Instruction Manual Goto-Kit for equatorial EQ-5 Mounts Art. No.
Instruction Manual Telescope assemblies B 1* 1^ 1% 1$ 1# 1@ 1) C D E I F G H 1& 1! J 1) Fig. 1a: The LXD75-Series Mount; insert shows opposite side of Mount. C E A F D B Fig. 1d: The LXD75-Series Computer Control Panel Legend 1. Dec. Lock 2. Polar VF Cap 3. Dec. Setting Circle 4. Counterweight Shaft Base 5. Counterweight, Lock Knobs 6. Counterweight Shaft 7. Counterweight Safety Cap 8. Computer Control Panel 9. R.A. Motor Drive 10. Latitude Adjustment Handles 2 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.
Instruction Manual Installing the motors Warranty The period of warranty is 2 years, beginning on the day of purchase. Please keep the cash receipt as evidence of purchase. Devices which become defective during the warranty period can be returned to the dealer where the device was bought. The repaired device or a new one will then be returned to you. In the case of defects which occur after the end of the warranty period, the devices can also be returned. Your dealer: Name:..............................
Instruction Manual WARNING! Never use the Newtonian Telescope to look at the Sun! Looking at or near the Sun will cause instant and irreversible damage to your eye. Eye damage is often painless, so there is no warning to the observer that damage has occurred until it is too late. Do not point the telescope or its viewfinder at or near the Sun. Do not look through the telescope or its viewfinder as it is moving. Children should always have adult supervision while observing.
Instruction Manual Parts overview b Declination (Dec.): Controls the manual movement of the telescope. Turning the Dec. lock counterclockwise unlocks the telescope enabling it to be freely rotated by hand about the Dec. axis. Turning the Dec. lock clockwise (to a firm feel only) tightens the lock and prevents the telescope from being moved manually, but engages the Dec. motor drive (see 1* Fig. 1a) for Handbox operations.
Instruction Manual The Handbox Fig. 2: The handbox. Note: The handbox does not require batteries; the telescope’s batteries supply power to the handbox. Tour the Cosmos with Just the Push of a Button Control of the telescope mount is through the operation of the handbox. Nearly all functions of the telescope are accomplished with just a few pushes of the buttons.
Instruction Manual Note: Pressing MODE repeatedly while in the “Select Item” level moves the handbox to the topmost screen: “Select Item: Object.” Tip: If the „ENTER to Sync“ feature is accessed by mistake, press MODE to return to the previous screen. Note: If MODE is pressed and held for two seconds or more, information about the telescope‘s status displays. When the status displays, press the Scroll keys (7, Fig.
Instruction Manual Telescope setup 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, unlock the Right Ascension or R.A. lock (17, Fig. 1a). When this axis is unlocked, the telescope pivots on the R.A. axis. Later in the procedure, you will also unlock the Declination or Dec. lock (1, Fig. 1a). When unlocked, the telescope pivots on the Dec. axis.
Instruction Manual field of view begins to slowly drift across the eyepiece field. This motion is caused by the rotation of the Earth on its axis. Objects appear to move through the field more rapidly at higher powers. See TRACKING OBJECTS, page 10, for detailed information on how you can counteract the drift in the field of view. Activate the Arrow Keys The arrow keys of the handbox allow you to slew (move) the telescope up, down, right, or left.
Instruction Manual Observe the Moon Note: If you wish to perform a more precise polar alignment for the purposes of astrophotography, see „Appendix B,“ page 31. North OTA points north Point your telescope at the Moon (note that the Moon is not visible every night). Use the handbox to practice using the arrow keys and the slew speeds to view different features. The Moon contains many interesting features, including craters, mountain ranges, and fault lines.
Instruction Manual Observe a Star using the Automatic Tracking Feature In this example, the arrow keys are used to find a star, and then the tracking capability automatically keeps the star centered in your telescope‘s eyepiece. Tip: You can change the telescope‘s slew rate while centering an object in the eyepiece. See SLEW SPEEDS, page 9 for more information. 1. If you have activated the arrow keys and completed setting the telescope in the polar home position, the display now reads „Align: Easy.
Instruction Manual Using GO TO capabilities Tip: When multiple choices are available within a menu option, the current option is usually displayed first and highlighted by a right pointing arrow (>).
Instruction Manual 8. If you have previously entered the Country/State and City of your observing site (as described in ACTIVATE THE ARROW KEYS, page 9), go to step 9. If you have not entered this information, perform the following steps: a. 9. The handbox prompts you to enter the Country or State (listed alphabetically) of the observing site. Use the Scroll keys to cycle through the database of countries, states, and provinces. Press ENTER when the correct location displays. b.
