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Instruction Manual

8", 10", 12", 14", 16" LX200GPS Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes
7" LX200GPS Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope
with Autostar II Hand Controller

Meade Instruments Corporation

Summary of Contents for LX200GPS

Page 1: ...Instruction Manual 8 10 12 14 16 LX200GPS Schmidt Cassegrain Telescopes 7 LX200GPS Maksutov Cassegrain Telescope with Autostar II Hand Controller Meade Instruments Corporation...

Page 2: ...ray light rays The Meade Schmidt Cassegrain Optical System 8 25 7 Primary Baffle Tube Secondary Baffle Field Stops Primary Mirror f 2 5 Focal Plane The Meade 7 178mm Maksutov Cassegrain Optical System...

Page 3: ...he Moon Menu 61 Appendix F 16 LX200GPS Features 62 Appendix G 14 LX200GPS Features 66 Appendix H De rotater and Microfocuser Assembly 67 Appendix I Smart Mount 68 Basic Astronomy 70 CONTENTS WARNING N...

Page 4: ...o not overtighten Remove the spreader bar see above figure from the shipping carton Slide the spreader bar onto the threaded rod Slide the rod through the tripod base Position the spreader bar so that...

Page 5: ...utostar II handbox 9 Press the Power Switch on the computer control panel to the ON position The copyright message lights on Autostar II s LCD display Slew Speeds Speed 9 Fast Speed 5 Medium Speed 1 S...

Page 6: ...RES Autostar II Hand Controller See page 9 not shown on left fork arm 6 Fig 1 The LX200GPS Telescope Computer Control Panel inset Autostar II Handbox inset B c d f e g h i j 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2...

Page 7: ...ries total J Primary Mirror Lock Rotate this knob towards the Lock position and adjust the tension to a firm feel this action serves to lock in the coarse focus and also to pre vent mirror flop Use in...

Page 8: ...lescope Verify that any dew that might have collected during the observing session has evaporated prior to replacing the dust cover 1 Optical Tube The main optical component that gathers the light fro...

Page 9: ...than 145 000 objects stored in the object library including Library of Objects New General Catalog NGC 7 840 Index Catalog IC 5 386 Messier Catalog M 110 Caldwell Catalog 109 Named Objects 227 Hersch...

Page 10: ...slew move the telescope to the coordinates of the cur rently selected object While the telescope is slewing the operation may be aborted at any time by pressing any key except GO TO Pressing GO TO ag...

Page 11: ...cord into the HBX port 13F Fig 1 of the computer control panel of the telescope and the other end into the Autostar II coil cord port See j above 1 Utility Light Use this built in red light to illumi...

Page 12: ...r has been removed for shipment To install first remove the threaded rod 2 Fig 3 from the tripod head 1 Fig 3 a small piece of plastic holds the threaded rod in place Remove the small plastic bag that...

Page 13: ...the HBX port 13F Fig 1 Note The Autostar II handbox and the microfocuser do not require bat teries the telescope supplies their power 4 Attach microfocuser Remove the dust cap from the rear cell port...

Page 14: ...the Unlock position until it feels loose the tele scope is shipped with the mirror locked 7 Remove dust cover Remove the dust cover 18 Fig 1 from the optical tube assembly 19 Fig 1 by gently prying it...

Page 15: ...iewfinder eyepiece Fig 12 and loosen or tighten as appro priate one or more of the viewfinder collimation screws Fig 12 until the viewfinder crosshairs are precisely centered on the object you previou...

Page 16: ...s than during late afternoon hours Observing Using Autostar II s Arrow Keys You may observe land and astronomical objects using Autostar II s Arrow keys to move the telescope 1 Tighten the R A and Dec...

Page 17: ...ired speed Or press one of the following Number keys after pressing the Focus key to change the speed Key Speed Key Speed 1 or 2 Fine 6 or 7 Medium 3 4 or 5 Slow 8 or 9 Fastest 8 Use the Arrow keys to...

Page 18: ...s avail able for each level Press the Arrow keys 5 Fig 2 to enter characters and digits The Arrow keys are also used to move the telescope Use the Number keys to enter digits Automatic Alignment Featu...

Page 19: ...see SLEW SPEEDS page 17 for more information until the star is visible and centered in the eyepiece The alignment star should be easily recognized and be the brightest star in the area of the sky wher...

Page 20: ...r II then automatically moves the telescope so that it tracks Saturn or whatever other object you may have chosen i e Saturn remains centered in the eyepiece Using the Guided Tour The Guided Tour feat...

Page 21: ...el and solid it must have a minimum of three legs Autostar II makes gravitational measurements to make a precise deter mination of true level Finding True North Locating True North is one of the most...

Page 22: ...ks the following exercise cal culates Sunset time so an evening observing session can be planned To Calculate Sunset time 1 Press the MODE key several times until Select Item Object is displayed 2 Pre...

