Meade ETX-90PE manual

Instruction Manual ETX ® Premier Edition T elescope Series A utoStar ® — LNT ™ — Smar tFinder ™ ™[...]

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Quick-Start Guide .......................................................... 4 T elescope Features ...................................................... 6 A utoStar Features .......................................................... 9 Getting Star ted ..............................................................12 P ar ts Listing ................[...]

QUICK-ST ART GUIDE 2 Make sure that the computer control panel po wer switch ( F ) is in the OFF position. Remove the A utostar ® handbo x and the coiled cord from the pac king mater ials . Plug one end of the cord into the HBX por t ( G ). Tighten (to a "fir m feel" only , do not o vertighten) the ver tical lock ( I ) and the hor izonta[...]

5 A utoStar then displays: “Location Option: 1-Zipcode 2-City”. This option allows y ou to choose how you wish to enter the location of your observing site: you can enter your zip code or choose the site from a list of countries, states and cities. Press the n umber k e y “1” if y ou wish to enter by zip code . Then enter the five digits of[...]

TELESCOPE FEA TURES 6 1 2 6 16 4 15 7 3 Features of the ETX-90PE, ETX- 105PE and ETX-125PE are identical, with the exception of the size of optical tube. 8 14 18 Fig. 1a, b and Fig. 2: The ETX Premier T elescope 1 Eyepiece 2 SmartFinder 3 Holder Thumbscrew 4 90° Eyepiece Holder 5 Optical T ube 6 Vertical (Dec.) Lock 7 Fork Arms 8 Focus Knob 9 Hori[...]

MEADE ETX: YOUR PERSONAL WINDOW TO THE UNIVERSE The Meade Premier Edition ETX-90PE, ETX-105PE and the ETX-125PE are e xtremely versatile, high-resolution telescopes . With pushb utton controls, automatic trac king of celestial objects and diffraction-limited imaging, an ETX Premier telescope ma y be all the telescope ev er required by many terrestr[...]

8 j Horizontal (R.A.) Loc k : Controls the manual horizontal rotation of the telescope. Loosen the horizontal lock countercloc kwise to unlock the telescope, enab ling it to be freely rotated by hand about the horizontal axis . Tightening the hor izontal loc k clockwise pre vents the telescope from being rotated man ually , b ut engages the hor- iz[...]

9 Fig. 4: The AutoStar Handbo x. AUTOST AR FEA TURES 1 4 7 9 J 8 3 5 6 L K W ant to lear n more about downloading the latest updates of AutoStar software from the Meade website ? See pages 28 and 42. T our the Cosmos with Just the Push of a Button Control of ETX T elescopes is through the operation of the standard-equipment #497 A utoStar . Near ly[...]

10 B 2-Line LCD Display: This screen displays A utoStar's menus and inf or mation about the telescope . • T op line: Lists the pr imar y menu. • Bottom line: Displa ys other menus that may be chosen, men u options, telescope status or inf or mation about a function that is being per- f or med. c ENTER Ke y : Press to go to the ne xt menu l[...]

11 Also , use the Arrow ke ys to scroll through numbers 0 through 9 and the alphabet. The Down Arro w key begins with the letter "A;" the Up Arro w ke y begins with digit "9." Additionally , use the Arro w ke ys to to move the cursor across the displa y: Use the Right or Left Arrow k ey to mov e the cursor from one number to the[...]

12 GETTING ST ARTED Fig. 5: Batter y installation. Fig. 6: Spread tripod legs. Fig. 7: Slide spreader on rod. P ar ts Listing Getting the telescope ready f or first obser vations requires only a f ew minutes . When first opening the pac king bo x, note carefully the following parts: • ETX Premier T elescope with f ork mount system and Smar tFinde[...]

13 4. Place the 26mm ey epiece ( 12, Fig. 15 ) into the eyepiece holder on the telescope and tighten the attachment thumbscrew ( 13, Fig. 15 ) to a "fir m feel" only . Mak e sure that the flip-mirror control ( 14, Fig. 15 ) is in the “up” position, as shown in the abov e photo . See page 14, for more inf ormation. Remov e the dust cov[...]

14 Fig. 20a & 20b : Jupiter: Examples of the r ight amount of magnification and too much magnification. Fig. 19 : Meade Super Plö ssl ey epieces. T oo Much Power? Can you e ver ha ve too much po wer? If the type of power y ou’ re referring to is ey epiece magnification, yes, y ou can! The most common mistake of the beginning obser v er is to[...]

15 OBSERVING Observing by Mo ving the T elescope Manually If you wish to observe a distant land object, such as a mountain top or a bird, y ou can obser ve b y merely pointing the telescope and looking through the ey epiece. 1. Loosen the telescope’ s horizontal lock ( 9, Fig. 1a ) and v er tical lock ( 6, Fig. 1b ). 2. Mov e your telescope to ob[...]

