Instruction Manual LT ACF and LT SC Series Telescopes with AutoStar #497 Hand Controller INDEX
WARNING! Never use a Meade® LT Series 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 at or near the Sun. Do not look through the telescope or Red Dot Finder as it is moving. Children should always have adult supervision while observing.
CONTENTS Introduction Object Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 #497 AutoStar Menu Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Event Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Glossary Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Utilities Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Setup Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 A solid telescope built for a lifetime of service. .
The LT Series ACF and LT Series SC Telescope A solid telescope built for a lifetime of service Congratulations on receiving your new LT Series telescope. You’ll find that this telescope system has all you need to explore the Universe we live in. Meade’s concept was to create a telescope that would be simple enough for anyone to use, yet capable enough for the experienced amateur to stretch their knowledge and skills.
You may want to perform the LT telescope assembly indoors in the light so that you become familiar with the parts and operation before moving the telescope outside into the dark for observing. This Getting Started Guide assumes you are too impatient to read the entire manual first and want to use your new telescope as quickly as possible. Just follow the simple steps below and you will be up and running before you know it.
Center Hub Follow the battery polarity (orientation) as indicated by molded icons Thumb-Screw Take the LT Series from its packaging and place the entire telescope onto the top of the tripod head. Rotate the telescope head slowly until you feel the scope register on the center hub of the tripod head. Carefully screw the three attachment thumb-screws on the bottom of the plate to the base of the tripod. Hand tighten the screws so the telescope cannot spin or wobble on the tripod head.
Your Telescope is now Fully Assembled Now remove the dust cover from the front of the telescope tube. Be careful not to touch the glass lens. AutoStar #497 HANDBOX GETTING STARTED Attaching Accessories Be sure the telescope master power switch is in the off position. Remove the LT Series handbox and the coiled interface cable from the packing materials. Plug one end into the HBX port of the control panel and plug the other end into the Handbox port on the LT Series handbox.
On/Off & Brightness Adjustment Because your telescope has so much magnification, its field of view is very small. This can make it hard to know exactly where your telescope is pointing by simply looking at it. To help you point the telescope quickly and accurately, for terrestrial targets or GO TO pointing, the LT Series has a 1X Red Dot Viewfinder. The Red Dot Finder will aid you in pointing your telescope easily. It works much like a fighter pilot’s heads-up display.
As the Earth rotates beneath the night sky, the stars appear to move from East to West. The speed at which the stars move is called the sidereal rate. You can setup your telescope to move at the sidereal rate so that it automatically tracks the stars and other objects in the night sky. If the telescope is not tracking an astronomical object, the object will drift out of the eyepiece field of view. The tracking function automatically keeps an object more or less centered in the telescope’s eyepiece.
The AutoStar database is organized in levels for quick and easy navigation. • Press ENTER to go deeper into AutoStar’s menu levels. • Press MODE to move back toward the top menu level. • Press the Scroll keys to move up and down through the options available for each level. • Press the Arrow keys to enter characters and digits. The Arrow keys are also used to move the telescope. Initializing AutoStar This section describes how to initialize AutoStar.
The fastest and easiest way to locate objects with Autostar’s GO TO capabilities is to use Easy Align. Autostar automatically picks two stars from its database for the Easy Align procedure. During this procedure, Autostar slews the telescope to a first alignment star. The user is asked to verify that the telescope is pointed at the chosen star and then prompted to center the star in the eyepiece. The process is repeated with a second star to complete the alignment.
Using the Guided Tour After performing the Easy Alignment procedure, the motor drive begins operating and the telescope is aligned for a night of viewing. Objects in the eyepiece should maintain their position even though the Earth is rotating beneath the stars. This example demonstrates using “Tonight’s Best” Guided Tour. Important Note: Once aligned, only use the GO TO or Arrow keys to move the telescope. Do not move the telescope manually, or alignment will be lost.
