Meade LX200-ACF Instruction Manual
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Meade LX200-ACF Instruction Manual

8", 10", 12", 14", 16" advanced coma-free telescopes with gps and autostar ii hand controller
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Instruction Manual
®
8", 10", 12", 14", 16" LX200
-ACF
Advanced Coma-Free Telescopes
®
with GPS and AutoStar
II Hand Controller

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Summary of Contents for Meade LX200-ACF

  • Page 1 Instruction Manual ® 8", 10", 12", 14", 16" LX200 -ACF Advanced Coma-Free Telescopes ® with GPS and AutoStar II Hand Controller...
  • Page 2 WARNING! Never use a Meade LX200 -ACF ® ® Telescope to look at the Sun! Looking at or near the Sun will cause instant and irreversible damage to your eye. Eye damage is often painless, so there is no warning to the observer that damage has occurred until it is too late.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    APPENDIX G page 69, for features unique to the 14" model. ® The name “Meade”, the Meade logo, LX200 and Autostar are trademarks registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in principal countries throughout the world. Specifications subject to change without notice.

  • Page 4: Quick-Start Guide

    The setup is the same for the standard and giant field tripods. NOTE: The LX200-ACF 8", 10", 12" and 14" models are equipped with Series 4000 26mm Super Plössl eyepiece and a 1.25" Diagonal. The LX200 ACF 16" model is equipped with Series 5000 26mm 5-element Super Plössl...
  • Page 5 Move the spreader bar so that the 3 arms of the spreader bar are lined up with the 3 tripod legs. Place the entire telescope onto the top of the tripod head, and thread the rod into the central threaded hole in the bottom of the drive base of the telescope.
  • Page 6 Attach the Microfocuser (Optional Accessory – standard on 16" model only): Remove the dust cap from the rear cell port (A) of the telescope (Note: Telescope not shown for clarity). Thread the microfocuser adapter (B) into the rear cell port thread. Slide the microfocuser (C)

  • Page 7: Telescope Features

    TELESCOPE FEATURES (not shown) (not shown) Fig. 1: The Telescope; Computer Control Panel (inset); AutoStar II Handbox (inset). LX200-ACF (not shown, on left fork arm) 1& AutoStar II Hand Controller. See page 10. - 7 -...
  • Page 8 Rear Cell Port: The Diagonal Prism assembly threads onto this port. Manual Focus Knob: Moves the telescope’s primary mirror in a finely-controlled motion to achieve image focus. The objects from a distance of about 25 ft. to infinity. Rotate the focus knob counterclockwise to focus on distant objects, and clockwise to focus on nearby objects.
  • Page 9 GPS Receiver (see page 22 for photo): Receives information transmitted from Global Positioning System satellites. See pages 19, 20, and 22 for more information. Tube Adapters: The optical and mechanical axes of the LX200-ACF telescope have been carefully aligned at the factory to ensure accurate object pointing. Do not loosen or remove the optical tube assembly from the tube adapters.

  • Page 10: Handbox

    LX200-ACF AutoStar II system. Nearly all functions of the telescope are accomplished with just a few pushes of AutoStar II’s buttons. Because the AutoStar II system uses flash (rewritable) memory, your system will be able to grow when new features and enhancements become available.
  • Page 11 “spiral search”. Arrow Keys: The Arrow keys have several functions. Press an Arrow key to slew the telescope in a specific direction (up, down, left, and right), at any one of nine diff e r e n t speeds. See , page 18.
  • Page 12 Coil Cord: Plug one end of the AutoStar II coil cord into the HBX port (Pg. 7, Fig. 1, 13F) of the computer control panel of the telescope and the other end into the AutoStar II coil cord port. See # 9 a b o v e .

  • Page 13: Getting Started

    44). Plug an adapter into the 12vDC In port of the computer control panel (Fig. 1, 13B). Position the telescope: Start by turning the Dec. lock (Pg. 7, Fig. 1, 17) counterclockwise to unlock the the optical tube (Fig. 1, 19). Next, move the optical tube through the fork arms to the position depicted in Fig.
  • Page 14 - 14 - SC Optional Accessory Users: If using any of the optional accessories (such as the Off-Axis Guider, T-Adapter, etc.; see page 44) with the LX200-ACF SC models, slide the supplied SC accessory adapter (Fig. 8, L) into the microfocuser.

