Maintenance And Servicing; Storage And Transport; Inspecting The Optics - Meade ETX-70AT Junior Instruction Manual

MAINTENANCE ANd sERVICING

General Maintenance
The ETX-70AT telescopes are precision optical instruments designed to yield a lifetime of
rewarding applications. Given the care and respect due any precision instrument, your tele-
scope will rarely require factory servicing or maintenance. Maintenance guidelines include:
1. Avoid cleaning the telescope's optics. A little dust on the front surface of the telescope's
correcting lens causes virtually no degradation of image quality and should not be consid-
ered reason to clean the lens.
2. When absolutely necessary, dust on the front lens should be removed with gentle strokes
of a camel hair brush or blown off with an ear syringe (available at any pharmacy). Do
not use a commercial photographic lens cleaner.
3. Organic materials (e.g., fingerprints) on the front lens may be removed with a solution of 3
parts distilled water to 1 part isopropyl alcohol. A single drop of biodegradable dishwash-
ing soap may be added per pint of solution. Use soft, white facial tissues and make short,
gentle strokes. Change tissues often.
CAUtIoN: Do not use scented, colored, or lotioned tissues as damage could result
to the optics.
4. If your telescope is used outdoors on a humid night, telescope surfaces may accumulate
water condensation. While such condensation does not normally cause any damage to
the telescope, it is recommended that the entire telescope be wiped down with a dry cloth
before being packed away. Do not, however, wipe any of the optical surfaces. Rather,
simply allow the telescope to sit for some time in warm indoor air, so that the wet optical
surfaces can dry unattended. In addition, the dust cap should not be placed back on to the
optical tube until the telescope is thoroughly dry.
5 If your telescope is not to be used for an extended period, perhaps for one month or more,
it is advisable to remove the six AA-size batteries from inside the drive base. Batteries left
installed for prolonged periods may leak, causing damage to the telescope's electronic
circuitry. See "HOW TO ASSEMBLE YOUR TELESCOPE," page 10.
6. Do not leave your telescope outdoors on a warm day or inside a sealed car for an extend-
ed period of time. Excessive ambient temperatures can damage the telescope's internal
lubrication and electronic circuitry.

storage and Transport

When not in use, store the telescope in a cool, dry place. Do not expose the instrument to
excessive heat or moisture. It is best to store the telescope in its original box with the vertical
and horizontal locks (6 and 9, Fig. 1) in the unlocked positions. If shipping the telescope, use
the original box and packing material to protect the telescope during shipment.
When transporting the telescope, take care not to bump or drop the instrument; this type of abuse
can damage the optical tube and/or the objective lens.

Inspecting the optics

A Note About the "Flashlight Test": If a flashlight or other high-intensity light source is
pointed down the main telescope tube, the view (depending upon the observer's line of sight
and the angle of the light) may reveal what appears to be scratches, dark or bright spots, or
uneven coatings, giving the appearance of poor quality optics. These effects are only seen
when a high intensity light is transmitted through the lens or reflected off the mirror, and can
be seen on any high quality optical system, including giant research telescopes.
The optical quality of a telescope cannot be judged by the "flashlight test"; the true test of opti-
cal quality can only be conducted through careful star testing.
Maintenance 25