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Leisure Time LX20 User's Manual

1. LOCATE 14 10 PRINT E W N S keys move telescope SPACE BAR stops LOCATE 15 10 PRINT M key to enter Messier object LOCATE 16 10 PRINT T key to enter sTar LOCATE 17 10 PRINT P key to enter Planet 900 orbit LOCATE 18 10 PRINT C key to enter Cngc object LOCATE 19 10 PRINT X to End program RETURN END 62 APPENDIX G LX200 SPECIFICATIONS Telescope 7 LX200 f 15 8 LX200 f 6 3 10 LX200 f 6 3 Optical Design Maksutov Cassegrain Catadioptric Schmidt Cassegrain Catadioptric Schmidt Cassegrain Catadioptric Primary Miror Diameter imm T8295 aian mmer 1250mm 0 Peer gaer me me 40 160 Telescope Mounting EE Fork Type Double Tine EE Fork Type Double Tine Heavy Duty Fork Type Double Tine Setting Circle Diameters Dec 6 R A 8 75 Dec 6 R A 8 75 Dec 6 R A 8 75 RA Motor Drive System 9 speed microprocessor 9 speed microprocessor controlled 9 speed microprocessor controlled controlled 12v DC servo motor 12v DC servo motor 5 75 worm 12v DC servo motor 5 75 worm 5 75 worm gear with Smart Drive gear with Smart Drive gear with Smart Drive Hemispheres of Operation North and South switchable North and South switchable North and South switchable Declination Control System 9 speed DC servo controlled 9 speed DC servo controlled 5 75 9 speed DC servo controlled 5 75 5 75 worm gear with Dec drift worm gear with Dec drift software worm gear with Dec
2. 3608 2409 52 39 6807 2407 62 19 4931 51 15 50 15 4352 1905 1056 4342 SIZE 486 1944 1854 1260 486 840 1044 456 10680 720 1200 1506 828 1200 774 720 750 750 360 3720 612 290 290 300 546 660 3000 1800 1800 588 480 660 522 1200 1200 2100 414 558 720 468 600 414 630 510 426 840 390 588 6600 240 1068 7200 480 540 1440 1080 2220 2700 1200 1080 MAG 10 4 8 2 4 0v 6 5v 10 1 8 1v 8 0 8 2 3 5 7 0 8 9 7 1 8 1v 8 7 6 6v 9 3 11 0 10 5 7 4v 5 7 9 2 12 2 12 2 6 5V 10 8 7 9v 5 7v 4 3p 4 4p 10 0 8 9p 7 6v 9 5 9 0p 6 7v 5 2v 8 8 9 3 6 5v 9 9 8 4v 8 4v 8 5 9 4 8 9 6 7v 9 0p 9 5 3 4 6 6v 9 1 1 6 5 7v 8 4v 6 4v 6 2v 7 0p 6 4v 6 4v 7 6v 36 TYPE amp DESCRIPTION GALAXY S IV V ALT NAME UGCA4 GALAXY SBm PEC EMISSION GLOB CLUS sp G3 OPEN CLUS GALAXY S B b 47Tuc OPEN CLUS sp F2 GALAXY E6 GALAXY E2 GALAXY Sb I II OPEN CLUS UGC 426 UGC 452 UGC 454 GALAXY S IV GALAXY Scp GLOB CLUS GALAXY Sd III IV GLOB CLUS UGCA11 UGCA13 GALAXY Ir V GLOB CLUS IN SMC GLOB CLUS IN SMC OPEN CLUS GALAXY Sc I II IC 1613 CNGC 0581 UGC 1117 GALAXY Sc PLAN NEB PART OF 0651 PLAN NEB PART OF 0650 OPEN CLUS GALAXY SBap UGC 1149 CNGC 0650 UGC 1201 OPEN CLUS OPEN CLUS sp
3. Fig 30 Epoch 2000sk software 59 REM KEYS IFkey CHR 119 THEN GOSUB senddir REM a Mw IFkeyS CHR 101 THEN GOSUB senddir REM a Me IF key CHR 110 THEN GOSUB senddir REM a Mn IF key CHR 115 THEN GOSUB senddir REM a Ms IF key m THEN GOSUB objects IF key t THEN GOSUB objects IF key c THEN GOSUB objects IF key p THEN GOSUB objects IF key x THEN CLS END IF key r THEN RUN GO TO 20 END senddir west IF key wW THEN a Mw PRINT 1 a REM GO TO west east IF key e THEN a Me PRINT 1 a REM GO TO east north IF key n THEN a Mn PRINT 1 a REM GO TO north south IF key s THEN a tt Ms PRINT 1 a REM GO TO south GOSUB telpos key INKEYS IF key CHR 32 THEN GO TO endl ELSE GO TO senddir endl B Qe PRINT 1 B B Qw PRINT 1 B B Qn PRINT 1 B B Qs PRINT 1 B telpos TIME RETURN LOCATE 6 7 PRINT TELESCOPE POSITION c GR PRINT 1 c d INPUT 8 1 RAL LEFT d 3 RAMS MID d 4 4 LOCATE 7 10 PRINT USING RA WV RAL RAM c GD PRINT 1 c d INPUTS 7 1 RAL LEFT d 3 RAMS MID d 5 2 LOCATE 8 10 PRINT DEC RAL CHR 248 RAMS c GA PRINT 1 c d INPUTS 7 1 RALS LEFT d 3 RAMS MID d 5 2 LOCATE 9 10 PRI
4. 1 Select the 2 Star alignment by pressing the 2 key the keypad display will prompt you to level the base This leveling step requires a rough level only and unlike the 1 Star alignment routine does not affect the pointing accuracy of the telescope See Section d below for a summary of the differences in telescope operation when selecting each of the three alignment procedures 2 After leveling the base and pressing ENTER follow the keypad display prompts to select the first alignment star Slew to that star using the N S E and W keys 13 3 Follow the keypad display prompts to choose and center the the second alignment star Be sure to use the keypad to slew to the second star After pressing the ENTER key in the last step the keypad display should show the TELESCOPE OBJECT LIBRARY screen Important Note Whenever using either of the 2 Star alignment procedures at a known SITE or at an unknown SITE choosing the proper two stars will determine the pointing accuracy of the telescope Choose two stars that are not too close together try to use stars that are at least 90 apart Do not use Polaris because RA changes very fast at the Pole and minor centering errors translate to large RA pointing errors Also avoid stars near the zenith straight up since azimuth changes very fast in this area Generally speaking choosing two stars as far apart as possible will yield very accurate pointing often within a few arc min
5. 2 Press the ENTER key This selects the TELESCOPE functions The display should now look like Display 2 1 SITE 2 ALIGN 3 Press the ENTER key This selects the SITE functions The display should look like Display 3 1 AAA wv 2 AAA 4 Press and Hold the ENTER key until the keypad hand controller beeps This selects the first site for editing The display should look like Display 4 with the first A flashing 1 AAA wv 2 AAA 5 Press the ENTER key The display should now look like Display 5 Display 2 Display 3 Display 4 LAT 00 00 Display 5 000 00 LONG 6 Use the number keys to enter your latitude The underline designates the current cursor position Mistakes can be corrected by moving back using the E and W keys A negative latitude can be entered by positioning the cursor under the and hitting the NEXT key lower right hand key When the latitude is correct press ENTER The display will look like Display 6 33 35 SES lt DO0 00 7 Use the number keys to enter your Longitude as above When complete the display will look like Display 7 LAT 33 35 117 42 Display 7 LONG 8 Press ENTER to complete the site information input The display will go back to Display 3 9 Press MODE to go back to Display 2 10 Press MODE again to go back to Display 1 It is important to note that the longitude standard used in the LX200 st
6. 272 03 14 1 00 11 11 273 03 17 8 3838 8 274 0335 0 6002 14 275 03 34 5 2428 T 276 0350 3 2535 4 277 0354 3 0257 67 278 0409 9 8042 7 279 0407 5 3805 16 280 04 16 0 31 42 7 281 04 20 4 2721 496 282 0422 8 1503 14 283 0507 9 0830 7 284 0514 5 08 12 92 285 0535 2 0956 43 286 0535 3 0523 132 287 06 28 8 0702 99 288 06 46 3 5927 17 289 0645 3 1642 45 290 0712 8 27 14 13 291 07 30 3 4959 8 292 07 34 6 31 53 30 293 0812 2 1739 6 294 0921 1 38 11 11 295 1016 3 1744 14 296 1020 0 1951 44 297 1118 3 31 32 13 298 1132 4 61 05 6 299 1216 1 4039 115 300 1224 4 2535 16 MAG 3 0v 1 7v 2 9v 2 1v 2 9v 3 3v 1 2v 2 4v 2 5v 3 2v 6 4 5 5 7 8 6 3 6 2 6 0 5 6 4 6 5 8 2 0 4 6 6 8 4 7 4 2 2 2 5 3 6 6 4 6 6 6 3 6 8 8 7 8 6 8 6 6 5 8 4 7 5 5 7 4 8 0 5 1 7 3 5 8 0 2 3 6 5 1 4 6 5 4 1 5 7 2 8 8 1 9 5 6 6 5 7 2 2 2 43 5 8 5 9 6 8 47 TYPE amp DESCRIPTION ALT NAME Q TAGS STAR G2IDB7IVK3IIIM5II _ Alpha Agr Alpha Gru 88 ST STAR G8Il FOV Alpha Tuc Beta Gru 88 ST STAR Eta Peg 8 ST STAR ST STAR ST STAR A3IV Delta Aqr Alpha PSA 88 ST STAR A3V Beta Peg 8 ST STAR M2 III ST STAR B9 5V Alpha Peg 8 ST STAR Ki IM Gamma Cen 8 ST STAR 6 4 7 2 308 ADS 61 9 ST STAR 5 5 8 7 194 ADS 558 9ST STAR 7 8 9 4 207 ADS 588 9 ST STAR 6 3 6 3 296 ADS 683 9 ST STAR 6 2 6 9 211 ADS 746 9 ST STAR 6 0 6 4 0292 ADS 7
7. Pressing either the PREV and NEXT up and down arrow keys while holding down the RET key alters the reticle brightness level up or down When guiding on very faint stars you may find it helpful to pulse the light from the LED so that the reticle crosshairs blink on and off You will be able to adjust the reticle brightness as well as adjust the pulse rates There are three pulse rates that can be used all with a one second pulse interval The continuous illumination control and pulse rates are set by holding down the RET key and pressing one of the following keys GUIDE 100 on no pulsing CNTR 50 on 50 off MAP 25 on 75 off CNGC 10 on 90 off 7 FOCUS Key The FOCUS key 9 Fig 6 allows 2 speed electric focus control of the optional Meade 1206 Electric Focuser or equivalent corded electric focusers such as the Meade Model 1200A To activate press either the SLEW or FIND key for fast focusing or the CNTR or GUIDE key for slow focusing press and hold the FOCUS key and then press and hold the PREV or NEXT keys for near and far focus 8 MAP Key The Map key 11 Fig 6 turns on and off the red LED flashlight that is located at the top of the keypad The deep red LED light will protect your night vision while you search for a particular accessory or examine a star chart 9 Object Keys M STAR and CNGC These keys 10 Fig 6 allow direct access to the LX200 s Object Library any time that you a
8. or to adjust focus with the optional 1206 Electric Focuser just to name a few with a simple RS 232 line connection to virtually any computer If you are not a professional programmer but wish to explore remote operation of the LX200 with your computer there are after market software programs available specifically for the LX200 including AstroSearch from Meade Instruments Corp What follows is a schematic for constructing your own RS 232 cable a program to test the RS 232 communication line called LX200 TEST the LX200 Command Set and LX200 DEMO which is a program that you can enter into your computer to access the Object Library slew to the object and center the image 1 RS 232 Cable The input hardware uses a standard 6 line telephone jack connector pre attached to a 6 conductor flat line telephone style cable of any length up to 100 and perhaps even more depending on the gauge of the cable You will also need either a 9 pin or 25 pin RS 232 connector whichever your computer uses for the serial port All of the above items are available at most electronics hardware stores Fig 29 shows the LX200 pinouts for the 6 line telephone connector The table below shows standard IBM compatible DB 9 and DB 25 serial port pin outs and how they should be connected to the LX200 6 line modular connector NOTE Only 3 wires are required 2 LX200 Test Program Once you have the RS 232 cable constructed you will want to test
9. the 00 line of the R A setting circle 3 Fig 5 and the HA pointer 5 Fig 5 all line up If you do not start at the 00 H A position the telescope will point to the ground instead of the sky when the keypad display chooses its second star Press the ENTER key and the LX200 will determine and slew to the precise off set of the pole star in Declination and Right Ascension At this point you need only aim the instrument at the pole star see APPENDIX C page 31 if the pole star is not visible and center it in the eyepiece field using only the altitude and azimuth adjustments on the pier Once done you again press the ENTER key and the LX200 will choose and slew to a very bright star that is overhead and can usually be seen in the field of view of the viewfinder At this point center the bright star using only the Right Ascension and Declination adjustments of the telescope either manually by loosening the locks only or electrically then press ENTER You can now access every every function of the LX200 Refined Polar Alignment Astrophotographers routinely require polar alignments of the highest accuracy for the finest guiding characteristics Your initial polar alignment can be refined by using the LX200 s electronics by using a slightly different method in the POLAR menu option The steps outlined below should be performed in two or three 15 minute intervals At each interval the telescope will slew to the area where the pole
10. 41 42 SIZE 360 846 738 558 600 522 1800 720 426 468 432 354 168 612 360 290 414 480 522 534 1542 672 672 300 426 444 432 414 252 570 324 672 1320 660 444 426 194 570 324 414 1614 312 360 534 270 1092 600 498 456 1044 MAG 9 7 6 6v 8 6 8 5 9 3 9 0 6 9v 8 2v 7 7V 8 1v 8 3v 9 4v 8 9p 9 2 8 6v 12 2 8 8 11 3 8 0v 7 2v 6 9 8 4 8 2 9 2 9 2 8 6 9 5 9 8 9 5 10 2 6 5v 6 2v 9 7 9 2 12 0p 10 1 9 8 9 4 7 7 10 0 7 4v 9 3 8 3 8 1v 10 1 9 8 8 0 50 TYPE amp DESCRIPTION ALT NAME GALAXY Scl 2 SYS GLOBCLUS OBLATE GALAXY Sb II GALAXY Sb GALAXY Sb Il GALAXY Sb Il OPEN CLUS sp F2 LOB CLUS LOB CLUS LOB CLUS LOB CLUS LOB CLUS PEN CLUS ALAXY Sc LOB CLUS GG QG 020 PLAN NEB PART OF 0651 GALAXY Sbp SEYFERT DIFFRNEB GLOB CLUS GLOB CLUS oo ee GALAXY Sb I II GALAXY P EDGE ON GALAXY Sc LI FACE ON GALAXY E1 GALAXY Ep 2 SYS GALAXY E3 GALAXY E1 EO 2 SYS GALAXY Sb MULTI ARM GALAXY EO GALAXY Sb GALAXY SBb Sc 2 SYS GLOB CLUS sp F1 OPEN CLUS DNEB GALAXY Sb p Il GALAXY S B b II GALAXY Sbp PLAN NEB GALAXY Sb I II 3 SYS GALAXY Scl NEAR FACE ON GALAXY Sc I FACE ON GALAXY Scl FACE ON GALAXY E6p 2 SYS OPEN CLUS GALAXY Sb GALAXY E1 2 SYS GALAXY Sb p GLOBCLUS GALAXY Sc NEAR EDGE ON GALAXY
11. This selects the TELESCOPE functions The display should look like Display 16 1 SITE Display 16 ALIGN 6 Press the NEXT key This will move the arrow to the lower line see Displav 17 1 SITE Display 17 2 ALIGN 7 Press the ENTER key to select the ALIGN function The display will look like Display 18 If the display looks like Display 19 with a checkmark already next to ALTAZ go to step 9 1 ALTAZ Display 18 2 POLAR 8 Press the ENTER key to activate the ALTAZ mode The keypad hand controller will beep and display a checkmark 1 ALTAZ v Display 19 2 POLAR 9 Press the ENTER key to use the checked mode ALTAZ The keypad hand controller display will look like Display 20 1 Star or 2 Star Alignment 10 Press 1 to select Star The display screen will now look Display 20 like Display 21 2 Level base then Display Dress ENTER next to the ALTAZ see Display 19 11 If you have not already leveled the telescope do so now When the telescope is level press ENTER The display will look like Display 22 Press ENTER then pick align star 12 This message simply reminds you what you should do next Press ENTER to show a display like Display 23 ACHERNAR ACRUX A 13 Using the monthly star charts APPENDIX B page 29 pick an alignment star Look at the chart for the current month and face the direction indicated The constellations shown are easily found eve