AutoStar LT SERIES#497 KEY HANDBOX FEATURES Diagonal Eyepiece Holder Diagonal Prism Computer Control Panel 1.
Diagonal Thumbscrew Optical Tube Assembly (OTA) Focus Knob Computer Control Panel A. Handbox (HBX) Port B. LED C. ON/OFF Switch D. Auxiliary (AUX) Port E. 12v Power Connector Dust Cover Battery Compartment AutoStar LT SERIES#497 KEY HANDBOX FEATURES Figure 2: LT Series Right Side D. A. B. C. D. E.
Diagonal Holder: Holds the eyepiece in place. Dust Cover: Gently lift out the dust cover from the front lens of the telescope. The dust cover should be replaced after each observing session and the power turned off to the telescope. Verify that any dew that might have collected during the observing session has evaporated prior to replacing the dust cover. Diagonal Prism: provides a more comfortable right angle viewing position. Slide the diagonal prism directly into the eyepiece holder (Pg.
Meade makes a complete line of accessories to enable you to get the most fun and performance from your LT Series telescope. No matter what you want to accomplish, we have the equipment to help you get there. Choosing Eyepieces 26mm eyepiece, which gives a wide 53 ARC Minute (just a little less than 1 degree) field of view with 59x magnification.
Series 5000 Ultra Wide Angle NOTE: 2 inch eyepieces require the optional Series 5000 2” Enhanced Diagonal with 99% Reflectivity (product number 07677) and the SC Thread to 2" Accessory Adapter (product number 07085). AutoStar #497 HANDBOX OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES The Series 5000 Premium Eyepieces represent the highest level of eyepiece technology.
While the LT Series will operate with 8 “C” cell batteries, you should consider several other power options that might work better for your situation and save you money. Deep Sky Imagers (DSI) Universal AC Adapter (07584): This adapter supplies a constant regulated 12 volt DC at up to 5 Amps from either a standard 115 volt AC or 220 volt AC household supply. It is the only tested and recommended AC power supply for the LT Series system.
ENTER Key MODE Key “GO TO” Key Arrow Keys Number Keys Scroll Keys “? Key Coil Cord Port Coil Cord AutoStar #497 AUTOSTAR #497HANDBOX HANDBOX 2-Line LCD Display RS-232 Port Utility Light Figure 5: The AutoStar #497 Handbox Tour the Cosmos Push of a Button with Just the Control of the LT Series is through the operation of the standard-equipment AutoStar. Nearly all functions of the telescope are accomplished with just a few pushes of AutoStar’s buttons.
• Date • Site coordinates • Local Time and Local Sidereal Time (LST) • Timer and Alarm Status • Battery status 2-Line LCD Display: Provides an interface between AutoStar and the telescope. • Top line: Lists the primary category or menu item. • Bottom line: Contains a menu option or information about an object or subject, depending on which function is being performed. GO TO Key: Slews (moves) the telescope to the coordinates of the currently selected object.
essentially an on-screen instruction manual. Nine available speeds are: If you have a question about an AutoStar operation, e.g., INITIALIZATION, ALIGNMENT, etc., hold down the ? key and follow the directions that scroll on the second line of the LCD screen. When a word appears in [brackets], press ENTER to access the AutoStar Glossary. A definition or more detailed information is displayed. Press MODE to return to the scrolling AutoStar Help display.
4. Press a Number key (Pg. 19, Fig. 5, 6) to change the telescope’s slew speed. See Slew Speeds, on pg 20 for more information. 5. Use the viewfinder (Pg. 13, Fig. 1, 13) to locate an object and practice using the AutoStar’s Arrow keys to center the object in the telescope’s field of view. 6. Use the telescope’s focus knob (Pg. 14, Fig. 2, 9) to bring the object into focus.
