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(315˚)
W (270˚)
(225˚)
Figure 18. Directional regions of the sky used in the
"Brightest Star" alignment method.
Star Name
1. Capella
Brightness Order
NE
Orientation
Azimuth Angle
Figure 19. Alignment star information displayed on LCD.
operation. These controls are locked out when the telescope is
slewing to an object. The direction keys are very helpful when
initially aligning the mount, centering objects in the eyepiece
field of view, slewing, and manually guiding. The left and right
direction keys can also be used to move the text cursor when
entering data on the hand controller.
Scroll Keys
The Up and Down scroll keys allow you to scroll up and down
within the menu tree or selections displayed on the hand con-
troller screen.
Dual Purpose (Shortcut) Keys
The Dual Purpose keys serve two distinct purposes. They are
used for data entry and as quick-reference (shortcut) keys.
• TOUR: Takes you on a preset tour of the best night sky
objects visible
• RATE: Changes the speed of the motors when the
directional buttons are pressed. There are 10 slew speeds
to choose from, with 0 being the slowest and 9 being
the fastest.
• UTILITY: Displays functions such as "Show Position",
"Display Time"... etc.
• USER: Gives access to up to 25 user-defined coordinates
• INFO: Identifies the object(s) the mount is currently
pointing to
N (0˚)
(45˚)
(135˚)
S (180˚)
0.1
Magnitude
35.3
15.7
Altitude Angle
• NGC, IC, M, PLANET, and OBJECT: Allows direct access
to database of thousands of objects
Connecting the SynScan Hand Controller
Plug the larger of the two connectors on the coil cable into
the RJ-45 jack on the bottom of the SynScan hand controller
(Figure 17B) .
Then plug the smaller connector into the RJ-12 port labeled
"HC" at the base of the mount arm (Figure 16).
E (90˚)
NOTE: The other, RJ-12 jack on the bottom of the hand
controller is a serial port used for controlling the tele-
scope via a computer running a compatible astronomy
software program, or for updating the SynScan's firm-
ware.
Initial Setup
1 .
Power up. Make sure the mount is level to the ground
and the mount is powered on. The hand controller will
issue a long beep and display the firmware version.
Press ENTER
2 .
Solar warning . The hand controller will scroll a warning
message about the danger of viewing the Sun with a
telescope without a properly fitted solar filter. Press
ENTER to confirm you have read the warning message
and proceed to the next step.
3 .
Set your location. The LCD screen will display "Enter
Location" on the first line, and longitude and latitude
values on the second line. Enter the latitude and
longitude of your current location using the numeric
keypad and scroll buttons. If you do not know the latitude
and longitude coordinates of your viewing location,
consult an atlas or look them up on the internet (i.e.,
search "[your location] coordinates"). Use the scroll
keys to choose between E or W (for longitude) and N
or S (for latitude). Press ENTER to confirm the entered
coordinates and proceed to the next step.
NOTE: Latitude and longitude coordinates must be
entered in degrees and arcminutes. If your atlas or other
reference source provides coordinates in decimal val-
ues (i.e., latitude = 36.95 N), you must convert that into
degrees and arcminutes (i.e., latitude 36.95 N = latitude
36°57' N). There are 60 arcminutes in 1 degree
4 .
Time zone . Enter the current time zone in which you are
observing in hours (see Appendix B), using the scroll
keys and numeric keypad (+ for East, – for West) The "+"
sign is used for time zones in the Eastern Hemisphere
(Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania), while the "-" sign is used
for time zones in the Western Hemisphere (North and
South America). So for Pacific Standard Time (PST) you
would enter -08:00. Press ENTER to confirmEnter the
latitude and longitude of your current location using the
numeric keypad and scroll buttons. If you do not know
the latitude and longitude coordinates of your viewing
location, consult an atlas or look them up on the internet
(i.e., search "[your location] coordinates").
11
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