12. more current when slewing in the heavy direction and the Dec motor will sound different After selecting option 8 watch the Ammeter and listen to the Declination motor to determine when the LX200 is balanced 9 HI PRECISION The High Precision Pointing feature of LX200 allows for very precise pointing of the telescope By incorporating the unique LX200 SYNC command 0 3 arc sec resolution encoders and high speed DC servo motors observers can now place objects in the telescope s field of view with 1 arc minute or better pointing accuracy This makes critical image placement applications such as CCD imaging possible Normal telescope pointing accuracy is better than 5 arc minutes when doing a casual alignment which is more than accurate enough for most observing applications A casual alignment is one that uses the UNKNOWN SITE or one that is done without the use of a reticle eyepiece to exactly center the alignment stars This type of alignment will put objects into the field of view of most eyepieces and is more than adequate for almost any visual observing application A critical alignment will improve the pointing accuracy of the telescope to 2 arc minutes or better This type of alignment requires accurate SITE information time date proper selection of the two alignment stars and a reticle eyepiece to exactly center the alignment stars These steps generally require only a few extra seconds to accomplish and wil
13. while the ALT and the AZ display will only change in the direction that the telescope is being slewed It is also important to note that only the Declination setting circle 3 Fig 1 will give a correct reading The R A setting circle 10 Fig 1 will only give correct readings in the POLAR setting see APPENDIX B page 29 b GOTO Menu Option The GO TO menu option allows you to enter new Right Ascension and Declination coordinates of any object in the sky so that the LX200 will slew to the new position With this ability your LX200 knows no bounds any celestial object including comets asteroids etc are easily found provided you have accurate coordinate data to refer to To enter a new pointing position in Right Ascension and Declination press the GO TO key and a double beep will be heard followed by a blinking cursor that will appear over the RA coordinate numbers At this point type in the new Right Ascension coordinate numbers then press the ENTER key You will then notice that the blinking cursor is over the DEC coordinate numbers Enter the new Declination coordinate numbers then press the ENTER key and the LX200 will slew to the new coordinate position You can also slew to ALTAZ coordinates from the ALTAZ display as described above If you need to enter a minus Declination setting move the blinking cursor over the symbol with the W key and then press the NEXT key to get the minus symbol then move t
14. 0343 0 4748 3 0v STAR BBllln Delta Per 8 ST 27 0347 6 2706 2 9v STAR B7llin Eta Tau 8 ST Alcyone 28 0347 2 7415 3 2v STAR Mall Gamma Hyi 8 ST 29 03542 3154 130 2 9v STAR B1lb B8V Zeta Per A 9 ST B 92 30 0357 8 4001 90 29v STAR BO 5SIV B9 5V Epsilon Per A 9 ST B 7 9 31 0358 0 1330 3 0v STAR MO 5 WU Gamma Eri 8 ST Zaurak 82 0434 0 5502 2 3 3v STAR AOpl ll Si B9 IV Alpha Dor AB 9 ST A 3 8 B 4 3 88 04359 1631 0 9v STAR Ken Alpha Tau A 8 ST Aldebaran 34 0449 9 0657 3 2v STAR F6V Pi 3 Ori 8 ST Hassaleh 85 0457 0 3311 2 7v STAR Ka lota Aur 8 ST Ayn 36 05020 4349 3 0v STAR AQlae B Epsilon Aur A 8 ST Anz 37 05055 2222 3 2v STAR K ll Epsilon Lep 8 ST 88 05066 4114 3 2v STAR B3V Eta Ori AB 8 ST Hoedusll 39 0507 9 0505 2 8v STAR A3Ilin Theta Eri 8 ST Kursa 40 05129 1612 3 1v STAR B9p IV Hg Mn Mu Lep 8 ST 41 05146 0812 90 Ov STAR B8lae B5V Beta Ori A 9 ST Rigel B 7 6 C 7 6 42 0516 66 4600 0 1v STAR G6 Ill G2 Ill Alpha Aur AB 8 ST Capella 43 05245 0224 3 3v STAR BIIV B Eta Ori AB 8 ST 44 0525 2 0621 1 6v STAR BI Gamma Ori 8 ST Bellatrix 45 0526 3 2837 17v STAR Bil Beta Tau 8 ST Alnath 46 05283 2046 26 28v STAR wei Beta Lep A 9 ST B 74 47 05320 0019 2 2v STAR 09 51 Delta Ori A 8ST Mintaka 48 05327 1749 2 6v STAR FOlb Alpha Lep 8 ST Ameb 49 05465 0555 110 28v STAR O9III B7 Nip lota Ori A 9ST Nair al Salt B 7 3 50 05362 0112 1 7v STAR BOla Epsilon Ori 8 S
15. 2 SYS E5 7 8x6 9 2 SYS SBm 10 5x9 1 8 5x6 6 7 1x5 5 3 SYS 9 8x5 5 Pleiades M45 Blue Nebula 17 8x17 4 UGC 2847 M45 Pleiades 410ly 37 CNGC Catalog continued CNGC RA DEC SIZE MAG TYPE amp DESCRIPTION ALT NAME Q TAGS COMMON NAME COMMENTS 1746 0503 6 2349 2520 6 1p OPEN CLUS c1 ST 1763 04 56 8 6624 1500 8 3 OPEN CLUS ENEB IN LMC BFS 1807 0510 7 1632 1020 7 0v OPEN CLUS 01 ST 1817 05 12 1 1642 960 7 7v OPEN CLUS c1 ST 1820 0503 8 67 17 410 9 0 OPEN CLUS IN LMC cC 1851 05 14 0 4002 660 7 3v GLOB CLUS sp F7 b2ST 46kly X Ray Source 1857 0520 1 3921 360 7 0v OPEN CLUS c1ST 1893 05 22 7 3324 660 7 5v OPEN CLUS ENEB HIl c6ST 1904 05 24 2 2431 522 8 0v GLOB CLUS CNGC 1904 D2ST M79 1912 05 28 7 3551 1260 6 4v OPEN CLUS sp B5 CNGC 1912 C1ST M38 4600ly 1952 05 34 5 2201 360 8 4 PLAN NEB EMIS SN REM CNGC 1952 B4ST M1 Crab Nebula 4kly 1960 05 36 2 3408 720 6 0v OPEN CLUS CNGC 1960 C1ST M36 1966 0526 5 6847 780 8 5 OPEN CLUS DNEB IN LMC bFS 1975 0535 4 0441 600 8 8 DIFF RNEB b3ST Blue 1976 05 35 3 0523 3960 3 9 DIFF RNEB ENEB CNGC 1976 A3ST M42 Orion Nebula Blue Red 1980 05 35 2 05 55 840 2 5 OPEN CLUS ENEB sp 05 C6ST Trapezium in M42 1300ly 1981 05 35 3 0426 1500 4 6v OPEN CLUS b1ST 1982 0535 5 05 16 1200 5 8 DIFF RNEB ENEB CNGC 1982 C3ST M43 Orion Nebula Extension 1999 05 36 5 0643 960 9 5 DIFF RNEB C3ST 2024 05 42 0 01 50 1800 8 8 DIFF ENEB HIl b3ST Red Near Zeta Ori 2068 05 46 8 0003 48
16. 211 1821 3 0254 3 3v STAR KO III IV Eta Ser 212 1824 2 3423 1 9v STAR AO Illnp shell Epsilon Sgr 213 1828 0 2525 2 8v STAR K1 1Mb Lambda Sgr 214 1837 0 3847 O 0v STAR AOVa Alpha Lyr 215 1845 7 2659 3 2v STAR B8 5 Ill Phi Sgr 216 1855 3 26 18 2 0v STAR B2 5V Sigma Sgr 217 1858 9 3241 3 2v STAR B9III Gamma Lyr 218 1902 7 29 53 5 2 6v STARA2 5V A4 V Zeta Sgr AB 219 1905 5 1353 3 0v STAR AO IVnn Zeta Aql A 220 1907 0 2739 3 3v STAR K1 5IIIb Tau Sgr 221 1909 8 21 02 6 2 9v STAR F21l1 2 72 Pi Sgr ABC 222 19 12 6 6739 3 1v STAR CS III Delta Dra 223 1930 8 2758 350 3 1v STAR K3 II B9 5 V Beta Cyg A 224 1945 0 4508 20 2 9v STAR B9 5 IIl F1V Delta Cyg AB 225 1946 3 1037 2 7v STAR K3 Gamma Aql 226 1950 8 0852 0 8v STAR A7Vn Alpha Aql 227 2011 3 0050 3 2v R B9 5 III Theta Aql 228 2021 1 1446 3 1v STAR KO II AS Vin Beta Cap A 229 2022 2 40 16 2 2v STAR F8 Ib Gamma Cyg 230 2026 9 1505 1 9v STAR B2 5V Alpha Pav 231 20 37 6 47 18 3 1v STAR KOIII Cn1 Alpha Ind 232 2041 5 45 17 1 3v STAR A2 la Alpha Cyg 233 2046 3 3358 2 5v STAR KO III Epsilon Cyg 234 2113 0 30 13 3 2v STAR G8 llia Ba 0 6 Zeta Cyg 235 21 18 6 6236 2 4v STAR A7 IV V Alpha Cep 236 2128 7 7033 3 2v STAR BI III Beta Cep 237 2131 6 0535 2 9v STAR GO Ib Beta Aqr 238 2144 2 0953 2 4v STAR K2 b Epsilon Peg 239 2147 1 1607 2 9v STAR A3mF2 V Delta Cap 240 2154 0 3722 3 0v STAR B III Gamma Gru Q TAGS 9ST 8ST 8ST 8S
17. 25 adapter Series 4000 SP26mm eyepiece giant field tripod foam fitted carrying case operating instructions UNPACKING AND INSPECTION As you begin to unpack your telescope from its cartons you will probably be interested in setting it up right away we certainly understand your excitement but please take a few minutes to read this page before doing so You should verify that you have all the proper equipment and that it has arrived to you undamaged We strongly recommend that you keep your original packing materials If it should ever become necessary for you to return your telescope to the Meade factory for servicing these will help ensure that no shipping damage will occur Meade LX200 telescopes supplied to countries outside the U S A are identical to those offered domestically with the exception of the AC wall adapter 1 What You Should Have Carefully unpack and remove all the telescope parts from their packing material Compare each part to the Standard Equipment You may wish to place a check next to each item as you identify it These Packing Programs represent the original specifications for this instrument Each telescope has been inspected twice at the factory to confirm the inclusion of every item 2 Please Look Everything Over Meade Instruments and your shipper have taken precautions to ensure that no shipping damage will occur but if your shipment has suffered severe vibration or impact damage whether or no
18. 2500mm f 10 heavy duty fork mount with 4 dia sealed polar ball bearing quartz microprocessor controlled 5 75 worm gears on both axes and multi function power panel display on the drive base manual and electric slow motion controls on both axes setting circles in RA and Dec handheld keypad Electronic Command Center with digital readout display PPEC Smart Drive 9 speed drive control on both axes GO TO controller High Precision Pointing and 64 340 object onboard celestial software library 25 ft power cord and adapter for telescope operation from 115v AC 8 x 50mm _ viewfinder eyepiece holder and diagonal prism 1 25 Series 4000 SP26mm eyepiece variable height field tripod operating instructions d 12 Model LX200 Includes 12 Schmidt Cassegrain optical tube assembly with EMC super multi coatings D 305mm F 3048mm f 10 heavy duty fork mount with 4 dia sealed polar ball bearing quartz microprocessor controlled 5 75 worm gears on both axes and multi function power panel display on the drive base manual and electric slow motion controls on both axes setting circles in RA and Dec handheld keypad Electronic Command Center with digital readout display PPEC Smart Drive 7 speed drive control on both axes GO TO controller High Precision Pointing and 64 340 object onboard celestial software library 25 ft power cord and adapter for telescope operation from 115V AC 8 x 50mm viewfinder 2 diagonal mirror with 1
19. 3705 2 7v STAR K3 Ib Pi Pup 8ST 75 07 24 2 26 19 2 5v STAR B5 la Eta CMa 8ST Aludra 76 07 27 2 08 17 2 9v STAR BB V Beta CMi 8ST Gomeisa 77 07 29 3 43 17 220 3 3v STAR K5 III G5 V Sigma Pup A 9ST 78 07 34 6 31 53 25 1 9v STAR A1 V A2mA5 Alpha Gem A 9ST Castor A 79 07 34 6 31 53 25 2 9v STAR A2mA5 A1 V Alpha Gem B 9ST Castor B 80 07 39 3 05 14 40 0 4v STAR F5IV V Alpha CMi A 9ST Procyon B 10 3 81 07 45 4 2802 1 1v STAR KO Nib Beta Gem 8ST Pollux 82 07 49 3 2452 3 3v STAR G6 Ib Xi Pup 8ST 83 08 03 7 3001 2 3v STAR O5 lafn Zeta Pup 8ST Naos 84 08 07 6 24 19 2 7v STAR F6 lip var Rho Pup 8 ST 85 08 09 5 4721 1 7v STAR WC8 O9 Gamma 2 Vel 8ST 86 08 22 5 5931 1 9v STAR K Ill Epsilon Car 8ST Avior 87 08 44 7 5443 20 2 0v STAR A1 IV Delta Vel AB 9ST B 5 0 88 08 55 5 0556 3 1v STAR G9 II III Zeta Hya 8ST 89 08 59 3 4803 40 3 1v STAR A IVn Mn VY lota UMa A 9ST Talitha BC 10 8 90 09 08 0 4325 2 2v STAR K4 Ib lla Lambda Vel 8ST Suhail 91 09 13 3 6944 1 7v STAR A1 III Beta Car 8ST Miaplacidus 92 0917 1 59 17 2 2v STAR ASB II lota Car 8ST Turais 93 0921 1 3423 3 1v STAR KT Illab Alpha Lyn 8ST 94 09 22 1 5501 2 5V STAR B2 V V Kappa Vel 8ST 95 09 27 6 0839 2 0v STAR K3 II III Alpha Hya 8ST Alphard 96 0931 2 5701 3 1v STAR KB III N Vel 8ST HR3803 97 09 33 0 5141 3 2v STAR F6 IV Theta UMa 8ST 98 09 45 9 2346 3 0v STAR G1 II 1 Leo 8ST Ras Elased Aus 99 09 47 2 650
20. 56 4 60 1 Tracking frequency lt obj gt info Example CNGC1976 SU DNEBMAG 3 9 SZ 66 0 Range nla Object information Ok Example 1 Range Dor Status value returned after setting values If the value is legal 1 is returned otherwise 0 is returned b General Telescope Information Command GR Returns HH MM T Gets the current Flight Ascension Command GD Returns sDD MM Gets the current Declination Command GA Returns sDD MM Gets the current Altitude Command GZ Returns DDD MM Gets the current Azimuth Command HH MM SS Gets the current sidereal time GS Returns Command Returns SS HH MM SS Ok Sets the sidereal time Command GL Gatt Returns HH MM SS Gets the local time either in 24 hour GL or 12 hour Ga format Command SL HH MM SS Z Returns Ok Sets the local time NOTE The parameter should always be in 24 hour format Command GC Returns MM DD Y Yt Gets the calendar date Command SC MM DD YY Returns Ok see description Sets the calendar date NOTE After the Ok if the date is valid two strings will be sent The first will contain the message Updating planetary data the second sent after the planetary calculations will contain only blanks Both strings will be terminated by the symbol Command Gt Returns sDD MM Gets the latitude of the currently selected site Command St sDD MM Returns Ok Sets the latitude of the currently selecte
21. A5 OPEN CLUS sp B1 OPEN CLUS sp BO GALAXY S B c II III UGC 1913 OPEN CLUS OPEN CLUS GALAXY E7p GALAXY dE3 OPEN CLUS UGC 21 54 OPEN CLUS GALAXY Sbp SEYFERT GALAXY S B b I II 2 SYS OPEN CLUS DNEB IV 3 pn GALAXY Sc 2 SYS CNGC 1039 UGC 21 88 UGC A41 1C 1848 OPEN CLUS GLOB CLUS GALAXY SBa GALAXY SBd GALAXY S B Op 3 SYS OPEN CLUS PLAN NEB GALAXY SBb I II OPEN CLUS RNEB OPEN CLUS GALAXY S B c I II 1C 342 OPEN CLUS RNEB sp B6 CNGC 1457 OPEN CLUS OPEN CLUS OPEN CLUS OPEN CLUS OPEN CLUS OPEN CLUS OPEN CLUS OPEN CLUS Q TAGS C5ST b5ST B2ST C1ST C5ST c1 ST C5ST C5ST B5ST c1 ST b5SST C5ST b2ST b5ST b2ST CBS CD CD D1ST C5ST D5ST C4ST C4ST c1ST CB S c1ST c1ST A1 ST A1 ST C5ST c1S c1ST C5ST b5S c1 ST C1ST D5ST CAST C6ST CAST c1ST C2ST b5ST C5ST CAST c1ST CAST C5S c6S c1 ST b5ST c6 ST c1ST c1ST c1ST c1ST c1S c1 ST c1S c1ST COMMON NAME COMMENTS 8 1x5 8 32 4x6 5 47Tuc 16kly 8 1x2 6 Oldest Open Cluster 5kly M110 CompofM31 17 4x9 8 M32 Comp of M31 7 6x5 8 M31 Andromeda Gal 178x63 20 0x7 4 25 1x7 4 20 0x14 8 12 0x11 2 M103 M33 Triangulum Gal 62x39 M74 10 2x9 5 M76 Little Dumbbell Nebula Little Dumbbell Nebula 9 1x4 1 1200ly Double Cluster h Per 7kly Double Cluster x Per 8kly 9 8x6 0 8 7x3 3 20 0x13 8 M34 M77 6 9x5 9 Seyfert Galaxy 9 3x6 6
22. Alpha Boo Gamma Boo Eta Cen Alpha Cen A Alpha Cen B Alpha Lup Alpha Cir Epsilon Boo Alpha Lib A Beta UMi Beta Lup Kappa Cen Sigma Lib Beta Lib Gamma TrA Delta Lup Gamma UMi lota Dra Gamma CrB Alpha Lup AB Alpha Ser Beta Tra Pi ScoA TCrB Delta Sco AB Beta Sco AB Delta Oph Epsilon Oph Sigma Sco A Eta Dra A Alpha Sco A Beta Her Tau Sco Zeta Oph Q TAGS ST ST ST ST cO o ST ST ST ST ST oon oOo o ST ST ST ST ST o o ST ST ST ST ST O0 0 O0 O ST ST ST ST Oo ST ST ST ST ST ST ST ST ST o o Oo Oo ST ST ST ST ST o ST ST ST ST ST 000 ST ST ST 0000 o 8ST ST 9ST ST ST ST o oo oo ST ST ST ST ST o oO o COMMON NAME COMMENTS AcruxA B 1 7 Acrux B A 1 3 Algorab B 8 3 Gacrux Kraz B 3 0 A 2 9 Porrima B 3 5 B 4 1 Becrux Mimosa Alioth Cor Caroli B 5 6 FO V Vindamiatrix Mizar B 3 9 Spica Alcaid Mufrid Hadar Menkent Arcturus Seginus Rigel Kentaurus B 1 3 A 0 0 B 8 6 Izar B 5 1 Zuben Elgenubi Kocab Brachium Zuben Elschemali Pherkad Ed Asich Alphekka A 3 5 B 3 6 Unukalhai Gait Dschubba Graffias B 5 0 C 4 9 Q 14 Yed Prior Yed Posterior Alniyat B 8 3 B 8 7 Antares B 5 4 Kornephoros Fieht 46 STAR Catalog continued STAR RA DEC SIZE MA
