Related Manuals for Meade LT ACF Series
Summary of Contents for Meade LT ACF Series
- Page 1 Instruction Manual LT ACF and LT SC Series Telescopes with AutoStar #497 Hand Controller INDEX...
- Page 2 Eye damage is often painless, so there is no warning to the observer that damage has occurred until it is too late. Do not point the telescope at or near the Sun. Do not look through the telescope or Red Dot Finder as it is moving.
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Page 3: Table Of Contents
Optical Systems ......49 Appendix E: Meade DoC .......50 Meade Warranty One Year Limited Warranty . -
Page 4: A Solid Telescope Built For A Lifetime Of Service
Here are a few of the features that set the Meade LT Series telescope system apart from all others. -
Page 5: Getting Started
This Getting Started Guide assumes you are too impatient to read the entire manual fi rst and want to use your new telescope as quickly as possible. Just follow the simple steps below and you will be up and running before you know it. -
Page 6: Mounting The Tripod
Using an AC Adapter or DC Power Cord Use only the optional Meade Universal AC Power Adapter (part number 07584 for North America or 07584F for 220v foreign) with your LT Series telescope when connecting to AC power. It is specifi cally selected to provide the quality voltage and current required to power and protect the electronics in the telescope. -
Page 7: Attaching Accessories
fi rm feel only. Your Telescope is now Fully Assembled Now remove the dust cover from the front of the telescope tube. Be careful not to touch the glass lens. Flip the Power Switch on the computer control panel to the ON position. -
Page 8: Using The Red Dot Finder
You will see a red dot superimposed on your view. Using the direction keys on the handbox, move the telescope until the red dot is on the target you want to view in the eyepiece. As you get close to your target,... -
Page 9: Aligning The Lt Series
To automatically track and locate objects in the night sky, the LT Series must fi rst be aligned on the sky. It is best to set up the telescope in twilight or before sunset the fi rst time you use the LT Series. Setup the telescope in a large open area where you can see lots of the night sky. -
Page 10: Moving Through Autostar's Menus
• Press the Arrow keys to enter characters and digits. The Arrow keys are also used to move the telescope. Initializing AutoStar This section describes how to initialize AutoStar. Perform this procedure the fi rst time you use AutoStar or after performing a RESET (see “RESET”... -
Page 11: Easy (Two-Star) Align
Easy Align procedure. During this procedure, Autostar slews the telescope to a fi rst alignment star. The user is asked to verify that the telescope is pointed at the chosen star and then prompted to center the star in the eyepiece. -
Page 12: Go To Saturn
Important Note: Once aligned, only use the GO TO or Arrow keys to move the telescope. Do not move the telescope manually, or alignment will be lost. Once the telescope is aligned, you may choose and “Go To”... -
Page 13: Key Features Identifi Ed On The Telescope
Diagonal Eyepiece Holder Diagonal Prism 1.25” Eyepiece Holder Eyepiece Holder Thumb Screw Eyepiece Single Fork Arm Mount Figure 1: LT Series Left Side Computer Control Panel Red Dot Finder Red Dot Finder Alignment Screws Handbox Storage Cradle AutoStar Suite Software Disc INDEX... - Page 14 Diagonal Thumbscrew Optical Tube Assembly (OTA) Focus Knob Computer Control Panel A. Handbox (HBX) Port B. LED C. ON/OFF Switch D. Auxiliary (AUX) Port E. 12v Power Connector Dust Cover Battery Compartment Figure 2: LT Series Right Side D. A. B.
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Page 15: Telescope
C. ON/OFF Switch: Turns the Computer Control Panel and AutoStar ON or OFF D. Auxiliary (AUX) Port (2): Provides connection for Meade accessories. See OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES, page 16. E. 12v Power Connector: Provides connection so that the telescope assembly may be powered from either a 12v DC auto cigarette light plug or from a standard 115v AC home outlet. -
Page 16: Optional Meade® Accessories
OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES Meade makes a complete line of accessories to enable you to get the most fun and performance from your LT Series telescope. No matter what you want to accomplish, we have the equipment to help you get there. - Page 17 fi eld views of the heavens. They are made to the same high quality standards as the primary optics in your LT Series telescope and allow you to get all the performance that the Advanced Coma-Free and Schmidt-Cassegrain optical systems were designed to deliver.