Instruction Manual locks (1 and 17, Fig. 1d) and point the telescope at an object. Then re-tighten the locks. Press ENTER when the telescope is pointing at the desired terrestrial object. 16. „Center reference object“ displays. Center your target object using the Arrow keys. When centered, press ENTER. 17. The telescope slews and „Press until it is centered“ displays. Press the Up Arrow key until the target is centered again. Then press ENTER. 18.
Instruction Manual Using the Guided Tour This example demonstrates using “Tonight’s Best” Guided Tour. 1. After observing Saturn, keep pressing MODE until “Select Item: Object” displays again. Fig. 17: The planet Saturn is over 800 million miles from the Earth. 2. Press the Scroll Down key twice. “Select Item: Guided Tour” displays. 3. Press ENTER. “Guided Tour: Tonight’s Best” displays. Press ENTER.
Instruction Manual Basic Handbox operations Fig. 18: The handbox main menus.The six primary categories listed in the Select Item menu of the handbox. Object Event Guided Tours Glossary Utilities Setup Fig. 19: Menus set in a loop. Setup Align Date Time Daylight Saving Telescope Targets etc. Fig. 20: Menu options display on the second line. Use the Scroll keys to move up or down through the list of options. Press ENTER to select the desired option.
Instruction Manual 5. Press the ENTER key to choose the „Sunset“ option and move down another level. 6. The handbox calculates the Sunset time based on the current date, time, and location. The handbox then displays the results of the calculation. 7. Press MODE once to start moving back up through the handbox levels. The first level up is the Event menu. 8. Press MODE again to move up another level. This is the top level, „Select Item.“ 9.
Sunrise Sunset Moonrise Moonset Moon Phases Next Full Moon Next New Moon Next 1st Qtr Next 3rd Qtr Meteor Showers Quadrantids Lyrids Eta Aquarids Delta Aquarids Perseids Orionids Taurids Leonids Geminids Ursids Solar Eclipses Lunar Eclipses Min. of Algol Autumn Equinox Vernal Equinox Winter Solstice Summer Solstice Select Item: Event Fig. 21 The Complete Handbox Menu Structure. � Solar System Mercury Etc. Moon Asteroids Comets Constellations Andromeda Etc.
Instruction Manual Menus Object Menu Almost all observing with the handbox is performed using the Object menu category. (Note: Exceptions include Guided Tour and Landmark Survey.) See GO TO SATURN, page 18, for an example of observing using the Object menu. Also see USING THE GUIDED TOUR, page 19. The handbox contains many libraries of viewable objects, such as stars, planets, comets, nebulae and so forth.
Instruction Manual search, such as: Object Type, Minimum Elevation, Largest, etc. Once you have set the parameters of the search, select „Start Search“ and press ENTER. The handbox will display the results of the search. Event Menu The Event menu provides access to dates and times of astronomical events. The Event database includes: Sunrise and Sunset calculates the time that the Sun rises or sets on the current date.
Instruction Manual timer. When the timer runs out, four beeps sound and the timer is deactivated. Alarm selects a time for an alarm signal as a reminder. To use the Alarm, press ENTER, then choose „Set“ or „Start/Stop.“ • Set: Enter the time of day for the alarm to sound, in hours, minutes, and seconds, then press ENTER. • Start/Stop: Activates the alarm set previously. Use the Scroll keys to toggle between on and off. When ON is displayed, press ENTER to activate the alarm.
Instruction Manual Setup Menu The Setup menu’s primary functions are for setting up telescope alignment. However, there are numerous other features available within the Setup menu, including: Date changes the date used by the handbox. This function is useful to check events in the past or future. For example, set the Date menu for a day three months in the future. Then check the „Select Item: Event“ menu for the Sunset time on that date. See EVENT MENU, page 20.
Instruction Manual Lunar: Choose this option to properly track the Moon over long observing sessions. c. Custom: Allows entry of user-defined tracking rates. Reverse L/R: Reverses the functions of the Left and Right Arrow keys (i.e., the Right key moves the telescope to the left). b. Tip: The Reverse L/R and U/D functions are useful if you are observing in the Southern hemisphere.
Instruction Manual • Address: Use the Up and Down Arrow keys to enter your street address, city, state, and zip code. Press ENTER when the entry is complete. Download & Clone: These are service menus for workshop purposes only. Statistics provides basic statistical data about the handbox, including: • Characters Free: Shows how much room is available in user-defined object memory. • Version: Shows the current version of the handbox software. Reset completely resets the handbox.