23. GP Returns XYZ Gefs SITE name XYZ M through N correspond to 1 through 4 Command SM XYZ SN XYZ SOXYZ SP XYZ Returns Ok Sefs S TE name Command GT Returns TT T Gefs the current track frequency Command ST TT T Returns Ok Sefs the current track frequency Command TMH TH T T Returns Nothing Switch to manual TM or quartz TM Increment T or decrement T manual frequency by one tenth Command D Returns see description Gefs the distance bars string Command ALH APH AA Returns Nothing Sefs the telescopes alignment type to LAND POLAR or ALTAZ Command tH H Returns Nothing Turns the field de rotator on r and off r Command fH ft Returns Nothing Turns fhe fan on f and off f 58 4 LX200 Demo Program The RS 232 interface communicates with your computer at 9600 Baud Rate Parity None 8 Data Bits 1 Stop Bits For those who are familiar with programming the LX200 Command Set is written in ASKII character format and can be used to write your own programs The LX200 Demo Program on the following pages is written in Quick Basic and is intended to demonstrate how commands are sent to the telescope and information is received from the telescope It is not a polished program and does not incorporate all of the RS 232 features available The program is set up to operate on serial port 2 COM2 To operate on serial port 1 COM1 line 4 sh
24. LX200 Instruction Manual NOTE DC Power Cord with inline fuse must be used or warranty will be void 25 ft 8 m DC Power Cord FAX 949 451 1460 www meade com Version 0700 1812 Electronic DC Adapter DC OPERATION Using the optional 1812 Electronic DC Adapter For DC operation from a car battery perform the following steps NOTE The 25 ft 8 m DC power cord cannot be connected directly to the cigarette lighter plug you must use the 1812 Electronic DC Adapter 1 Connect the optional 1812 DC Adapter to the car cigarette lighter plug 2 Connect the 25 ft 8 m DC power cord to the 1812 DC Adapter 3 Plug the 25 ft 8 m DC power cord into the 18vDC connector on the power panel of the LX200 4 Operate the telescope as described in the LX200 Instruction Manual CUSTOMER SERVICE If you have any questions regarding the use of the 18 volt DC power supply please call Meade Customer Service at 949 451 1450 Customer Service hours are from 8 30 AM to 4 30 PM Pacific Time Monday through Friday To indoor wall AC Adapter receptacle To car cigarette Optional lighter plug ADVANCED PRODUCTS DIVISION Meade Instruments Corporation World s Leading Manufacturer of Astronomical Telescopes for the Serious Amateur 6001 Oak Canyon Irvine California 92618 949 451 1450 c 2000 Part No 14 110 01
25. Library and the om will correctly access every other object in the sky LAND The LAND menu option transforms the ALTAZ Altazimuth mounted LX200 into an electric slewing Spotting scope In this mode continuous tracking is canceled and all of the celestial modes and menus are non functional showing lower case lettering in the displays and a beep tone if you try to enter one of them The LX200 will slew at any one of the four speeds of SLEW FIND CNTR and GUIDE as activated by pressing the appropriately marked keys on the left side of the keypad Altazimuth coordinate readings can still be displayed in the coordinates mode see MODE 2 page 22 Refer to QUICK START page 9 for the LAND menu option for full operating procedures You will also find that the addition of the Meade 928 45 Degree Erect Image Prism or the Meade 924 Porro Prism instead of the standard supplied star diagonal prism will give the normal right side up and left to right views that you are accustomed to when using a spotting scope SMART The SMART menu file controls the Smart Drive and allows you to train almost all of the periodic error from the Right Ascension drive worm gear errors induced by tiny gear imperfections that tend to slightly speed up or slow down the drive tracking speed that occur in a regular 8 minute pattern or for every rotation of the worm for greatly enhancing the tracking characteristics or the amount of East and West drift of your L
26. MODE FIELD Press theENTER key to identify objects in the field of view of the telescope The LX200 will display the object centered in the eyepiece field and how many other NGC objects are in thefield at the same time defined by the RADIUS parameter setting as shown in Display 28 Objects 5 Center CNGC 4438 Press the ENTER button to reveal information about the object as shown in Display 29 Display 28 CNGC 4438 VG GAL Display 29 MAG 10 1 SZ 9 3 Display 29 is interpreted COMPUTERIZED NEW GENERAL CATALOG Object 4438 VERY GOOD GALAXY MAGNITUDE 10 1 SIZE 9 3 in arc minutes Press ENTER again to read the coordinate location of tha object notice the legend next to RA coordinate number it indicates the catalog coordinates of the object not necessarily where the telescope is pointing as shown in Display 30 RA z 12 27 2 Display 30 DEC 443703 Press ENTER once more to see physically how far your telescope will have to move to acquire the object entered The display will show LED bars each bar represents ten degrees of movement as shown in Display 31 Display 31 If you are centered on the object already such as if you are in the FIELD menu selection or if you have already made a GO TO command in one of the other methods for finding an object the above display will be blank To review any of the data of an object continue to press ENTER until the desired field appears You can
27. OPEN CLUS sp B8 DIFF ENEB OPEN CLUS HII OPEN CLUS GLOB CLUS ALT NAME Q TAGS COMMON NAME COMMENTS CNGC 6093 CNGC 6121 CNGC 6171 CNGC 6205 CNGC 621 8 CNGC 6254 CNGC 6266 CNGC 6273 CNGC 6333 CNGC 6341 1C 4651 UGC 10822 CNGC 6402 CNGC 6405 1C 4665 CNGC 6475 CNGC 6494 CNGC 6514 b2ST b2STc 1STc1 ST c1ST D2ST C2ST B2ST c1 ST C2ST c1ST c1ST c1S D2 ST c1ST c6 ST c1S B2ST c1ST D2ST b6 ST c1ST c1ST D2ST c1ST D2ST D2ST C6ST c2 ST C2ST C2ST C2ST c1ST D2 ST D2ST c1ST c2S b2 ST C2ST f5 C6ST b2ST b2ST c5S c1ST d2ST D2ST C1ST c1 ST c1ST b1ST fas c2 ST c1 ST c1ST C1ST D1ST B6ST c1ST C2ST 4700ly M80 M4 14kly M107 M13 Hercules Globular M12 24kly In 240 ENEB 5800ly M10 20kly M62 Non symmetrical M19 Oblate Shape Globular M9 M92 X Ray Source 26kly ENEB is 80 in diameter 9kly 33 5x18 9 Maybe Can t See M14 M6 1500ly PK 359 0 1 M7 800ly M23 1400ly M20 Trifid Nebula 3500ly 42 CNGC Catalog continued CNGC RA DEC SIZE MAG TYPE amp DESCRIPTION ALT NAME QTAGS COMMON NAME COMMENTS 6981 2053 5 12 33 354 9 4v GLOB CLUS CNGC 6981 D2ST M72 6994 2059 0 1237 168 8 9p OPENCLUS CNGC 6994 D1ST M73 7000 2101 8 4412 7200 6 6 DIFFENEB HII b3ST North American Nebula 3kly 7009 2104 3 1122 100 8 3p PLAN NEB CAST Saturn Nebula 3000ly 7036 2112 1 4743 240 6 8v OPEN CL
28. Polaris NORTH April 7 00 to 9 00 Overhead pa Polaris NORTH NORTH May 7 00 to 9 00 June 7 00 to 9 00 33 Aldebaran Betelgeuse B NORTH July 7 00 to 9 00 I gt b a EN x A Es NORTH NORTH September 7 00 to 9 00 October 7 00 to 9 00 Overhead e am 4 N NORTHWEST November 7 00 to 9 00 SOUTHEAST December 7 00 to 9 00 APPENDIX D LX200 64 359 OBJECT LIBRARY 1 The LX200 64 359 Object Library The LX200 64 359 Object Library is a collection of the most studied and fantastic objects in the sky It includes e 15 928 SAO Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Catalog of Stars All stars brighter than 7th magnitude 12 921 UGC Uppsala General Catalog Galaxies Complete catalog 7 840 NGC New General Catalog objects Complete Catalog e 5 386 1C Index Catalog objects Complete catalog 21 815 GCVS General Catalog of Variable Stars objects Complete catalog e 851 Alignment Stars LX200 alignment stars e 110 M Messier objects Complete catalog 8 major planets from Mercury to Pluto This appendix has three object listings in sections 2 3 and 4 Section 2 page 36 is a partial list of 278 of the best NGC objects These are most of the best objects in the sky and as such make good first targets Section 3 page 43 is a list of the 250 brightest stars and 100 double stars The complete Messier list is shown in Section 4 page 49 The above da
29. S B b I GALAXY E6 UGC 7420 CNGC 6266 UGC 8334 UGC 8062 UGC 6328 UGC 6346 CNGC 2682 CNGC 4590 CNGC 6637 CNGC 6681 CNGC 6838 CNGC 6981 CNGC 6994 UGC 1149 CNGC 6864 CNGC 0650 UGC 21 88 CNGC 2068 CNGC 1904 CNGC 6093 CNGC 3031 UGC 5322 CNGC 5236 UGC 7494 UGC 7508 UGC 7532 UGC 7654 UGC 7675 UGC 7760 UGC 7786 UGC 7753 CNGC 6341 CNGC 2447 UGC 7996 UGC 5850 UGC 5882 CNGC 3587 UGC 7231 UGC 7345 UGC 7450 UGC 8981 UGC 9723 CNGC 0581 CNGC 4594 UGC 5902 UGC 7353 CNGC 6171 UGC 6225 UGC 6937 UGC 426 DAST D2ST C5ST C5ST C5ST C5ST D1ST D2ST D2ST D2 ST D2 ST D2ST D1ST D5ST D2ST CAST D5ST C3ST D2 ST D2ST C5ST C5ST BSST C5ST CAST C5ST DAST D5ST D5ST C5ST DAST D2 ST D6ST C5ST C5ST C5ST C4ST DAST D5ST D5ST CBS DAST D1ST C5ST CAST C5ST D2 ST C5ST D5ST C5ST QTAGS COMMON NAME COMMENTS M61 6 0x5 5 Face On M62 Non symmetrical M63 12 3x7 6 Sunflower Gal M64 9 3x5 4 Black Eye Gal M65 10 0x3 3 Near M66 M66 8 7x4 4 Near M65 M67 Very old 2700ly M68 M69 M70 M71 M72 M73 M74 10 2x9 5 M75 M76 Little Dumbbell Nebula M77 6 9x5 9 Seyfert Galaxy M78 Blue 1500ly M79 M80 M81 25 7x14 1 NearM82 M82 11 2x4 6 Exploding M83 11 2x10 2 M84 5 0x4 4 Near M86 M85 7 1x5 2 M86 7 4x5 5 M87 7 2x6 8 CNGC 4471 M88 6 9x3 9 M89 4 2x4 2 M90 9 5x4 7 M91 5 4x4 4 Near CNGC
30. There will be numbers that will appear next to the LEARN display that will begin counting down to zero The highest number that can appear is 240 The period of the worm is eight minutes and the number represents a sector of the worm wheel which will change to the next lower digit every two seconds As the keypad display approaches sector 5 an alarm will alert you that training is about to commence At this point try to keep the star on the same location of the crosshair during the eight minute training sequence by pressing the N S E and W keys After eight minutes the training is over and Smart Drive will play back the drive corrections automatically dramatically improving the R A drive tracking If you wish to further refine the accuracy move the LCD arrow to UPDATE and press ENTER and follow the same instructions as above This can be done in UPDATE as many times as you wish With each training the Smart Drive will average your training sequences If you find that you have made a mistake in training e g pushed E instead of W when you should have you can eliminate the memory by moving the LCD arrow to ERASE and press ENTER A star that drifts consistently North or South during guiding can also be corrected for Move the LCD arrow to DEC LEARN and press ENTER Begin making drive 18 corrections immediately by pressing any of the direction N S E W keys to keep the star on the crosshair of the guiding eyepiece It is sug
31. a direct function of the precision of polar alignment Precise polar alignment requires the use of a crosshair eyepiece The Meade Illuminated Reticle Eyepiece is well suited in this application but you will want to increase the effective magnification through the use of a 2X or 3X Barlow lens Then either follow Refined Polar Alignment page 17 or follow this procedure sometimes better known as the Drift method particularly if the pole star is not visible a Obtain a rough polar alignment as described earlier Place the illuminated reticle eyepiece or eyepiece Barlow combination into the eyepiece holder of the telescope b Point the telescope with the motor drive running at a moderately bright star near where the meridian the North South line passing through your local zenith and the celestial equator intersect For best results the star Polaris lf zm Polaris e te AS ll HL ON L UN ma uw Fig 23 Mount too far West Fig 22 Mount too far East should be located within x30 minutes in R A of the meridian and within 5 of the celestial equator Pointing the telescope at a star that is straight up with the Declination set to 0 will point the telescope in the right direction C Note the extent of the star s drift in Declination disregard drift in Right Ascension a If the star drifts South or down the telescope s polar axis is pointing too fa
32. alone without the field tripod attached to the wedge may become seriously imbalanced to the point where the telescope may actually tip over Fig 8 Equatorial Wedge for 7 and 8 LX200 Telescope 1 Tilt Plate 2 Attachment Knob 3 Latitude Scale 4 Wedge Body 5 Tilt Angle Adjustment Knob 6 Fine Latitude Adjustment Mechanism 7 Bubble Level The equatorial wedge for the 7 and 8 LX200 telescope is of modern design with several important features incorporated to simplify and facilitate telescope operation After using the wedge you will find that the functional design features included are of very significant value in routine telescope operations Features included are Attachment of the wedge to the field tripod by means of only one manual knob e Quick azimuth adjustment by loosening the manual knob as described above Bubble level for rapid tripod wedge leveling e Etched latitude scale for fast adjustment of the latitude angle To assemble the equatorial wedge follow this procedure note that all required wedge hardware and manual knobs are shipped within the wedge carton a The wedge consists of two basic parts the tilt plate and wedge body 1 and 4 Fig 8 Attach the tilt plate to the wedge body by threading in the four knobs provided Two knobs with washers should be used on each side of the wedge body so that a total of 4 knobs attach the tilt plate to the wedge body
33. and thread the threaded rod into the central threaded hole in the bottom of the drive base of the telescope Tighten the tension knob 3 Fig 1 firm tightening of the tension knob is sufficient to result in rigid positioning of the tripod legs It is not necessary to use extreme force in tightening this knob To vary the tripod height loosen the 6 lock knobs slide the 3 inner tripod leg sections out to the desired height and firmly re tighten but do not over tighten the 6 lock knobs To collapse the tripod after removing the telescope and equatorial wedge if applicable rotate the spreader bar 60 from its assembled position so that one spreader bar arm is located between each adjacent pair of tripod legs At the base of the tripod is a 3 vane extension strut system 7 Fig 1 with a circular hub at its center 8 Fig 1 Grasp the tripod head 1 Fip 1 with one hand and with the other hand pull directly up on the central hub of the extension strut system This operation will cause the tripod legs to move inward to a collapsed position CAUTION If the tripod does not seem to extend or collapse easily do not force the tripod legs in or out By following the instructions above the tripod will function properly but if you are unclear on the proper procedure forcinglheWpod into an Incorrect position may damage the extension strut system If you have any questions regarding the use of the Field Tripod please call Meade Cust