Important Note: No matter how many levels into AutoStar are traveled, each press of the MODE key moves up a level, until the top level, “Select Item”, is reached. Once in the Select Item level, press MODE to return to the topmost level, “Select Item: Object”. AutoStar Navigation Exercise To demonstrate how the AutoStar menu structure works, the following exercise calculates Sunset time so an evening observing session can be planned. To Calculate Sunset time: 1.
The telescope comes pre-loaded with: • To enter numbers and text: a) Use the Number keys, or b) Use the Arrow keys to scroll through numbers 0 - 9 and the alphabet. The Down Arrow key begins with the letter “A”; the Up Arrow key begins with digit “9”. • To move the cursor across the display: Use the Right or Left Arrow key (Pg. 19, Fig. 5, 5) to move the cursor from one number to the next in the display • Press ENTER when the desired information has been entered.
Solar System Mercury Etc. Moon Asteroids Comets Constellations Andromeda Etc. Deep Sky Named Object Galaxies Nebulae Messier Etc. Star Named SAO Catalog Double Variable Etc.
Important Note: When you are looking at descriptive object text, pressing “ENTER” will synchronize the telescope’s coordinates with the object. This is most useful when synching on bright stars to achieve better pointing in the vicinity of the star. User Objects allows the user to define and store in memory deep-sky objects of specific interest that are not currently in the LT Series database.
Min. (Minimum) of Algol is the minimum brightness of the dramatic eclipsing binary star system, Algol. It is relatively close at a distance of 100 light years. Every 2.8 days during a 10 hour period, Algol undergoes a major change in apparent magnitude as one of the two stars passes behind the other. The combined magnitude of the two stars thus dips from +2.1 to a minimum of +3.4 halfway through the eclipse as the second star is hidden. LT Series calculates minimum magnitude time at mid-eclipse.
Park Scope is designed for a telescope that is not moved between observing sessions. Align the telescope one time, then use this function to park the telescope. Next time it is powered up, enter the correct date and time – no alignment is required. Pressing ENTER causes the telescope to move to its pre-determined Park position. Once parked, the screen prompts to turn off power.
• Reverse L/R reverses the functions of the Left and Right Arrow keys (i.e., the Right key moves the telescope to the left). • Reverse UP/DOWN reverses the functions of the Up and Down Arrow keys (i.e., the Up key moves the telescope down). • Quiet Slew sets the maximum slew rate to 1.5° for quieter operation. • Max Elevation allows you to enter a value in degrees that sets a limit as to how far the optical tube can swing upward during a programmed slew.
Clone uploads information from one AutoStar handbox to another. Three options are available: • Catalogs: Sends only user-defined object information, such as new satellite orbits or comet data to another AutoStar handbox. • 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.
press ENTER so that the site is added to your observing sites list. Choosing a site already on the list (as opposed to using the “Custom” feature) makes it easier to edit, as the “Time Zone” value may not need to be changed. Adding Observing Sites If you plan to observe using AutoStar at different geographic locations, you can store up to six observation sites in AutoStar’s memory to help simplify your telescope setup.
In this procedure, you will enter coordinates of celestial objects that do not appear in any of the AutoStar database lists. 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). Although AutoStar contains an extensive database of celestial objects (stars, nebulae, planets, etc.) that you can observe, you may eventually want to view objects that are not part of the database.
5. Use the Scroll keys to display data about the pass: aos—acquisition of signal and los—loss of signal. If you subtract the aos from the los, you can calculate how long the satellite will be visible. Location information also displays. 6. “Alarm” displays after the location information. Press ENTER and AutoStar automatically sets the alarm to sound a minute before the satellite’s scheduled appearance. You may return to regular observations until the alarm goes off. 7.
Information in the Tour program that is not displayed, such as authorship, revision history, copyrights, etc. All comments begin with a “/” character in column 1 of the line. For example: / Extreme Object / (c) 2009 Meade Instruments Corporation Description String: Description of an object. Must be surrounded by quotation marks. If the description is longer than one line, each line must end with a quotation mark and a hard return. Begin the next description line with a quotation mark.