Page 23: ...move up and down through the options or lists Press the Arrow keys to move the cursor across the display Press the Help key to access on line help Tip When multiple choices are available within a menu...

Page 24: ...Park Position Calibrate Home Anti Backlash Train Drive Calibrate Sensors Tracking Rate Guiding Rate Reverse L R Reverse Up Dn Home Sensors GPS Alignment R A PEC Dec PEC High Precision Targets Astrono...

Page 25: ...tly using the Autostar II hot keys Caldwell key 2 Messier catalog 3 Solar System 5 IC 8 and NGC 9 To slew the telescope to catalog objects Enter the catalog number of the object using the Number keys...

Page 26: ...the Perseids the Leonids etc Also lists the dates of the showers and when they reach maximum Note Meteors are fast moving objects that cover large areas of the sky and are usually best observed with t...

Page 27: ...hen ON is displayed press ENTER to activate the alarm When the alarm time arrives Autostar II beeps Press ENTER to deacti vate the alarm Eyepiece Calc Calculates information about an eyepiece for the...

Page 28: ...me on that date See EVENT MENU page 26 Time Changes the time entered into Autostar II Setting the correct time is critical for Autostar II to properly calculate locations and events Time may be set to...

Page 29: ...by entering a number from 0 to 199 This sets the backlash in the way the Arrow keys move the telescope along an axis If you enter a value near 199 telescope responds more quickly as you hold down an A...

Page 30: ...tes see ADD below Press ENTER when the site you wish to select displays Use this option when you move to a different geo graphic location Add Allows you to add new observing sites to the database Scro...

Page 31: ...hange the speed see chart to the left Use the Up or Down Arrow keys to achieve fine focus of the object See page 17 for more information Reticle Control Menu Press Number key 7 to select this menu dir...

Page 32: ...u will need to know the latitude and longitude of your location to perform this pro cedure 1 Using the Add option choose a site on the list that is closest to your observing site and press ENTER so th...

Page 33: ...Use the Arrow keys as previously described to enter the name of the object you wish to add to the database When you are finished press ENTER 6 Right Asc 00 00 0 displays Use the Number keys to enter t...

Page 34: ...atellite orbits change and new satellites including the Space Shuttle are launched Visit the Meade website www meade com approximately once a month to get updated information and instructions on how t...

Page 35: ...O to slew the telescope to the landmark 4 Press MODE to exit To perform a Landmark Survey This procedure allows you to perform a tour of the objects entered in the Object Landmark menu option note tha...

Page 36: ...meters displays Press ENTER 3 Edit Parameters Largest mins displays Mins stands for arc minutes Press ENTER 4 Largest mins and a value displays Using the Number keys enter a size in arc minutes Autost...

Page 37: ...ve has been performed How to perform the Easy Align Procedure 1 Alignment Option Screen Following initialization Align Automatic displays 2 Select Alignment Press the Scroll keys until Align Easy disp...

Page 38: ...ible in the eyepiece after the telescope finish es its search This some times occurs during an alignment procedure Press GO TO when the slew is finished and the telescope starts slewing in a spiral pa...

Page 39: ...verwrites any previous PEC data 1 Select Train from the Dec PEC menu in the Setup Telescope menu and press ENTER 2 Look through the reticle Use the Arrow keys to keep the star centered in the reticle...

Page 40: ...amera body mounted to the LX200GPS photo port the telescope can only be rotated vertically about 45 Moving past this point may damage the telescope and camera 2 Use a cable operated shutter release To...

Page 41: ...O D 83 0 81 40 1 67 50 1 34 40mm 2 O D 67 1 00 32 2 09 40 1 67 Ultra Wide Angle Eyepieces 8 elements 1 25 O D except as noted 4 7mm 568 0 15 272 0 31 340 0 25 6 7mm 399 0 21 191 0 44 239 0 35 8 8mm 1...

Page 42: ...d 2 O D eyepieces e g Meade Series 4000 Super Wide 32mm and 40mm eyepieces and others Each diagonal includes a Meade optical flat mirror of Pyrex glass aluminized and multi coated Diagonal mirrors and...

Page 43: ...The effect is that even during the longest CCD or photographic exposures the telescope acts as if it were precisely equatorially mounted 1222 Field De rotater For use with the 16 LX200GPS Plugs into a...

Page 44: ...o sit for some time in the warm indoor air so that the wet optical surfaces can dry unattended f If your LX200GPS is not to be used for an extended period perhaps for one month or more it is advisable...

Page 45: ...Using the Autostar II s Arrow keys at the slowest slew speed move the defocused image to the edge of the eyepiece field of view 2 Fig 31a in the same direc tion as the darker shadow is offset in the...

Page 46: ...mical object through the telescope s eyepiece with the telescope aligned and with the motor drive on If the object remains stationary in the field of view your telescope is operating properly If not c...