34. are lined up with the 3 tripod legs Place the entire telescope onto the top of the tripod head and thread the threaded rod into the central threaded hole in the bottom of the drive base of the telescope Tighten the tension knob 3 Fig 2 firm tightening of the tension knob is sufficient to result in rigid positioning of the tripod legs To vary the tripod height loosen the 6 lock knobs slide the 3 inner tripod leg sections out to the desired height and firmly re tighten but do not overtighten the 6 lock knobs To collapse the tripod after removing the telescope and equatorial wedge if applicable for storage follow these steps Rotate the spreader bar 60 from its assembled position so that one spreader bar arm is located between each adjacent pair of tripod legs At the base of the tripod is a 3 vane extension strut system with a circular hub at its center 7 Fig 2 Grasp the tripod head 1 Fig 2 with one hand and with the other hand pull directly up on the central hub of the extension strut system This operation will cause the tripod legs to move inward to a collapsed position PRECAUTIONARY NOTES If the tripod does not seem to extend or collapse easily do not force the tripod legs in or out By following the instructions above the tripod will function properly but if you are unclear on the proper procedure forcing the tripod into an incorrect position may damage the extension strut system
35. chosen rate is indicated by the speed indicator illuminated LED beside the rate key that you have pressed the speed rates are SLEW 4 degrees per second FIND 1 degrees per second CNTR 16X sidereal rate and GUIDE 2X sidereal rate NOTE All of the slew speeds will drive the LX200 in all four directions except for GUIDE The 2X sidereal speed in GUIDE has one difference in that it will not interrupt the Right Ascension tracking direction to make Easterly for Northern hemisphere or Westerly for Southern hemisphere adjustments it will merely slow down the tracking drive to one half its normal speed You will find however that the slower drive will move the image opposite of the tracking direction without disturbing the smooth drive action This performance is absolutely essential when making astrophotographs SLEW FIND CENTER and GUIDE keys also have numbers listed 7 4 1 and 0 respectively When editing a value the multiple function of each of these keys is realized SLEW and FIND are also used to set the fast focus speed for the electric focuser accessory option while CNTR and GUIDE set the slow focus speed There are other special functions for the CNTR and GUIDE keys that are discussed in the RET KEY operations 6 RET Key Typically used for guiding the LX200 during an astrophotograph the RET key 5 Fig 6 is used to change the brightness and pulse rate of the optional corded style illuminated reticle eyepiece
36. direction as the darker shadow is offset in the ring of light 1 2 Fig 27 De focused Star Images d Turn the set screw that you found with the pointing exercise while looking in the eyepiece You will notice that the star image will move across the field If while turning the out of focus star image flies out of the eyepiece field then you are turning the screw the wrong way Turn the opposite direction and bring the image to the center of the field e If while turning you feel the screw get very loose tighten the other two screws by even amounts If while turning the set screw gets too tight unthread the other two by even amounts f When you bring the image to center 3 Fig 27 carefully examine the evenness of the ring of light concentricity If you find that the dark center is still off in the same direction continue to make the adjustment in the original turning direction If it is now off in the opposite direction you have turned too far and you need to turn in the opposite direction Always double check the image in the center of the field of the eyepiece g You may find after your initial adjustment that the dark center is off in a new direction e g instead of side to side it is off in an up and down direction If this is the case follow steps b through f as described above to find the new adjustment screw h Now try a higher power e g 9mm or less eyepiece and repeat the abov
37. file is the other half of the TELESCOPE OBJECT LIBRARY mode With it you can become a tourist of the sky or conduct research surveys of the 64 359 objects The LX200 Object Library is accessible in the most results getting user friendly system ever designed for observers and astrophotographers The core library essentially a greatest hits of the sky encompasses eight planets of our solar system from Mercury to Pluto 351 stars doubles variables pole stars the entire Messier catalog of 110 objects 7840 of the finest galaxies diffuse and planetary nebulae and globular and open star clusters The position epoch of these objects is for real time updated each time you turn on your LX200 Even the planet s positions have their orbits calculated This not only qualifies the LX200 as the most accurate integrated object library available it will never require updated software for precession of the stars or planetary orbital changes There are three primary ways to use the Object Library You can directly access the library by using the M STAR or CNGC keys see THE LX200 KEYPAD HAND CONTROLLER page 14 and entering a specific catalog number the START FIND option can be used to logically find objects in organized strips of the sky that can be custom tailored to only show the objects you wish to see with a selection of object types size brightness etc or you can scan the sky and have the Object Library tell you what is in the field of
38. format it will give a pleasant beeping tone to notify you that the time is up To set the TIMER move the arrow to TIMER 00 00 00 Then press and hold the ENTER key to get the double beep tone and the blinking cursor Enter the number of hours minutes and seconds that you require If you need to correct an error in entry use the E and W keys to move the blinking cursor and then type in the correct information After entry press the ENTER key again and the cursor will delete When you are ready to start your time count down press the ENTER key once more To pause the count down press ENTER again and then again to resume If you want an automatic 12 hour countdown press the ENTER key without holding Then press ENTER to countdown b FREQ Menu File FREQ Frequency allows you to adjust the tracking speed not slew speed of the LX200 digitally in tenths of a hertz from 56 4 Hz to 60 1 Hz so that you can match virtually every celestial motion in the sky Some popular drive rate settings are FREQ RATE DESCRIPTION NOTES 60 1 Hz Q Sidereal rate Default rate at power up Quartz setting Gives sidereal frequency accuracy to 005 Best for astrophotos Solar and Average rate for tracking planetary rate planets Actual rates vary due to retrogrades oppositions etc 57 9Hz Lunar rate Best rate for tracking the Moon There are three menu file options in FREQ To see or set the options move the arrow to FREQ and p
39. fuse 2 Fig 28 The long life lithium battery Panasonic CR2032 3 vDC or Duracell DL2032B is stored behind the front panel of the Drive Base The battery does have to be changed every few years and is done by unthreading the four phillips head screws that secure the Front Panel to the Drive Base Then with a thin flat head screw driver lift the small coin size battery out of its holder The new battery simply slides in place The 1 0 amp slow blow fuse will sacrifice itself to protect the LX200 electronics in the event that the telescope is prevented from completing a GO TO function e g the tube runs into something that keeps it from slewing Fig 28 Reverse Side of Power Panel 1 Fuse 2 Battery 5 Factory Servicing and Repairs Meade LX200 models have been designed and manufactured for years of trouble free operation and repairs should rarely be necessary If a problem does occur first write or call our Customer Service Department Do not return the telescope until you have communicated with us in this way since the great majority of problems can be handled without the return of the telescope to us However should the occasion arise that the instrument requires factory servicing a Meade Instruments Customer Service Representative will issue a Return Goods Authorization RGA number and give you full instructions on how to use it Product returned without the RGA number may greatly delay any servicin
40. hand 3 Using the LX200 In ALTAZ Altazimuth The two quick start methods described above allow you to use the telescope but do not make use of any of the computer features available including finding objects from the Object Library and automatic tracking of stars In order for these features to work the telescope s power needs to be on and the computer needs some basic information which is entered through the keypad Once entered the information is permanently remembered by the telescope s computer and need never be entered again even if the telescope is turned on and off many times This section will explain what keys to push to get the minimum data required into the computer without any detailed explanation see MODE FUNCTIONS page 16 for detailed instructions The steps detailed here only take a few minutes and allow you to begin making use of all the LX200 features a Entering Basic Information In order for the LX200 to make the conversions between the stellar coordinate system R A and Declination and the Altazimuth coordinate system altitude and azimuth it needs to know three pieces of information This information only needs to be entered one time the LX200 remembers data even when the power is off Note however that the time should be checked and reset if necessary on each observing session b Location of the Observing Site NOTE The SITE information cannot be entered if the telescope is in LAN
41. in size unless it is a double star or a planet Astrophotographers and those involved with CCD imaging may want to set a higher value based on the desired image scale coverage that would be most impressive with different types of films or CCDcameras Enter the new value in arc minutes then press ENTER to exit to the option file SMALLER This menu option is the upper size object limit At power up the setting is for 200 arc minutes or 3 33 degrees This setting is high enough to cover the largest objects in the OBJECT LIBRARY You may want to lower the value because of true field of view limitations of a particular eyepiece see the RADIUS parameter option for calculating true field Other reasons for limiting the value in SMALLER is for astrophotographic or CCD imaging requirements where we don t want the object to exceed the imaging area of the film or the CCD chip BRIGHTER The lower brightness limits based on stellar magnitude can be limited in the BRIGHTER menu At power up the magnitude value is set to a very faint level of 20 0 You may want to adjust the magnitude level to a brighter value starting at perhaps the limiting visual magnitude of your LX200 which is approximately 15 5 for the 16 LX200 If you are taking astrophotographs the limiting magnitude is about 18 0 Sky conditions also greatly affect the limiting magnitude due to atmospheric haze high clouds light pollution or combinations thereof FAINTER The u
42. info 9 LOCATE 8 31 PRINT Rating MID info 10 7 LOCATE 9 31 PRINT Magnitude MID info 20 5 LOCATE 10 31 PRINT Size MID info 27 6 IF counter 0 THEN LOCATE 11 31 PRINT RA LOCATE 12 31 PRINT DEC LOCATE 7 60 PRINT Distance to SLEW LOCATE 9 55 PRINT RA LOCATE 10 55 PRINT Dec GO TO scale c Gr PRINT 1 c d INPUTS 8 1 RAL LEFTS d 2 RAMS MID d 4 4 LOCATE 11 31 PRINT USING RA WV RAL RAMS c Gd PRINT 1 c d INPUTS 7 1 RAL LEFT d 3 RAMS MID d 5 2 LOCATE 12 31 PRINT DEC RAL CHR 248 RAMS distbar rad decd c D PRINT 1 c d INPUT 33 1 FORi 1TO16 IFASC MIDS d i 1 255 THEN rad rad CHR 254 NEXT i FOR i 17 TO 33 IFASC MID d i 1 255THEN decd decd CHR 254 NEXTi LOCATE 7 59 PRINT Distance to SLEW scale LOCATE 8 59 PRINT 0 CHRS 248 45 CHR 248 90 CHR 248 150 CHR 248 IF counter 0 THEN RETURN LOCATE 9 55 PRINT LOCATE 9 55 PRINT RA rad LOCATE 10 55 PRINT LOCATE 10 55 PRINT DEC decd RETURN status LOCATE 1 7 PRINT SITE c Gt PRINT 1 c d INPUT 7 1 RAL LEFT d 3 RAMS MID dS 5 2 LOCATE 2 3 PRINT Tat RAL CHRS 248 RAMS c Gg PRINT 1 c d INPUTS 7 1 RAL LEFT d 3 RAMS MID d 5 2 LOCATE 3 3
43. is removed by using forced air and or gentle strokes with a photographic grade camel hair brush The forced air can come from a rubber ear syringe or canned compressed air from a photographic supply store Be sure to hold the canned air in a vertical position and try spraying compressed air on your hand before aiming at the optics to see if any of the propellent solid material comes out Propellant is very difficult to remove from optics so take care not to tip the can when using it If you have access to a compressor hose be sure that it is filtered to prevent oil from being sprayed on the optics Once you are confident that you have removed most of the dust and large particles begin cleaning with the mixture described above Pour or spray enough solution onto a pillow or wand of tissue until it is quite wet If you are cleaning a corrector plate use radial strokes with a smooth pillow of tissue starting from the center out using no pressure If you are cleaning small optical surfaces use the rolled wands of tissue starting from the edges then spiraling in to the center again using no pressure Never pour or spray the solution onto the corrector plate or eyepieces themselves as the liquid may go behind or in between lenses where it is difficult or impossible to reach Never attempt to disassemble an eyepiece to clean the inner elements as you will certainly not be able to properly center and re assemble the optical train Use dry ti
