INSTRUCTION MANUAL 16" Starfinder Reflecting Telescope Meade Instruments Corporation
WARNING! Never use the Meade 16" Starfinder Telescope to look at the Sun! Observing the Sun, even for the shortest fraction of a second, will cause instant and irreversible damage to your eye as well as physical damage to the telescope itself. When observing with the telescope during the daytime, do not point the telescope even close to the Sun.
-3- 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. Captions for Fig.
-4- 16" STARFINDER REFLECTING TELESCOPE: INTRODUCTION The 16" Starfinder Equatorial telescope will open up the skies for a breathtaking array of visual observations. Galaxies, nebulae, star clusters — in all their variations of form, color, and extent — as well as the Moon, planets, comets and other objects within the solar system, may be studied in great detail. For those interested in photography, excellent results can be obtained using the optional Meade camera adapter and a 35mm camera body.
-5Fig. 1; this should prevent rotation of the telescope about the declination axis. BALANCING THE TELESCOPE 2 3 1 The telescope must be balanced around both axes in order for the mount to track accurately, keeping an object within the telescope's field of view. Most tracking errors are the result of improper balancing. With an improperly balanced telescope objects may become difficult to find or, once found, may be easily lost. To balance the telescope: 4 1.
-6- 12vDC Outlet The 12vDC Outlet accepts a #607 Power Cord (See OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES, page 12) for powering the 16" Starfinder Equatorial Telescope from a 12vDC automobile cigarette lighter plug. While the recommended supply voltage is 12vDC, the telescope will operate in a range of 6-18vDC. COLLIMATION OF THE OPTICAL SYSTEM After the secondary mirror assembly has been installed, it will be necessary to collimate, or align the secondary mirror with the primary mirror. 1.
-7- 4. Primary Mirror Adjustments If the secondary mirror and the reflection of the primary mirror (1), Fig. 8, appear centered within the drawtube (2), Fig. 8, but the reflection of your eye (3), Fig. 8, appears off-center, one or more of the three primary mirror hex screws of the primary mirror cell will need to be adjusted. These primary hex screws are located behind the primary mirror, at the lower end of the main tube.
-8Most observers will want to have 3 or 4 eyepieces and perhaps the #140 2x Barlow Lens to achieve the full range of reasonable magnifications. See OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES, page 11, for further details. (e.g., the Declination of the South Celestial Pole is -90°). See Fig. 10. Any point on the celestial equator itself (which, for example, passes through the constellations Orion, Virgo and Aquarius) is specified as having a Declination of zero, shown as 0° 0' 0".
-9circles with the Celestial Pole at the center. By lining up the telescope's polar axis with the North Celestial Pole (or South Celestial Pole if observing from the Earth's Southern Hemisphere), celestial objects may be followed (tracked) by moving the telescope about one axis, the polar axis. Polar alignment consists of the following two operations: 1. Aligning the telescope with the celestial pole: a. Identify the tripod leg designated as the "North Leg" (3), Fig.
- 10 - 1 5 if the telescope was well-aligned with the pole, the desired object should now be in the telescopic field of a low-power eyepiece. If the object is not immediately visible through the telescope, try searching the adjacent sky area. Because of its much wider field, the viewfinder may be of significant assistance in locating and centering objects, after the setting circles have been used to locate the approximate position of the object.
- 11 - ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY Your reflecting telescope can be used as a powerful astrophotographic lens with the addition of virtually any 35mm Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera body. The Basic Camera Adapter (see OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES, this page) and TMount for your specific brand of SLR camera serve as the link between telescope and camera.
- 12 Eyepiece 16" f/4.5 Power SP 6.4mm SP 9.7mm SP 12.4mm SP 15mm SP 20mm SP 26mm SP 32mm 286X* 187X 148X 122X 92X 70X 57X SWA 13.8mm SWA 18mm SWA 24.5mm SWA 32mm 133X 102X 75X 57X UWA 4.7mm UWA 6.7mm UWA 8.8mm UWA 14mm 389X* 273X* 208X 131X #65RS Manual Declination Control: Attaches directly to the equatorial mount, this Manual Declination Control allows the user to make fine micrometric adjustments in Declination.
- 13 and point the telescope at a moderately bright (second or third magnitude) star, then center the star image in the telescope’s field-of-view. With the star centered, follow the method below: harm to your equipment. This fuse can be replaced by removing the dust cover to expose the fuse holder on the back of the control panel. 1. Bring the star image slowly out of focus until one or more rings are visible around the central disc.
- 14 plug (10), Fig. 18, to the circuit board (as described above in Step 4c). Replace the dust cover. Specifications: Meade Starfinder 16" Reflecting Telescope TM Meade Customer Service TELESCOPE: Starfinder Equatorial 16 If you have a question concerning your Meade Starfinder telescope, call Meade Instruments/Customer Service Dept. at 949-451-1450, or fax at 949-451-1460. Customer Service hours are 8:30AM - 4:00PM, Pacific Time, Monday through Friday.
- 15 - FCC NOTICE This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a CLASS A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
Meade Instruments Corporation World’s leading manufacturer of astronomical telescopes for the serious amateur. 6001 Oak Canyon, Irvine, California 92620 Fax: (949) 451-1460 www.meade.com (949) 451-1450 Ver. 0698 Part no.
