Southern Hemisphere Operation; Quick Start; Using The Lx200 Manually; Using The Lx200 In Land Mode - Meade LX200 Instruction Manual

Southern Hemisphere Operation

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The 16" LX is shipped with the North/South jumper set for
North (i.e., with the jumper on one pin only). This jumper is
located near the top left corner of the telescope's printed circuit
board (1, Fig. 4). For Southern Hemisphere operation, move the
jumper to cover both pins.
JMPR3
1
Fig.4: 16" LX200 Printed Circuit Board. (1) North/South
jumper.

QUICK START

To utilize all the features of the telescope, enter the required
information into the telescope's computer memory and learn the
menu structure of the keypad hand controller, which is described
in the rest of this manual. Although the LX
advanced, the telescope is straightforward to operate.
If you are reading this manual for the first time and are anxious
to begin observing through the telescope, this section will
describe how to use the telescope without going through the rest
of the manual. Come back and read the details, for most of the
t e l e s c o p e 's features can not be accessed without a full
knowledge of these details.

Using the LX200 Manually

The easiest way to use the telescope is to operate it manually.
With the telescope mounted on the field tripod (as described in
TELESCOPE ASSEMBLY, page 7), and with the diagonal mirror
and eyepiece in place, you are ready to make observations
through the telescope. Even without the viewfinder (if it is not yet
installed), terrestrial objects will be fairly easy to locate and
center in the telescope's field of view with a low-power eyepiece
by "gun sighting" along the side of the main telescope tube.
Unlocking the R.A. lock (6, Fig. 1) lets the telescope turn rapidly
through wide angles in R.A.
NOTE: The terms Right Ascension and Declination will be
discussed presently. For now, R.A.simply means horizontal and
Dec.means vertical.
For fine adjustment in R.A., turn the R.A. slow-motion control
knob (7, Fig. 1) while the R.A. lock is in the unlocked position.
The R.A. slow-motion control knob may be turned, if desired,
with the R.A. lock in a partially locked position. In this way, a
comfortable drag in R.A. is created. But do not attempt to
operate the R.A. slow-motion control knob with the telescope
fully locked in R.A.This may damage the internal gear system.
Releasing the Dec. lock-knob (18, Fig. 1), permits sweeping the
CAUTION: Do not attempt to move the telescope
manually in a horizontal direction when the R.A.lock is
in the locked position.
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telescope rapidly through wide angles in Dec.
With the above mechanical operations in mind, select an easy-
to-find terrestrial object as your first telescope subject, for
example, a house or building about one-half mile distant.
Unlock the Dec. lock-knob (18, Fig. 1) and R.A. lock (6, Fig. 1),
center the object in the telescopic field of view, and re-lock the
Dec. and R.A. locks. Precisely center the image by using the
keypad arrow keys to move the telescope.
The focus knob (5, Fig. 1) is located at the four-o'clock position
as you face the rear cell of the telescope. Precise motion of the
telescope primary mirror focuses the image. As you turn the
focus knob, there are no externally moving parts. Turning the
focus knob counter-clockwise, you are focusing towards the
infinity setting, and turning clockwise is for close distance. There
are about 45 complete turns to go from one end of focus to the
other, and it is possible to focus past infinity. Be patient during
focusing as images quickly go in and out of focus with only a
slight amount of turning of the focus knob.

Using the LX200 In LAND Mode

The 16" LX
to LAND mode. This is the align menu option that you will wish
to use to view terrestrial objects. In this menu option, four motion
speeds are active, allowing the telescope to be moved
electronically by means of the keypad. To use the telescope in
LAND mode, follow these steps:
1. Loosen the Dec. lock-knob (18, Fig. 1) and position the optical
2. Loosen the R.A. lock (2, Fig. 5) and rotate the telescope so
200
electronics are
Fig. 5: 16"LX200 Azimuth System. (1) Slow-motion control
knob; (2) R.A. lock-knob; (3) R.A. setting circle;
(4) R.A. Vernier pointer; (5) Hour angle (H.A.) pointer;
(6) Fork-mounting bolts.
The above two steps are not required for the telescope to work.
The telescope has some illegal positions (places where the
telescope will not go) and these two steps ensure proper
operation.
3. After setting up the telescope, connect all cords as described
4. On the power panel, turn on the LX
5. At this point the LX
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telescope is shipped with the microprocessor set
tube assembly approximately level, so that the Dec. setting
0°
circle (3, Fig. 1) reads . Retighten the Dec. lock-knob.
that the R.A. Vernier pointer (4, Fig. 5) and the Hour Angle
(H.A.) pointer (5, Fig. 5) approximately align with each other.
This positions the fork arms so that they are parallel to the
power panel (10, Fig. 1).
1
6
5
in Attaching the Power and Data Cords, page 8.
keypad display (1, Fig. 6) will show MEADE for several
seconds as the microprocessor performs a diagnostic self-
test. When the test is complete, the display shows
TELESCOPE on the top line and OBJECT LIBRARY on the
lower line. The red LED light next to the SLEW button will light
up.
200
is ready to use. Select the speed at
which you want to move the telescope by pressing the
appropriate speed-selection key (4, Fig. 6). You will be able to
see the telescope move only in the SLEW and MOVE modes.
2
4
3
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power switch. The