44. menu option 4 different motion speeds are active allowing the telescope to be moved electronically by means of the keypad To use the telescope in Land follow these steps a Loosen the Dec lock knob 2 Fig 4 and position the optical tube approximately level so that the Dec setting circle 3 Fig 1 reads 0 Retighten the Dec lock knob b Loosen the R A lock 7 Fig 1 and rotate the telescope so that the R A pointer 9 Fig 1 and the HA pointer 16 Fig 1 are approximately in line with each other This will position the fork arms so that they are parallel to the power panel 11 Fig 1 Tighten the R A lock The above two steps are not necessary for the telescope to work so don t worry about having to get it exactly right The telescope has some illegal positions places where the telescope will not go and these two steps insure proper operation c After setting up the telescope plug in both coil cords with the keypad one of the supplied power sources either the AC Wall Adapter Power Converter for AC current wall outlets or the optional DC Cigarette Lighter Power Cord used in an automobiles cigarette lighter outlet with the ignition turned on only to allow the electric power on from the car battery d Turn on the power switch on the power panel of the LX200 The keypad display 1 Fig 5 will show MEADE for several seconds as the microprocessor does a self diagnostic test When the self diagnostic tes
45. pBlue 348 2228 2 5742 33 9 8 STAR 9 8 11 0132 ADS 15972 9ST 1980 2 6 176 Reds 349 22 33 0 6955 4 6 5 STAR 6 5 7 094 ADS 16057 9ST 1980 0 5 086 350 23 34 0 31 20 4 5 6 STAR 5 6 5 280 ADS 16836 9ST 1980 0 4 267 351 21 12 3 8858 5 5 STAR VAR 5 3 5 7 FOI Sigma Oct 8 ST S Pole Sigma Oct 49 4 M Messier Catalog M RA DEC SIZE MAG TYPE amp DESCRIPTION ALT NAME QTAGS COMMON NAME COMMENTS M 1M 0534 5 2201 360774 8 46 5v PLAN NEB EMIS SN REM CNGC 1952 B4ST M1 Crab Nebula 4kly M2 40kly M3 2M3 2133 5 0050 972 1578 6 4v GLOBCLUS sp F4 GLOB CLUS CNGC 7089 C2ST 35kly M4 14kly M5 26kly MAM 1342 3 2823 1044 5 9v sp F7 GLOB CLUS sp GO GLOB CNGC 5272 B2ST 5 1623 7 2631 5 8v CLUS sp F6 CNGC 6121 B2ST 1518 6 0205 CNGC 5904 B2 ST M6 1740 1 32 13 9004800 4 2v OPEN CLUS sp B4 OPEN CLUS CNGC 6405 C1STC M6 1500ly M7 SOOly M7 1754 0 3449 3 3v sp B5 CNGC 6475 1ST M8 1803 2 2423 5400 5 2 OPEN CLUS ENER sp 05 CNGC 6523 B6ST M8 Lagoon Nebula 5100ly M9 1719 2 1831 558 7 9v GLOB CLUS CNGC 6333 D2ST Mg M10 1657 1 0407 906 6 6v GLOBCLUS sp G1 CNGC 6254 D2ST M10 20kly M11 1851 1 0616 840 5 8v OPEN CLUS sp B8 CNGC 6705 C1ST M11 Veryrich 5600ly M12 1647 2 0157 870 6 6v GLOB CLUS sp F8 CNGC 62148 D2ST M12 24kly M13 1641 7 3627 996 5 9v GLOB CLUS sp F6 CNGC 6205 B2ST M13 Hercules Globular M14 1737 6 0317 702 7 6v GLOB CLUS CNGC 6402 D2ST M14 M15 2130 0 1210 738 6 4v GLOBCLUS sp F2 CNGC 7078 C2ST M15 X Ray Source 34kly M16 181
46. position entered This process takes about 10 seconds and the keypad will show Display 26 HI PRECISION Display 26 Searching b The telescope will slew to the nearest alignment star These are all bright brighter than 3rd magnitude stars and far enough apart to insure that there will only be one in the field of view The keypad display will show Display 27 Display 27 Center STAR XXX then press GO TO using a reticle eyepiece center tne star in tne neia or view Or center the star on the CCD chip if using a CCD camera Press GO TO when the star is centered 19 NOTE If this star is not in the field of view or if it is obstructed by a land object the other two stars are available Use the PREV and NEXT keys to cycle through the three closest stars c The telescope will slew to the selected object or position 10 SLEW RATE Option 10 in the TELESCOPE menu is for changing the slew rate of the LX200 telescope Slowing down the slew rate will result in less noise as the telescope moves and will also use a little less power To change the slew rate follow these steps a Press the MODE key on the keypad until the TELESCOPE OBJECT LIBRARY menu appears The cursor should be next to the TELESCOPE option if not press the PREV key to move the cursor up one space b Press ENTER to select the TELESCOPE functions c Press the PREV or NEXT keys to move the cursor to option 10 SLEW RATE On the right
47. read the lines of text use the PREV and NEXT keys To exit press MODE REVERSE N S The REVERSE N S menu selection of the TELESCOPE file reverses the direction of the telescope in North and South movements e g when you press the N key the scope will move South or down instead of North or up This is especially useful during some guiding applications in imaging and observing To use the REVERSE N S menu move the arrow to REVERSE N S and press ENTER If you wish to return the direction commands to the original setting press ENTER again REVERSE E W The REVERSE E W menu selection of the TELESCOPE file reverses the direction of the telescope in East and West movements e g when you press the W key the telescope will move East instead of West To use the REVERSE E W menu move the arrow to REVERSE E W and press ENTER If you wish to return the direction commands to the original setting press ENTER again BALANCE When adding optional equipment to the LX200 like a heavy camera it is often necessary to rebalance the telescope using the Meade 1404 Tube Balance Weight Systems Selecting option 8 from the TELESCOPE menu moves the LX200 telescope rapidly up and down in Declination This provides an easy way to determine when the telescope is balanced in the Declination axis Remember loosening the Dec lock to check the balance will cause the LX200 to lose alignment When the telescope is out of balance the LX200 will draw
48. screws 1 2 and 3 Fig 26 located at the edge of the outer surface of the secondary mirror housing zd 300 WARNING DO NOT FORCE THE 3 COLLIMATION SCREWS PAST THEIR NORMAL TRAVEL AND DO NOT LOOSEN THEM MORE THAN 2 FULL TURNS COUNTER CLOCKWISE DIRECTION OR THE SECONDARY MIRROR MAY COME LOOSE FROM ITS SUPPORT YOU WILL FIND THAT THE ADJUSTMENTS ARE VERY SENSITIVE USUALLY ONLY TURNING A COLLIMATION SCREW 1 2 A TURN WILL GIVE DRAMATIC RESULTS b While looking at the de focused star image and noticing which direction the darker shadow is offset in the ring of light or noticing which part of the ring is the thinnest 1 Fig 27 place your index finger in front of the telescope so that it touches one of the Collimation set screws You will see the shadow of your finger in the ring of light Move your finger or an assistants finger around the edge of the black plastic secondary mirror support until you see the shadow of the finger crossing the thinnest part of the ring of light At this point look at the front of the telescope where your or your assistants finger is aiming It will either be pointing directly at a set screw or it will be between two set screws aiming at the set screw on the far side of the black plastic secondary mirror support This is the set screw that you will adjust C Using the telescope s slow motion controls move the de focused image to the edge of the eyepiece field of view 2 Fig 27 in the same
49. see page 82 NOTE There is no Collimation procedure required for the Meade 7 Maksutov Cassegrain telescope Factory alignment assures optimal viewing accuracies 5 12 Tube Swing Through Limit The length of the 12 LX200 optical tube prohibits the correcting plate end of the tube from swinging through the fork arms the tube will hit the mount When the telescope is aligned the software will stop the telescope from moving into the mount If the telescope is not aligned there are also mechanical stops When in LAND or ALTAZ modes this limit does not restrict any sections of the sky since the limit is set at 45 from straight down When in the POLAR mode some parts of the sky might be restricted depending on the latitude of the observing site Observing sites with latitudes higher than 45 will not have any restrictions Latitudes below 45 will have the southern horizon restricted somewhat To determine the amount of sky not available subtract the latitude of the observing site from 45 This will give the number of degrees of southern horizon that the 12 LX200 will not move to For example if the latitude of the observing site is 35 then 10 45 35 of southern sky is unavailable for observations 6 7 Tube Swing Through Limit The length of the 7 LX200 optical tube prohibits the correcting plate end of the tube from swinging through the fork arms the tube will hit the mount When the telescope is aligned the s
50. star should be centered in the optics You may find that the pole star is somewhat off center in the eyepiece showing the alignment error that may have been made during your initial setup Re center the pole star during each interval using the tripod adjustments only see APPENDIX B page 29 in altitude and azimuth then follow the rest of the routine Return to the POLAR menu option in the 17 TELESCOPE mode and press the ENTER key Ignore the keypad display instructions to return the telescope to 90 degrees in Declination and 00 HA Instead press the GO TO key and the LX200 will slew to the calculated position of where the pole star should be Re center the pole star in the field of view in the eyepiece using only the adjustments on the pier in altitude and azimuth Press the ENTER key and the LX200 will once again slew to a bright star overhead Center this star using the N S E or W keys then press ENTER NOTE Pressing the MODE key at any point in the alignment routine aborts the routine and exit to the top menu After each 15 minute interval you will find that the pole star becomes more accurately centered each time You can repeat the intervals as often as you like to obtain the highest accuracy An optional illuminated reticle crosshair eyepiece makes the job of centering the star easy There may be situations when it is impossible to see the pole star due to something blocking your line of sight On such an o
51. telescope with the SITE information available Best used when the telescope is permanently mounted and accurately leveled Atmospheric Refraction Correction Light from an astronomical object is bent refracted as it passes through the atmosphere This bending is more pronounced near the horizon because there is more atmosphere for the light to pass through and it shifts the apparent position of the star The LX200 calculates this bending and compensates for it when slewing to objects near the horizon THE LX200 KEYPAD HAND CONTROLLER Designed to make you a better astronomer the integration of optics mechanics electronics and software in the LX200 Maksutov Cassegrain or Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope is easily mastered So easy in fact that the telescope becomes a natural extension of the observer The LX200 gives you virtually every telescope function possible with every control in a compact hand held console The red LCD backlit keypad has tactile touch buttons some of which are brighter than others designed to have the right feel even if you wear gloves Its red LCD backlit display key arrangement and easy to understand information allow you to focus the telescope and your mind on the subject at hand The LX200 keypad hand controller is a dual axis drive corrector with periodic error control an information display center for the computerized library a digital coordinate readout system a pulsing illuminated ret
52. the first part of the year is M42 the Great Orion Nebula Press the M key the 4 key the 2 key and finally the ENTER key The display will show data on the object name rating object type brightness size Now press GO TO The telescope will automatically slew to M42 If the object entered is not above the horizon the keypad hand controller will display the message Object Below Horizon Other good first objects if above the horizon are any of the M objects from M1 to M 110 and the planets To find a planet enter NOTE 903 is the Moon OBJECT LIBRARY PLANET LEGEND STAR PLANET STAR SATURN PLANET MERCURY VENUS URANUS 907 MARS NEPTUNE 908 4 Star Alignment The 2 Star initialization routines provide three options for aligning the LX200 telescope when in the ALTAZ mode NOTE The 2 Star initialization routines only apply to the ALTAZ alignment mode see MODE FUNCTIONS page 16 for POLAR and LAND mode initialization 902 The first and second options require that entry of the SITE and TIME information as described in Entering Basic Information page 10 The third option is used when the SITE information is not known or has not been entered into the LX200 s memory a 1 Star with Known SITE The 1 Star alignment routine was explained in detail in Setting Up the Telescope page 11 b 2 Star at Known SITE To use the 2 Star alignment procedure at a known site follow these steps
53. view in the eyepiece by using the FIELD option Below is a description of the four OBJECT LIBRARY menu files and file options To access the OBJECT LIBRARY menu file move the arrow to the OBJECT LIBRARY display by pressing the PREV or NEXT key while in the TELESCOPE OBJECT LIBRARY mode and press the ENTER key Now you can access the four menu selections within the OBJECT LIBRARY by moving the arrow to the desired menu selection by using the PREV or NEXT keys and doing the following steps 1 OBJECT INFO Press the ENTER key to read the type brightness size and quality Press ENTER again to read the coordinates Press ENTER once more to determine how far off the telescope is pointing from the entered object this is displayed in LCD bars each bar is ten degrees or if it is on the object no bars This same information can also be accessed at any time by pressing the ENTER key for any object entered by the M STAR or CNGC keys Press MODE to exit to the main menu file 2 START FIND The START FIND option resources the CNGC objects within the Object Library and begins a logical search starting wherever the telescope is positioned when activated To cover the entire visible sky it will make 31 strip divisions about 12 wide moving from West to East from the North Pole to the South Pole then South to North Once it has found all of the CNGC objects it will repeat its sequence until new objects are visible 20 Press the ENTER key
54. was a higher power eyepiece used Your Visual Quality Rating of a particular object will vary largely due to sky conditions If the object has been rated by observation an upper case character ABCDEFG is used for the VQ on the CNGC listing If the object has not been observed the VQ has been estimated by a computer program from the object type size and brightness and the VQ is specified in lower case characters abcdefg The VQs for visually rated objects are a considerably more consistent guide to observability and appearance than either the computed VQs or an examination of the type magnitude and size data The following guide to VQs was used in the visual observation process Very bright object with very interesting shape or structure Bright object with very interesting shape or structure OR Very bright object with moderately interesting shape or structure Bright object with moderately interesting shape or structure OR Very bright object with little or no interesting shape or structure Easy to see without averted vision with some interesting shape or structure OR Bright object but litte or no interesting shape or structure Easy 10 see without averted vision but little or no interesting shape or structure Easy to see with averted vision Often borderline visible without averted vision A struggle io see with careful use of averted vision Not yet rated AND missing information for computer estima