16 Slew Speeds A utoStar has nine slew speeds that mov e the optical tube at rates that are directly propor tional to the sidereal rate and hav e been calculated to accomplish specific functions. Press the Number key to change the sle w speed. The nine av ailable speeds are: Number K ey 1 = 1x = 1 x sidereal (0.25 arc-min/sec or 0.004°/sec) Number[...]

17 Initializing A utoStar for the Fir st Time This section describes how to initialize A utoStar . P erform this procedure the first time you use A utoStar or after perf or ming a Reset (see RESET , page 28). A utoStar will ask you to choose your observing location and your telescope’ s model number from the list it displa ys. Y ou will be prompt[...]

18 Which One’s the Alignment Star? If you’ re not familiar with objects in the night sky , how can you be sure if the star in y our e yepiece is really the alignment star? The rule of thumb is that an alignment star is usually the br ightest star in that area of the sky . If you perf orm a GO T O to an alignment star and you're not sure if[...]

19 5. Use the Arrow k eys ( 5, Fig. 2 ) to locate a br ight star in the night sky . Use the smar tfinder ( 2, Fig. 1a ) to help line up on the star . Y ou may choose any unob- structed, br ight star f or the pur poses of this example. Use AutoStar's Arro w keys to center the star in the e y epiece. Once the star is centered, press ENTER to sel[...]

AUTOST AR OPERA TION Object Event  Guided T ours Glossary Utilities Setup  20 Date Time Daylight Sa ving T elescope T argets etc. Setup Align  Fig. 27b: Menu options display on the second line. Use the Scroll keys to mo v e up or down through the list of options. Press ENTER to select the desired option. Fi[...]

21 Tip: When multiple choices are av ailable within a menu option, the current option is usually displa yed first and highlighted by a right pointing arrow (>). Look into the Future The Date option in the Setup menu is much more than just an entry of today's date; with it you can look f ar into the future or lear n about past ev ents. A uto[...]

22 T o night's Best H o w Far 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 Comets Constellations A n dromeda Etc . Deep Sky Named Object Galaxies Nebulae M e ssier Etc . Star Named S A O Catalog D o uble V ariable Etc. Satellite S e lect A d d D e lete Edit User Objects S e[...]

23 W ant to lear n more about Observing Satellites? See page 32. Use the OBJECT menu to select an object from the database. When your telescope is aligned and you select an object from any of these lists, y ou just need to press the GO T O key to mo ve the telescope so that it is pointed at the selected object. Over 30,000 objects are av ailable f [...]

24 W ARNING! Never use y our ETX T elescope to look at the Sun! Looking at or near the Sun will cause instant and irreversib le damage to your e ye. Eye dama ge is often painless, so there is no warning to the obser ver that dama g e has occurred until it is too late . Do not point the telescope at or near the Sun. Do not look through the telescope[...]

25 Tip: The Contrast Adjustment f eature is usually only required in v er y cold w eather . If you adjust the contrast so that you can no longer read the display , tur n off the po w er and tur n it on again. When V ersion appears on the displa y (the initial displa y screens are not affected b y the Contrast control), press MODE. is any word in [ [...]

26 Sleep Scope is a power sa ving option that shuts down A utoStar and the telescope without f orgetting its alignment. With "Sleep Scope" selected, press ENTER to activate the Sleep function. AutoStar goes dark, but the internal clock keeps running. Press any k ey , except ENTER, to re-activ ate AutoStar and the telescope. P ark Scope is[...]

27 J T racking Rate: Changes the speed at which the telescope tracks targets in the sky . a. Sidereal: The def ault setting for A utoStar ; sidereal rate is the standard rate at which stars mov e from East to West across the sky due to the rotation of the Ear th. b. Lunar: Choose this option to properly track the Moon o ver long observing sessions.[...]

28 J Ad d : Scroll through the list of Countries/States. Press ENTER when the site you wish to add displa ys. Then choose the desired city in the same manner . Choose Zip Code to enter your zip code , if you wish. Choose “Custom” if you wish enter the nam e of an observing site. In this method, you will enter its name, plus its longi- tude and [...]

29 Bef ore tr ying out the examples in this section, f amiliarize yourself with the basic operations of A utoStar described ear lier in this manual. The f ollowing e xamples assume that you ha ve a basic kno wledge of AutoStar and understand how to scroll to a desired menu or menu option and ho w to enter numbers and text. It also assumes that you [...]