Enter NGC followed by the desired New General Catalog number and AutoStar provides the user with a description of the object from its database. For example: NGC 4256 IC xxxx Enter IC followed by the desired Index Catalog number and AutoStar provides the user with a description of the object from its database. For example: IC 1217 SAO xxxxxx Enter SAO followed by the desired SAO number and AutoStar provides the user with a description of the object from its database.
Enter STAR followed by the name of the desired star in quotes. For example: STAR “Vega” There are no bright globular” “clusters visible at this time”. PICK END AUTO SLEW ON / AUTO SLEW OFF LANDMARK az alt “title” “description” Enter the azimuth (az) for the desired object in the following format: xxxdxxmxxs. For example: 123d27m00s. Then enter the altitude of the desired object in the following format: xxdxxmxxs. Then enter the title string and description string in quotes.
In this procedure, you will store the location of terrestrial landmarks in AutoStar’s memory. 1. Set the telescope in the home position, if necessary. Note for future reference where the telescope is located and if you have aligned the telescope, which alignment method is used. IMPORTANT NOTE: To use the Landmark function, the telescope must be located and aligned exactly as when the landmark(s) was added to the database. 2. Display the “Setup: Targets” menu option.
Advanced Alt/Az Alignment This procedure allows you to use AutoStar to identify objects you have found in the night sky using the Arrow keys. If the object is not in AutoStar’s database, AutoStar displays information about an object in its database that is closest to the one you queried about. If you would rather choose your own alignment stars from the Autostar database during the Alt/Az alignment procedure, Autostar offers two methods described below.
d. The next screen asks for the city (listed alphabetically) closest to the observing site. Use the Scroll keys to scroll through the list of cities. Press ENTER when the correct city appears on screen. 13.Repeat procedure for the second alignment star. The telescope is aligned and you are now ready to use Autostar’s GO TO capabilities for a night of observing. 5. Daylight Savings Time: The next screen requests the status of Daylight Savings Time. If Daylight Savings Time is active, press the 1 key.
One-Star Alignment requires some knowledge of the night sky. Autostar provides a database of bright stars. One-Star Alignment is identical to Two-Star Alt/Az: Alignment (see “Two-Star ALT/AZ Alignment,” above), except only one star from this database is chosen by the observer for alignment.
The LT Series is a precision optical instrument designed to yield a lifetime of rewarding viewing. Given the care and respect due any precision instrument, the LT Series will rarely, if ever, require factory servicing. Maintenance guidelines include: 1. Avoid cleaning the telescope’s optics: a little dust on the front surface of the telescope’s correcting lens causes virtually no degradation of image quality and should not be considered reason to clean the lens. 2.
Follow these optical system: steps for collimation of the 1. The only adjustments possible, or necessary, on the LT Series are from the three inner most screws Collimation Screws 3. Using the Arrow keys at the slowest slew speed, move the defocused image to the edge of the eyepiece field of view (Pg. 41, Fig. 13 , 2), in the same direction as the darker shadow is offset in the ring of light. 4. Turn the set screw that you found with the pointing exercise while looking in the eyepiece.
A Note About the “Flashlight Test”: If a flashlight or other high-intensity light source is pointed down the main telescope tube, the view (depending upon the observer’s line of sight and the angle of the light) may reveal what appears to be scratches, dark or bright spots, or just generally uneven coatings, giving the appearance of poor quality optics.
TRAINING THE DRIVE Perform this procedure if you are experiencing any pointing accuracy problems. Fig. 15 depicts the complete Drive Training procedure. Verify that AUTOSTAR INITIALIZATION is complete. 1 Press MODE until Select Item is displayed. 2 Select Item Object NOTE: Use a far away terrestrial object, such as a telephone pole or lamp post, to train the drive. Complete this exercise once every 3 to 6 months. 12 Scope slews left. Bring target back to center using ENTER the Right Arrow key.