55. you will have during an observing session As an example if the ammeter has 9 four bars lit indicating 1 2 amps and you are using a 12 amp hour battery then to know the approximate number of hours of life the battery would yield by dividing 12 by 1 2 This indicates a battery life of 10 hours 4 DEC Motor Connector The DEC Motor Port 11 Fig 7 is a DB 9 socket designed to accept the supplied coil cord One end of the supplied coil cord plugs in to the power panel and the other plugs into the DEC MOTOR socket in the om s Fig 7 16 LX200 Power Panel 1 Ammeter 2 RS 232 Connector 3 Aux Connector 4 Focuser Connector 5 Reticle Connector 6 Keypad Connector 7 ON OFF Switch 8 N S Switch 9 12v DC Power Connector 10 CCD Connector 11 DEC Motor Connector right fork arm to power the declination motor 5 CCD Connector The CCD Port 10 Fig 7 allows direct interface from popular aftermarket CCD autoguiding imaging cameras with their compatible connecting cables to accomplish autoguiding for non attended astrophotography The CCD cameras effectively watch a star and detect slight movements When star movements are detected signals from the CCD electronics make drive corrections in the LX200 to bring the star to a home position Most CCD autoguiding imaging cameras are supplied with a cable which is compatible with the LX200 port If your CCD unit does not ha
56. 0 11 3 DIFF RNEB CNGC 2068 C3ST M78 Blue 1500ly 2070 05 38 5 6905 300 8 3v OPEN CLUS ENEB IN LMC BFST Tarantula Nebula Very Red 2074 0539 0 6930 960 8 5 OPEN CLUS ENEB IN LMC bFS 30 Dor Nebula part 2099 0552 4 3233 1440 5 6v OPEN CLUS sp B8 CNGC 2099 C1ST M37 4200ly 2129 0601 1 2318 420 6 7v OPEN CLUS c1 ST 2168 0608 9 2421 1680 5 1v OPEN CLUS sp B5 CNGC 21 68 C1ST M35 2800ly 2169 06 08 4 1358 420 5 9v OPEN CLUS c1 ST 2175 0609 8 20 19 1080 6 8v OPEN CLUS ENEB C6ST Red Faint Low Contrast 2194 06 13 8 1249 600 8 5v OPEN CLUS c1ST 2204 06 15 7 1839 780 8 6v OPEN CLUS c1 ST 2215 06 20 8 07 17 660 8 4v OPEN CLUS c1 ST 2232 06 26 8 0444 1800 3 9v OPEN CLUS sp B1 b1S 1600ly 2237 06 30 3 0503 4800 7 4 OPEN CLUS ENEB C6ST Cluster in Rosette Nebula 2244 06 32 3 0452 1440 4 8v OPEN CLUS ENEB sp 05 b6ST Rosette Nebula 5300ly 2250 06 32 8 0502 480 8 9p OPEN CLUS c1S 2251 06 34 8 0822 600 7 3v OPEN CLUS c1 ST 2252 06 35 0 0523 1200 7 7p OPEN CLUS c1S 2264 0641 2 0953 1200 3 9v OPEN CLUS ENEB sp 08 b6ST S Mon Cone Nebula 2400ly 2281 06 49 4 41 04 900 5 4v OPEN CLUS c1 ST 2286 06 47 7 0310 900 7 5v OPEN CLUS c1 ST 2287 0647 1 2045 2280 4 5v OPEN CLUS sp B4 CNGC 2287 C1ST M41 2200ly 2301 0651 8 0028 720 6 0v OPEN CLUS c1 ST 2323 07 02 9 0820 960 5 9v OPEN CLUS CNGC 2323 D1ST M50 2324 0704 2 01 04 480 8 4v OPEN CLUS c1ST 2331 0707 3 2721 1080 8 5p OPEN CLUS c1S 2335 07 06 6 1005 720 7 2v OPEN CLUS c1ST
57. 0 9v 2 8v 2 8v 2 6v 45 TYPE amp DESCRIPTION STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR B0 5 IV B1 Vn B1 Vn BO 5 IV B9 5 III K2 V M3 5 III G5II B2 IV V B9 5 Ill AO III AO Ill B9 5 III F1V F1V B2 V B2 5 V B0 5 III AOp IV Cr Eu AOp Ill Si Eu Sr G9 Illab G8 Ilia A2 V A1p IV Si A1mA7 B1 V B1 Ill B3 V B2 IV Vpne GO IV B2 5 IV B1 III K2 Ip KO IIIb K1 5 III Fe 0 5 AT III IV B1 5 IVpne G2V K4V K4V G2V B1 5 Ill ATp Sr K5 V KO I III AO V A3 IV KAI B2 IV B2V M4 Ill B8 Vn A1 Ilin B1 5IVn A2 5 Ill K2 Ill AO IV B2 IVn B2 IVn K2 IIIb CN1 FO IV B1V B2V gM3 Bep BO 3 IV BO 5 IV MO 5 III G9 5 IIIb Fe 0 5 B1 Ill B9 V G8 Illab M1 5 lab B2 5V G7 llia BOV 09 5 Vn ALT NAME Alpha Cru A Alpha Cru B Delta Crv A Gamma Cru Beta Crv Alpha Mus Gamma CenA Gamma Cen B Gamma Vir AB Beta Mus AB Beta Cru Epsilon UMa Alpha 2 CVn A Epsilon Vir Gamma Hya lota Cen Zeta UMa A Alpha Vir Epsilon Cen Eta UMa Mu Cen Eta Boo Zeta Cen Beta Cen AB Pi Hya Theta Cen
58. 1 Jewel Box 6800ly 8 7x1 6 M64 9 3x5 4 Black Eye Gal 20 0x4 M53 10 5x5 6 M63 12 3x7 6 Sunflower Gal 9 3x3 5 18 2x14 5 CentarusA X Ray Omega Centauri 17kly M51 11 0x7 8 Whirlpool Gal M83 11 2x10 2 M3 35kly M101 26 9x26 3 Pinwheel 4 5x4 2 7 9x1 7 M5 26kly 12 3x1 8 CNGC Catalog continued CNGCtf RA DEC SIZE 5927 1528 0 5040 720 588 5986 1546 1 3746 720 780 6025 1603 7 6030 54 6067 16 13 3 13 6087 1618 9 5754 720 6093 1617 1 2300 534 6101 1625 7 72 13 642 6121 1623 7 2631 1578 6124 1625 6 4042 1740 6144 1627 2 2603 558 6152 1632 8 5238 1800 6167 1634 4 4936 480 6169 1634 1 4403 420 6171 1632 5 1302 600 6192 1640 4 4323 480 6193 1641 4 4846 900 6200 1644 3 4729 720 6205 1641 7 3627 996 6208 1649 5 5349 960 6218 1647 2 01 57 870 6231 1654 3 41 48 900 6242 1655 6 3930 540 6250 1658 0 4548 480 6254 1657 1 0407 906 6259 1700 7 4441 600 6266 1701 3 3007 846 6273 1702 6 2615 810 6281 1704 8 3753 480 6284 1704 5 2445 336 6293 1710 3 2634 474 6304 17 14 6 2928 408 6316 17 16 6 2808 294 6322 1718 5 4257 600 6333 1719 2 1831 558 6341 17 17 2 4309 672 6353 1724 7 4957 720 6356 1723 7 1749 432 6362 1731 8 6703 642 6366 1727 7 0505 498 6367 1725 2 3745 45 6383 1734 7 3235 300 6388 1736 3 4445 522 6397 1740 9 5341 1542 6398 1720 2 5755 2010 6400 1740 8 3656 480 6401 1738 6 2355 336 6402 1737 6 03 17 702 6405 1740 1 32 13 900 6416 1744 4 3221 1080 6
59. 2343 07 08 3 1040 420 6 7v OPEN CLUS c1S 2345 07 08 4 13 10 720 7 7V OPEN CLUS c1ST 2353 07 14 7 1017 1200 7 1v OPEN CLUS c1ST 2354 07 14 2 2543 1200 6 5v OPEN CLUS c1 ST 2360 07 17 7 1538 780 7 2v OPEN CLUS c1 ST 2362 07 18 7 2458 480 4 1v OPEN CLUS ENEB sp 09 C6ST Open Clus 20 Very Red 2374 07 24 1 1315 1140 8 0v OPEN CLUS c1 ST 2395 07 27 1 1335 720 8 0v OPEN CLUS c1ST 2396 07 28 2 11 44 600 7 4p OPEN CLUS CIS 2403 07 36 9 6536 1068 8 4 GALAXY Sc il UGC3918 b5ST 17 8x11 0 2420 0738 4 2134 600 8 3v OPEN CLUS c1ST 2421 07 36 3 2037 600 8 3v OPEN CLUS c1 ST 2422 07 36 6 1429 1800 4 4v OPEN CLUS sp B3 CNGC 2422 D1ST M47 1600ly 2423 0737 2 1352 1140 6 7v OPEN CLUS c1 ST 38 CNGC Catalog continued CNGC RA DEC SIZE MAG TYPE amp DESCRIPTION ALT NAME Q TAGS COMMON NAME COMMENTS 2437 0741 9 1449 1620 6 1v OPEN CLUS sp B8 CNGC 2437 C1ST M46 5400ly CNGC 2438 PN 2447 07 44 6 2352 1320 6 2v OPEN CLUS DNEB CNGC 2447 D6ST M93 Includes dark nebula 2451 07 45 4 3758 2700 2 8v OPEN CLUS sp B5 C1ST 1 000ly 2467 07 52 5 2624 480 7 2p OPEN CLUS ENEB C6ST Open Cluster Red Nebula 2477 07 52 3 3833 1620 5 8v OPEN CLUS C1ST 2516 07 58 2 6052 1800 3 8v OPEN CLUS sp B8 C1ST 1200ly 2547 08 10 7 49 16 1200 4 7v OPEN CLUS C1ST 2548 08 13 7 0547 3240 5 8v OPEN CLUS CNGC 2548 D1ST M48 2631 08 40 2 5304 3000 2 5v OPEN CLUS II 3p 1C 2391 C1ST 2632 0840 1 1959 5700 3 1v OPEN CLUS sp AO CNGC 2632 C1ST M44 Praesepe B
60. 3 2 STAR 3 2 5 107 ADS 10418 9ST 1968 Yellow Blue 328 1723 7 3708 40 4 6 STAR 4 6 5 316 ADS 10526 9ST 1964 329 1801 5 21 36 65 5 1 STAR 5 1 5 258 ADS 10993 9ST 1953 Yellow pRed 330 1803 1 08 11 18 5 2 STAR 5 2 5 0280 ADS 11005 9ST 1980 1 9 277 331 1805 3 0232 15 4 2 STAR 4 2 6 220 ADS 11046 9ST Yel Ora Ora 332 1825 0 2724 7 6 5 STAR 6 5 7 8126 ADS 11334 9ST 1980 0 7 129 333 1835 8 1658 15 6 8 STAR 6 8 7 155 ADS 11483 9ST 1980 1 6 9161 334 1844 4 3940 26 5 0 STAR 5 0 6 1 0353 ADS 11635 9ST 1980 2 7 355 White 335 1844 4 3936 24 5 2 STAR 5 2 5 8080 ADS 11635 9ST 1980 2 3 0084 White 336 1857 1 3254 10 5 4 STAR 5 4 7 021 ADS 11871 9ST 1980 1 1 051 337 1906 4 3703 13 4 8 STAR 4 8 5 1 109 Gamma CrA 9ST 1980 1 5 157 338 1926 5 27 19 20 8 1 STAR 8 1 8 292 ADS 12447 9ST 1980 1 8 293 339 1930 7 2758 344 3 2 STAR 32 5 9054 ADS 12540 9ST 1967 Gold Blue 340 1945 5 3337 24 8 3 STAR 8 3 8 349 ADS 12889 9ST 1980 2 0 357 341 2021 0 1446 2050 3 1 STAR 3 1 6 9267 Beta Cap 9ST Yellow Blue 342 2046 6 1608 98 4 3 STAR 4 3 5 268 ADS 14279 9ST 1967 Gold Blue Gre 343 2047 5 3629 9 4 9 STAR 4 9 6 1 011 ADS 14296 9ST White pBlue 344 2059 1 04 18 10 6 0 STAR 6 0 6 285 ADS 14499 9ST 1980 1 1 286 345 2102 3 07 11 28 7 3 STAR 7 3 7 217 ADS 14556 9ST 1961 346 2106 7 3842 297 5 2 STAR 5 2 6 148 ADS 14636 9ST 1980 29 0 146 347 2228 8 00 15 19 4 3 STAR 4 3 4 8207 ADS 15971 9ST pYellow
61. 32mm 67 2 O D 40mm 67 2 O D Ultra Wide Angle Eyepieces 8 elements 1 25 O D except as noted 116 0 58 145 0 46 89 0 75 111 0 60 65 103 82 0 82 50 1 34 63 1 07 40 1 67 50 1 34 except as noted 340 0 25 426 0 20 239 0 35 299 0 28 182 0 46 227 0 37 114 0 73 143 0 59 181 0 37 139 0 48 102 0 66 78 0 86 63 1 07 221 0 30 169 0 40 124 0 54 95 0 71 76 0 88 4 7mm 84 6 7mm 84 8 8mm 84 1 25 2 14mm 84 1 25 2 568 0 15 399 0 21 O D 303 0 28 O D 199 0 44 272 0 31 191 0 44 145 0 58 91 0 92 532 0 16 373 0 23 284 0 30 1 79 0 47 649 0 13 455 0 18 346 0 24 218 0 39 APPENDIX A EQUATORIAL WEDGE There are two equatorial wedges used on Meade LX200 telescopes Please read the section below that applies to your telescope 1 8 Equatorial Wedge For 7 and 8 LX200 The equatorial wedge permits use of the 8 LX200 telescope in an astronomical or equatorial mode The wedge fits onto the field tripod described below and accepts the base of the 7 or 8 LX200 fork mount Fig 8 NOTE The Meade equatorial wedge is designed solely for use in conjunction with the Meade field tripod The wedge should never be used without the field tripod e g by placing the wedge alone on a table top and then mounting the telescope on the wedge The 7 or 8 LX200 placed onto the equatorial wedge
62. 425 1747 0 31 31 480 6431 1746 3 0543 2460 6432 1747 9 3000 20 6441 1750 2 3703 468 6451 1750 7 30 13 480 6469 1752 9 2221 720 6475 1754 0 3449 4800 6494 1757 0 1901 1620 6514 1802 3 2302 1740 6520 1803 5 2754 360 6522 1803 6 3002 336 MAG 8 3v 7 1v 5 1v 5 6v 5 4v 7 2v 9 3v 5 9v 5 8v 9 1v 8 1p 6 7v 6 6p 8 1v 8 5p 5 2v 7 4v 5 9v 7 2v 6 6v 2 6v 6 4v 5 9v 6 6v 8 0v 6 6v 7 2v 5 4v 9 0v 8 2v 8 4v 9 0v 6 0v 7 9v 6 5v 6 9v 8 4v 8 3v 10 0v 14 5 5 5v 6 9v 5 7v 11 9p 8 8p 9 5v 7 6v 4 2v 8 4v 7 2v 4 2v 13 6p 7 4v 8 2p 8 2p 3 3v 5 5v 6 3v 6 7p 8 6v 40 TYPE amp DESCRIPTION GLOBCLUS GLOBCLUS OPEN CLUS OPEN CLUS sp B3 OPEN CLUS GLOB CLUS GLOB CLUS GLOBCLUS sp GO OPEN CLUS GLOB CLUS OPEN CLUS OPEN CLUS OPEN CLUS GLOB CLUS OPEN CLUS OPEN CLUS ENEB RNEB OPEN CLUS GLOB CLUS sp F6 OPEN CLUS GLOB CLUS sp F8 OPEN CLUS ENEB sp 09 OPEN CLUS OPEN CLUS GLOBCLUS sp G1 OPEN CLUS GLOB CLUS OBLATE GLOB CLUS OBLATE OPEN CLUS ENEB GLOBCLUS GLOB CLUS GLOB CLUS GLOBCLUS OPEN CLUS GLOB CLUS GLOB CLUS sp F1 OPEN CLUS II 3m GLOB CLUS GLOB CLUS GLOB CLUS GALAXY OPEN CLUS ENEB GLOB CLUS GLOBCLUS sp F5 GALAXY dE3 OPEN CLUS GLOB CLUS GLOB CLUS OPEN CLUS sp B4 OPEN CLUS OPEN CLUS OPEN CLUS IlI 2p PLAN NEB GLOB CLUS OPEN CLUS OPEN CLUS OPEN CLUS sp B5
63. 4571 M92 X Ray Source 26kly M93 Includes dark nebula M94 11 0x9 1 M95 7 4x5 1 Near M96 M96 7 1x5 1 NearM95 M97 Owl Nebula 12kly M98 9 5x3 2 M99 5 4x4 8 M100 6 9x6 2 Brite Nucleus M101 26 9x26 3 Pinwheel M102 5 2x2 3 M103 M104 8 9x4 1 Sombrero M105 4 5x4 0 M106 18 2x7 9 M107 M108 8 3x2 5 Near M97 M109 7 6x4 9 M110 CompofM31 17 4x9 8 APPENDIX E MAINTAINING YOUR LX200 1 Keeping Your Telescope Clean Prevention is the best recommendation that a telescope owner can follow to keep astronomical equipment in top working order Proper measures taken during observation and when storing equipment between observing runs can add many years of trouble free use Dust and moisture are the two main enemies to your instrument When observing it is advisable to use a proper fitting dew shield The dew shield not only prevents dew from forming and dust from settling on the corrector plate lens it prevents stray light from reducing image contrast Although dew shields go a long way to prevent moisture buildup there can be times when the telescope optics will have a uniform coating of moist dew This is not particularly harmful as long as the instrument is allowed to let the dew evaporate This can be done with a hair dryer or just setting up the telescope indoors with the dust covers removed It is also advisable that you let the foam lined case for the LX200 dry out indoors for a day if the night was moist Packing y
64. 5 50 3 0v STAR A5 Ib B7 III Nu Car AB 9ST B 6 3 100 1008 5 1158 1 4v STAR B7 Vn Alpha Leo A 8ST Regulus 101 10 13 7 7002 3 3v STAR B8 llin Omega Car 8ST 102 1020 0 1951 50 2 6v STAR K1 1Mb Fe 0 5 Gamma Leo A 9ST Algieba B 3 5 G7 III Fei 103 1022 4 41 30 3 1v STAR MO II Ip Mu Uma 8ST Tania Australis 104 1032 0 61 42 3 3v STAR B4 Vne Rho Car 8ST HR4140 105 1043 0 6424 2 8v STAR BO 5Vp Theta Car 8ST 106 1046 8 4926 20 2 7v STAR G5 ll F8 V Mu Vel AB 9ST B 6 4 107 1049 7 16 11 3 1v STAR K2II Ny Hya 8ST 108 1101 9 5623 2 4v STAR AOmA1 IV V Beta UMa 8ST Merak 109 11 03 8 6145 3 1 8v STAR KO llia A8 V Alpha UMa AB 9ST Dubhe B 4 8 110 1109 7 4430 3 0v STAR K1 II Psi UMa 8ST 414 11 14 2 2032 2 6v STAR Ad V Delta Leo 8ST Zosma 112 11142 1526 3 3v STAR A2 Vs Theta Leo 8ST Chort 113 11 35 8 6302 3 1v STAR BQll Lambda Cen 8ST 114 11 49 1 1434 2 1v STARA3V Beta Leo 8ST Denebola 115 1153 8 5341 2 4v STAR AO IV Vn Gamma UMa 8ST Phad 116 1208 4 5044 2 5v STAR B2 IVne Delta Cen 8ST 117 1210 4 2237 3 0v STAR K3 llia Epsilon Crv 8ST Minkar 118 121541 5845 2 8v STAR B2 IV Delta Cru 8ST 119 1215 5 5701 3 3v STAR A2 IV Vn Delta UMa 8ST Megrez 120 1215 8 1733 2 6v STAR B6p Ill Hg Mn Gamma Crv 8ST Gienah Ghurab 44 STAR Catalog continued STAR RA DEC SIZE 121 1226 6 6306 50 122 1226 7 6307 50 123 1229 9 1631 240 124 12312 5707 125 1234 4 2324 126 1237 2 6909 127 1241 6 4
65. 5460 1407 7 48 19 1500 5474 1405 1 5340 270 5617 1429 8 6044 600 5662 1435 1 5634 720 5746 1445 0 01 57 474 5749 1448 9 5432 480 5822 1505 3 5421 2400 5823 1505 7 5536 600 5824 1504 0 3305 372 5897 1517 4 21 00 756 5904 15 18 6 0205 1044 5907 1515 9 56 19 738 5925 1527 7 5432 900 MAG 7 4v 9 3 9 2 10 2 9 2 10 1 8 4 8 6 9 5 10 5 10 2 9 8 9 9 9 6 9 5 9 8 8 2v 8 3 11 0 6 9v 9 8 9 3 8 8 10 4 9 2 8 2 4 2v 10 2 8 5 7 4v 8 9p 9 5 7 7v 10 1 9 8v 8 6 10 0 7 0 7 6v 3 7v 8 4 8 2 6 4v 5 9v 7 6v 6 0v 7 7 5 6v 10 9 6 3v 5 5v 10 6 8 8p 6 5p 7 9v 9 0v 8 6v 5 8v 10 4 8 4p 39 TYPE amp DESCRIPTION OPEN CLUS GALAXY E1 GALAXY Ep 2 SYS GALAXY S IV V GALAXY E3 GALAXY Sap GALAXY E4 GALAXY E1 EO 2 SYS GALAXY Sb MULTI ARM GALAXY Sc 2 SYS GALAXY SBb Sc 2 SYS GALAXY EO GALAXY Sc IH 3 SYS GALAXY Sb I 3 SYS FNT GALAXY Sb GALAXY Sb GLOB CLUS GALAXY Sb GALAXY SBcp Edge On OPEN CLUS GALAXY E3 GALAXY Sc III Edge On GALAXY E1 GALAXY Sc IV Ir 2 SYS GALAXY S B b I GALAXY Sb p Il OPEN CLUS sp B3 GALAXY SBO GALAXY Sb GLOBCLUS OPEN CLUS GALAXY SBc 2 SYS GLOB CLUS GALAXY Sb GLOB CLUS GALAXY Sb II GALAXY SO GALAXY SOp OPEN CLUS GLOB CLUS Sp F7 GALAXY Sc I 2 SYS FACE GALAXY Sc I II FACE ON GLOB CLUS sp F7 OPEN CLUS GLOB CLUS OPEN CLUS GALAXY Sc I FACE ON OPEN CLUS GA
