Meade DS-2102AT-TC manual

Instruction Manual #497 A utoStar Handbo x f or use with the DS-2090A T -TC and DS-2102A T -TC MEADE.COM[...]

3 1 B 4 7 9 J 8 5 6 L K 1 LCD Display 2 ENTER Key 3 MODE Key 4 GO T O Key 5 Arro w Keys 6 Number Keys 7 Scroll K eys 8 ? Key 9 RS232 P or t 10 Coil Cord 11 Light key 12 Utility Light Fig. 1: A utoStar k eys ® The name “Meade , ” “AutoStar , ” and the Meade logo are trademarks registered with the U .S. P atent Office and in pr incipal count[...]

3 Nearly all telescope operations are accomplished with just a fe w pushes of AutoStar’ s buttons. Some of the major f eatures of A utoStar are: N A utomatically mov e the telescope to any of the 30,000 objects stored in the database or manually enter the astronomical coordinates of any celestial object. N T ake a guided tour of the best celestia[...]

4 Additionally , use the Arrow ke ys to to mov e the cursor across the display: Use the Right or Left Arrow k ey to mo v e the cursor from one number to the ne xt in the display . g Number Ke ys: Press to input digits 0 to 9. T o change the speed at which the telescope mov es (known as the “sle w” speed) press a NUMBER KEY from 1 through 9. 1 i[...]

5 Initializing A utoStar This section describes how to initialize A utoStar. P erform this procedure the first time you use A utoStar . 1. Tighten Locks: Tighten the Altitude lock and tripod base loc k knob . 2. Plug in A utoStar: Make sure the telescope po wer s witch is in the OFF position. Plug A utoStar into the HBX por t of the Control P anel.[...]

6 8. Select T argets: Astronomical Option: " T argets: T errestrial" displays. Press either of the Scroll ke ys once. "T argets: Astronomical" now displa ys. 9. Locate a Bright Star : Use the Arrow k eys to locate a bright star in the night sky . Y ou ma y choose any unobstructed, bright star for the purposes of this example . U[...]

7 When the procedure is perf ormed correctly , "Alignment Successful" displa ys. If Autostar does not displa y this message, perf or m this procedure again. NO TE: Autostar locates alignment stars based on the date, time , and location entered. The alignment stars may change from night to night. All that is required is f or the obser ver [...]

8 Slew Speeds A utoStar has nine slew speeds that are directly proportional to the sidereal rate (this is the speed at which stars mov e) and have been calculated to accomplish specific functions . Pressing the SPEED/? ke y changes the slew speed, which is then shown f or about two sec- onds on A utoStar’ s display . The nine av ailable speeds ar[...]

9 It is impor tant to understand that menu selections are set in a loop ( Fig. 3 ). This means that pressing the Scroll Down k ey cycles do wn through all the av ailable options within a giv en cate- gor y , then retur ns to the first option. The Scroll Up k e y cycles up through the options in the oppo- site order . Note that this capability is a [...]

10 A utoStar Navigation Exer cise T o demonstrate how the A utoStar menu structure works, the follo wing e x ercise calculates Sunset time so an e vening observing session can be planned. T o Calculate Sunset time: 1. Press the MODE ke y sev eral times, until “Select Item: Object” is displayed. 2. Press the Scroll Down k ey once to displa y the[...]

11 T o night's Best H o w F ar is F ar A Star's Life D o wnloaded T ours U s er-created T ours Solar System M e rcury Etc . M o on A s teroids C omets C onstellations A n dromeda Etc . Dee p S k y N amed Obj ect G ala x ies N e b ulae M e ssier Etc . Star N amed S A O C atalog D o u b le V aria b le Etc . Satellite S e lect A d d D e lete[...]

12 Object Menu Almost all obser ving with A utoStar is perf ormed using the Object menu categor y . ( NO TE: Exceptions include Guided T our and Landmar k Sur v ey . ) Many A utoStar menu categories contain databases. An AutoStar database is a list of vie wab le objects , such as stars , planets, comets, neb ulae, and so forth. When one of these ob[...]

13 Event Menu The Ev ent men u provides access to dates and times of astronomical e vents. The Event data- base includes: Sunrise and Sunset calculates the time that the Sun rises or sets on the current date. Find rise and set times for other dates b y entering a new date into the “Setup: Date” menu. See DA T E , page 11. Moonrise and Moonset c[...]

14 Alarm selects a time f or an alarm signal as a reminder. T o use the Alar m, press ENTER, then choose "Set" or "Star t/Stop." N Set : Enter the time of da y for the alarm to sound, in hours, minutes , and seconds, then press ENTER. N Star t/Stop : Activates the alarm set previously . Use the Scroll keys to toggle betw een ON [...]

15 4. P oint the telescope Nor th. Use a compass or the Nor th Star , P olar is as a guide to locating Nor th. Dur ing EASY TWO-ST AR ALIGN , A utoStar automatically chooses two bright stars from its data- base. The user is then requested to center the stars in the ey epiece and press ENTER. T wo-Star Alignment requires some kno wledge of the night[...]

16 N Quiet Slew : Sets the maximum sle w rate to 1.5° f or quieter operation. N Max Ele v ation : Allows y ou to enter a v alue in degrees that sets a limit as to how f ar the optical tube can s wing upward during a programmed sle w . (Note that it does not prev ent you from perf or ming a manual slew past this limit.) This is useful when you ha v[...]

17 and allo ws automatic sle wing of the telescope to the user-entered coordinates. R.A (Right Ascension) and Dec. (Declination) are similar to latitude and longitude, e xcept that they are used to find objects in sky . In order to use this menu option, y ou first need to look up the R.A and Dec. coordinates of the object or objects you wish to obs[...]

18 5. Use the Scroll ke ys to display data about the pass: aos – acquisition of signal and los – loss of signal. If you subtract the aos from the los , you can calculate how long the satellite will be visib le . Location information also displa ys. 6. "Alarm" displays after the location inf ormation. Press ENTER and AutoStar automatic[...]

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14-2005-00 05/06 (800) 626-3233 www .meade.com MEADE LIMITED W ARRANTY Every Meade AutoStar accessory is warranted b y Meade Instruments Cor poration (“Meade”) to be free of def ects in materi- als and workmanship for a period of ONE YEAR from the date of original purchase in the U .S.A. and Canada. Meade will repair or replace a product, or pa[...]