30 Using A utoStar to Find Objects Not in the Database In this procedure, y ou will enter coordinates of celestial objects that do not appear in any of the A utoStar database lists. Y ou will enter the object's name and R.A. and Dec. coordinates (required inf or mation). Y ou may also enter the object's magnitude and size (optional inf or[...]

31 3. Select a satellite from list and press ENTER. 4. "Calculating...." and then "T racking..." displa ys. If the satellite is going to make a pass , "Located" displa ys. 5. Use the Scroll ke ys to display data about the pass: aos – acquisition of signal and los – loss of signal. If y ou subtract the aos from the [...]

32 Interactiv e Mode: T our name appears on the first line of the AutoStar displa y and the name of the object displa ys on line 2. T o display descriptiv e text in this mode , the user must press ENTER. Comment Line Inf or mation in the T our program that is not display ed, such as authorship , revision histor y , copyrights, etc. All comments beg[...]

33 The f ollowing commands specify objects that are already in the AutoStar database . If these commands f ollow the command A UT O SELECT , the object's title displays on line 1 and its description scrolls across line 2. Do not add a description str ing after the f ollowing command lines; these commands access objects with e xisting descr ipt[...]

34 ST AR "name" Enter ST AR follo wed by the name of the desired star in quotes . F or example: ST AR "V ega" LANDMARK az alt "title" "description" Enter the azimuth (az) f or the desired object in the follo wing format: xxxdxxmxxs. F or e xample: 123d27m00s. Then enter the altitude of the desired object in t[...]

35 T o Add a landmark to the database: In this procedure , y ou will store the location of terrestrial landmar ks in AutoStar's memor y. 1. Set the telescope in the home position, if necessary . Note for future ref erence where the telescope is located and if you ha ve aligned the telescope , which alignment method is used. Impor tant Note: T [...]

36 displa ys information about an object in its database that is closest to the one you quer ied about. IMPORT ANT NOTE: F or this function to operate properly , you must first set the telescope in the home position and initialize A utoStar . If you ph ysically move the telescope after initialization, this function will f ail to operate properly . [...]

37 One-Star Alt/Az Alignment One-Star Alignment requires some knowledge of the night sky . A utoStar provides a database of bright stars. One-Star Alignment is identical to T wo-Star Alt/Az: Alignment (see TWO-ST AR AL T/AZ ALIGNMENT , abo v e), except only one star from this database is chosen by the observer f or alignment. IMPORT ANT NOTE: The a[...]

38 2. Look through the reticle . Use the Arrow k eys to keep the star centered in the reticle cross-hairs. A utoStar displays a count of the 150 positions of the w or m gear . When the count reaches 150, one cycle is complete. A full cycle takes about 24 minutes. 3. Press MODE to e xit. PEC Update Menu Option PEC Update does not o v erwrite the dat[...]

39 Photograph y with a 35mm Camera Photog r aph y through your ETX model requires the addition of the optional #64 T -Adapter (see OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES , page 42). With the #64 T -Adapter attached to the telescope ( Fig. 30 ), through-the-telescope photog r aph y is possible with an y 35mm camera body with a remov able lens . In this wa y the teles[...]

40 Photog raph y through a long lens, such as the ETX, requires special technique for good results. The photographer should e xpect to use sev eral rolls film in acquir ing this technique . Long-lens photogr aphy has its o wn rewards , howe ver , which shor t-focus lenses cannot duplicate. A Few Tips on Photography 1. Use the standard tr ipod or th[...]

41 • If the camera is not directly coupled to the ey epiece, keep it as close to the ey epiece as possible and center the image to be photogr aphed to minimize vignetting (darkening of the edges of the photo). • T r y to block ambient light (from street lights , house, etc.) from the e yepiece and the camera with a piece of cardboard, a screen,[...]

42 OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES A wide assor tment of professional Meade accessories are av ailable f or the for ETX telescopes. Meade accessor ies greatly extend man y impor tant applications to the telescope, from lo w-power , wide-field terrestr ial viewing to high-po wer lunar and planetar y obser ving. The premium quality of these accessories is well-[...]

43 #932 45 ° Erecting Prism : All ETX models include an inter nal optically-flat mirror to reflect light to the telescope’ s 90° astronomical obser ving position. In this position the telescope’ s image is upr ight, but re versed. F or terrestr ial obser ving with an ETX model, the #932 Erecting Prism ( Fig. 38 ) correctly orients the eyepiec[...]

44 MAINTENANCE Y our ETX model telescope is a precision optical instr ument designed to yield a lif etime of rewarding observations. Giv en the care and respect due any precision instrument, the telescope will rarely require factory ser vicing or maintenance. Use the f ollowing guidelines: 1. Av oid cleaning the telescope’s optics: a little dust [...]

