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Third, be sure the date, time, and site are accurately entered.
Fourth, make sure the telescope axis locks are firmly engaged
to prevent slippage of the internal clutch. Fifth, telescope training
must be accurate. Repeat very carefully all of the steps to train the
telescope. Last, the alignment procedure must be done accurately.
Make sure each step is done carefully and that alignment stars are
centered.
Synchronize Function: To improve the ability of AudioStar to
find objects, a “sync” function is included to make minor alignment
corrections. If an object is not centered in the eyepiece, press and
hold ENTER for two seconds. AudioStar requests that the selected
object be centered, then press ENTER again. This improves the
accuracy of alignment, particularly in the region of sky immediately
around the “sync” object.
Telescope Status Display: This is activated by pressing MODE for
more than 2 seconds. The screen shows values related to AudioStar
operation, and can be viewed by using the SCROLL keys.
The telescope can also be pointed at a particular location using
the ARROW keys and watching a location display. For automatic
movement of the telescope, press GO TO during a location display.
AudioStar requests the destination coordinates to be entered. Enter
the coordinates, then press ENTER. AudioStar moves the telescope
to that location. To exit the status display, press MODE.
AudioStar Menus and Function Reference
This section discusses each of the AudioStar menus and functions
(see Figure 1). To access any of the functions use the ENTER,
MODE and SCROLL keys as in previous operations.
A. Object Menu Options
The “Select Item: Object” menu contains a database of objects for
viewing, including astronomical, terrestrial and user-defined objects.
When an object has been selected it appears on the top line of the
screen. The bottom line contains information about the object which
is viewed using the SCROLL keys. Press GO TO and the telescope
points at the current object.
Solar System includes eight planets (Earth is not included) in order
out from the Sun, followed by the Moon, asteroids, and comets.
Constellation is a database of all 88 northern and southern
hemisphere constellations. When this menu option is chosen and a
constellation name appears on the first line of the screen, pressing
GO TO changes the second line to the name of the brightest star
in the constellation. Pressing GO TO again moves the telescope to
that star. Use the SCROLL keys to cycle through the stars in the
constellation 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 by different categories such as named,
double, variable, or nearby.
Satellite is a database of Earth-orbiting objects such as the
International Space Station, the Hubble Space Telescope, and
other satellites. This feature is recommended for advanced users
only since acquiring and tracking a fast moving object can be
complicated. Additionally, AudioStar needs fresh satellite data or it is
unable to accurately predict the appearance time and location. The
Meade web site (www.meade.com) provides updated information
on orbits and complete instructions on how to use this feature.
