Meade 4504 Instruction Manual
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Meade 4504 Instruction Manual

4.5" (114mm) equatorial reflecting telescope with starfinder electronic hand controller
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Instruction Manual
Meade Model 4504
4.5" (114mm) Equatorial Reflecting Telescope
With Starfinder Electronic Hand Controller
Meade Instruments Corporation

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Summary of Contents for Meade 4504

  • Page 1 Instruction Manual Meade Model 4504 4.5" (114mm) Equatorial Reflecting Telescope With Starfinder Electronic Hand Controller Meade Instruments Corporation...
  • Page 2 Starfinder database. ® The name "Meade" and the Meade logo are trademarks registered with the U.S. Patent Office and in principal countries throughout the world. All rights reserved. ©...

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    How to Assemble Your Telescope ...8 Lesson 2: Balancing the Telescope ...10 Lesson 3: Aligning the Viewfinder ...10 Lesson 4: Observing by Moving the Telescope Manually ...11 Observe the World Around You...13 Lesson 5: Using Starfinder's Arrow Keys ...13 Motor Drive System and Starfinder Handbox Installation ...13 Activate the Arrow Keys ...14...
  • Page 4 Fig. 1: Parts included in the Meade Model 4504 Giftbox. page 4...

  • Page 5: Part One: The Basics Lesson 1: Unpacking And Assembly

    PART ONE: The Basics LESSON 1: Unpacking and Assembly As you unpack your telescope, carefully note the following parts. The bolded numbers in parentheses on this page refer to the photos on page 4. Telescope Assembly • Equatorial mount (1) with a pre-attached heavy duty, continuously adjustable aluminum tripod with leg braces •...
  • Page 6 Fig. 2a: The Meade Model 4504 4.5" Equatorial Reflecting Telescope. Key to Figures 2a, 2b, and 2c 1. Equatorial mount 2. Optical tube assembly 3. Cradle rings 4. Viewfinder bracket 5. Viewfinder rubber eyepiece 6. 5 x 24 viewfinder 7. Viewfinder bracket thumbscrews 8.
  • Page 7 NOTE: The coiled cord that connects to the two motor drives has been omitted from the illustration for the sake of clarity. Fig. 2b: The Meade Model 4504 4.5" Equatorial Reflecting Telescope. Fig. 2c: The Meade Model 4504 4.5" Equatorial Reflecting Telescope. page 7...

  • Page 8: How To Assemble Your Telescope

    The accessories are located within compartments custom-cut into the styro- knob foam block inserts. Refer to Figures 1, 2a, 2b, and 2c for images of the parts and the overall assembly of the 4504 telescope. Threaded hole 1. Remove the components from the giftbox: Remove and identify the telescope’s Sliding standard equipment.
  • Page 9 8. Tilt the assembly: Unlock the R.A. lock (26, Fig. 2b) and the Dec lock (27, Fig. 2b) so that the telescope turns freely on both axes. Tilting these axes makes it easier for you to perform the following steps. Turn the latitude adjustment knob (16, Fig.

  • Page 10: Lesson 2: Balancing The Telescope

    LESSON 2: Balancing the Telescope In order for the telescope to be stable on the tripod and also for it to move smoothly, it must be balanced. To balance the telescope, you will unlock the Right Ascension or R.A. lock (26, Fig. 2b and Fig. 9a). When this axis is unlocked, the telescope pivots more or less horizontally on the mount.

  • Page 11: Lesson 4: Observing By Moving The Telescope Manually

    H 25mm is moving. supplied with the 4504. When the object is centered and focused in the eyepiece, switch to a higher power eyepiece to enlarge the image as much as practical for prevailing viewing conditions.
  • Page 12 Fig. 11: Motor drive system assembly. 1. R.A. Worm Shaft 2. (R.A. Axis) Plastic Adapter 3. Aluminum Shaft 4. Set Screw 5. Circular Housing containing notched plastic shaft 6. Battery Pack Connector page 12 Key to Figure 11 7. LED 8.

  • Page 13: Observe The World Around You

    R.A. and Dec locks. 4. Center the object in your eyepiece. Practice focusing with your eyepieces. 5. Once you get a feel for how your telescope moves and focuses, try to view something more challenging, like a bird or a distant moving train.

  • Page 14: Activate The Arrow Keys

    These prompts do not appear again, unless 6. Press the Arrow keys (5, Fig. 13) to slew (move) the telescope up, down, right, or you reset Starfinder left. You can slew (move) the telescope at different speeds.

  • Page 15: Observe The Moon

    Speed 1: Fastest speed to move the telescope from one point in the sky to another. Speeds 2 or 3: Best used for the rough centering of an object in the eyepiece. Speeds 4 or 5: Enables the centering an object in the field of a low-to-moderate power...

