Meade DSX Series - Manuals

8 1* Azimuth Setting Circle: Displays Azimuth (horizontal) coordinates. 1( Tripod 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! Tripod Lock Knob: Tighten to a firm feel to secure tripod legs. ...

9 Tour 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 majorfeatures of Autostar are: • Automatically move the telescope to any of ...

10 DEFINITION:Throughout this manu-al, you will notice theterm "Alt/Az." Alt/Az isfrequently used to referto Altitude (vertical)and Azimuth (horizon-tal). Alt/Az is just one ofmany methods used byamateur astronomersto help locate stars inthe night sky. • Alt/Az Alignment:Use the Up and Down ...

11 Packing 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 Assemble Your Telescope The telescope attaches directly to the tripod. The telescope in this way is mounted in a...

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

13 DSX-90 Viewfinder 1. Remove the viewfinder by slightly unthreading the four alignmentscrews (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 ...

15 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 tripod base lock knob (16, Fig. 1a) and Altitude lock (B...

16 Slew Speeds Autostar has nine slew speeds that are directly proportional to the sidereal rate (see TO TRACK AN OBJECT AUTOMATICALLY below for a definition of "sidereal rate") and have been calculated to accomplish specific functions. Pressing the SPEED/? key changes the slewspeed, which i...

DEFINITION:Initialization is a procedure that ensuresthat Autostar operates correctly. When you firstuse Autostar, it doesn'tyet know where theobservation location siteis or the time or date ofthe observation session. During the procedure,you will enter infor-mation, such as the current time and dat...

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 ENTERwhen the correct city appears on screen. 11. Select Model Number - The next screen asks for the telescope model. Use t...

19 How to Easy Align Your Telescope 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 Warning - Press the key prompted by Autostar to accept. 2. Getting Started - Press ENTER to continue. 3. Enter D...

20 Two other methods of alignment are available to the observer: Two-Star and One-Star. Thesemethods are included in case the observer prefers to pick out his or her own alignment stars. Two-Star Alt/Az Alignment Two-Star Alignment requires some knowledge of the night sky. Two-Star Alignment is iden...

21 It is important to understand that menu selections are set in a loop (Fig. 20). 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 cycles up through the optionsin the opp...

23 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 20, for an example of observing using the Object menu. Also see USING THE GUIDED TOUR , page 20. Ma...

24 Landmarks stores the location of terrestrial points of interest in the permanent Autostar database. 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 database...

26 ■ Set: Enter the time of day for the alarm to sound, in hours, minutes, and seconds, then pressENTER. ■ Start/Stop: Activates the alarm set previously. Use the Scroll keys to toggle between ONand OFF. When ON is displayed, press ENTER to activate the alarm. When the alarm timearrives, Autostar be...

27 Time changes the time entered into Autostar. Setting the correct time is critical for Autostar toproperly calculate locations and events. Time may be set to 24-hour mode (military time) byselecting the "blank" option which follows the "AM" and "PM" options. Daylight Saving...

28 ■ Tracking 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 whichstars move from East to West across the sky due to the rotation of the Earth. b. Lunar: Choose this option to properly tra...

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 anot...

30 ADVANCED AUTOSTAR FEATURES Before trying out the examples in this section, familiarize yourself with the basic operations ofAutostar described earlier in this manual. The following examples assume that you have abasic knowledge of Autostar and understand how to scroll to a desired menu or menu op...

31 How to Create Your Own Guided Tour When a Guided Tour is selected, Autostar slews your telescope to a predetermined list of objectsand displays information about each object, such as type of object, constellation location, R.A. andDec coordinates, and so forth. Autostar contains a few Guided Tour...

34 students would have to manually slew to the last two objects. He would then place AUTO SLEWON before his first required object and AUTO SLEW OFF after the fourth object. #ENDTo end a tour, type the command #END on a separate line at the very end of the tour. Downloading ToursOnce a tour is writte...

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 scrollthrough location information about the object, if desired. Press GO TO to slew thetelescope to the landmark. 4...

36 Browse This menu allows you to search the database for objects with certain parameters, much likea search engine. "Edit Parameters" lets you set various parameters for the search, and "StartSearch" activates the search. A typical search might be performed as follows: 1. Select ...

38 CARING FOR YOUR TELESCOPE Your DSX telescope is a precision optical instrument designed to yield a lifetime of rewardingobservations. Given the care and respect due any precision instrument, your telescope willrarely, if ever, require factory servicing. Maintenance guidelines include: a. Avoid cl...

39 SPECIFICATIONS DSX-90AT Optical design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maksutov-CassegrainDiameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90mm (3.5”)Focal length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1250mmFocal ratio (photographic speed) . . . ....

40 Celestial Coordinates It is helpful to understand how to locate celestialobjects as they move across the sky. A celestial coordinate system was created thatmaps an imaginary sphere surrounding the Earthupon which all stars appear to be placed. Thismapping system is similar to the system of latitu...

APPENDIX B 41 Using Autostar 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 partof the database. Autostar provides a feature that...

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. "...

43 DS-2000 TIPS Fig. 27: Training 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 worthreading up on. Try looking up some of these topics in theAutosta...

44 In the early 17th century Italian Scientist Galileo, using a telescope smaller than your DSXmodel, 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. Imagine wha...

14-7190-00 07/03 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 © 2003 MEADE LIMITED WARRANTY ...