  • Page 15: Choosing An Eyepiece

    ACCESSORIES , page 44. The power, or magnification of a telescope is determined by the focal length of the telescope and the focal length of the eyepiece being used (an eyepiece’s focal length is printed on the side of the eyepiece). To calculate eyepiece power, divide the telescope’s focal length by the eyepiece’s focal length.

  • Page 16: Mounting And Adjusting The Viewfinder

    Unlock the R.A. (Pg. 7, Fig. 1, 12) and Dec. (Fig. 1, 17) locks so that the telescope moves freely on both axes. Point the telescope at some well-defined and stationary land object at least 200 yards distant, such as the top of a telephone pole or street sign. Center the object in the telescope eyepiece.

  • Page 17: Observing

    Slew Speeds? See Slew Speeds, page 18. Loosen the telescope’s R.A. lock (Pg. 7, Fig. 1, 12) and Dec. lock (Fig. 1, 17). Move your telescope to observe distant street signs, mountains, trees, and other structures. Use your viewfinder to help site-in on an object.

  • Page 18: Focusing The Eyepiece With The Microfocuser

    Super Plössl 26mm. Speeds 7 or 8: Best used for rough centering of an object in the viewfinder. Speed 9: Moves the telescope quickly from one point in the sky to another. Speed Medium...

  • Page 19: Observe The Moon, Astronomical Observing

    Observe the Moon Point your telescope at the Moon (note that the Moon is not visible every night) and practice using the Arrow keys, the microfocuser and the slew speeds to view different features. The Moon contains many interesting features, including craters, mountain ranges, and fault lines.
  • Page 20 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 145,000 stars in its database.

  • Page 21: Observe A Star Using Automatic Tracking

    Now that your telescope has been aligned, you are able to track celestial objects. not visible in the eyepiece In this example, the AutoStar II Arrow keys are used to find a star, and then Auto after the telescope Star II’s tracking capability automatically keeps the star centered in your...
  • Page 22 Detecting True Level To detect level of the base of the telescope, AutoStar II must calculate the tip and tilt of the telescope at three compass points and then compensate for it. Finding level involves the geometric calculations of a “plane”. In order to define a plane, three positions are necessary.

  • Page 23: Basic Autostar Ii Operation

    Fig. 14: Menus set in a loop. Fig. 15: Menu options display on the second line. Use the Scroll keys to move up or down through the list of options. Press ENTER to select the desired option. BASIC AUTOSTAR II OPERATION Fig.

  • Page 24: Navigating Autostar Ii

    100 years), meteor showers, equinoxes and solstices, and the minimums of Algol. One very practical use of the Event menu is to check the Sunset option to determine when you can begin your astronomical observing session. LX200-ACF TIPS...

  • Page 25: Autostar Ii Menus

    AUTOSTAR II’s MENUS - 25 -...

  • Page 26: Object Menu

    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 27: Event Menu

    Press ENTER. AutoStar II searches the libraries for the identity of the object being observed. If the telescope is not directly on an AutoStar II library object, the nearest library object is located and displayed on the screen. Press GO TO and the telescope slews to that object.

  • Page 28: Glossary Menu, Utilities Menu

    When the alarm time arrives, AutoStar II beeps. Press ENTER to deactivate the alarm. Eyepiece Calc: Calculates information about an eyepiece for the specific telescope to which AutoStar II is connected. Field of View: Scroll through a list of available eyepieces. When an eyepiece is selected, the field of view is calculated.

  • Page 29: Setup Menu

    Park Scope: Designed for a telescope that is not moved between observing sessions. Align the telescope one time, then use this function to park the telescope. The next time it is powered up, pressing ENTER causes the telescope to move to its predetermined Park position.
  • Page 30 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 r r o w k e y. If you enter a value near 0%, it takes longer for the tube to respond as you hold down an Arrow key.
  • Page 31 “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 32: "Hot Button" Menus

    - 32 - Software: Sends only the basic AutoStar II software. This is useful if one user has downloaded a new version of AutoStar II software from the Meade website (www.meade.com) and wants to pass this software along to friends.

  • Page 33: Advanced Autostar Ii Features

    If you plan to observe using AutoStar II at different geographic locations, you can store observation sites in AutoStar II’s memory to help simplify your telescope setup. Perform these procedures using the Site options (Add, Select, Delete, Edit) of the Setup menu.