  • Page 16: Observe A Star Using The Automatic Tracking Feature

    4. "Targets: Terrestrial" displays. Press one of the Scroll keys once (6 or 7, Fig. 13). "Targets: Astronomical" now displays. 5. If you have not already done so, Polar align your telescope as described on page 6. Use the Arrow keys (5, Fig. 13) to locate a bright star in the night sky. Use the viewfinder to help line up on the star.

  • Page 17: Initializing Starfinder

    NOTE: See "STARFINDER CONTROLS," page 23, for a detailed description of Starfinder's Keys. 1. Make sure that the telescope is assembled correctly, and that the batteries and the motor drives are installed as described previously. 2. Plug Starfinder's cord into the HBX port, as previously described, or if Starfinder is already plugged in, unplug it briefly and then plug it back in again.
  • Page 18 Site option of the Setup menu. See "SITE," page 32, for detailed information. performing the Initialization procedure, you MUST train your drive. Continue to page 19. (00) Meade (1.0) S T A R F I N D E R Initializing. . . Enter Time:...

  • Page 19: Training The Drive

    11. "Center reference object" displays. Center your target object using the Arrow keys. When centered, press ENTER. 12. The telescope slews and "Press > until it is centered" displays. Press the Right Arrow key until the target is centered again. Then press ENTER.

  • Page 20: Align Your Telescope Using Starfinder

    Check Mount It is possible for the 4504 telescope to move in such a way that the telescope tube might interfere with the mount while slewing. Starfinder has a feature called "Check Mount" to alert you of this possibility.

  • Page 21: Go To Saturn

    After performing the Train the Drive and the One-Star alignment procedures, the motor drive begins operating and the telescope is aligned for a night of viewing. Objects in the eyepiece should maintain their position even though the Earth is rotating beneath the stars.

  • Page 22: Some Observation Tips

    This condition is caused by air turbulence in the upper atmosphere. You have now completed all the Lessons for the basic operation of your 4504 telescope. All of Starfinder's features perform in the same way as the features covered in Part 1.

  • Page 23: Part Two: Starfinder Controls And Menus

    • Starfinder's Menus Control of the 4504 is through the operation of the standard-equipment Starfinder handbox (Fig. 17). Nearly all functions of the telescope are accomplished with just a few pushes of Starfinder’s buttons. Some of the major features of Starfinder are: •...
  • Page 24 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 visible in the eyepiece after the telescope finishes it search. (This sometimes occurs during an alignment procedure.
  • Page 25 Speed/? Key: Briefly pressing the Speed/? key cycles through the seven slew speeds that move the telescope (see “Slew Speeds,” page 14). NOTE: Pressing the Speed/? key briefly changes the slew speed. Holding down the Speed/? key longer (one to two seconds) accesses the Help function.

  • Page 26: How Starfinder's Menus Work

    OBJECT Select from over 1400 database objects and press GO TO to move the telescope automatically to the object and place it in the telescopic field of view. SETUP Quick, easy alignment permits all telescope operations with only a 2-minute setup.
  • Page 27 Align One Star Start & Stop Alarm Two Star Date Time On & Off Eyepiece Calc. Daylight Saving Field of View Telescope Magnification Focal Length Az/Alt Ratio Suggest Display Options Train Drive Sun Warning Tracking Rate Reverse L/R Getting Started Brightness Adj.

  • Page 28: Starfinder Menus

    GO TO once to change the second line to the name of the brightest star in the constellation. Press GO TO a second time to slew the telescope to that star. Use the Scroll keys to cycle through the list of stars in the constellation, from brightest to dimmest.

  • Page 29: Event Menu

    3. Press ENTER to search the database for the identity of the object being observed. 4. If the telescope is not directly on a Starfinder database object, the nearest database object is located and displayed on the screen. Press GO TO and the telescope slews to that object.

  • Page 30: Utilities Menu

    Press ENTER to restart the survey at the first object on the list. Sleep Scope is a power saving option that shuts down Starfinder and the telescope without forgetting its alignment. Press ENTER to activate the Sleep function.

  • Page 31: Setup Menu

    Park Scope is designed for a telescope that is not moved between observing ses- sions. Align the telescope one time, then use this function to park the telescope. Next time it is powered up, enter the correct date and time – and no alignment is required.
  • Page 32 "ENTER to Sync." Center the star in the eyepiece, then press ENTER. At that point the telescope has a high precision alignment to that part of the sky and it then slews to the object that was originally requested.

  • Page 33: Part Three: Caring For Your Telescope

    Mount and Tripod Adjustments Every Meade 4504 Telescope equatorial mount and tripod is factory inspected for proper fit and function prior to shipment. It is unlikely that you will need to adjust or tighten these parts after receipt of the telescope. However, if the instrument received unusually rough handling in shipment, it is possible that some of these assemblies can be loose.

