Meade DSX Series manual

Instruction Manual DSX Series Altazim uth Maksuto v-Cassegrain T elescopes Meade Instruments Corporation[...]

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Quick-Start Guide .......................................................... 4 T elescope Features ...................................................... 7 Autostar Features .......................................................... 9 Getting Started ..............................................................1 1 Packing List ....................[...]

4 QUICK-ST ART GUIDE 1. Open the tripod: Remove the tripod from the giftbox and stand vertically . Gently pull the legs apart to a fully open position. T urn the center tripod lock knob to secure and stabilize the tripod. T ighten to a firm feel. Caution : Make sure y ou loosen the tripod lock knob bef ore collapsing the tripod at the end of your v[...]

5 I H 9. Sight along the tube: Sight along the side of the telescope's main tube to locate an object. Practice using the Autostar Arrow keys to center an object in the telescope's field of view . 5. Insert the eyepiece: Remove the supplied 26mm eyepiece (D) from its container and place it in the eyepiece holder (E) T ighten the thumbscrew[...]

6 9 11 10 16 20 13 15 7 22 Fig. 1a: DSX Ser ies T elescope. Fig. 1c (Inset): Computer Control Panel. (A) Handbox port; (B) Po wer indicator light, (C) ON switch; (D) Auxiliary por t. AB C D 8 12 14 19 18 21 23 24 25 A B Fig. 1b (Inset): (A) Altitude Setting Circle; (B) Altitude Lock (on opposite side) (on bottom of base, not visible) 17 (not visibl[...]

7 An important array of features and manual controls facilitates operation of a DSX telescope. Be sure to become acquainted with all of these controls bef ore attempting obser v ations through the telescope. b Focus Knob : Moves the telescope’s focus drawtube in a finely-controlled motion to achieve precise image focus. Rotate the focus knob cloc[...]

8 1* Azimuth Setting Cir cle: Displays Azimuth (horizontal) coordinates. 1( T ripod Legs : Spread the legs out as far as they will open for a secure viewing platform. 2) Inner Support Struts (3) : Make the tripod more secure and stable. 2! T ripod Lock Knob : T ighten to a firm feel to secure tripod legs. Caution : Loosen the tripod lock knob bef o[...]

9 T our the Cosmos with Just the Push of a Button Control your DSX system with the standard-equipment Autostar . Nearly all functions of the telescope are accomplished with just a few pushes of Autostar ’s buttons. Some of the major features of Autostar are: • Automatically move the telescope to any of over 30,000 objects stored in the database[...]

10 DEFINITION: Throughout this manu- al, you will notice the term "Alt/Az." Alt/Az is frequently used to ref er to Altitude (vertical) and Azimuth (horizon- tal). Alt/Az is just one of many methods used b y amateur astronomers to help locate stars in the night sky . • Alt/Az Alignment: Use the Up and Down Arrow keys to move the telescop[...]

11 P acking List Getting the telescope ready for first observations requires only a few minutes. When first opening the packing box, note carefully the parts listed on your giftbox. How to Assemb le Y our T elescope The telescope attaches directly to the tripod. The telescope in this way is mounted in an “Altazimuth” (“Altitude-Azimuth,” or[...]

12 Remove the battery holder ( 2, Fig. 9 ) from the compartment and carefully lift the 9v connector ( 3, Fig. 9 ) out from the compartment. T ake care not to accidentally detach the wires of the battery connector from the base. Whenever you replace the batteries, to safeguard the wires, disconnect the 9v connector from the battery holder before rem[...]

13 DSX-90 Viewfinder 1. Remove the viewfinder by slightly unthreading the four alignment screws ( 4 and 6, Fig. 12 ) and slipping it out of the bracket. 2. Loosen the knurled lock-ring ( 2, Fig. 12 ) located near the viewfinder ’ s front lens cell ( 1, Fig. 12 ). Unthread this ring ( counterclockwise , as seen from the eyepiece-end of the viewfin[...]

Y our telescope comes supplied with a low-powered 26mm eyepiece which gives a wide, comfortable field of view with high image resolution. Low power eyepieces offer a wide field of view , bright, high-contrast images, and eye relief during long observing sessions. T o find an object with a telescope, always start with a lower power eyepiece such as [...]

15 OBSER VING Observing by Mo ving the T elescope Manuall y If you wish to observe a distant land object, such as a mountain top or a bird, you can observe by merely pointing the telescope and looking through the eyepiece. 1. Loosen the telescope’s tripod base lock knob ( 16, Fig. 1a ) and Altitude lock ( B, Fig. 1b ). 2. Move your telescope to o[...]

