Meade LX200 Instruction Manual page 18

This shows the alignment error that may have been made
during your initial setup. Re-center the Pole Star during
each interval using the pier adjustments only (see
APPENDIX A) in altitude and azimuth, then follow the rest of
the routine.
Return to the POLAR menu option in the TELESCOPE
mode and press the ENTER key.
Ignore the keypad display instructions to return the
telescope to 90° in Dec. and 00 H.A. Instead, press the
GO TO key; the LX 200 slews to the calculated position
where the Pole Star should be.
Re-center the Pole Star in the field of view in the eyepiece
using only the adjustments on the pier in altitude and
azimuth.
Press the ENTER key; the LX 200 slews again to a bright
star overhead. Center this star using the N, S, E, or W
keys, then press ENTER.
NOTE: Pressing the MODE key at any point in the
alignment routine aborts the routine and exits to the top
menu.
After each 15-minute interval, the Pole Star becomes
more accurately centered. You can repeat the intervals as
often as you like to obtain the highest accuracy. An
optional illuminated-reticle crosshair eyepiece makes
simplifies the job of centering the star.
When an obstruction blocks your line of sight to the Pole
Star, press the ENTER key for the POLAR option (so that
it has a check next to it). Follow the instructions in Precise
Polar Alignment, page 27. You will need an illuminated-
reticle crosshair eyepiece to complete the task. Once
finished, follow the steps below for a permanently
mounted LX 200 section to access the object library.
4. The Permanently Mounted,Polar Aligned LX200: If you
will permanently mount the LX 200 in an observatory or
use the already polar aligned telescope for several nights
in succession, perform a high-precision polar alignment
with one of the methods described above.
Provided that you do not move the instrument on the pier,
you need not perform polar alignment on successive
nights. Access the object library and enjoy near-perfect
tracking.
To bypass the polar-alignment sequence, follow these
steps:
• Return to the POLAR menu option and place a check
next to it by pressing the ENTER key.
• Directly enter the catalog number of an object that you
are familiar with in the sky by pressing the M, STAR, or
CNGC key (see APPENDIX C for information on the
object library) and press the ENTER key again.
• Manually center the familiar object in the eyepiece of
the telescope.
• Press and hold the ENTER key until the display reads
COORDINATES MATCHED.
You have now synchronized the object library; the LX 200
will correctly access every other object in the sky.
5. LAND: The LAND menu option transforms the ALTAZ
(altazimuth) mounted LX200 into an electric slewing
spotting scope. In this mode, continuous tracking is
canceled and all the celestial modes and menus are non-
functional, showing lower case lettering in the displays and
a beep if you try to enter one of them.
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The LX200 slews at any one of the four speeds (SLEW,
FIND, CNTR, and GUIDE), when you press the appropriately
marked key on the left side of the keypad. Altazimuth
coordinate readings can still
COORDINATES mode (see Mode Two, page 23). Refer to
QUICK START (page 9) for the LAND menu option for full
operating procedures.
For the normal right-side-up and left-to-right views to which
you are accustomed when using a spotting scope, you may
add the optional Meade #928 45° Erect Image Prism or the
Meade #924 Porro Prism instead of the standard supplied
star-diagonal prism
c. HOME: The HOME functions let you operate the LX200 from
a remote location or to start the telescope without having to
align it. After you set the HOME point, the telescope can
determine all alignment parameters by finding the HOME
point. To function correctly, this HOME alignment procedure
requires the following three items of information:
• One of the known SITES (1 to 4)
• Either an accurately leveled telescope or accurately polar
aligned telescope
• Accurate sidereal time
Since the HOME alignment routine is almost always used on
telescopes that are permanently mounted, the first two
requirements are already satisfied. For transportable
situations, the HOME alignment procedure is practical only
when the telescope remains set up for several nights. In this
case, use the 1-star/leveled alignment if you want to perform
a HOME alignment.
The sidereal time is calculated every time an alignment is
performed. Then, an on-board sidereal clock keeps sidereal
time. Theoretically, every time you turn on the telescope, the
sidereal time is correct, satisfying the third requirement for
HOME alignment.
However, the on-board clocks are accurate only to a few
minutes per month. If you perform HOME alignment every
night, the sidereal time will be accurate enough. If you
operated the telescope only once or twice a month, make a
habit of resetting the sidereal time before performing the
HOME alignment.
1. Setting the HOME Point: Before you can use the HOME
alignment procedure, you must set the HOME point. This
step needs to be performed only once on permanently
mounted telescopes or anytime the telescope is moved.
• Do a complete alignment, either the 1-star/leveled ALTAZ
or the POLAR.
• Using the keypad, move the telescope to 0° Dec. and 00
H.A.
• Go to the HOME menu option and press ENTER. This
will bring up the HOME menu.
• Select the SET option by pressing the NEXT key twice;
then pressing ENTER.
The telescope moves back and forth in R.A. searching for
the HOME sensor located inside the drive base. When it
finds that sensor, it performs the same task in Dec. When
that is complete, the message HOME
COMPLETE displays. The SET routine looks at only 30°
sections of the gears; if the second step, above, is skipped
or done incorrectly, the telescope will not find the sensors
and HOME SEARCH FAILED displays.
be displayed in the
SEARCH