  • Page 34: Collimation (Alignment) Of The Optics

    Correct collimation The properly collimated (aligned) mirror system in the Meade 4504 Telescope assures the sharpest images possible. This occurs when the primary mirror and diagonal mir- ror are tilted so that the focused image (Fig. 22) falls directly through the center of the focuser drawtube.
  • Page 35 refine the tilt-angle of the diagonal mirror until the entire primary mirror can be seen centered within the diagonal mirror reflection. When the diagonal mirror is correctly aligned, it will look like Fig. 28 (the primary mirror is shown out of alignment). Primary mirror adjustments If the diagonal mirror (1, Fig.
  • Page 36 With the collimation performed, you will want to test the accuracy of the alignment on a star. Use the H 25mm eyepiece and point the telescope at a moderately bright (sec- ond or third magnitude) star, then center the star image in the telescope’s field-of-view.

  • Page 37: Specifications

    MODEL 4504 TELESCOPE SPECIFICATIONS Optical design ...Newtonian Reflector Clear aperture ...114mm (4.5”) Focal length ...910mm Focal ratio (photographic speed) ...f/8 Resolving power ...1.0 arc secs Multi-coatings on objective lens ...Standard Limiting visual stellar magnitude (approx.) ...12.4 Image scale ...1.6°/inch Maximum practical visual power ...325X Optical tube dimensions (dia.

  • Page 38: Appendix A: Calculating Eyepiece Power

    The focal length of the 4504 telescope is fixed at 910mm. To calculate the power in use with a particular eyepiece, divide the focal length of the eyepiece into the focal length of the main telescope.

  • Page 39: Appendix B:terrestrial Viewing, Celestial Movement, & Polar Alignment

    Polar Alignment Terrestrial Viewing The 4504 is an excellent, high-resolution terrestrial (land) telescope. Viewing terrestrial objects requires looking along the Earth's surface through heat waves. These heat waves often cause degradation of image quality. Low power eyepieces, like the H 25mm eyepiece, magnify these heat waves less than higher power eyepieces.

  • Page 40: Lining Up With The Celestial Pole

    The setting circles, R.A. (15, Fig. 2a) and Dec (9, Fig. 2a)of the Meade 4504 Telescope may be dialed, in effect, to read the object coor- dinates, and the object can be found without resorting to visual location techniques.
  • Page 41 Scroll keys to scroll to a star that you wish to align upon. Select a star that you can easily locate in the night sky. 3. Press ENTER. The telescope slews to the star for alignment. Use the Arrow keys to move the telescope until the star is visible and centered in the eyepiece.

  • Page 42: Appendix C: Using Starfinder To Enter Celestial Coordinates

    CD Roms, or magazines (such as Sky & Telescope or Astronomy), to find coordinates of celestial objects. A list of the coor- dinates of 14 common stars are printed at the end of this manual; see "STAR LOCA- TOR,"...

  • Page 43: Appendix D: Helpful Charts

    Latitude Chart for Major Cities of the World To aid in the Polar Alignment procedure (see "TO POLAR ALIGN THE TELESCOPE," page 15), latitudes of major cities around the world are listed below. To determine the latitude of an observing site not listed on the chart, locate the city closest to your site.

  • Page 44: Appendix E: Basic Astronomy

    Starfinder. See “GLOSSARY MENU," page 29, for more information. Objects in Space Listed below are some of the many astronomical objects that can be seen with the 4504: The Moon The Moon is, on average, a distance of 239,000 miles (380,000km) from Earth and is best observed during its crescent or half phase when Sunlight strikes the Moon’s...
  • Page 45 The major Solar System. division in Saturn's rings, called the Cassini Division, is occasionally visible through the 4504. 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 locate constellations, individual stars and deep-sky objects.

  • Page 46: A Roadmap To The Stars

    A Roadmap to the Stars The night sky is filled with wonder and intrigue. You too can enjoy exploring the universe simply by following a few pointers on a roadmap to the stars. First, find the Big Dipper which is part of the constellation Ursa Major.
  • Page 47 Meade Limited Warranty Every Meade telescope, spotting scope, and binocular is warranted by Meade Instruments Corp. (MIC) to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for a period of ONE YEAR from date of original retail purchase in the U.S.A. MIC will repair or replace the product, or part thereof, found upon inspection by MIC to be defective, provided the defective part or product is returned to MIC, freight prepaid, with proof of purchase.
  • Page 48 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 I (949) 451-1450 FAX: (949) 451-1460 I www.meade.com © 2000 0600 14-7010-04...

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