16 Slew Speeds Autostar has nine slew speeds that are directly proportional to the sidereal rate (see T O TRACK AN OBJECT A UT OMA TICALL Y below for a definition of "sidereal rate") and have been calculated to accomplish specific functions. Pressing the SPEED/? key changes the slew speed, which is shown for about two seconds on Autostar [...]

DEFINITION: Initialization is a procedure that ensures that A utostar operates correctly . When you first use A utostar , it doesn't yet kno w where the obser vation location site is or the time or date of the obser vation session. During the procedure, you will enter inf or- mation, such as the current time and date, and obser vation loca- ti[...]

18 10. Select City - The next screen asks for the city (listed alphabetically) closest to the observing site. Use the Scroll keys to cycle through the database of cities. Press ENTER when the correct city appears on screen. 11 . Select Model Number - The next screen asks for the telescope model. Use the scroll keys to locate your telescope model nu[...]

19 How to Easy Align Y our T elescope If you have just applied power to Autostar , perform steps 1 through 5. If you have already performed the initialization procedure, go to step 6. 1. Sun W arning - Press the key prompted by Autostar to accept. 2. Getting Started - Press ENTER to continue. 3. Enter Date - Enter the current date as previously des[...]

20 T wo other methods of alignment are available to the observer: T wo-Star and One-Star . These methods are included in case the observer prefers to pick out his or her own alignment stars. T wo-Star Alt/Az Alignment T wo-Star Alignment requires some knowledge of the night sky . T wo-Star Alignment is identical to Easy: Align (see EASY (TWO-ST AR)[...]

21 It is important to understand that menu selections are set in a loop ( Fig. 20 ). This means that pressing the Scroll Down key ( 7, Fig. 2 ) cycles down through all the available options within a given category , then returns to the first option. The Scroll Up key cycles up through the options in the opposite order . Note that this capability is[...]

22 T o Calculate Sunset time: 1. Press the MODE key several times, until “ Select Item: Object ” is displayed. 2. Press the Scroll Down key once to display the “ Event ” option in the “ Select Item ” menu. 3. Press the ENTER key to choose the "Event" option and move down a level. "Event: Sunrise" is displayed. 4. Pre[...]

23 MENUS AND MENU OPTIONS Object Menu Almost all observing with Autostar is performed using the Object menu category . ( NOTE: Exceptions include Guided T our and Landmark Sur ve y . ) See GO T O SA TURN , page 20, for an example of observing using the Object menu. Also see USING THE GUIDED TOUR , page 20. Many Autostar menu categories contain data[...]

24 Landmarks stores the location of terrestrial points of interest in the permanent Autostar database. IMPORT ANT NOTE: T o use the Landmark function, the telescope must be located and aligned e xactly as when the landmar k was added to the database . ■ Select : T o select a Landmark already in the database (see ADD below), choose the "Selec[...]

25 Min. (Minimum) of Algol is the minimum brightness of the dramatic eclipsing binary star system, Algol. It is relatively close at a distance of 100 light years. Every 2.8 days during a 10- hour period, Algol undergoes a major change in apparent magnitude as one of the two stars passes behind the other . The combined magnitude of the two stars thu[...]

26 ■ Set : Enter the time of day for the alarm to sound, in hours, minutes, and seconds, then press ENTER. ■ Start/Stop : Activates the alarm set previously . Use the Scroll keys to toggle between ON and OFF . When ON is displayed, press ENTER to activate the alarm. When the alarm time arrives, Autostar beeps. Press ENTER to deactivate the alar[...]

27 Time changes the time entered into Autostar . Setting the correct time is critical for Autostar to properly calculate locations and events. T ime may be set to 24-hour mode (military time) by selecting the "blank" option which follows the "AM" and "PM" options. Daylight Sa ving is used to enable or disable Daylight [...]

28 ■ T racking Rate: Changes the speed at which the telescope tracks targets in the sky . a. Sidereal: The default setting for Autostar; sidereal rate is the standard rate at which stars move from East to West across the sky due to the rotation of the Earth. b. Lunar: Choose this option to properly track the Moon over long observing sessions. c. [...]

29 ■ Software: Sends only the basic Autostar software. This is useful if one user has downloaded a new version of Autostar software from the Meade website ( www .meade.com ) and wants to pass this software along to friends. ■ All: Everything — user-defined information and Autostar software — is sent to another Autostar . Statistics provides[...]

30 AD V ANCED A UT OST AR FEA TURES Before trying out the examples in this section, familiarize yourself with the basic operations of Autostar described earlier in this manual. The following examples assume that you have a basic knowledge of Autostar and understand how to scroll to a desired menu or menu option, and how to enter numbers and text. I[...]