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Page 18: Power Supplies
Deep Sky Imagers (DSI) Camera Adapters Off Axis Guiders Focal Reducers Accessories at Meade.com. Now you can order all these and more accessories or any Meade products right from the Meade Web Site www.meade.com and it will be shipped right to your door. -
Page 19: Autostar #497 Handbox - Basic Usage Buttons, Display And Their Functions
Take a guided tour of the best celestial objects to view on any given night of the year. • Download the latest satellite data and software revisions directly from the Meade website (www. meade.com) and share software with other AutoStar enthusiasts. Just •... - Page 20 • Battery status Press MODE again to return to the previous menu. GO TO Key: Slews (moves) the telescope to the coordinates of the currently selected object. While the telescope is slewing, the operation may be aborted at any time by pressing any key except GO TO.
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Page 21: Observing Using Autostars' Keys
1. Verify the telescope is fully assembled and that AutoStar is properly connected to your telescope. See Getting Started on page 5. 2. Flip the telescope power switch to the ON position. The AutoStar screen is activated and a copyright message displays briefl y, followed by a short beep. -
Page 22: Observe The Moon
If you wish to observe a distant land object, such as a mountain top or a bird, you want to use your telescope in its Terrestrial Observing mode. To start up the telescope in Terrestrial mode: 1. -
Page 23: Autostar Operation
AutoStar Operation Fig. 8: The AutoStar Universe: The six primary cate- gories listed in the Select Item menu of AutoStar. It is important to understand that menu selections are set in a loop (Fig. 10). This means that pressing the Scroll Down key (Pg. -
Page 24: Entering Data Into Autostar
Each tour will select the objects, present information about the object and, if you press “GoTo”, put that object in the eyepiece of the telescope for you to view. The telescope comes pre-loaded with: • “Tonight’s Best”, a selection of the most interesting objects visible on any night. -
Page 25: Autostar Menu Tree
AutoStar #497 MENU TREE Figure 11: The AutoStar #497 Menu Tree INDEX... -
Page 26: Event Menu
3. Press ENTER. AutoStar searches the database for the identity of the object being observed. 4. If the telescope is not directly on an AutoStar database object, the nearest database object is located and displayed on the screen. Press GO TO and the telescope slews to that object. -
Page 27: Glossary Menu
AutoStar beeps. Press ENTER to deactivate the alarm. Eyepiece Calc calculates information about an eyepiece for the specifi c telescope to which AutoStar is connected. • Field of View: Scroll through a list of available eyepieces. When an eyepiece is selected, the fi... -
Page 28: Setup Menu
Press any key, except ENTER, to re-activate AutoStar and the telescope. Park Scope is designed for a telescope that is not moved between observing sessions. 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 –... - Page 29 15° altitude, instead of 5°. See Observing Satellites, page 32, for more information about satellites. • Calibrate Motor if the telescope motors appear to have a problem, use this option to retest the motors before performing a Reset. This...
- Page 30 • Software: Sends only the basic AutoStar software. This is useful if one user has downloaded a new version of AutoStar software from the Meade website (www.meade.com) and wants to pass this software along to friends. • All: Everything – user-defi ned information...
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Page 31: Advanced Autostar Features
If you plan to observe using AutoStar at different geographic locations, you can store up to six observation sites in AutoStar’s memory to help simplify your telescope setup. Perform these procedures using the Site options (Add, Select, Delete, Edit) of the Setup menu. -
Page 32: Finding Objects Not In The Database
Check out your local library, computer store, or bookstore for astronomy books, CD ROMs, or magazines (such as Sky & Telescope or Astronomy), to fi nd coordinates of celestial objects. The objects/coordinates you enter become part of your own permanent database, called “User Objects”. -
Page 33: How To Create Your Own Guided Tour
Satellite orbits change and new satellites (including the Space Shuttle) are launched. Visit the Meade web site (www.meade.com) approximately once a month to get updated information and instructions on how to download this data to AutoStar. -
Page 34: Writing A Tour
All comments begin with a “/” character in column 1 of the line. For example: / Extreme Object / (c) 2009 Meade Instruments Corporation Command Line This line contains programming commands, including: R.A. and DEC. coordinates, a title string, a description string, and a keyword. - Page 35 NGC xxxx Enter NGC followed by the desired New General Catalog number and AutoStar provides the user with a description of the object from its database. For example: NGC 4256 IC xxxx Enter IC followed by the desired Index Catalog number and AutoStar provides the user with a description of the object from its database.
- Page 36 AUTO SLEW ON / AUTO SLEW OFF With AUTO SLEW ON enabled in the tour, AutoStar automatically slews the telescope to objects fi rst before displaying the text description. This feature is useful when designing tours in which observing certain objects is required.