  • Page 34: Creating User Objects

    To enter coordinates of an object into the “User: Objects” option of the Object menu: Make sure AutoStar II has been initialized and the telescope has been aligned. After the telescope is aligned, “Select Item: Object” displays. (If necessary, use the Scroll keys to scroll through the menus, as previously described, to find this option).

  • Page 35: Observing Satellites, Landmarks

    11. Use the AutoStar II Arrow keys to center the object in the viewfinder, then look Satellite 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 to download this data to AutoStar II. If orbital parameters are more than one month old, the satellite pass may not happen at the time predicted by AutoStar II.

  • Page 36: Identify

    “Landmark: Add” displays. If you wish to add more landmarks, repeat steps 5 through 8. To Select a landmark from the database: Make sure the telescope is located and aligned exactly as when the desired landmark was entered into memory. Display the “Landmark: Select” menu option. Press ENTER.

  • Page 37: Browse

    In this procedure, you will center an object you wish to have identified by AutoStar II in the telescope eyepiece and use the “Identify” menu to find out information about the object or the nearest object to it in the AutoStar II database.

  • Page 38: Alternate Alt/Az Alignment Methods

    LX200-ACF TIPS Mirror, Mirror... The LX200-ACF telescopes provide features that allow you to control the primary optical mirror and focus functions for more precise viewing capability. One control feature is the primary mirror lock (Pg. 7, Fig. 1, 9). The primary mirror lock prevents the primary mirror from moving during long photographic exposures and locks in the focus.

  • Page 39: Two-Star Alt/Az Alignment

    Set Home Position. Place the telescope in the home position. To Set the Home Position Manually: a. See Figs. 19 and 20. Loosen the telescope’s Dec. lock (Pg. 7, Fig. 1, 17) . Set the optical tube to 0° on the Dec. setting circle (Fig. 1, 20) .

  • Page 40: Periodic Error Correction

    On and Off Menu Options Select “On” when you want the telescope to use the training information. Select “Off” when you do not want for the telescope to use the training information. Select “On” to enable the Smart Drive. , page 44). PEC training is available...

  • Page 41: Photography

    T-Mount. Rotate the camera body to achieve proper orientation of the object; then re-tighten the adjustment screws. The #62 T-Adapter permits close-coupling of a camera body to the telescope. In this format vignetting occurs: The image appears with a slight darkening (vignetting) at the corners of the 35mm frame (Fig.
  • Page 42 Photography with Meade’s AutoStar Suite™ The AutoStar Suite with Meade LPI™ (Lunar Planetary Imager) or Meade Deep Sky Imager™ turns your Meade LX200-ACF telescope, AutoStar and PC into even more powerful and easy-to-use astronomical instrument.
  • Page 43 Talking Telescope software translates AutoStar text to synthesized speech through PC speaker. • Includes a cable to connect your LX200-ACF model to your PC. See the CD Rom that is included with AutoStar Suite for more information and instruction manual.

  • Page 44: Optional Accessories

    A wide assortment of professional Meade accessories is available for the telescope models. The premium quality of these accessories is well-suited to the quality of the instrument itself. Consult the Meade General Catalog for complete details on these and other accessories.
  • Page 45 Moon and planets. Each filter threads into the barrel of any Meade 1.25" eyepiece, and into the barrels of virtually all other eyepiece brands as well. Meade filters are available in 12 colors for lunar and planetary applications, and in Neutral Density as a lunar glare-reduction filter.
  • Page 46 #608 for Meade 8" ACF Telescopes models; #610 for all 10" ACF Telescopes models; #612 for all 12" ACF Telescopes models.

  • Page 47: Maintenance, Collimation

    LX200-ACF As part of final optical testing, every Meade Advanced Coma-Free telescope is precisely collimated at the Meade factory before shipment. However, vibrations in shipping can cause the optical system to become misaligned. Re-aligning the optics is, however, a straightforward process.
  • Page 48 At this point, look at the front of the telescope where your finger is aiming. It will either be pointing directly at a set screw, or it will be between two set screws aiming at the set screw on the far side of the black plastic secondary mirror support.

  • Page 49: Contacting Customer Support

    Customer Service hours are 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Pacific Time, Monday through Friday. In the unlikely event that your write or call the Meade Consumer Solutions Department first, before returning the telescope to the factory, giving full particulars as to the nature of the problem, as well as your name, address, and daytime telephone number.

