Instruments Telescopes Instruction Manual RCX400

37
Important Note: When the "Park Scope" option is chosen and the display
prompts y
ou to turn off the telescope's power, Autostar II is unable to be
returned to operation without turning the power off and then back on.
Setup Menu
There are numerous other features available within the Setup menu, including:
Align: Let's you choose a method of alignment.
Align on Home: If Calibrate Home has been performed, power up your telescope and
select this menu to return the previously calibrated home position. In other words, the
telescope is fully aligned according to the setting that were stored in Autostar II's
memory during the Calibrate Home procedure. See
CALIBRATE HOME, below, for
more information.
Telescope: Accesses several options, including:
J Telescope Model: Allows you to select the type of OTA mounted on Max.
J Collimate: Allows you use the Arrow keys to collimate the telescope. See pages
28 - 29 for more details.
J Align OTA: Allows you to align the OTA properly if you are not using an RCX
model or if you have changed your RCX collimation or mounting significantly from
the factory defaults. When you select this menu, Autostar will ask you to center
two stars in the telescope that are on opposite sides of the sky.
Once you have centered them, the telescope will slew back to the first star. You
will then be asked to center the star using the OTA align bolt. These are two bolts,
with one in the center of the other. Using a flat wrench, loosen the center bolt.
Then place open ended or combination spanner wrenches on each bolt and turn
them together. Turn them in the direction that centers the star. When centered,
tighten just the center bolt. This will hold the bolts securely in that position.
J Max Past Meridian: Allows you to set how far the OTA axis can tilt past the
meridian. 2° is the default setting.
J Focal Length: Displays the focal length of the selected telescope.
J Max Slew Rate: Sets the upper limit for the slew rate. 2.4° degrees per second is
the fastest setting.
J Park Position: After aligning your telescope, select this menu and power down
the telescope.
The alignment settings—North, time, alignment stars—are stored
in Autostar II's memory and are remembered after you power off the telescope.
When you power on the telescope, "Automatic Alignment" displays after the start
up routine
.
Press MODE (do not press ENTER).
The telescope remembers its
alignment and y
ou can continue viewing or performing other operations without
aligning the telescope again.
P
ar
k Position provides two options. Use Current Position uses the last position set
b
y the user. Default Position places scope in the home position.
J Calibrate Home: For permanently mounted telescopes only. After aligning your
telescope
, select this men
u and the alignment settings—North, time, alignment
stars—are stored in A
utostar II's memory and are remembered after you power
off the telescope. You can enable Autostar II to retrieve and automatically align
your telescope using these settings the next time you power up by choosing the
Align on Home menu. This menu helps improve auto alignment.
J Anti-Backlash: This option allows you to change the backlash along either the
R.A. and the Dec. axes by entering a number from 0% to 199%.This sets the back-
lash in the way the Arrow keys move the telescope along an axis. If you enter a
v
alue near 199%, telescope responds more quic
kly as y
ou hold down an Arrow
key. If you enter a value near 0%, it takes longer for the tube to respond as you
hold down an Arrow key. Experiment with this option: Try changing the values until
the motion of the telescope (while holding down an Arrow key) feels comfortable
to you.
Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversible damage to your eye. Do not point this telescope at or near the
Sun. Do not look through the telescope as it is moving.