45 Stora ge and T ransport When the telescope is not in use , store it in a cool, dry place. Do not expose the instru- ment to e xcessive heat or moisture. It is best to store the telescope in its original box with the v er tical and hor izontal loc ks ( 6 and 9, Fig. 1a and 1b ) in the unloc ked positions . If shipping the telescope, use the origi[...]

46 Object appear s in the SmartFinder but not in the e yepiece: • The SmartFinder is not proper ly aligned with the telescope (see ALIGNING SMARTFINDER , page 13). Slew speed does not change when y ou press the SPEED key or the telescope moves slo wly even though the fast sle w speed is chosen: • The battery power ma y be low (see HO W TO ASSEM[...]

47 SPECIFICA TIONS Specifications: ETX-90PE Astro T elescope Optical design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maksutov-Cassegrain Primar y mirror diameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96mm (3.78”) Clear aper ture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90mm (3.5”) Focal length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[...]

48 Smar tFinder . . . . . . . . . . . Red dot projected onto finder’ s lens LNT Module . . . . . . High accuracy , temperature-compensated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . oscillator , updatable using Meade’ s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . optional A TUM accessor y Input voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[...]

49 A utoStar Specifications Processor ............................................................................ 68HC11, 8MHz Flash Memor y ............................................................1MB, reloadab le K eypad ........................................................................20 key alphan umeric Displa y .....................[...]

50 Equatorial Alignment In equatorial (or "polar") Alignment, the telescope is or iented so that the horizontal and vertical axes of the telescope are lined up with the celestial coordinate system. In order to equator ial align your telescope, it is essential to ha ve an understanding of ho w and where to locate celestial objects as they [...]

51 Howe ver , owners who wish to perf or m astrophotograph y or use the Meade LPI or Deep Sky Imager (see PHO TOGRAPHY WITH MEADE’S AUT OST AR SUITE , page 41, for more inf or mation) will find equatorial mounting indispensible to their needs. Equatorial Mount Equatorial mounting lines up the telescope’ s polar axis with the Nor th Celestial Po[...]

52 5. Press ENTER repeatedly until “Setup: Align” displays. 6. Press the Scroll Down key repeatedly until "Setup: T elescope" displa ys. Press ENTER. “T elescope: T elescope Model” displa ys. 7. Press the Scroll Down key repeatedly until "T elescope: Mount" displa ys. Press ENTER. “Scope Mounting: Alt/az” displa ys. [...]

53 Setting Circ les The ETX models are equipped with R.A. and Dec. setting circles ( 13 and 16, Fig. 1a ) to aid in locating f aint celestial objects when the telescope has been polar aligned . Setting cir- cles em ulate the celestial coordinates f ound on star char ts or in sky catalogs. Any charted object is easily located by coordinates in R.A. [...]

54 APPENDIX B: LA TITUDE CHART Latitude Chart for Major Cities of the W orld T o aid in the polar alignment procedure (see page 51), latitudes of major cities around the wor ld are listed below . T o deter mine the latitude of an observing site not listed on the char t, locate the city closest to y our site. Then follow the procedure below: Norther[...]

55 T rain the telescope motors using AutoStar . P erform this procedure if you are e xperiencing any pointing accuracy prob lems. Fig. 53 depicts the complete Dr ive T raining procedure. Note: Use a terrestrial object, such as a telephone pole or lamp post, to train the drive. Complete this e xercise once e very 3 to 6 months to maintain the highes[...]

APPENDIX D:CHANGING THE LNT MODULE BA TTERY 56 The LNT Module uses a lithium coin CR2023 batter y that will last about 5 years and is installed with the original LNT Module assembly . After you replace the battery , you will need to recalibr ate the telescope’ s sensors and reset the time and date. Y ou will need a new battery . Also , you may us[...]

57 APPENDIX E:BASIC ASTRONOMY Fig. 57: The Moon. Note the deep shadows in the cr aters. In the ear ly 17th centur y Italian Scientist Galileo, using a telescope smaller than y our ETX , turned it skyward instead of looking at the distant trees and mountains. What he saw and what he realiz ed about what he saw , has fore ver changed the wa y mankind[...]

58 Fig. 60: The Pleiades is one of the most beautiful open clusters . Tip: Enter a date in the Date menu and you can determine if a planet(s)— or any other object in the database—will be visib le during the night of the entered date. After entering a new date, go to the Object menu and select the desired planet from the menu. Then keep pressing[...]

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14-1010-29 10/04 MEADE LIMITED W ARRANTY Every Meade telescope, spotting scope and telescope accessory is warranted by Meade Instruments Corporation (“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. Meade will repair or replace a product or par t[...]