Meade ETX-80AT-BB manual

Instruction Manual ETX-80A T -BB Bac kpac k Observatory MEADE.COM[...]

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3 CONTENTS W ARNING! Never use a Meade ® T elescope to look at the Sun! Looking at or near the Sun will cause instant and irre versib le damage to your e y e. Eye damage is often painless , so there is no warning to the obser ver that damage has occurred until it is too late. Do not point the telescope or its viewfinder at or near the Sun. Do not [...]

4 QUICK-ST ART GUIDE Setting up the T ripod Step 1: Remo ve the telescope and tripod from the giftbox. Step 2: Hold the tr ipod by its handle and turn the locking ring to loosen the tr ipod mechanism. Push down on the loc k- ing ring as far as it will go to spread out the tripod legs. T ur n the locking ring to tighten the tripod in place. Step 3: [...]

5 Step 11 : Secure the ey epieces in place with their respectiv e thumbsrews . Alwa ys star t obser ving using a lo w pow er ey epiece to get a nice widefield of view . Later on you can change to high power , if so desired. But high powered ey epieces hav e a much narrow er field of view and it’ s more difficult to locate objects using high pow e[...]

6 Fig. 1 : The ETX-80A T -BB T elescope. TELESCOPE FEA TURES 1. Eyepiece 2. Eyepiece holder thumbscre w 3. 45 ° Erecting Prism 4. Rear Cell P or t 5. 90 ° Eyepiece holder 6. Ey epiece 7. Eyepiece holder thumbscre w 8. Fork arms 9. Optical tube 10. Objective lens cell 11. Dew shield 12. Dust cap 13. V er tical lock 14. Horizontal lock 15. Focus kn[...]

7 Fig. 2 : The AutoStar Handbox (see page 10). Fig. 1c : The batter y compar tment. Fig. 1b : The computer control panel: A - HBX por t; B - LED; C - On/Off; D - A UX por t. Fig. 3 : The tr ipod. 21. A utoStar 22. T ripod bubb le lev el 23. Base 24. Handle 25. Adjustable legs 26. Locking ring 27. Leg br aces/accessor y holders 28. Leg locks 29. Bub[...]

8 ETX: Y our P ersonal Window to the Universe The Meade ETX-80A T -BB is an extremely v ersatile, high-resolution telescope with f eatures sim- ilar to those once av ailable only with larger and more specialized imaging systems . With push- button controls , automatic trac king of celestial objects, and software do wnloading capability , an ETX tel[...]

9 1% Focus Knob : Mov es the telescope’s objectiv e lens ( 10, Fig. 1 ) in a finely-controlled motion to f ocus an image. The ETX-80A T -BB telescope can be focused on objects from a distance of about 17 ft. to infinity . Rotate the focus knob cloc kwise to f ocus on distant objects, and countercloc kwise to f ocus on nearby objects. Note: The fi[...]

10 Fig. 5: #494 AutoStar Handbo x. T our the Cosmos with Just the Push of a Button Control of the ETX-80A T -BB is through the operation of the standard-equipment #494 AutoStar . Nearly all functions of the telescope are accomplished with just a fe w pushes of A utoStar’ s but- tons. Some of the major features of A utoStar are: • A utomatically[...]

11 The A utoStar Computer Controller provides control of vir tually e very telescope function within a compact handbo x. AutoStar has soft-touch k eys designed to hav e a positive f eel. The LCD (Liquid Cr ystal Displa y) is backlit with a red LED (Light Emitting Diode) f or easy viewing in the dark. The backlit displa y , ke y arrangement, and seq[...]

12 H Speed/? Ke y : Pressing the Speed/? ke y cycles through the nine slew speeds that mo ve the telescope. Each time the Speed/? ke y is pressed briefly , the current slew speed is shown f or about two seconds on the display . See SLEW SPEEDS, page 16. The Speed/? k e y also accesses the "Help" file. "Help" provides on-screen i[...]

13 P ar ts Listing Getting the telescope ready f or first obser v ations requires only a f ew minutes . When first open- ing the packing bo x, note carefully the follo wing par ts: • The ETX Astro T elescope with fork mount system, photographic type tripod. • W ater-resistant backpack. • #494 A utoStar handbox with attached coil cord. • Mea[...]

14 10. Secure the ey epieces in place with their respective thumbsrews . Tip: Alwa ys star t obser ving using a low po wer ey epiece to get a nice wide field of view . Later on you can change to high po wer , if so desired. But high powered ey epieces have a m uch narrow er field of view and it’ s more difficult to locate objects using high power[...]

