Hand Control; Attaching The Computerized Hand Control; Powering The Nexstar Gt; Nexstar+ Hand Control - Celestron NexStar 102GT Instruction Manual

HAND CONTROL

ATTACHING THE
COMPUTERIZED
HAND CONTROL
The NexStar GT Hand Control has a phone
jack type connector at the end of its cord.
Plug the phone jack connector into the outlet
at the base of the telescope's fork arm. Push
the connector into the outlet until it clicks
into place and place the Hand Control into its
holder as described previously in the Assembly
section of the manual.

POWERING THE NEXSTAR GT

The NexStar GT can be powered by the supplied battery pack or an optional 12v AC adapter. The
power pack requires 8 user supplied AA size alkaline batteries. To power the NexStar, insert the
batteries into the battery pack, making sure to install the batteries using the correct polarity, and
plug the round post into the 12v outlet located on the side of the fork arm. Once the battery pack is
plugged in, the NexStar will power on and the red backlight on the Hand Control display will come on.
In case of a loss of power, the optical tube can be moved up and down by hand. However, when
powered on, the telescope should always be controlled via the Hand Control. The NexStar will lose
its star alignment if moved by hand when powered on.
Note: Always replace the entire set of batteries each time. Do not mix old batteries with
new ones or use batteries of different types.
THE NEXSTAR+ HAND CONTROL
The NexStar GT's Hand Controller is designed to give you instant access to all the functions the
NexStar has to offer. With automatic slewing to over 40,000 objects and common sense menu
descriptions, even a beginner can master its variety of features in just a few observing sessions.
Below is a brief description of the individual components of the NexStar+ hand controller:
1. Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) Window: Has better performance in cold weather and red
backlighting for comfortable nighttime viewing of telescope information and scrolling text.
2. Align: Instructs the telescope to begin the default alignment procedure. It is also used to select
star or object as an alignment position.
3. Direction Keys: Allows complete control of your telescope in any direction. Use the direction
keys to centre objects in the eyepiece or manually slew the telescope.
4. Catalog Keys: These keys on the hand control allow direct access to each of the main catalogs in
its database of thousands of objects. Your telescope contains the following catalogs in its database:
• Solar System - All 7 planets in our Solar System plus the Moon, Sun and Pluto.
• Stars - Custom lists of all the brightest stars, double stars, variable stars, constellations
and asterisms.
• Deep Sky - Custom lists of all the best galaxies, nebulae and clusters as well as the complete
Messier and select NGC objects.
Computerized
Hand Control
Outlet
FIGURE 3-1 THE NEXSTAR GT OUTLETS
COMPUTERIZED TELESCOPE
Power Outlet
Battery Pack
11