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Page 37: Landmarks
1. Navigate to “Utilities: Landmark Survey” menu and press ENTER. 2. “Landmark Survey: Slewing...” displays. The telescope moves to the fi rst object on the Survey list and displays the name of the object. 3. Press MODE to pause the Survey. Press ENTER. -
Page 38: Identify
In this procedure, you will center an object you wish to have identifi ed by AutoStar in the telescope eyepiece and use the “Identify” menu to fi nd out information about the object or the nearest object to it in the AutoStar database. - Page 39 Select a star that you can easily locate in the night sky. Press ENTER. 12. The telescope slews to the star. Use the Arrow keys to move the telescope until the star is centered in the eyepiece. Press ENTER.
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Page 40: Browse
Star Alt/Az Alignment, unlike the Two-Star and Easy (Alt/Az) Alignment procedures, depends on how well the observer levels the telescope and how close to North the telescope is pointed when setting the Home Position (Pg. 9, Fig. 6). Because the other methods use two stars to align upon, they are more precise than One- Star Alignment. -
Page 41: Maintenance
LT Series will give you the best optical performance. As part of fi nal optical testing, every Meade LT Series is precisely collimated at the Meade factory before shipment. However, vibrations in shipping can cause the optical system to become misaligned. - Page 42 (Pg. 41 Fig. 13, 1). Place your index fi nger in front of the telescope so that it touches one of the collimation set screws. You will see the shadow of your fi...
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Page 43: Inspecting The Optics
Updated program supplied on the AutoStar Suite DVD supplied with your telescope. The Updater goes online to the Meade web site and checks to see if there is a newer version available and can download it directly to the telescope using the #505 Cable Connector Kit. -
Page 44: Training The Drive
Press the scroll up key once. Select Item Setup Access the Setup menu. Setup Align Multiple presses. Setup Telescope Access the Telescope menu. Telescope Telescope Model Multiple presses. Telescope Train Drive Choose the Train Drive option. Train Drive Az. Train Azimuth (horizontal) training. -
Page 45: Basic Astronomy
Moon and our solar system comes from observations made by amateur astronomers. So as you look through your Meade LT Series telescope, keep Galileo in mind. To him, a telescope was not merely a machine made of glass and metal, but something far more - a window through which the beating heart of the universe might be observed. - Page 46 These patterns are too large to be seen through a telescope. To learn the constellations, start with an easy grouping of stars, such as the Big Dipper in Ursa Major. Then, use a star chart to explore across the sky.
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Page 47: Specifi Cations
Power Battery Life Tripod Electronics Controller Hand Box Included Accessories Eyepiece Holder Eyepiece SC Adapter Weight Telescope Tripod 6" LT ACF # 0610-04-10 Advanced Coma-Free (ACF) 6” (152mm) Pyrex® Glass 1524mm, f/10 Ultra-High Transmission Coatings (UHTC™) 0.76 Red Dot Aluminum Single-Arm Fork Altazimuth 4.875 inch Precision Worm Drive... - Page 48 Power Battery Life Tripod Electronics Controller Hand Box Included Accessories Eyepiece Holder Eyepiece SC Adapter Weight Telescope Tripod 6" LT SC # 0610-04-12 Schmidt Cassegrain (SC) 6” (152mm) Pyrex® Glass 1524mm, f/10 Ultra-High Transmission Coatings (UHTC™) 0.76 Red Dot Aluminum Single-Arm Fork Altazimuth 4.875 inch Precision Worm Drive...
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Page 49: Optical Systems
fi eld of view. This aplanatic (coma-free) optical system brings the highest level of performance to the amateur astronomer. In the ACF design of the Meade LT Series, light enters from the right, passes through a thin lens with 2-sided aspheric correction (“correcting plate”), proceeds to a spherical primary mirror, and then to a hyperbolic secondary mirror. -
Page 50: Meade Doc
APPENDIX E: FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY (DoC) FOR THE FOLLOWING EQUIPMENT: PRODUCT NAME : MEADE LT SERIES TELESCOPE MODEL NO : LT TRADE NAME : MEADE INSTRUMENTS CORP. IS HERE WITH CONFIRMED AND FOUND TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF CFR47 PART 15 REGULATION. - Page 51 RECYCLING INFORMATION (EU Countries only) Correct Disposal of this Product (Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment) This marking shown on the product or its literature indicates that it must not be disposed of in unsorted municipal waste at the end of its working life To prevent possible harm to the environment or human health from uncontrolled waste disposal, please separate this from other types of wastes and recycle it as required...
- Page 52 Every Meade telescope, spotting scope, and telescope accessory is warranted by Meade Instruments Corp. (“Meade”) to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 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.