Meade DS-114AT - Manuals

8 Control of the DS-114AT Series Telescopes is throughthe operation of the #494 Autostar handbox. Nearly allfunctions of the telescope can be operated with just afew pushes of Autostar’s buttons. Some of the majorfeatures of Autostar are: ■ Automatically move the telescope to any of the1400 objects ...

10 Packing List Assembling the telescope for the first time requires only a few minutes. When first opening thepacking box, note carefully the parts listed on your giftbox. How to Assemble Your Telescope The telescope attaches directly to the tripod. The telescope in this way is "mounted" in...

11 12. Connect Autostar: Plug the coil cord of the Autostar Controller into the HBX port (C, Fig.1b) of the computer control panel. WARNING: Make sure you plug in Autostar before you plug in the battery pack. NOTE: Autostar does not require batteries; the telescope’s batteries supply powerto Autosta...

DEFINITION: A capital "X" is used todenote an eyepiece's(or a Barlow's) power ormagnification. For exam-ple, "40X" is read as"40-power." 12 Aligning the Viewfinder: It is recommended that you perform steps 1 through 4 of this procedure during the daytime andstep 5 at night. 1...

OBSERVING Observing by Moving the Telescope Manually If you wish to observe a distant land object, such as a mountain top or a bird, you can observeby merely pointing the telescope and looking through the eyepiece. 1. Loosen the telescope’s Az lock (19, Fig. 1) and Alt lock (22, Fig. 1). 2. Move you...

Fig. 18: Alt/Az Home Position. North Level the opti-cal tube 14 5. The Arrow keys are now activated. Press the Arrow keys (5, Fig. 2) to slew (move) the tel-escope up, down, right, or left. 6. Press the SPEED/? key (8, Fig. 2) to change the telescope’s slew speed. See SLEW SPEEDS , below, for more i...

DEFINITION:Initialization is aprocedure thatensures Autostaroperates correctly.When you first useAutostar, it doesn'tyet know where theobservation site is orthe time or date ofthe observation ses-sion. During the procedure,you will enter infor-mation, such as thecurrent time anddate, and observa-tio...

16 10. Select City: The next screen asks for the city closest to the observing site. Use the Scroll keys to cycle through the database of cities (listed alphabetically). Press ENTER when thecorrect city appears on screen. 11. Select Model Number: The next screen asks for the telescope model. Use the...

17 Observe a Star using the Automatic Tracking Feature In this example, the Autostar Arrow keys are used to find a star, and then Autostar's trackingcapability automatically keeps the star centered in your telescope's eyepiece. 1. Set in Home Position: Level the optical tube and point it North. Make...

19 Go To Saturn After performing the Easy Align procedure, the motor drive begins operating and the telescopeis aligned for a night of viewing. Objects in the eyepiece should maintain their position eventhough the Earth is rotating beneath the stars. IMPORTANT NOTE : Once aligned, only use GO TO or ...

20 It is important to understand that menu selections are set in a loop (Fig. 23). This means thatpressing the Scroll Down key (7, Fig. 2) cycles down through all the available options within agiven category, then returns to the first option. The Scroll Up key (6, Fig. 2) cycles up through theoption...

21 To 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...

22 MENUS AND MENU OPTIONS Object Menu Almost all observing with Autostar is performed using the Object menu category. (NOTE:Exceptions include Guided Tour and Landmark Survey.) See GO TO SATURN , page 19, for an example of observing using the Object menu. Also see USING THE GUIDED TOUR , page 19. Ma...

23 Landmarks stores the location of terrestrial points of interest in the permanent Autostar data-base. IMPORTANT NOTE: To use the Landmark function, the telescope must be locatedand aligned exactly as when the landmark was added to the database. ■ Select: To select a Landmark already in the databas...

25 Display Options enables or disables Autostar’s two initial displays. If both displays are dis-abled, Autostar begins with the Date display. ■ Sun Warning: Turns the “Sun Warning” message on or off. ■ Getting Started: Turns the “Getting Started” message on or off. Brightness Adj: Adjusts the brigh...

26 Telescope accesses the several options, including: ■ Model: Allows you to select the telescope model connected to Autostar. ■ Focal Length: Displays the focal length of the selected telescope. ■ Az Ratio and Alt Ratio: The Az (Azimuth) ratio and Alt (Altitude) ratio refers to the gearsof the tele...

27 ■ Edit: Edits a selected site, including: the name, latitude, longitude, and time zone. TimeZone refers to the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) time zone shift. Users West of Greenwich,England use “-” hours, East of Greenwich use “+” hours. For the United States, look up thetime zone shift in Table 1 . ...

28 CARING FOR YOUR TELESCOPE Your DS-114AT telescope is a precision optical instrument designed to yield a lifetime ofrewarding observations. Given the care and respect due any precision instrument, your tele-scope will rarely, if ever, require factory servicing. Maintenance guidelines include: a. A...

30 3. Secondary mirror-holder adjustments: If the secondary mirror (1, Fig. 31) is centered in thefocuser drawtube (2, Fig. 31), but the primary mirror is only partially visible in the reflection (3,Fig. 31), the three “+” (Phillips head) secondary mirror-tilt screws (2, Fig. 27) should be slight-ly...

31 OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES A wide assortment of professional Meade accessories is available for the DS-114ATTelescopes. The premium quality of these accessories is well-suited to the quality of the instru-ment itself. Consult the Meade General Catalog for complete details on these and otheraccessories....

32 Locating the Celestial Pole To get basic bearings at an observing location, take note of where the Sun rises (East) and sets(West) each day. After the site is dark, face North by pointing your left shoulder toward wherethe Sun set. To precisely point at the pole, find the North Star (Polaris) by ...

APPENDIX B 33 Using Autostar to Find Objects Not in the Database Although Autostar contains a database of more than 1400 celestial objects (stars, nebulae,planets, etc.) that you can observe, you may eventually want to view objects that are not partof the database. Autostar provides a feature that a...

34 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. "...

35 In the early 17th century Italian Scientist Galileo, using a telescope smaller than your DS-114ATmodel, 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 aboutthe universe. Imagin...

0601 A D V A N C E D P R O D U C T S D I V I S I O N Meade Instruments Corporation World’s Leading Manufacturer of Astronomical Telescopes for the Serious Amateur 6001 Oak Canyon, Irvine, California 92618 ■ (949) 451-1450 FAX: (949) 451-1460 ■ www.meade.com © 2001 MEADE LIMITED WARRANTY Every Meade ...