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5 .
Date, Time, Daylight Saving .
• Enter the date in the format mm/dd/yyyy using the
numeric keypad. Press ENTER to confirm your choice.
• Enter your current local time using the 24 hour time
mode (e.g., 2:00 p.m. = 14:00). Press ENTER to view
the time you entered. If the time is incorrect, press ESC
to go back to the previous screen. If the time is correct,
press ENTER to confirm.
• When "Daylight Saving?" is displayed, use the scroll
keys to select "Yes" or "No". "YES" indicates the time
entered in the previous step is Daylight Saving time,
while "NO" indicates the time entered is Standard time.
Press the ENTER key to confirm and proceed to the
next step
6 .
Start mount alignment . Now the screen will display
"Begin Alignment?" and ask you to select 1) YES or 2)
NO. Press "1" or ENTER to start the alignment process.
Press "2" or ESC to skip the alignment process.• When
"Daylight Saving?" is displayed, use the scroll keys to
select "Yes" or "No". "YES" indicates the time entered
in the previous step is Daylight Saving time, while "NO"
indicates the time entered is Standard time. Press the
ENTER key to confirm and proceed to the next step.
7 .
Start mount alignment. Now the screen will display
"Begin Alignment?" and ask you to select 1) YES or 2)
NO. Press "1" or ENTER to start the alignment process.
Press "2" or ESC to skip the alignment process.
NOTE: The hand controller LCD's red illumination will dim
and the keypad backlighting will turn off if idle for 30 sec-
onds. Pressing any key turns the lighting back on.
Moving the Mount
One of the great features of StarSeeker IV telescopes that
sets them apart from previous StarSeeker versions is the abil-
ity to move the mount by hand as well as electronically with the
hand controller. That is, after the initial GoTo star alignment,
the telescope can be moved by hand without losing the align-
ment. This can come in handy when slewing to target objects.
For instance, if you know the object you want to observe is on
the other side of the sky from where your telescope is currently
pointed, you could move it most of the way there very quick-
ly by hand, then use the hand controller to finish the precise
pointing electronically using the GoTo command.
The directional keys (Figure 17A) allow you to move the mount
in azimuth (left or right) and altitude (up or down). Just press
the key corresponding to the direction you want the telescope
to move; e.g., the top key to move the telescope upward or the
right key to move the telescope to the right.
You can also quickly set or change the speed of movement.
Pressing the (RATE/2) key will display the menu for choosing
a slewing speed:
• The LCD screen displays "Set Speed", followed by the
current speed as "Rate = *x"'.
12
• Press a number between 0 and 9 to select a new
speed.
• Press the ENTER key to confirm that new speed and
return to the previous display.
If the ENTER button is not pressed, the selected speed will
still be activated when you use the direction keys to slew the
mount, if you do it within 5 seconds. However, if a directional
key is not pressed within 5 seconds of selecting the speed, the
previous speed will be kept.
GoTo Star alignment
In order for your StarSeeker IV GoTo telescope to accurately
locate and point to objects in the sky, it must first be aligned
on known positions (stars) in the sky. With that information, the
mount can create a model of the sky and of the movements of
astronomical objects.
There are two methods for aligning your StarSeeker IV tele-
scope, and they are very similar: Brightest Star Alignment and
2-Star Alignment. Both involve identifying and pointing the
telescope to two different bright stars in the night sky. Both
alignment methods provide the same level of precision. The
only difference is that for the Brightest Star alignment, the
hand controller will prompt you to select the first alignment star
from a directional region of the sky and will provide a short list
of the brightest stars in that region. With the 2-Star alignment
procedure the list of eligible stars is not grouped by region of
sky.
For the novice stargazer unfamiliar with the night sky or the
names of brighter stars, some might find the Brightest Star
Alignment to be the easier of the two methods. The 2-Star
method is for users who know the names of at least some
stars in the night sky. To assist you in performing the align-
ment by either method, we have included in Appendix C a set
of star charts with the names of some bright alignment stars
indicated for easy reference.
Note: Before performing any of the alignment methods,
be sure that your finder scope is precisely aligned with
the telescope tube.
To get the most accurate star alignment:
• The two alignment stars you choose should be at least 60
degrees apart. (For reference, your fist held at arm's length
spans about 10 degrees.)
• The two stars should be roughly at the same altitude.
• Use a high-power eyepiece, such as the 10mm focal length
eyepiece included with the StarSeeker IV.
• When centering an alignment star in the eyepiece,
always end the procedure by using the UP and RIGHT
direction keys . (Very important!)
• If there is overshoot when centering an alignment star in
the eyepiece with the UP and RIGHT keys, use the LEFT
or DOWN keys to pull the star back to the edge of the field
of view and then use the RIGHT and UP keys to center the
star again.
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