Page 2 - WARNING; How This Manual is Organized
WARNING NEVER USE A MEADE ® TELESCOPE TO LOOK AT THE SUN! LOOKING AT OR NEAR THE SUN WILL CAUSE INSTANT ANDIRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE TO YOUR EYE. EYE DAMAGE IS OFTENPAINLESS, SO THERE IS NO WARNING TO THE OBSERVER THATDAMAGE HAS OCCURRED UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE. DO NOT POINTTHE TELESCOPE OR ITS VIEWFINDER AT...
Page 3 - TABLE OF CONTENTS; PART TWO: Starfinder Controls and Menus
page 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART ONE: The Basics Lesson 1: Unpacking and Assembly ....................................................................5 How to Assemble Your Telescope ......................................................................8 Lesson 2: Balancing the Telescope .................
Page 5 - LESSON 1: Unpacking and Assembly; Telescope Assembly
page 5 PART ONE: The Basics LESSON 1: Unpacking and Assembly As you unpack your telescope, carefully note the following parts. The bolded numbersin parentheses on this page refer to the photos on page 4. Telescope Assembly • Equatorial mount ( 1 ) with a pre-attached heavy duty, continuously adjusta...
Page 7 - The coiled cord that
page 7 23 18 21 22 27 25 19 20 20 24 26 17 28 29 30 28 29 NOTE: The coiled cord that connects to the two motordrives has been omittedfrom the illustration for thesake of clarity. Fig. 2b: The Meade Model 4504 4.5" Equatorial Reflecting Telescope. Fig. 2c: The Meade Model 4504 4.5" Equatorial...
Page 8 - How to Assemble Your Telescope; If the counterweight ever slips, the secured threaded safety
page 8 How to Assemble Your Telescope The giftbox contains the optical tube assembly and the tripod with the equatorialmount. The accessories are located within compartments custom-cut into the styro-foam block inserts. Refer to Figures 1, 2a, 2b, and 2c for images of the parts and the overall assem...
Page 9 - one; Secure the optical tube:; both; Adjust the height of the tripod:
page 9 8. Tilt the assembly: Unlock the R.A. lock ( 26, Fig. 2b ) and the Dec lock ( 27, Fig. 2b ) so that the telescope turns freely on both axes. Tilting these axes makes it easier for you to perform the following steps. Turn the latitude adjustment knob( 16, Fig. 2a ) until approximately 1 1/2 in...
Page 10 - Lesson 1
page 10 LESSON 2: Balancing the Telescope In order for the telescope to be stable on the tripod and also for it to move smoothly,it must be balanced. To balance the telescope, you will unlock the Right Ascension orR.A. lock ( 26, Fig. 2b and Fig. 9a ). When this axis is unlocked, the telescope pivot...
Page 11 - The viewfinder and telescope present an upside-down image.; LESSON 4: Observing by Moving the Telescope Manually; It is very important to practice this step; to understand
page 11 NEVER point the telescope directly at or near the Sun at any time!Observing the Sun, even for the smallest fraction of a second, willresult in instant and irreversible eye damage, as well as physicaldamage to the telescope itself. 5. Check this alignment on a celestial object, such as a brig...
Page 12 - Key to Figure 11
page 12 1 2 6 5 4 7 8 3 10 11 12 9 13 Fig. 11: Motor drive system assembly. 1. R.A. Worm Shaft 2. (R.A. Axis) Plastic Adapter 3. Aluminum Shaft 4. Set Screw 5. Circular Housing containing notched plastic shaft 6. Battery Pack Connector 7. LED 8. R.A. Motor Drive 9. Handbox (HBX) Port 10. Dec Motor D...
Page 13 - Locate the plastic adapter; The R.A. motor drive has a connector for the battery pack that is; Tighten the set screws
page 13 Observe the World Around You Practice observing during the day, when it is easier to become familiar with the con-trols of your telescope. 1. Loosen the telescope’s R.A. lock ( 26, Fig. 2b ) and Dec lock ( 27, Fig. 2b ). 2. Move your telescope to observe distant street signs, mountains, tree...
Page 14 - Pressing the Speed/? key briefly changes the slew speed. Holding; Starfinder
page 14 Activate the Arrow Keys This procedure describes how to activateStarfinder's Arrow keys: 1. After Starfinder's cord is plugged in and thebatteries are installed, a copyright messagelights on the Starfinder LCD display ( 1, Fig. 13 ). 2. A message warning not to look at the Sunscrolls across ...
Page 15 - For almost all astronomical observing requirements,
page 15 Speed 1: Fastest speed to move the telescope from one point in the sky to another. Speeds 2 or 3: Best used for the rough centering of an object in the eyepiece. Speeds 4 or 5: Enables the centering an object in the field of a low-to-moderate powereyepiece such as the standard H 25mm Speeds ...