66. 55 9 ST STAR 5 6 5 8 9159 ADS 899 9 ST STAR 4 6 5 5 9133 ADS 940 9 ST STAR 5 6 6 6 063 ADS 996 9 ST STAR 5 8 5 8 9193 p Eri 9 ST STAR 2 0 8 9 2216 ADS 1477 9 ST STAR 4 6 4 7 9000 ADS 1507 9 ST STAR 6 8 6 8 0057 ADS 1538 9 ST STAR 4 7 7 7 9047 ADS 1563 9 ST STAR 4 2 5 2 273 ADS 1615 9 ST STAR 2 2 5 1 9063 ADS 1630 9 ST STAR 5 3 6 9 071 ADS 1697 9 ST STAR 6 6 7 1 274 ADS 1709 9 ST STAR 4 6 6 9 0232 ADS 1860 9 ST STAR 6 6 7 4 9276 ADS 1982 9 ST STAR 3 6 6 2 9297 ADS 2080 9 ST STAR 8 8 8 8 9139 ADS 241 6 9 ST STAR _7 8 8 3 259 ADS 2446 9 ST STAR 6 8 7 6 261 ADS 261 2 9 ST STAR 6 6 6 7 002 ADS 2616 9 ST STAR 5 8 6 2 211 ADS 2799 9 ST STAR 4 7 6 2 347 ADS 2850 9 ST STAR 5 5 6 3 0120 ADS 2963 9 ST STAR 7 4 8 9 9353 ADS 2995 9 ST STAR 8 0 8 1 275 ADS 3082 9 ST STAR 5 1 8 5 496 ADS 31 37 9 ST STAR 7 3 8 5 9352 ADS 31 69 9 ST STAR 5 8 6 5 0349 ADS 3711 9 ST STAR 0 2 6 7 206 ADS 3823 9 ST STAR 3 6 5 5 044 ADS 41 79 9 ST STAR 5 4 6 8 6 8 ADS 41 86 9 ST STAR 4 6 5 1 5 4 ADS 51 07 9 ST STAR 5 4 6 0 0074 ADS 5400 9 ST STAR 2005 ADS 4523 9 ST STAR 7 2 7 2 9316 ADS 5871 9 ST STAR 8 8 8 8 9195 ADS 6117 9 ST STAR 1 9 2 9 9073 ADS 6175 9 ST STAR 5 6 6 0 9182 ADS 6650 9 ST STAR 6 5 6 7 271 ADS 7307 9 ST STAR 7 2 7 5 181 ADS 7704 9 ST STAR 2 2 3 5 0124 ADS 7724 9 ST STAR 4 3 4 8 9060 ADS 8119 9 ST STAR 5 8 7 1 9295 ADS 81 97 9 ST STAR 5 9 9 0 2260 ADS 8489 9 ST STAR 6 8 7 8 9325 ADS 8539 9 ST COMMON
67. 6 M37 0552 4 3233 1440 5 6v OPEN CLUS sp B8 CNGC 2099 C1ST M37 4200ly M38 0528 7 3551 1260 6 4v OPEN CLUS sp B5 CNGC 1912 C1ST M38 4600ly M39 2132 2 4826 1920 4 6v OPEN CLUS CNGC7092 D1ST M39 M40 1236 4 2559 972 9 6 GALAXY Sb I 3 SYS FNT UGC 7772 BAST M40 16 2x2 8 Edge On Lane M41 0647 1 2045 2280 4 5v OPEN CLUS sp B4 CNGC 2287 C1ST M41 2200ly M42 0535 3 0523 3960 3 9 DIFF RNEB ENEB CNGC 1976 A83ST M42 Orion Nebula Blue Red M43 0535 5 0516 1200 5 8 DIFFRNEB ENEB CNGC 1982 C3ST M43 Orion Nebula Extension M44 0840 4 1959 5700 3 1v OPEN CLUS sp AO CNGC2632 C1ST M44 Praesepe Beehive 590ly M45 0347 1 2407 7200 1 6 OPEN CLUS RNEB sp B6 CNGC 1457 c6ST M45 Pleiades 410ly M46 0741 9 1449 1620 6 1v OPEN CLUS sp B8 CNGC 2437 C1ST M46 5400ly CNGC 2438 PN M47 0736 6 1429 1800 44v OPEN CLUS sp B3 CNGC 2422 D1ST M47 1600ly M48 0813 7 0547 3240 5 8v OPEN CLUS CNGC 2548 D1ST M48 M49 12298 0800 534 8 4 GALAXY E4 UGC 7629 C5ST M49 89x74 M50 0702 9 0820 960 5 9v OPEN CLUS CNGC 2323 D1ST M50 M51 1330 0 4711 660 84 GALAXY Sc 2 SYS FACE UGC 8493 BAST M51 11 0x7 8 Whirlpool Gal M52 23242 6136 780 6 9v OPEN CLUS CNGC 7654 D1ST Mai M53 13130 1810 756 7 7v GLOB CLUS CNGC 5024 D2ST Mai M54 1855 2 3028 546 7 7v GLOB CLUS CNGC 67 15 D2ST M54 M55 1940 1 3056 1140 7 0 GLOB CLUS sp F5 CNGC 6809 D2ST M55 20kly M56 1916 6 3010 426 8 3v GLOB CLUS CNGC 6779 D2ST M56 M57 1853 5 3302 150 9 7p PLAN NEB RING LIKE CNGC 6720 BAST M57
68. 6 R A 8 75 Dec 6 R A 8 75 Dec 6 R A 8 75 RA Motor Drive System 9 speed microprocessor 9 speed microprocessor controlled 9 Speed microprocessor controlled controlled 12v DC servo motor 12v DC servo motor 5 75 worm 12v DC servo motor 5 75 worm 5 75 worm gear with Smart Drive gear with Smart Drive gear with Smart Drive Hemispheres of Operation North and South switchable North and South switchable North and South switchable Declination Control System 9 speed DC servo controlled 9 speed DC servo controlled 5 75 9 speed DC servo controlled 5 75 5 75 worm gear with Dec drift worm gear with Dec drift software worm gear with Dec drift software software Motor Drive Gear Diameter 5 3 4 Worm Gear 5 3 4 Worm Gear 5 3 4 Worm Gear Manual Slow Motion Controls Dec and R A Dec and R A Dec and R A Hand Controller Motorola 68HC05 microcontroller Motorola 68HC05 microcontroller 2 Motorola 68HC05 microcontroller 2 2 line x 16 alphanumeric character line x 16 alphanumeric character line x 16 alphanumeric character display 19 button keypad red LED display 19 button keypad red LED display 19 button keypad red LED backlit backlit backlit Main Controller 16 MHz 68000 microprocessor 1 16 MHz 68000 microprocessor 1 Meg 16 MHz 68000 microprocessor 1 Meg Meg program memory 16KRAM program memory 16K RAM 512 byte program memory 16K RAM 51 2 byte 512 byte non volatile memory non volatile memory EEROM n
69. 8 8 1347 2100 6 0v OPEN CLUS ENER sp 07 CNGC 6611 D6ST M16 Eagle Nebula 5500ly M17 1820 8 1611 2760 6 0v DIFF ENEB OPEN CLUS HII CNGC 6618 B6ST M17 Omega Swan Horseshoe M18 1820 0 1708 540 6 9v OPEN CLUS CNGC 6613 D1ST M18 M19 1702 6 2615 810 7 2v GLOBCLUS OBLATE CNGC 6273 D2ST M19 Oblate Shape Globular M20 1802 3 2302 1740 6 3v DIFF ENEB OPEN CLUS HII CNGC 6514 B6ST M20 Trifid Nebula 3500ly M21 1804 6 2230 780 5 9v OPEN CLUS CNGC 6531 D1ST M21 M22 1836 3 2356 1440 5 1v GLOB CLUS sp F7 CNGC 6656 C2ST M22 10kly M23 1757 0 1901 1620 5 5v OPEN CLUS sp B8 CNGC 6494 D1ST M23 1400ly M24 1820 0 1826 4800 47 OPEN CLUS CNGC 6630 c1 T M24 Best with large field M25 1833 5 1914 2400 6 5 OPEN CLUS SPARSE CNGC 6634 C M25 1C 4725 Sparse Cluster M26 1845 4 0924 900 8 0v OPEN CLUS CNGC 6694 D1ST M26 M27 1959 6 2243 910 7 6p PLAN NEB CNGC 6853 B4ST M27 Dumbbell Nebula 3500ly M28 1824 6 2452 672 6 9v GLOB CLUS CNGC 6626 D2ST M28 M29 2023 9 3832 420 6 6v OPEN CLUS CNGC 6943 D1ST M29 M30 2140 3 2311 660 7 5v GLOB CLUS CNGC 7099 D2S M30 M31 0042 8 4117 10680 35 GALAXY Sb HII UGC 454 B5ST M31 Andromeda Gal 178x63 M32 0042 8 4053 456 82 GALAXY E2 UGC 452 C5ST M32 CompofM31 7 6x5 8 M33 0133 9 3040 3720 5 7 GALAXY Sc WA UGC 1117 C5ST M33 Triangulum Gal 62x39 M34 0242 0 4247 2100 5 2v OPEN CLUS CNGC 1039 C1ST M34 M35 0608 9 42421 1680 5 1v OPEN CLUS sp B5 CNGC 2168 C1ST M35 2800ly M36 0536 2 3408 720 6 0v OPEN CLUS CNGC 1960 C1ST M3
70. 858 50 128 1241 5 4858 50 129 1241 7 01 28 40 130 1246 2 6807 10 131 1247 7 5942 132 1254 0 5558 133 1256 1 38 19 134 1302 2 1058 135 13 19 0 2311 136 1320 6 3643 137 1324 0 5455 140 138 1325 2 11 10 139 1339 9 5328 140 1347 6 49 19 141 1349 6 4228 142 1354 7 1824 143 1355 6 4717 144 14 03 9 6024 145 1406 4 2641 146 1406 7 3622 47 14157 1911 148 1432 1 38 19 149 1435 5 42 10 150 14 39 8 6051 210 WEN 14 39 8 6051 210 152 1441 9 4724 WER 1442 5 6459 160 154 1446 6 2704 30 155 1451 1 51 03 156 14 50 6 7410 157 1458 5 4308 158 1459 2 4206 159 1504 1 25 18 160 1517 1 0923 161 15 18 9 6841 162 152144 4039 163 1520 7 71 50 164 1524 9 5858 165 1535 5 2643 166 1535 1 41 10 5 167 1554 3 0625 168 1555 1 6326 169 1558 9 2608 170 1559 5 2554 171 1600 3 2238 172 1605 5 1948 10 173 16 14 3 0343 174 16 18 3 0436 175 1621 2 2536 200 176 1624 0 61 31 60 77 1629 5 2626 30 178 1630 2 21 29 179 1635 9 28 13 180 1637 2 1034 MAG 1 3v 1 7v 3 0v 1 6v 2 7v 2 7v 2 9v 3 0v 2 8v 3 1v 1 2v 1 8v 2 9v 2 8v 3 0v 2 8v 2 3v 1 0v 2 3v 1 9v 3 0v 2 7v 2 6v 0 6v 3 3v 2 1v 0 0v 3 0v 2 4 0 0v 1 3v 2 3v 3 2v 2 4v 2 8v 2 1v 2 7v 3 1v 3 3v 2 6v 2 9v 3 2v 3 1v 3 3v 2 2v 2 8v 2 7v 2 9v 2 9v 2 0v 2 3v 2 6v 2 7v 3 2v 2 9v 2 7v
71. 980 3 4 159 307 14 15 3 0308 12 7 8 STAR 7 8 7 239 ADS 91 82 9ST 1980 1 1 252 308 1420 4 4830 13 8 1 STAR 8 1 8 8105 ADS 9229 9ST 1980 1 2 0104 White 309 1440 0 6051 197 0 0 STAR 0 0 1 2 214 Alpha Cen 9ST 1980 21 8 209 310 1441 2 1344 10 4 5 STAR 4 5 4 8160 ADS 9343 9ST 1980 1 1 305 White 311 1445 0 2704 28 2 5 STAR 2 5 5 339 ADS 9372 9ST 1971 Orange Green 312 1451 4 1906 70 4 7 STAR 4 7 6 0326 ADS 941 3 9ST Orange Blue 313 1451 4 4456 11 8 4 STAR 8 4 8 348 ADS 9418 9ST 1980 1 1 346 314 15 18 4 2650 15 7 3 STAR 7 3 7 255 ADS 9578 9ST 1980 1 4 250 315 1523 2 30 17 10 5 6 STAR 5 6 5 027 ADS 961 7 9ST 1980 0 4 321 316 1524 5 3720 22 7 0 STAR 7 0 7 012 ADS 9626 9ST 1980 2 2 016 317 1534 8 1032 39 4 1 STAR 4 1 5 179 ADS 9701 9ST 1960 Yel Whi Ashen 318 1539 4 3638 63 5 1 STAR 5 1 6 8305 ADS 9737 9ST 1957 319 1604 4 11 22 7 49 STAR 4 9 4 044 ADS 9909 9ST 1980 1 2 9021 320 1614 7 3351 69 5 6 STAR 5 6 6 235 ADS 9979 9ST 1980 6 7 233 321 1629 4 2626 24 0 9v STAR 0 9 5 80276 ADS 10074 9ST Antares Red pGreen 322 1628 9 1824 17 7 7 STAR 7 7 7 8129 ADS 10075 9ST 1980 1 4 136 323 1630 9 01 59 15 4 2 STAR 4 2 5 2 022 ADS 10087 9ST 1980 1 3 013 324 1656 5 6502 14 7 1 STAR 7 1 7 069 ADS 10279 9ST 1980 1 3 069 325 1705 4 5428 19 5 7 STAR 5 7 5 8025 ADS 10345 9ST 1980 1 9 042 326 1715 4 2635 48 5 1 STAR 5 1 5 1 151 ADS 10417 9ST Orange Orange 327 17 14 7 1424 47
72. AL GLOB GAL DNEB GAL OPEN DNEB TM Open Cluste Globular Cluster in External Galaxy Diffuse Nebula in External Galaxy r Diffuse Nebula in Galaxy Object is also listed in the Sky Catalogue 2000 Object is also listed in the Tirion Sky Atlas 2000 d 1C Catalog This is the complete 1C catalog of a variety of objects that the standard NGC catalog missed e GCVS Catalog This is a complete catalog of variable stars shown at the bottom of this page Variable stars from the GCVS are entered using a six digit number The first two digits refer to the constellation where the variable star is located and is listed in the table below The next four digits are assigned sequentially within each constellation according to the standard sequence of variable star designations R S A Therefore the first star in the constellation of Virgo would be entered as 860001 f Star Catalog The STAR catalog contains the 250 brightest stars STAR 1 through STAR 250 100 interesting double stars STAR 251 through STAR 350 plus Sigma Octantis the southern pole star STAR 351 g M Messier Catalog The M catalog has been the benchmark deep sky catalog for years Recently expanded to 110 objects the M Messier catalog contains most of the best deep sky objects h Planet Catalog The LX200 calculates the orbital positions of the eight major planets for the current calendar date To access a planet use the STAR key and enter th
73. COPE ASSEMBLY page 6 to set up the telescope outside and follow these steps 1 Using the Bubble Level 14 Fig 1 located on the telescope s drive base level the telescope This is a very important step because the telescope s pointing ability depends on the telescope being level Make sure the bubble is precisely centered by adjusting the height of the three tripod legs Loosen the Dec lock knob 18 Fig 1 and position the optical tube assembly approximately level so that the Dec Circle 3 Fig 1 reads 0 Retighten the Dec lock knob 3 Loosen the R A lock 7 Fig 1 and rotate the telescope so 12 that the R A pointer 9 Fig 1 and the HA pointer 16 Fig 1 are approximately in line with each other This will position the fork arms so that they are parallel to the power panel 11 Fig 1 lock the R A use the next month s chart Once you identify the constellation pick any of the labeled stars that is not within a 10 degree radius of overhead but do not choose Polaris lock Steps 2 and 3 are not required for the telescope to work so don t worry about getting it exactly right The telescope has some illegal positions places where the telescope will not go and these two steps insure proper operation 4 Turn the telescope on After a few seconds after the self diagnostic test is comolete the disolav will look like Display 15 TELESCOPE Display 15 TN OBJECT LIBRARY 5 Press the ENTER key
74. D mode If the telescope is in LAND mode the SITE menu option Display 2 will appear in lower case letters see Which Alignment 10 Method to Use page 13 Follow steps 4 through 8 in Setting Up the Telescope page 11 to change the telescope s operation to Altazimuth ALTAZ mode before proceeding You should find the position of your observing site to within 1 or 2 minutes of arc in both latitude and longitude Many automobile pilot and topographical maps as well as most atlases show latitude and longitude in 15 minute increments or better The accuracy of the LX200 will depend on how close you get so take a little time to get as accurate as you can Once the above information is determined it can be entered into the telescope It is easiest to enter the data with the telescope sitting on a table indoors do not try to do it outside at night Each step below is given without any details or explanations to keep the process as simple and fast as possible Next to each step will also be a sample of what the keypad hand controller display 1 Fig 6 should look like after each step As an example we will enter the data for Irvine CA LAT 3335 LONG 117 42 If at any time you get lost simply turn off the telescope and restart this procedure 1 Turn the telescope power on After a few seconds after the self diagnostic test is complete the display will look like Display 1 TELESCOPE Sr OBJECT LIBRARY
75. Do not overtighten the 6 lock knobs used to fix the inner tripod leg sections at various heights Firm feel tightening is sufficient Be sure the spreader bar 4 Fig 2 is not upside down on the threaded rod 2 Mounting the Viewfinder Each 7 8 10 and 12 LX200 telescope is supplied as standard equipment with an 8x50mm straight through viewfinder The bracket for this viewfinder is packed separately from the finder itself and 6 black nylon thumbscrews for Collimation are pre threaded into the viewfinder bracket The viewfinder bracket mounts onto the telescope with a quick release mount See Fig 1 a Attaching the Viewfinder The viewfinder is shipped separately from the bracket and must be installed into the bracket Slide the viewfinder into the bracket and lightly tighten the 6 Collimation alignment screws 2 Fig 1 The quick release mount allows the viewfinder to be easily attached or removed from the telescope To attach the unit simply slide the viewfinder with bracket into the mating base on the telescope and tighten the two thumbscrews b Focusing the Viewfinder The viewfinder has been pre focused at the factory However should it become necessary to adjust the focus follow these steps 1 Loosen the focus lock ring 18 Fig 1 2 While looking at a star rotate the Dew Shield 1 Fig 1 until the star is in focus This refocuses the objective lens CAUTION Take care when rotating counter cl
