About The Telescope; Attaching The Red Dot Viewfinder; Inserting The Eyepiece - Meade LightBridge Mini Series Instruction Manual

ABOUT THE TELESCOPE

The telescope mount is the basic support
for your telescope. Named after it's inventor
John Dobson, this mount style allows for both
horizontal and vertical motions. Its height
is fixed so using the telescope is best done
on a table top or stable elevated surface
so that you can view through the eyepiece
comfortably. A small table works best so it's
easy to move all the way around and you
are not limited to where you point and view
through the telescope.
The LightBridge Mini Series of telescopes
includes several models with optical tubes
of different sizes. These optical tubes, called
reflectors, use mirrors to bring the incoming
light to focus. You'll notice inside the telescope
there are two mirrors used to reflect the light
and bring it to focus. The primary mirror is
the large mirror at the bottom of the tube,
and secondary mirror is near the top of the
tube. The large primary mirror collects light
from the object you're looking at and bounces
it forward to the secondary mirror which
redirects it out the side of the tube.
The primary mirror diameter of the telescope
is one of the most important pieces of
information about the telescope. The size
of the mirror, also known as "aperture",
determines how much detail you will be able
to see in your telescope. The LightBridge
Mini Telescope Series includes apertures of
82mm, 114mm, and 130mm sized primary
mirrors.
The optical tube's focal length information
is also important and will help later on to
calculate the viewing magnification. The focal
length is the distance it takes for the mirrors
to focus the light. Each telescope has a
different focal length specifically designed to
give the best viewing experience.

ATTACHING THE RED DOT VIEWFINDER

An eyepiece (Fig 1, 12) has a narrow field of
view. The red dot viewfinder (Fig 1, 7) has a
wider field of view, which makes it easier to
locate objects. Once the red dot viewfinder is
aligned to the optical tube, the red dot can be
used to locate and place objects more
easily in the telescopes eyepiece.
1. Note the two thumbscrews (Fig 2,
8) thread onto two bolts on the optical
tube. Remove the thumbscrews from
the tube.
2. Slide the bracket over the bolts with the
viewfinder lens forward, towards the front of
the telescope.
3. Replace the thumbscrews (Fig 1, 8) on to
the bolts and tighten to a firm feel.

INSERTING THE EYEPIECE

1. Slide the 26mm eyepiece (Fig 1, 12)
directly into the focuser draw tube (Fig 1, 10).
(c) nimax GmbH
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Fig. 2