  • Page 50: Specifications

    - 50 - SPECIFICATIONS 8" f/10 LX200-ACF Specifications Optical design ...Advanced Coma-Free Clear aperture...203mm (8") Focal length ...2000mm Focal ratio (photographic speed) ...f/10 Resolving power ...0.56 arc sec Coatings ...Meade Ultra-High Transmission Coatings Mounting ...Cast-aluminum, double-tine forks Gears ...5.75"-dia. worm gears, both axes Periodic Error Correction ...Both axes...
  • Page 51 12" f/10 LX200-ACF Specifications Optical design ...Advanced Coma-Free Clear aperture...305mm (12") Focal length ...3048mm Focal ratio (photographic speed) ...f/10 Resolving power ...0.375 arc sec Coatings ...Meade Ultra-High Transmission Coatings Mounting ...Cast-aluminum, double-tine forks Gears ...5.75"-dia. worm gears, both axes Periodic Error Correction ...Both axes Alignment ...Altazimuth or equatorial w/optional wedge...
  • Page 52 - 52 - 16" f/10 LX200-ACF Specifications Optical design ...Advanced Coma-Free Clear aperture...406.4mm (16") Focal length ...4064mm Focal ratio (photographic speed) ...f/10 Resolving power ...0.28 arc sec Coatings ...Meade Ultra-High Transmission Coatings Mounting ...Heavy-duty double-tine forks Gears ...11"-dia. worm gears, both axes Periodic Error Correction ...Both axes...

  • Page 53: Appendix A: Equatorial (Polar) Alignment

    The R.A. circle (Pg. 7, Fig. 1, 11 and Fig. 38) is located on the top surface of the telescope’s drive base. The Declination circle (Fig. 37) is located at the top of the fork tine. With the telescope pointed at the North Celestial Pole, the Dec.
  • Page 54 Equatorial Wedge An optional equatorial wedge is required for equatorial (polar) alignment. Note: The Meade Ultra wedge is recommended for the 10" to 14" models. The equatorial wedge permits use in an astronomical, or “equatorial” mode. The wedge fits onto the field tripod. Equatorial alignment allows you to take longer...

  • Page 55: Lining Up With The Celestial Pole

    During any 24 hour period, stars make one complete revolution about the pole, making concentric circles with the pole at the center. By lining up the telescope’s polar axis with the North Celestial Pole (or for observers located in Earth’s Southern Hemisphere, with the South Celestial Pole), astronomical objects may be followed, or tracked, simply by moving the telescope about one axis, the polar axis.

  • Page 56: Precise Polar Alignment

    10 minutes or longer). In particular, the number of Declination corrections required is a direct function of the precision of polar alignment. Precise polar alignment requires the use of a crosshair eyepiece. The Meade Illuminated Reticle Eyepiece (see...
  • Page 57 NASA, Hubble, HST, astronomy, Messier, satellite, nebula, black hole, variable stars, etc. Check Meade’s website for the latest product and technical information. You can download the latest software revisions, links to other astronomical sites, coordinates of celestial objects and the latest satellite tracking information for your AutoStar II handset.

  • Page 58: Appendix B: Latitude Chart

    APPENDIX B: LATITUDE CHART Latitude Chart for Major Cities of the World To aid in the polar alignment procedure (see page 53), 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. Then follow the procedure below: Northern hemisphere observers (N): If the site is over 70 miles (110 km) North of the listed city, add one degree for every 70 miles.

  • Page 59: Appendix C: How To Create Your Own Guided Tour

    More commands will be added from time-to-time to the list below. Periodically visit M e a d e ’s website (www.meade.com) for future additions. When a Guided Tour is selected, AutoStar II slews your telescope to a predetermined list of objects and displays information about each object, such as type of object, constellation location, R.A.
  • Page 60 - 60 - TITLE TEXT PLANET MOON COMET LUNAR ECLIPSE METEOR SHOWER CONSTELLATION STAR PICK ONE/PICK END AUTO SLEW Description String: Description of an object. Must be surrounded by quotation marks. If the description is longer than one line, each line must end with a quotation mark and a hard return.
  • Page 61 PLANET “name” Enter PLANET and then the name of the desired planet in quotes. AutoStar II provides the user with a description of the selected planet from its database. For example: PLANET “Pluto” MOON This command accesses information about the Moon from the AutoStar II database. SATELLITE “name”...
  • Page 62 With AUTO SLEW ON enabled in the tour, AutoStar II automatically slews the telescope to objects first before displaying the text description. This feature is useful when designing tours in which observing certain objects is required. For example : An astronomy professor may require his students to observe six objects, four of which AutoStar II automatically slews to in a tour.