BASIC ASTRONOMY In the early 17th century Italian Scientist Galileo, using a crude telescope considerably smaller than the LT Series, turned it to look towards the sky instead of distant trees and mountains. What he saw, and what he realized about what he saw, forever changed the way mankind thought of the universe.
Mars is about half the diameter of Earth, and appears through the telescope as a tiny reddish-orange disk. It may be possible to see a hint of white at one of the planet’s Polar ice caps. Approximately every two years, when Mars is closest to Earth in its orbit, additional detail and coloring on the planet’s surface may be visible. Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system and is 11 times the diameter of Earth. The planet appears as a disk with dark lines stretching across the surface.
SPECIFICATIONS Model and Product Number 6" LT ACF # 0610-04-10 Optical System Optical Design Advanced Coma-Free (ACF) Primary Mirror Diameter 6” (152mm) Primary Mirror Material Pyrex® Glass Focal Length, Focal Ratio 1524mm, f/10 Optical Coatings Ultra-High Transmission Coatings (UHTC™) Resolving Power (arc seconds) 0.76 Limiting Visual Stellar Magnitude 14 Viewfinder Red Dot AutoStar SPECIFICATIONS #497 HANDBOX APPENDIX C: Mount Mount Type Aluminum Single-Arm Fork Altazimuth Drives 4.
Model and Product Number 6" LT SC # 0610-04-12 Optical System Optical Design Schmidt Cassegrain (SC) Primary Mirror Diameter 6” (152mm) Primary Mirror Material Pyrex® Glass Focal Length, Focal Ratio 1524mm, f/10 Optical Coatings Ultra-High Transmission Coatings (UHTC™) Resolving Power (arc seconds) 0.76 Limiting Visual Stellar Magnitude 14 Viewfinder Red Dot AutoStar SPECIFICATIONS #497 HANDBOX SPECIFICATIONS Mount Mount Type Aluminum Single-Arm Fork Altazimuth Drives 4.
ACF AND SC OPTICAL SYSTEMS (2) (1) (1) (2) Ray (2) Ray (1) (2) (1) Focal Plane Secondary Mirror Secondary Baffle Primary Baffle Tube Field Stops Correcting Plate Primary Mirror The Meade Advanced Coma-Free Optical System Unlike Schmidt-Cassegrain systems, Meade’s Advanced Coma-Free (ACF) optical system provides razor-sharp pin-point star images all the way to the very edge of the field of view.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY (DoC) FOR THE FOLLOWING EQUIPMENT: PRODUCT NAME : MEADE LT SERIES TELESCOPE MODEL NO : LT TRADE NAME : MEADE INSTRUMENTS CORP. DOC: FCC APPENDIX E: IS HERE WITH CONFIRMED AND FOUND TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF CFR47 PART 15 REGULATION. THE RESULTS OF ELECTROMAGNETIC EMISSION EVALUATION ARE SHOWN IN THE REPORT NO.: (5209)251-0926, ISSUED ON SEPTEMBER 16, 2009. THIS DEVICE COMPLIES WITH PART 15 OF THE FCC RULES.
(EU Countries only) Correct Disposal of this Product RECYCLING RECYCLING INFORMATION (Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment) This marking shown on the product or its literature indicates that it must not be disposed of in unsorted municipal waste at the end of its working life To prevent possible harm to the environment or human health from uncontrolled waste disposal, please separate this from other types of wastes and recycle it as required by law.
Every Meade telescope, spotting scope, and telescope accessory is warranted by Meade Instruments Corp. (“Meade”) to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for a period of ONE YEAR from the date of original purchase in the U.S.A. and Canada. Meade will repair or replace a product, or part thereof, found by Meade to be defective, provided the defective part is returned to Meade, freight-prepaid, with proof of purchase. This warranty applies to the original purchaser only and is non-transferable.