Page 16 - Observe a Star using the Automatic Tracking Feature; Go to Step 2; LESSON 7: Using Starfinder's GO TO Capabilities
page 16 Observe a Star using the Automatic Tracking Feature In this example, Starfinder's Arrow keys are used to find a star, and then Starfinder'stracking capability automatically keeps the star centered in your telescope's eyepiece. 1. If you have just completed Lesson 5, Starfinder's display now ...
Page 17 - Initializing Starfinder; Normally, you will enter the Time and Date at the beginning of each
page 17 Initializing Starfinder This exercise describes how to initialize Starfinder. Initialization is a procedure that enables Starfinder to operate correctly. When you firstuse Starfinder, it doesn't yet "know" the location of the observing site or the time ordate of the observation sessi...
Page 18 - California
page 18 7. Starfinder then prompts you to enter the status of Daylight Savings Time. Press one of the Scroll keys to toggle between the YES/NO settings. Select the desiredsetting by pressing ENTER. NOTE: Daylight Savings Time may be referred to by a different name in various areas of the world. 8. I...
Page 19 - Training the Drive; Use a terrestrial object, such as a telephone pole or lamp post, to
page 19 Training the Drive Next, train the drive using Starfinder. Perform this procedure the first time you useStarfinder with your telescope, after a Reset, or if you are experiencing any pointingaccuracy problems. Training the drive gives your telescope a higher degree of point-ing accuracy. NOTE...
Page 20 - Align Your Telescope Using Starfinder; A scrolling message prompts you to unlock both the Latitude Lock (; Check Mount; etc
page 20 Align Your Telescope Using Starfinder After completing the "Train the Drive" procedure, align your telescope using Starfinder.The fastest and easiest way to start observing with Starfinder's Go To capabilities is toalign your telescope using One-Star (Polar) Alignment. An alternate m...
Page 21 - Once aligned, only use the Starfinder menus or Arrow; Using the Guided Tour; This example demonstrates using “Tonight’s Best” Guided Tour.
page 21 Which One’s the Alignment Star? If Starfinder has chosen an alignment star that you are unfamiliar with, how can yoube sure if the star in your eyepiece is really the alignment star? The rule of thumb is that an alignment star is usually the brightest star in that area ofthe sky. When you vi...
Page 22 - list. Press ENTER when you find the next object you wish to observe.; Some Observation Tips
page 22 You have now completed all the Lessons for the basic operation of your 4504telescope. All of Starfinder's features perform in the same way as the featurescovered in Part 1. Practice these procedures so you can apply them to themore advanced Starfinder menu features presented in Part 2 of thi...
Page 23 - PART TWO; : Starfinder Controls and Menus; NOTE; Starfinder Controls; If ENTER is pressed for two seconds or more and then released,
page 23 PART TWO : Starfinder Controls and Menus This section describes how Starfinder operates, including: • Starfinder's controls • How to move through Starfinder's menus • Alignment setups • Starfinder's Menus Control of the 4504 is through the operation of the standard-equipment Starfinderhandbo...
Page 25 - Coil Cord
page 25 Speed/? Key: Briefly pressing the Speed/? key cycles through the seven slew speeds that move the telescope (see “Slew Speeds,” page 14). NOTE: Pressing the Speed/? key briefly changes the slew speed. Holding down the Speed/? key longer (one to two seconds) accesses the Helpfunction. The Spee...
Page 26 - How Starfinder's Menus Work; Press the Scroll Down key four times or the Scroll Up key once.; Starfinder Navigation Exercise; The Starfinder universe.
page 26 How Starfinder's Menus Work It is important to understand that Starfinder's menu selections are set in a loop. Thismeans that pressing the Scroll Down key cycles down through all the available optionswithin a given category and then returns to the first option. The Scroll Up key cyclesup thr...
Page 27 - To perform an accurate calculation, Starfinder must be properly; To Calculate Sunset time:; location. Starfinder then displays the time of Sunset.
page 27 NOTE: To perform an accurate calculation, Starfinder must be properly initialized with the current date, time, and location of the observing site. To enter the current date, time, and location information of your observingsite, see “ INITIALIZE STARFINDER” page 17, before proceeding with thi...
Page 28 - Starfinder Menus; Object Menu; Exceptions include Guided Tour and Landmark Survey.
page 28 Starfinder Menus Object Menu Almost all observing with Starfinder is performed using the Object menu. ( 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 THEGUIDED TOUR,” page 21. Many S...
Page 29 - Event Menu; Meteors are fast moving objects that cover large areas of the sky; Glossary Menu
page 29 1. When a desired object is visible in the eyepiece, press MODE until the "SelectItem: Object" menu is displayed. 2. Scroll through the Object menu options until "Object: Identify" displays. 3. Press ENTER to search the database for the identity of the object being observed. ...
Page 30 - Utilities Menu; This feature is usually only required in very cold weather.
page 30 To access a hypertext word directly from the Glossary menu, use the Scroll keys toscroll through the alphabet. Press ENTER on the desired letter. Scroll to the desiredentry, then press ENTER to read the description. Utilities Menu The Utilities menu provides access to several extra features ...
