17
Automatic Alignment
1.
When you slide the On/Off switch to “On” on your telescope’s computer control panel,
a version screen briefly appears, followed by “Welcome to AutoStar.”
2.
The screen displays “Press 0 to align or Mode for Menu.” Press “0” if you wish to
begin Automatic alignment, or press Mode if you wish to choose a manual alignment
method. Press “0” to begin Automatic Alignment.
3.
“Location Option: 1 - Zipcode 2 - City” displays.
Note:
You will have to enter your location only once; the next time you use
AutoStar, you will not be asked this information. If you wish to change your
observing site, go to the “Site” menu, which can be found under the Setup menu.
If you press “1”, enter the digits of your zip code using the Number keys. After you
enter the last digit, the Daylight Savings screen appears.
If you press “2,” a list of states/countries appears. Use the Scroll keys to scroll through
the list. When your state or country displays, press ENTER. Then a list of cities
appears. Use the Scroll keys to scroll to the city that is closest to your observing site.
When the city displays, press ENTER.
4.
Daylight Savings displays. Press “1” if you are in Daylight Saving Time or press “2” if
you are not.
5.
“Automatic Align” and a scrolling message displays, prompting you to set the tele-
scope in the “home position:”
Loosen the horizontal (R.A.) lock and grasp a telescope fork arm. Rotate the
telescope counterclockwise until it stops—this is the hard stop. Re-tighten the hori-
zontal lock. Make sure the vertical (Dec.) lock is also locked. Press
ENTER.
Important Note:
The home position for Automatic Alignment
is different
than the
home position used with One Star and Two Star Alt/az alignments. See page 36 for
setting the Home Position during One Star and Two Star Altaz
alignments.
6.
The telescope now finds the level and tilt position of the telescope, and also detects
where true North is.
Note:
It does not actually level or tilt the telescope or point to North, it is just
detecting these positions. This make take a minute or two.
6.
Once the level, tilt and North are detected, the telescope will “Go To” 2 alignment
stars. The telescope will go to these stars in order to orient itself to the sky. Once it
has done this, it will be able to point to any of the more than 30,000 stars in its data-
base.
“Automatic Alignment: Selecting Star” and “Slewing” display. Finally, when it is close
to the alignment star, “Center Brightest Star: Press ENTER” displays. Use the Arrow
keys to center the alignment star in the eyepiece. The alignment star will be the bright-
est star in that area of the sky (and hence, “brightest star”). When the alignment star
is centered, press ENTER.
Note:
If you press the “?” key while “Ctr Brightest Star” displays, the alignment star
that AutoStar has chosen will display. For example, “Arcturus: Press ENTER” may dis-
play.
Definition:
Alignment
is a
procedure that makes sure
that AutoStar operates
correctly. When you first
use AutoStar, it doesn't yet
know where the
observation location site is.
AutoStar also needs to
know the time and date,
which is set at the factory
and may also be reset
using Meade’s optional
Atomic Clock Update
Module accessory.
AutoStar uses this
information (along with
detecting tilt, level and
North) to precisely
calculate the location of
celestial objects (such as
stars and planets) and to
move your telescope
correctly for various
operations.
Fig. 22:
The vertical lock.
Fig. 23:
The horizontal
lock.
Fig. 24 [top view]: Rotate the
telescope tube counterclock-
wise until it stops.
Spiral Search
This is a really hot tip: The GO TO key also allows you to perform a "spiral
search." A spiral search is useful when the telescope slews to an object, but that
object is not yet visible in the eyepiece after the telescope finishes its search. (This
sometimes occurs during an alignment procedure.)
If you wish to use the spiral search, press GO TO when the telescope stops slew-
ing. The telescope will begin to move in a spiral pattern at a very slow speed around
the search area. When the object does become visible in the eyepiece, press
MODE to stop the spiral search. Then use the Arrow keys to center the object.
ETX TIPS
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Summary of Contents for ETX series AutoStar
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