31 How to Create Y our Own Guided T our When a Guided T our is selected, Autostar slews your telescope to a predetermined list of objects and displays information about each object, such as type of object, constellation location, R.A. and Dec coordinates, and so forth. Autostar contains a few Guided T ours which are programmed at the factory . But [...]

32 Writing a T our Using the list of commands listed above, a custom tour can be created. Placing the word AUTO SELECT before any of the command lines activates Automatic Mode and, when selected, Autostar automatically searches and finds the designated object. The following is a list of command lines, complete with keywords and necessary strings: T[...]

33 COMET "name" Enter COMET and then the name of the desired comet in quotes. Autostar displays information about the comet from its database. For example: COMET : "Halley" LUNAR ECLIPSE If LUNAR ECLIPSE is part of the tour , Autostar checks its database every time the tour is activated to see if a lunar eclipse is visible that [...]

34 students would have to manually slew to the last two objects. He would then place AUT O SLEW ON before his first required object and AUTO SLEW OFF after the fourth object. #END T o end a tour , type the command #END on a separate line at the very end of the tour . Downloading T our s Once a tour is written and stored as an ASCII file (saved eith[...]

35 3. Use the Scroll keys to scroll through the list of objects you have previously entered. When the desired object displays, press ENTER to select the object. Use the Scroll keys to scroll through location information about the object, if desired. Press GO T O to slew the telescope to the landmark. 4. Press MODE to exit. T o perform a Landmark Su[...]

36 Bro wse This menu allows you to search the database for objects with certain parameters, much like a search engine. "Edit Parameters" lets you set various parameters for the search, and "Start Search" activates the search. A typical search might be performed as follows: 1. Select "Browse" from the Object menu. Press[...]

37 OPTIONAL A CCESSORIES A wide assortment of professional Meade accessories are available for the for DSX telescopes. Meade accessories greatly extend many important applications to the telescope, from low- power , wide-field terrestrial viewing to high-power lunar and planetary observing. The premium quality of these accessories is well-suited to[...]

38 CARING FOR Y OUR TELESCOPE Y our DSX telescope is a precision optical instrument designed to yield a lifetime of rewarding observations. Given the care and respect due any precision instrument, your telescope will rarely , if ever , require factory servicing. Maintenance guidelines include: a. A void cleaning the telescope ’ s optics: a little[...]

39 SPECIFICA TIONS DSX-90A T Optical design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maksutov-Cassegrain Diameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90mm (3.5 ” ) Focal length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1250mm Focal ratio (photographic speed) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . f/13.8 Near [...]

40 Celestial Coordinates It is helpful to understand how to locate celestial objects as they move across the sky . A celestial coordinate system was created that maps an imaginary sphere surrounding the Earth upon which all stars appear to be placed. This mapping system is similar to the system of latitude and longitude on Earth surface maps. In ma[...]

APPENDIX B 41 Using A utostar to Find Objects Not in the Database Although Autostar contains a database of more than 30,000 celestial objects (stars, nebulae, planets, etc.) that you can observe, you may eventually want to view objects that are not part of the database. Autostar provides a feature that allows you to enter an object's R.A and D[...]

42 Observing Satellites In this procedure, you will prepare your telescope to observe a satellite pass. 1. Go to the "Object: Satellite" menu option and press ENTER. 2. Use the Scroll keys to scroll through the list of satellites. 3. Select a satellite from the list and press ENTER. 4. "Calculating...." and then "Tracking..[...]

43 DS-2000 TIPS Fig. 27: T raining the Drive Procedure. APPENDIX D DSX TIPS This manual gives only the briefest introduction to astronomy . If you are interested in pursuing further studies, a few topics are suggested below that are worth reading up on. T ry looking up some of these topics in the Autostar glossary . Also below is a small sampling o[...]

44 In the early 17th century Italian Scientist Galileo, using a telescope smaller than your DSX model, turned it skyward instead of looking at the distant trees and mountains. What he saw , and what he realized about what he saw , has forever changed the way mankind thinks about the universe. Imagine what it must have been like being the first huma[...]

45 Planets Planets change positions in the sky as they orbit around the Sun. T o locate the planets on a given day or month, consult a monthly astronomy magazine, such as Sky and T elescope or Astronomy . Y ou can also consult Autostar for information about planets. Scroll to the "Object: Solar System" menu and scroll through the lists of[...]

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14-7190-00 07/03 AD V ANCED PRODUCTS DIVISION Meade Instruments Corporation World’ s Leading Manufacturer of Astronomical T elescopes for the Serious Amateur 6001 Oak Canyon, Irvine, California 92618 ■ (949) 451-1450 F AX: (949) 451-1460 ■ www .meade.com © 2003 MEADE LIMITED W ARRANTY Every Meade telescope, spotting scope, and telescope acce[...]