Page 31 - When the Park Scope option is chosen and the; Setup Menu; Daylight Savings Time may be referred to by a different name in
page 31 Park Scope is designed for a telescope that is not moved between observing ses- sions. Align the telescope one time, then use this function to park the telescope. Nexttime it is powered up, enter the correct date and time – and no alignment is required.Pressing ENTER causes the telescope to ...
Page 32 - The Download function requires the optional Cable Set. See the
page 32 • Calibrate Motor: If the telescope motors appear to have a problem, use this option to retest the motors before doing a Reset. This option is also used if aStarfinder unit is moved between telescopes to match Starfinder to the telescope. • High Precision: If High Precision is turned on when...
Page 33 - PART 3: Caring for Your Telescope; Cleaning; The lens or mirror surfaces should be cleaned as; Mount and Tripod Adjustments
page 33 PART 3: Caring for Your Telescope Cleaning The lens or mirror surfaces should be cleaned as infrequently as possible. Front sur- face aluminized mirrors, in particular, should be cleaned only when absolutely neces-sary. In all cases, avoid touching any mirror surface. A little dust on the su...
Page 35 - Primary mirror adjustments; Diagonal mirror misalignment.
page 35 refine the tilt-angle of the diagonal mirror until the entire primary mirror can be seencentered within the diagonal mirror reflection. When the diagonal mirror is correctlyaligned, it will look like Fig. 28 (the primary mirror is shown out of alignment). Primary mirror adjustments If the di...
Page 36 - Star testing the collimation
page 36 Star testing the collimation With the collimation performed, you will want to test the accuracy of the alignment ona star. Use the H 25mm eyepiece and point the telescope at a moderately bright (sec-ond or third magnitude) star, then center the star image in the telescope’s field-of-view.Wit...
Page 37 - MODEL 4504 TELESCOPE SPECIFICATIONS; STARFINDER SPECIFICATIONS
page 37 MODEL 4504 TELESCOPE SPECIFICATIONS Optical design ................................................................Newtonian ReflectorClear aperture ..............................................................114mm (4.5”)Focal length ...........................................................
Page 38 - APPENDIX A: Calculating Eyepiece Power; using the H 25mm eyepiece
page 38 APPENDIX A: Calculating Eyepiece Power The power, or magnification of the telescope depends on two optical characteristics:the focal length of the main telescope and the focal length of the eyepiece used dur-ing a particular observation. The focal length of the 4504 telescope is fixed at 910...
Page 39 - ), the imaginary sphere on which all stars appear to be
page 39 APPENDIX B: Terrestrial Viewing, Celestial Movement,and Polar Alignment Terrestrial Viewing The 4504 is an excellent, high-resolution terrestrial (land) telescope. Viewing terrestrialobjects requires looking along the Earth's surface through heat waves. These heatwaves often cause degradatio...
Page 40 - Lining Up with the Celestial Pole; Polaris
page 40 On the surface of the Earth,“lines of longitude” are drawnbetween the North and SouthPoles. Similarly, “lines of latitude”are drawn in an East-West direc-tion, parallel to the Earth's equa-tor. The celestial equator is sim-ply a projection of the Earth'sequator onto the celestialsphere. Just...
Page 41 - Using Setting Circles; Center the determined bright star in the telescope’s field of view.; Two-Star Polar Alignment
page 41 Using Setting Circles The setting circles of the Polar aligned equatorial mount can be used to locate faintcelestial objects not easily found by direct visual observation. To use the setting cir-cles, follow this procedure: • Use a star chart or star atlas, and look up the celestial coordina...
Page 43 - APPENDIX D: Helpful Charts; Latitude Chart for Major Cities of the World; : If the site is over 70 miles North of the listed city, subtract one
page 43 APPENDIX D: Helpful Charts Latitude Chart for Major Cities of the World To aid in the Polar Alignment procedure (see "TO POLAR ALIGN THE TELESCOPE," page 15), latitudesof major cities around the world are listed below. To determine the latitude of an observing site not listedon the c...
Page 44 - APPENDIX E: Basic Astronomy
page 44 In the early 17th century, an Italian Scientist named Galileo, using a crude telescopeconsiderably smaller than your 4504, turned it to look towards the sky instead ofdistant trees and mountains. What he saw, and what he realized about what he saw,forever changed the way mankind thought of t...
Page 46 - Season
page 46 A Roadmap to the Stars The night sky is filled with wonder andintrigue. You too can enjoy exploringthe universe simply by following a fewpointers on a roadmap to the stars. First, find the Big Dipper which is part ofthe constellation Ursa Major. The BigDipper is usually easy to locate yearro...
Page 47 - Meade Limited Warranty
Meade Limited Warranty Every Meade telescope, spotting scope, and binocular is warranted by Meade Instruments Corp. (MIC) tobe free of defects in materials and workmanship for a period of ONE YEAR from date of original retail purchase in the U.S.A. MIC will repair or replace the product, or part the...
Page 48 - Meade Instruments Corporation
0600 14-7010-04 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 © 2000
