AutoStar coil cord into the HBX port A Fig 1 of the computer control panel of the...

Page 13: ...ide of the tele scope base Fig 7 5 Line up the bolts over the key like holes on the base of the tripod and slide the bolts into the holes Fig 8 Rotate the telescope clockwise until the bolts fit into...

Page 14: ...he tripod Now remove the bolts from the base 3 Unscrew the dew shield Thread the dust cover over the end of the telescope Then flip the dewshield over and place it over the end of the tube 4 Next clos...

Page 15: ...sume you are using a 25mm eye piece The focal length of the ETX 80AT BB is 400mm see SPECIFICATIONS page 36 Telescope Focal Length Eyepiece Focal Length Magnification 400mm 25mm 16 The eyepiece power...

Page 16: ...practice using the AutoStar s Arrow keys to center the object in the telescope s field of view Use the tele scope s focus knob 15 Fig 1 to bring the object into focus This procedure demonstrates just...

Page 17: ...also learn how the AutoStar keypad operates in order to move through the AutoStar menus Moving Through AutoStar s Menus The AutoStar database is organized in levels for quick and easy navigation Pres...

Page 18: ...alized Initialization is a pro cedure that ensures that AutoStar oper ates correctly When you first use AutoStar it doesn t yet know where the observa tion location site is what your model number is A...

Page 19: ...ul when the telescope slews to an object but that object is not visible in the eyepiece after the tele scope finishes it search This sometimes occurs during an alignment procedure Press GO TO when the...

Page 20: ...to page through the menus Keep pressing until Select Item Guided Tour displays 3 Press ENTER Guided Tour Tonight s Best displays Press ENTER 4 Tonight s Best Searching displays After calculating Toni...

Page 21: ...ox 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 Magnification S...

Page 22: ...st level Select Item Object AutoStar Navigation Exercise To demonstrate how the AutoStar menu structure works the following exercise calculates Sunset time so an evening observing session can be plann...

Page 23: ...oll through numbers 0 9 and the alphabet The Down Arrow key begins with the letter A the Up Arrow key begins with digit 9 To move the cursor across the display N Use the Right or Left Arrow key 5 Fig...

Page 24: ...PS satellites and geosynchronous orbit satellites User Objects allows the user to define and store in memory deep sky objects of specific inter est that are not currently in the Autostar database See...

Page 25: ...u or through hypertext words embedded in Autostar A hypertext word is any word in brack ets usually found when using the Autostar Help function or when reading a scrolling message such as a descriptio...

Page 26: ...tar begins with the Date display N Sun Warning Turns the Sun Warning message on or off N Getting Started Turns the Getting Started message on or off Brightness Adj Adjusts the brightness of the displa...

Page 27: ...axis N Train Drive Trains the Altitude and Azimuth motors to locate objects with more precision If you are experiencing any problems with pointing accuracy follow the procedure described in APPENDIX C...

Page 28: ...ays Use this option when you move to a different geographic location N Add Allows you to add new observing sites to the database up to six sites may be stored Scroll through the list of Countries Stat...

Page 29: ...g makes it easy to locate objects and keep them centered in the telescope s eyepiece Alignment Mount The telescope s mount permits the movement of the telescope in both Altitude vertically and Azimuth...

Page 30: ...an exciting challenge Most satellites are in low orbit traveling at approximately 17 500 mph They move quickly across the sky and are visible only for a few minutes requiring AutoStar to slew the tele...

Page 31: ...eep it as close to the eyepiece as possible and center the image to be photographed to minimize vignetting darkening of the edges of the photo Try to block ambient light from street lights house etc f...

Page 32: ...on Easy to use with real time display of object on your PC screen Just center focus and shoot Magic Eye software assisted focusing Automatic and manual exposure control from 001 to 15 seconds up to 45...

Page 33: ...dating of Earth satellite or other celestial object positions This kit is included with each AstroFinder Software package Eyepieces 1 25 barrel diameter For higher or lower magnifications Meade 4 elem...

Page 34: ...isable to remove the six AA size batteries from inside the drive base Batteries left installed for prolonged periods may leak causing damage to the telescope s electronic cir cuitry See TELESCOPE ASSE...

Page 35: ...d Still unable to see an image through the eyepiece Confirm that the dust cap has been removed from the telescope Confirm that the flip mirror control 20 Fig 1 is in the up position Fig 4a if using th...

Page 36: ...ture 80mm 2 76 Focal length 400mm Focal ratio photographic speed f 4 4 Near focus approx 17 ft 5 2m Resolving power 1 6 arc secs Multi coatings on objective lens Standard Limiting visual stellar magni...

Page 37: ...y 512KB reloadable Keypad 10 key alphanumeric Display 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...

Page 38: ...ntil Object User Object displays and press ENTER 4 User Object Select displays Press the Scroll Down key once User Object Add dis plays Press ENTER 5 Name displays on the top line and a blinking curso...

Page 39: ...aw Poland 52 N SOUTH AMERICA City Country Latitude Asuncion Paraguay 25 S Brasilia Brazil 24 S Buenos Aires Argentina 35 S Montevideo Uruguay 35 S Santiago Chile 34 S ASIA City Country Latitude Beijin...

Page 40: ...training 7 8 9 10 11 Reminder to use terrestrial target Center target using Arrow keys ENTER Verify that AUTOSTAR INITIALIZATION is complete Press MODE until Select Item is displayed 1 2 Further Stud...

Page 41: ...to make use of AutoStar s Glossary feature The Glossary menu provides an alpha betical listing of definitions and descriptions of common astronomical terms Access directly through the Glossary menu o...

Page 42: ...sion is occasionally visible through the ETX 80AT BB Titan the largest of Saturn s 18 moons can also be seen as a bright star like object near the planet Deep Sky Objects Star charts can be used to lo...

Page 43: ......

Page 44: ...a Return Goods Authorization RGA number must be obtained from Meade by writing or calling 949 451 1450 Each returned part or product must include a written statement detailing the nature of the claim...

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