  • Page 63: Appendix D: Training The Drive

    APPENDIX D: TRAINING THE DRIVE Train the telescope motors using AutoStar II. Perform this procedure if you are experiencing any pointing accuracy problems. Fig. 43 depicts the complete Drive Training procedure. Use a terrestrial object, such as a telephone pole or lamp post, to train the drive. Complete this Note: exercise once every 3 to 6 months to maintain the highest level of telescope pointing accuracy.

  • Page 64: Appendix E: The Moon Menu

    When AutoStar II syncs to a lunar feature, the telescope switches to Selenographic coordinates, i.e. , lunar latitude and longitude. To observe the Apollo 15 landing site using the Moon option: 1.

  • Page 65: Appendix F: 16" Lx200-Acf Features

    (Fig 1, 25). The resulting misalignment of the axes will result in inaccurate slewing of the telescope in the GO TO mode. Do not attempt to turn the focus knob of the optical tube (Fig. 1, 6) until you have read the following n o t e .
  • Page 66 Use the following procedure to assemble your telescope: To Assemble the 16" Super Field Tripod The 16” Super Field Tripod (Figs. 46 and 47) for the Meade 16" is supplied as a completely assembled unit, except for the spreader bar (Fig. 46, 4) and the six lock-knobs (Fig.
  • Page 67 See Fig. 53. e. A fifth 3/8"-16x3/4" long bolt is supplied with the telescope. Just using your fingers, loosely tighten this bolt under the plate. See Fig. 53. This bolt acts as a safety feature to prevent the DB-15 connector and cable from being damaged when you disassemble the telescope.
  • Page 68 Connect the supplied coil cord from the fan to the 12vDC output jack (Fig. 45, E) on the control panel. LX200-ACF TIPS Observing Considerations • Try to pick an observing site away from street and house lights and car headlights.

  • Page 69: Appendix G: 14" Lx200-Acf Features

    Next, remove the battery holder and install the batteries as described in step #2 on page 13. Replace the holder and close the compartment. Replace the screws if you plan to use the telescope in equatorial alignment. These screws are not necessary when using the telescope in altazimuth alignment.

  • Page 70: Appendix H: De-Rotator And Microfocuser Assembly

    DE-ROTATOR AND MICROFOCUSER ASSEMBLY For LX200-ACF Telescopes Equiped with a Zero Image-Shift Microfocuser When using a de-rotator, it is important to attach the microfocuser so that it is backed off slightly from the de-rotator. If the microfocuser is flush against the de-rotator, the assembly will not work properly.

  • Page 71: Appendix I: Smart Mount

    Smart Mount Introduction Smart Mount improves the pointing accuracy of your LX200-ACF telescope’s “Go To” system. Despite careful efforts to calibrate and align telescopes, they may fail to precisely center objects. Smart Mount allows your telescope to learn about, and then correct for, any systematic pointing errors, regardless of the cause.
  • Page 72 OUNT PDATE above). If Smart Mount was “On” when you last powered off your telescope, it will be “On” when you start the next session. When Smart Mount is “Off”, the telescope will not use any model you have created to refine pointing accuracy.

  • Page 73: Appendix J: Previous Tripod Model Setup

    “C” Clip Take the LX200 from its packaging and place the entire telescope onto the top of the tripod head, inserting the threaded rod into the central hole in the bottom of the drive base of the telescope.

  • Page 74: Basic Astronomy

    Moon, and our solar system comes from observations made by amateur astronomers. So as you look through your Meade keep in mind Galileo. To him, a telescope was not merely a machine made of glass and metal, but something far more—a window of incredible discovery.
  • Page 75 The disk of Venus appears white as Sunlight is reflected off the thick cloud cover that completely obscures any surface detail. Mars is about half the diameter of Earth, and appears through the telescope as a tiny reddish-orange disk. It may be possible to see a hint of white at one of the planet’s polar ice caps.
  • Page 76 ONE YEAR from the date of original purchase in the U.S.A. and Canada. Meade will repair or replace a product, or part thereof, found by Meade to be defective, provided the defective part is returned to Meade, freight-prepaid, with proof of purchase.

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