Instruction Manual For advanced users Before trying out the examples in this section, familiarize yourself with the basic operations of the handbox described earlier in this manual. The following examples assume that you have a basic knowledge of the handbox and understand how to scroll to a desired menu or menu option, and how to enter numbers and text. It also assumes that you have initialized and aligned your telescope.
Instruction Manual 12. Using the Arrow keys, scroll to „Site: Select.“ The site you have just edited displays. Press ENTER to select the site or press MODE to exit. Finding objects not listed in the libraries In this procedure, you will enter coordinates of celestial objects that do not appear in any of the handbox libraries. You will enter the object‘s name and R.A. and Dec. coordinates (required information). You may also enter the object‘s magnitude and size (optional information).
Instruction Manual Observing Satellites In this procedure, you will prepare your telescope to observe a satellite pass. 1. Navigate 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. „Calculating....“ and then „Tracking...“ displays. If the satellite is going to make a pass, „Located“ displays. 5.
Instruction Manual move the telescope‘s optical tube and center this object in the telescope eyepiece. 2. Display the „Setup: Targets“ menu option. Choose „Terrestrial“ and press ENTER. „Setup: Targets“ displays again. Choosing this option turns off tracking for astronomical objects which is not useful for the viewing of terrestrial objects such as those in the Landmark database. Be sure to change this option back to „Astronomical“ when you wish to view celestial objects again. 3. Press MODE once.
Instruction Manual Appendix A: Celestial coordinates A celestial coordinate system was created that maps an imaginary sphere surrounding the Earth upon which all stars appear to be placed. This mapping system is similar to the system of latitude and longitude on Earth surface maps. In mapping the surface of the Earth, lines of longitude are drawn between the North and South Poles and lines of latitude are drawn in an East-West direction, parallel to the Earth’s equator.
Instruction Manual the object at the bright star. Then loosen the R.A. setting circle lock knob (16, Fig. 1a) and turn the R.A. setting circle to read the correct R.A. coordinate of the bright star; lock the R.A. setting circle lock knob onto the object. Next, loosen the R.A. lock (17, Fig. 1a) and turn the telescope in R.A. to read the correct R.A. coordinate of the object. Tighten the R.A. lock (17, Fig. 1a).
Instruction Manual Appendix B: Enhancing Pointing Precision The Polar Alignment Viewfinder Typically handbox‘s pointing capabilities are sufficient for most telescope observers, and the use of the polar alignment viewfinder is unnecessary for them. However, for those observers who need to meet the more demanding requirements of astrophotography, the polar alignment viewfinder allows the telescope mount to be more precisely aligned with true North.
Instruction Manual 4. The handbox then chooses three stars from its database to align upon. When the telescope slews to a star for alignment, it may not appear in the field of view in the eyepiece. Use the Arrow keys to move the telescope until the star is visible and centered in the eyepiece. The alignment star should be easily recognized and be the brightest star in the area of the sky where the telescope is pointing. See WHICH ONE‘S THE ALIGNMENT STAR, page 13, for more information.
Instruction Manual Important Note: The image will appear upside-down, but correct left-forright, in the eyepiece of a Newtonian telescope, if the eyepiece extends horizontally from the tube, as described in Step #3. Fig. 45: Position A. 5. Loosen the R.A. Lock (Tip: Make sure you do not accidentally loosen the Dec. Lock. If you do, restart the procedure beginning at Step #2). Rotate the telescope 180° in the R.A. axis ONLY, until the optical tube is in position B. See Fig. 46.
Instruction Manual A C Motor at back of mount B 7. Rotate the telescope 180° in the R.A. axis ONLY, to return the optical tube to position A. 8. Repeat steps 5 through 8, if necessary, alternating between position A and position B, and bringing the reference object halfway of the remaining distance to center. Stop the procedure once the distance between the object in position A and position B is less than one third the width of the eyepiece. 9.
Instruction Manual The telescope first moves 180° on the Dec. axis and then rotates 180° on the R.A. axis. The handbox displays „Slewing....“. When the telescope has completed the 180° slew, the telescope will be under the mount instead of over it. The counterweight shaft is now pointed upwards and the cradle adjustment screws (Fig. 47) are easily accessible. 7. The handbox again prompts you to center the landmark you have chosen in the eyepiece.
Instruction Manual Appendix C: Latitude Chart Latitude Chart for Major Cities of the World To aid in the polar alignment procedure (see pages 17-21), latitudes of major cities around the world are listed below. To determine the latitude of an observing site not listed on the chart, locate the city closest to your site. Then follow the procedure below: Northern hemisphere observers (N): If the site is over 70 miles (110 km) north of the listed city, add one degree for every 70 miles.
Instruction Manual STAR LOCATOR Summer Spring Polaris Polaris Fall Winter Polaris Polaris 37
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