Page 47: ...bservation site and preexisting condition of the telescope The fan should be activated at the beginning of the observation ses sion to accelerate the temperature stabilization As soon as the optics ha...

Page 48: ...perture 305mm 12 Focal length 3048mm Focal ratio photographic speed f 10 Resolving power 0 375 arc sec Coatings Meade EMC Super Multi Coatings Mounting Cast aluminum double tine forks Gears 5 75 dia w...

Page 49: ...ection Both axes Alignment Altazimuth or equatorial w optional pier Pointing Precision 2 arc minutes in GO TO mode Slew Speeds 1x sidereal to 8 sec in 9 increments Power 18v power supply Tripod Variab...

Page 50: ...s 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...

Page 51: ...cating and centering objects after the setting circles have been used to locate the approximate position of the object Pinpoint application of the setting circles requires that the telescope be precis...

Page 52: ...s ENTER Autostar II now prompts you to set the telescope in the polar home position a Using the bubble level of the wedge adjust the tripod legs so that the bub ble is level b Set the wedge to your ob...

Page 53: ...rocedure particularly if the pole star is not visible sometimes better known as the Drift method 1 Obtain a rough polar alignment as described earlier Place the illuminated reticle eyepiece or eyepiec...

Page 54: ...order to select any of Autostar II s three polar alignment options you must first select Polar in the Mount option of the Setup Telescope menu Surf the Web One of the most exciting resources for astro...

Page 55: ...York New York 41 N Oklahoma City Oklahoma 35 N Ottawa Ontario 45 N Philadelphia Pennsylvania 40 N Phoenix Arizona 33 N Portland Oregon 46 N Salt Lake City Utah 41 N San Antonio Texas 29 N San Diego C...

Page 56: ...enter ing the object s R A and Dec coordinates The tour is presented in one of two modes Automatic Mode The title of an object appears on first line and descriptive text scrolls on line 2 Interactive...

Page 57: ...nd description USER ra dec title string description string This command line allows you to access a specific object with your own description Enter USER then the R A and Dec of a desired object and it...

Page 58: ...the tour proceeds on to the next object DEEP SKY name Enter DEEP SKY followed by the name of the desired object in quotes For example DEEP SKY Small Magellanic Cloud CONSTELLATION name Enter CONSTELLA...

Page 59: ...udents would have to manually slew to the last two objects He would then place AUTO SLEW ON before his first required object and AUTO SLEW OFF after the fourth object END To end a tour type the comman...

Page 60: ...nual gives only the briefest introduction to astron omy If you are interested in pursuing further studies in astronomy a few topics are suggested below that are worth reading up on Try looking up some...

Page 61: ...GO TO The telescope slews to the Moon 5 With Moon Overview on Autostar II s display use the Scroll keys to browse through the menus options Five categories of features are available Landing Sites Crat...

Page 62: ...the filter by removing the four bolts holding the grill The fan also has a filter but this filter keeps dust out of the OTA while the fan is off it should not need replacing The AUX Power option in t...

Page 63: ...super giant field tripod in the altazimuth altitude azimuth or vertical hori zontal format The telescope also can be mounted on a permanent pier in the equatorial format which is set for the latitude...

Page 64: ...he fork base Remove the plate Note the DB 15 plug under the fork base d Connect the DB 15 plug to the DB 15 connector underneath the plate Tighten the two thumbscrews onto the connector to a firm feel...

Page 65: ...use lights and car head lights While this is not always possible the darker the site the better Give your eyes about ten minutes to adjust to the darkness before observing Give your eyes a rest from o...

Page 66: ...in serious injury or death Caution On the rear section of the optical tube is a red slot head bolt used only for safety reasons in shipment Remove this bolt before attempting to turn the focus knob I...

Page 67: ...cope 1 With the de rotater on a flat surface thread on the adapter ring B Fig 6 until it just touches the housing then back off the adapter ring i e turn it counter clock wise one full revolution as s...

Page 68: ...aining Smart Mount Once training has been completed you will save your model Autostar II allows you to save several models under different names This allows you to for example save one model for a hea...

Page 69: ...ll further refine the pointing of your telescope Save your model after running in update mode otherwise the update will be lost when the telescope is powered off On Load a model from memory see SAVE A...

Page 70: ...Glossary menu provides an alphabetical listing of definitions and descriptions of common astronomical terms Access directly through the Glossary menu or through hypertext words embedded in Autostar II...

Page 71: ...e of a house The major division in Saturn s rings called the Cassini Division is occasionally visi ble through the LX200GPS Titan the largest of Saturn s moons can also be seen as a bright star like o...

Page 72: ...covered under separate warranties issued by Meade international distributors RGA Number Required Prior to the return of any product or part a Return Goods Authorization RGA number must be obtained fro...

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