15 Choosing an Eyepiece A telescope’ s eyepiece magnifies the image f or med b y the telescope’ s main optics. Each ey e- piece has a f ocal length, expressed in millimeters , or “mm. ” The smaller the focal length, the higher the magnification. For e xample, an e yepiece with a f ocal length of 9mm has a higher magnification than an ey epi[...]

16 Manual Operation of the T elescope Using A utoStar's Arrow K eys Y ou may also observe land and astronomical objects using A utoStar's Arrow k eys . If you ha ve not already done so , prepare your telescope follo wing the steps descr ibed in TELESCOPE ASSEMBL Y, page 13. Ne xt, flip the On/Off Switch ( 16C, Fig. 1b ) on the computer co[...]

17 NO TE: A utoStar requests the Countr y/State , City , and T elescope Model inf or mation only the first time A utoStar is activated. If you wish to change this inf or ma- tion, use the "Site" and "T elescope Model" options in the Setup menu. Observe the Moon P oint your telescope at the Moon (note that the Moon is not visible[...]

18 7. Set Y our Location or Zip Code: The Location screen displa ys. This screen asks y ou if you wish to choose either the zip code of your observing location or the location ( i.e., entering the city and state or countr y of y our obser ving location). Press Up to select the zip code option or do wn to enter the city and state . Note: The locatio[...]

19 Easy Alignment After you initializ e the system, A utoStar displays “Easy Align. ” The fastest and easiest w ay to star t observing with AutoStar is with Easy Alignment. During Easy Alignment, AutoStar automatically pic ks two alignment stars from its database of celestial objects. It will then sle w the telescope to a first alignment star .[...]

20 4. Press ENTER. “Calculating” displa ys. Then “Saturn” and a set of coordinates displa ys. Satur n’s (and other planets’) coordinates change throughout the y ear . 5. Press GO TO . “Saturn: Sle wing... ” displa ys and the telescope slews until it finds Saturn. Y ou ma y need to use the Arrow k eys to center Saturn precisely in th[...]

21 A UT OST AR MENUS T o night's Best H o w F ar is Far 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 le[...]

22 It is impor tant to understand that menu selections are set in a loop ( Fig. 23 ) . This means that pressing the Scroll Down k ey ( 6, Fig. 5 ) cycles do wn through all the availab le options within a giv en categor y , then retur ns to the first option. The Scroll Up ke y ( 6, Fig. 5 ) cycles up through the options in the opposite order . Note [...]

23 T o Calculate Sunset time: 1. Press the MODE ke y sev eral times, until “Select Item: Object” is display ed. 2. Press the Scroll Down k ey once to displa y the “Ev ent” option in the “Select Item” men u. 3. Press the ENTER ke y to choose the "Event" option and mov e down a lev el. "Ev ent: Sunrise" is display ed. [...]

24 Object Menu Almost all obser ving with A utostar is performed using the Object menu categor y . ( NO TE: Exceptions include Guided T our and Landmar k Survey . ) See GO T O SA TURN , page 19, f or an e xample of obser ving using the Object menu. Also see T AKE A GUIDED T OUR , page 20. Many A utostar menu categories contain databases. An Autosta[...]

25 Event Menu The Event 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 r ise and set times f or other dates by entering a new date into the “Setup: Date” menu. See DA T E , page 27. Moonrise and Moonset c[...]

26 Timer selects a countdown timer . This feature is useful f or functions such as astrophotograph y and trac king satellites. See OBSER VING SA TELLITES , page 30. T o use the Timer , press ENTER, then choose “Set” or “Start/Stop." N Set : Enter the time to be counted down, in hours , minutes, and seconds , then press ENTER. N Start/Sto[...]

27 Date changes the date used b y A utostar . This function is useful to check e vents in the past or future. For e xample, set the Date menu f or a day three months in the future . Then check the "Select Item: Ev ent" menu f or the Sunset time on that date. See EVENT MENU , page 25. Time changes the time entered into A utostar . Setting [...]

28 N Quiet Slew : Sets the maximum slew rate to 1.5° f or quieter operation. N Max Elev ation : Allows y ou to enter a value 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 pre vent y ou from perf or ming a manual sle w past this limit.) This is useful when you hav e[...]

29 T errestrial Observing The ETX-80A T -BB makes an excellent high-resolution, terrestrial (land) telescope. Vie wing ter- restrial objects requires looking along the Ear th's surface through heat w av es. These heat wa ves often cause deg radation of image quality . Low po wer e yepieces , like the MA 25mm e ye- piece , magnify these heat w [...]

30 T wo-Star Alt/Az Alignment T wo-Star Alignment requires some knowledge of the night sky . AutoStar pro vides a database of bright stars and two stars from this database are chosen by the observer f or alignment. 1. P erform steps 1 thr ough 8 as described in the EASY ALIGNMENT PROCEDURE , page 19. 2 . Align to the first star . AutoStar then disp[...]

31 8. Use the Arrow k eys to center the object in the e yepiece to view the object. Satellite orbits change and new satellites (including the Space Shuttle) are launched. Visit the Meade website ( www .meade .com ) appro ximately once a month to get updated information and instructions on how to download this data to A utoStar . If orbital paramete[...]

32 6. With about 20 seconds left on the countdown timer , star t watching through the e yepiece for the satellite to enter the field of view . 7. When the satellite enters the field of view , press ENTER. The telescope starts to track with the satel- lite . instrument. LPI ( Fig. 26 ) and Deep Sky Imager ( Fig. 27 ) combine the power of an electron[...]

33 Fig 29: #827 Right-Angle Viewfinder . A wide assor tment of prof essional Meade accessories are av ailable f or the ETX-80A T -BB. Meade accessories greatly extend man y impor tant applications to the telescope, from low- power , wide-field terrestr ial vie wing to high-power lunar and planetary obser ving. The premium quality of these accessori[...]

34 General Maintenance The ETX-80A T -BB telescope is a precision optical instrument designed to yield a lifetime of rew arding applications. Giv en the care and respect due any precision instrument, your tele- scope will rarely require f actor y ser vicing or maintenance. Maintenance guidelines include: 1. A void cleaning the telescope’ s optics[...]

35 T roubleshooting The f ollowing suggestions ma y be helpful with operation of the ETX-80A T -BB. The power indicator light on the telescope does not come on or there is no response when pressing A utoStar Arro w keys: • V er ify that the Computer Control P anel power s witch ( 10c, Fig. 1 ) is in the ON position. • V er ify that the A utoSta[...]

36 Meade Customer Service If you ha ve a question concerning your ETX-80A T -BB, contact the Meade Instruments Customer Ser vice Department at: T elephone : (800) 626-3233 Customer Ser vice hours are 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, P acific Time, Monday through F riday . In the unlikely e vent that the ETX requires f actor y ser vicing or repairs, write or [...]

37 A utoStar Specifications Processor ................................................................................ 68HC11, 8MHz Flash Memor y ................................................................512KB, reloadab le K eypad ............................................................................10 key alphan umeric Displa y .......[...]

38 Although A utoStar's database contains more than 1400 objects (stars, neb ulae, planets, etc.) that you can observe , you ma y ev entually want to vie w objects that are not par t of the database. A utoStar provides a f eature that allows you to enter an object's R.A and Dec coordinates in the "User : Objects" option of AutoS[...]

39 UNITED ST A TES City State Latitude Albuquerque New Me xico 35° N Anchorage Alaska 61° N Atlanta Georgia 34° N Boston Massachusetts 42° N Chicago Illinois 42° N Clev eland Ohio 41° N Dallas T exas 33° N Denv er Colorado 40° N Detroit Michigan 42° N Honolulu Haw aii 21° N Jac kson Mississippi 32° N Kansas City Missouri 39° N Las V ega[...]

40 T rain the telescope motors using A utoStar . P erf orm this procedure after RESET or if you are experiencing any point- ing accuracy prob lems. Figure 30 depicts the complete Drive T raining procedure. Note: Use a terrestrial object, such as a telephone pole or lamp post, to train the drive. Complete this ex er- cise once e very 3 to 6 months t[...]

41 In the ear ly 17th centur y , Italian Scientist Galileo, using a crude telescope considerably small- er than the ETX-80A T -BB, tur ned it to look to wards the sky instead of distant trees and moun- tains . What he sa w , and what he realized about what he saw , fore ver changed the wa y mankind thought of the universe . Imagine what it must hav[...]

42 Planets Planets change positions in the sky as they orbit around the Sun. T o locate the planets on a given da y or month, consult a monthly astronomy magazine, such as Sky and T elescope or Astronom y . Listed belo w are the best planets for vie wing through the ETX-80A T -BB. V enus is about nine-tenths the diameter of Ear th. As V enus orbits[...]

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Part no . 14-6881-00 06/00 (800) 626-3233 www .meade.com MEADE LIMITED W ARRANTY Every Meade telescope, spotting scope, and telescope accessory is warranted b y Meade Instruments Cor poration (“Meade”) to be free of defects in materials and workmanship f or a period of ONE YEAR from the date of or iginal purchase in the U .S.A. and Canada. Mead[...]