76. For all visual observing applications and for lunar and planetary photography Meade LX200 s may be set up in the Altazimuth mode Just attach the telescope s drive base directly to the tripod use the fast 1 star alignment procedure and the telescope s computer actuates 2 axis tracking that keeps objects precisely centered in the field even at high powers during the entire observing session d Terrestrial Operation Meade LX200 s make incredible land view telescopes Set the telescope up in the Altazimuth format activate the Land menu option on the telescope s computer and use the keypad to track land objects on both axes at any of the same 4 drive speeds e Keypad and Power Panel Functions The multifunction capability of LX200 s includes direct connection of popular CCD autoguider imagers RS 232 serial interface with a personal computer PC allowing the user to perform all of the keypad functions through or write custom telescope software for a PC brightness level control of an illuminated reticle eyepiece from the keypad and including special pulse mode reticle operation 2 Standard Equipment a 7 Model LX200 Includes 7 Maksutov Cassegrain optical tube assembly with EMC super multi coatings D 178mm F 2670mm f 15 heavy duty fork mount with 4 dia sealed polar ball bearing quartz microprocessor controlled 5 75 worm gears on both axes setting circles in RA and Dec handheld keypad Electronic Command Center
77. G TYPE amp DESCRIPTION ALT NAME 181 1641 3 31 36 11 2 8v STAR G1IV G7V Zeta Her AB 182 1648 7 6902 1 9v STAR K2 lib Ilia Alpha TrA 183 1650 2 34 17 2 3v STAR K2 III Epsilon Sco 184 1651 9 3803 3 0v STAR B1 5 IVn Mu 1 Sco 185 1657 7 0922 3 2v STAR K2 III Kappa Oph 186 1658 7 5600 3 1v STAR K4 III Zeta Ara 187 1708 7 6543 3 2v STAR B6 III Zeta Dra 188 17 10 4 1544 10 2 4v STARA2 Vs AS V Eta Oph AB 189 17 12 2 43 14 3 3v STAR F2p V Cr Eta Sco 190 17 14 7 1423 3 1v STAR M5 Ib Il Alpha HerAB 191 17 15 1 2450 90 3 1v STARA1 Vn Delta Her 192 17 15 1 3648 3 2v STAR K3 Nab Pi Her 193 1722 1 2500 3 3v STAR B2 IV Alpha Oph 194 1725 4 5532 2 9v STAR K3 Ib lla Beta Ara 195 1725 5 5623 3 3v STAR B1 Ib Gamma Ara A 196 1730 8 37 17 2 7v STAR B2 IV Upsilon Sco 197 1730 4 52 19 40 2 8v STAR G2 Ib lla Beta Dra A 198 1731 9 4952 3 0v STAR B2Vne Alpha Ara 199 1733 7 3707 1 6v STAR B1 5 IV Lambda Sco 200 1725 0 1233 2 1v STAR AS llin Alpha Oph 201 1737 3 4300 1 9v STAR F1 II Theta Sco 202 1742 6 3902 2 4v STAR B1 5III Kappa Sco 203 1743 5 0434 2 8v STAR K2 III Beta Oph 204 1747 6 4007 3 0 STAR F2 la lota 1 Sco 205 1749 9 3702 3 2v STAR K2 III G Sco 206 1756 6 51 29 2 2v STAR K5 III Gamma Dra 207 1759 1 0946 3 3v STAR KO III Nu Oph 208 1805 8 3026 3 0v STAR KO II Gamma 2 Sgr 209 18 17 7 3646 40 3 1v STAR M3 5 Illab G8 IV Eta Sgr A 210 1821 0 2950 2 7v STAR K2 5 llia Delta Sgr
78. GE ON UGC 7322 b5ST 16 2x2 5 4254 1218 9 1425 324 9 8 GALAXY Sc I NEAR FACE ON UGC 7345 D5ST M99 5 4x4 8 4258 1219 0 4718 1092 8 3 GALAXY Sb p UGC 7353 C5ST M106 18 2x7 9 4303 1222 0 0428 360 9 7 GALAXY Sc I 2 SYS UGC 7420 DAST M61 6 0x5 5 Face On 4321 1223 0 1549 414 9 4 GALAXY Sc FACE ON UGC 7450 D5ST M100 6 9x6 2 Brite Nucleus CNGC Catalog continued CNGC RA DEC SIZE 4349 1224 2 61 54 960 4374 1225 1 1253 300 4382 1225 5 18 11 426 4395 1225 8 3332 774 4406 1226 3 1256 444 4438 1227 8 1300 558 4472 1229 8 0800 534 4486 1230 9 1223 432 4501 1232 1 1425 414 4517 1232 8 0006 612 4548 1235 5 1429 324 4552 12 35 7 12 33 252 4559 1236 0 2757 630 4565 1236 4 2559 972 4569 1236 9 1309 570 4579 1237 8 1149 324 4590 1239 4 2646 720 4594 1239 9 11 38 534 4605 1240 0 61 36 330 4609 1242 4 62 59 300 4621 1242 1 11 38 306 4631 1242 1 3232 906 4649 1243 7 11 33 432 4656 1243 9 3210 828 4725 1250 5 2533 660 4736 1250 9 41 08 660 4755 1253 6 6021 600 4762 1253 0 11 14 522 4826 12 56 7 21 41 558 4833 1259 4 7052 810 4852 1300 1 5936 660 4945 1305 3 4929 1200 5024 13 13 0 18 10 756 5033 13 13 5 3636 630 5053 13 16 4 1740 630 5055 13 15 8 4202 738 5102 1321 9 3639 558 5128 1325 3 4301 1092 5138 1327 3 5901 480 5139 1326 8 4729 2178 5194 1330 0 47 11 660 5236 1337 1 2951 672 272 1342 3 2823 972 5281 1346 7 6254 300 5286 1346 2 51 22 546 5316 1354 0 61 52 840 5457 1403 3 5421 1614
79. Instruction Manual 7 LX200 Maksutov Cassegrain Telescope 8 10 and 12 LX200 Schmidt Cassegrain Telescopes Meade Instruments Corporation World s leading manufacturer of astronomical telescopes for the serious amateur 6001 OAK CANYON IRVINE CALIFORNIA 92618 5200 U S A 949 451 1450 FAX 949 451 1460 e www meade com NOTE Instructions for the use of optional accessories are not included in this manual For details in this regard see the Meade General Catalog In the Schmidt Cassegrain design of the Meade 8 10 and 12 models light enters from the right passes through a thin lens with 2 sided aspheric correction correcting plate proceeds to a spherical primary mirror and then to a convex aspheric secondary mirror The convex secondary mirror multiplies the effective focal length of the primary mirror and results in a focus at the focal plane with light passing through a central perforation in the primary mirror The 8 10 and 12 models include oversize 8 25 10 375 and 12 375 primary mirrors respectively yielding fully illuminated fields of view significantly wider than is possible with standard size primary mirrors Note that light ray 2 in the figure would be lost entirely except for the oversize primary It is this phenomenon which results in Meade 8 10 and 12 Schmidt Cassegrains having off axis field illuminations 10 greater aperture for aperture than other Schmidt Cassegrains utilizing
80. LAXY Sc OPEN CLUS OPEN CLUS GALAXY Sb EDGE ON OPEN CLUS OPEN CLUS OPEN CLUS GLOB CLUS GLOB CLUS GLOB CLUS sp F6 GALAXY Sb Il OPEN CLUS ALT NAME Q TAGS COMMON NAME COMMENTS UGC 7494 UGC 7508 UGC 7524 UGC 7532 UGC 7574 UGC 7629 UGC 7654 UGC 7675 UGC 7694 UGC 7753 UGC 7760 UGC 7766 UGC 7772 UGC 7786 UGC 7796 CNGC 4590 CNGC 4594 UGC 7831 UGC 7858 UGC 7865 UGC 7898 UGC 7907 UGC 7989 UGC 7996 UGC 801 6 UGC 8062 CNGC 5024 UGC 8307 UGC 8334 Omega Cen UGC 8493 CNGC 5236 CNGC 5272 UGC 8981 UGC 901 3 UGC 9499 CNGC 5904 UGC 9801 c1ST C5ST CAST C5S C5ST c5 ST C5ST DAST D5ST CAST DAST D5ST CAST BAST C5ST C5ST D2ST C5ST C5ST c1ST D5ST B5ST D5ST CAST C5ST C5ST c1ST C5ST C5ST b2ST c1ST bAST D2ST c5 ST C2ST C5ST C5ST B5ST c1ST A2ST BAST BSST B2ST c1ST b2ST c1ST CBS c1ST C5 ST c1ST c1ST C5ST c1 ST c1 ST c1ST C2ST b2ST B2ST C5ST c1ST M84 5 0x4 4 Near M86 M85 7 1x5 2 12 9x11 0 M86 7 4x5 5 9 3x3 9 M49 8 9x7 4 M87 7 2x6 8 CNGC 4471 M88 6 9x3 9 10 2x1 9 Near Edge On M91 5 4x4 4 Near CNGC 4571 M89 4 2x4 2 10 5x4 9 Coarse Structure M40 16 2x2 8 Edge On Lane M90 9 5x4 7 M58 5 4x4 4 Near CNGC 4621 M68 M104 8 9x4 1 Sombrero 5 5x2 3 Edge On M59 5 1x3 4 Near CNGC 4579 15 1x3 3 Edge On M60 7 2x6 2 Near CNGC 4621 13 8x3 3 Near CNGC 4631 11 0x7 9 M94 11 0x9
81. LX200 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 Fig 1 8 LX200 Telescope Captions for Figure 1 Viewfinder Dew Shield 10 Right Ascension Setting Circle Viewfinder Collimation Screws 11 Power Panel Declination Dec Setting Circle 12 Keypad Hand Controller Declination Pointer 13 Diagonal Mirror Focus Knob 14 Eyepiece Eyepiece Holder 15 Bubble Level Right Ascension R A Lock 16 Hour Angel HA Pointer Right Ascension Slow Motion Controls 17 Drive Base Right Ascension Vernier Pointer 18 Viewfinder Focus Lock Ring 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Contents 7 LX200 Maksutov Cassegrain Telescope 8 10 amp 12 LX200 Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope Introduction 1 What is the LX200 An Overview a Heavy Duty Mounts Built in 64 359 Object Library Altazimuth Mode Operation Terrestrial Operation e Keypad and Power Panel Functions 2 Standard Equipment Roc Unpacking and Inspection 1 What You Should Have 2 Please Look Everything Over 3 Inspecting the Optics 4 Caution All LX200 Owners 5 Caution 10
82. NAME COMMENTS Sadalmelik Al Nair Matar Skat Fomalhaut Scheat Markab Alrai 1980 1 4 287 107y 1964 Yellow Blue 1980 1 5 200 1959 p Yellow Blue 1980 0 5 224 400y 1980 0 6 259 1964 Yellow pBlue 1980 0 5 140 1972 Yellow pBlue 1980 11 1 9195 Polaris North Star 1969 1831 8 6 1980 1 2 053 1973 Yellow Blue pBlue pGreen 1967 Orange Emerald 1959 Yellow Blue 1980 1 1 266 1980 2 4 234 1973 Yellow pBlue 1974 Yellow Ashen 1980 1 0 144 1980 0 9 265 1980 1 3 258 1980 0 6 0006 1980 0 6 207 Fixed 1980 0 8 109 1980 1 4 003 1980 0 8 0270 1973 Yel Ora Blue Purple Blue 1980 0 7 021 Rigel 1959 Yellow Purple Trapezium in M42 Fixed White Stars 1980 1 7 9079 1980 10 3 049 1980 1 3 9320 120y 1980 0 8 9189 1980 2 2 9095 420y Yellow Yellow Blue 1980 1 1 9254 1980 1 4 9183 1980 4 3 123 1980 2 9 2105 1980 0 4 9211 1925 Gold Blue 1980 1 5 2326 48 STAR Catalog continued STAR RA DEC SIZE MAG TYPE amp DESCRIPTION ALT NAME Q TAGS COMMON NAME COMMENTS 301 1226 6 6306 47 1 6 STAR 1 6 2 1 114 Alpha Cru 9ST 1943 White White 302 1235 1 1822 202 5 2 STAR 5 2 6 271 ADS 8600 9ST 1963 Yellow vBlue 303 1241 7 01 28 30 3 5 STAR 3 5 3 287 ADS 8630 9ST 1980 3 9 297 White 304 1253 3 21 15 8 5 1 STAR 5 1 7 8194 ADS 8695 9ST 1980 0 8 175 305 1323 9 5455 144 2 3 STAR 2 3 4 151 ADS 8891 9ST 1967 306 1349 1 26 59 34 7 6 STAR 7 6 8 167 ADS 9031 9ST 1
83. NH Returns Ok Sefs the maximum slew rate to N degrees per second where N is 2 through 4 d Home Position Command hS Returns Nothing Sfarts a home position search and saves the telescope position NOTE All commands except Q and h are disabled during the search Command hF Returns Nothing Sfarts a home position search and sets the telescope position according to the saved values NOTE All commands except Q and h are disabled during the search Command hP Returns Nothing Slews the telescope to the home position Command h Returns 0 1 or Returns the home status 0 if home search failed or not yet attempted 1 if home position found or 2 if a home search is in progress e Library Objects Command Gr Returns HH MM T Gefs object right ascension Command Sr HH MM T Returns Ok Sefs object right ascension Command Gd Returns sDD MM Gefs object declination Command Sd sDD MM Returns Ok Sefs object declination Command Sa sDD MM Returns Ok Sefs object altitude for MA command Command Sz DDD MM Returns Ok Sefs object azimuth for MA command Command CM Returns see description Sync Matches current telescope coordinates to the object coordinates and sends a string indicating which object s coordinates were used Command Gy Returns GPDCO Gefs the type string for the FIND operation A capital letter means that the corresponding typ
84. NT ALT RALS CHR 248 RAMS c GZ PRINT 1 c d INPUT 7 1 RALS LEFT d 3 RAM MID d 5 2 LOCATE 10 10 PRINT AZ RAL CHR 248 RAMS mm RETURN LOCATE 1 32 PRINT DATE LOCATE 1 64 PRINT TIME c GS PRINT 1 c d INPUTS 9 1 RAL LEFT d 2 RAMS MID d 4 2 RARS MID d 7 2 LOCATE 2 55 PRINT USING Sidereal Time WWW RALS RANE RAR C GLE PRINT 1 c d INPUT 9 1 RALS LEFTS d 2 RAMS MID d 4 2 RAR MID d 7 2 LOCATE 3 55 PRINT USING Local 24hr Y Y RALS RAM RARS C GG PRINT 1 c d INPUTS 4 1 RAL LEFTS d 3 LOCATE 3 25 PRINT USING GMT Offset Hours RAL c GC PRINT 1 c d INPUTS 9 1 RAL LEFTS d 2 RAMS MID d 4 2 RAR MID d 7 2 LOCATE 2 25 PRINT USING Date WAAV RALS RAM RARS RETURN objects counter 1 LOCATE 21 25 IF key m THEN INPUT Enter Messier number m o ELM m IF key t THEN INPUT Enter Star number m o ELS m IF key c THEN INPUT Enter CNGC number m o LC m IF key p THEN INPUT Enter Planet number m o ELS m o og PRINT 1 o LOCATE 21 15 PRINT K PRINT 1 LI infoS INPUT 33 1 REM LOCATE 10 20 PRINT info 60 OBDRAW LOCATE 6 31 PRINT OBJECT INFORMATION LOCATE 7 31 PRINT Object LEFT
85. PRINT Long RALS CHRS 248 RAMS BOXSTX 2 BOXSTY 3 BOXWIDE 10 boxtall 5 GOSUB drawbox RETURN keyi PRINT 1 MS error1 INPUT 1 1 IF errori 1 OR errorl 2 THEN error2 INPUT 33 1 ELSE RETURN LOCATE 22 20 PRINT error2 GOSUB clearscr RETURN KEY2 PRINT 1 CM sync INPUT 33 1 LOCATE 22 20 PRINT sync clearscr FOR i 1 TO 30000 NEXT i FOR i 1 TO 30000 NEXT i FOR i 1 TO 30000 NEXT i FOR i 1 TO 30000 NEXT i FOR i 1 TO 30000 NEXT i FOR i 1 TO 30000 NEXT i LOCATE 22 20 PRINT RETURN key3 PRINT 1 RS LOCATE 24 1 PRINT LOCATE 24 18 PRINT CHR 219 CHR 178 CHR 176 CHR 176 CHR 178 CHR 219 RETURN KEY4 PRINT 1 RM LOCATE 24 1 PRINT LOCATE 24 26 PRINT CHR 219 CHR 178 CHR 176 CHR 176 CHR 178 CHR 219 RETURN 61 KEYS PRINT 1 RC LOCATE 24 1 PRINT LOCATE 24 34 PRINT CHR 219 CHR 178 CHR 176 CHR 176 CHR 178 CHR 219 RETURN KEY6 PRINT 1 ROH LOCATE 24 1 PRINT LOCATE 24 42 PRINT CHR 219 CHR 178 CHR 176 CHR 176 CHR 178 CHR 219 RETURN key11 key n GOSUB north RETURN key12 key w GOSUB west RETURN key 13 key e GOSUB east RETURN key14 key s GOSUB south RETURN drawbox REM LOCATE BOXSTX BOXSTY REM BOX CHR 201 REM FOR 1 TO BOXWIDE BOX BOX CHR 205 NEXT REM PRINT BOX RETURN help
86. R B8 5p IV Hg Mn Alpha And 8 ST Alpheratz 2 00092 5910 2 3v STAR F2IILIV Beta Cas 8 ST Caph 3 00132 1512 2 8v STAR B2IV Gamma Peg 8 ST Algenib 4 00257 7715 2 8v STAR G1IV Beta Hyi 8 ST 5 00263 4218 2 4v STAR mt Alpha Phe 8 ST Ankaa 6 00394 3052 3 3v STAR Kail Delta And A 8 ST 7 0040 5 5633 2 2v STAR KO llia Alpha Cas 8 ST Shedir 8 0043 6 1759 2 0v STAR G95lII Beta Get 8 ST Diphda 9 0056 7 6043 20 2 5v STAR BO IVnpe shell Gamma Cas 9 ST Marj B 8 8 10 0106 1 4643 10 33v STAR Gi Beta Phe AB 9 ST B Similarmag amp spectrum 11 0109 8 3537 2 1v STAR MOllia Beta And 8 ST Mirach 12 0125 8 6015 2 7v STAR ASIV Delta Cas 8 ST RuchbahEekBin 759d 13 0137 7 57 14 0 5v STAR B3Vnp shell Alpha Eri 8 ST Achernar 14 01547 2049 2 6v STAR ASV Beta Ari 8 ST Sharatan 15 0158 7 6134 2 9v STAR AQIII IVn Alpha Hyi 8 ST 16 02040 4221 100 23v STAR K3lb B9V AOV Gamma And 9 ST AlmaakB 5 4 C 6 2 47 02072 2328 2 0v STAR K2illab Alpha Ari 8 ST Hamal 18 0209 5 3459 3 0v STAR A5IV Beta Tri 8 ST 19 0214 7 48917 180 20v STAR F5 8lb F3V AlphaUMiA 9 ST Polaris B 8 2 20 02194 0258 10 2 4v STAR M5 5 9llle Bpe Omicron Get A 9 ST MiraB 9 5 21 0258 3 4019 3 2v STAR ASIV Theta Eri A 8 ST Acamar 22 0302 3 0405 2 5v STAR M1 Sllla Alpha Get 8 ST Menkar 23 03048 5331 2 9v STAR G8II A2 V Gamma Per 8 ST 24 0308 2 4058 2 1v STAR B8V F Beta Per 8 ST Algol 25 0324 4 4952 1 8v STAR F5lb Alpha Per 8 ST Mirphak 26
87. Ring Nebula 5kly M58 1237 8 1149 324 9 8 GALAXY Sb UGC 7796 C5ST M58 54x44 Near CNGC 4621 M59 1242 1 1138 306 9 8 GALAXY E3 UGC 7858 D5ST M59 5 1x34 Near CNGC 4579 M60 1243 7 133 432 8 8 GALAXY E1 UGC 7898 D5ST M60 7 2x6 2 Near CNGC 4621 M Messier Catalog continued M M 61 M62 M 63 M64 M65 M 66 M 67 M 68 M 69 M 70 M71 M72 M73 M 74 M75 M 76 M77 M 78 M79 M 80 M 81 M82 M83 M84 M 85 M 86 M87 M88 M89 M90 M91 M 92 M93 M 94 M95 M96 M 97 M 98 M99 M100 M101 M102 M103 M104 M105 M106 M107 M108 M109 M110 RA 1222 0 1701 3 13 15 8 1256 7 11 18 9 11 20 2 0851 1 1239 4 18 31 4 1843 2 1953 7 20 53 5 20 59 0 01 36 7 20 06 2 01 42 0 02 42 7 05 46 8 05 24 2 16 17 1 09 55 7 09 55 9 1337 1 1225 1 1225 5 1226 3 1230 9 1232 1 1235 7 1236 9 1235 5 17 17 2 07 44 6 1250 9 1043 9 1046 7 11 14 8 12 13 9 12 18 9 1223 0 14 03 3 1506 5 01 33 3 1239 9 1047 8 12 19 0 1632 5 11 11 6 11 57 6 00 40 4 DEC 0428 3007 42 02 2141 1305 1259 1149 2646 3221 32 18 1847 1233 1237 1547 21 55 51 34 0001 0003 2431 2300 6904 6941 2951 1253 18 11 1256 1223 1425 1233 1309 1429 4309 2352 41 08 1142 1149 5502 1454 1425 1549 5421 5545 6043 11 38 1235 47 18 1302 5541 5322
88. SE GO TO 200 400 REM This stops motion by hitting SPACE bar 410 B Qe PRINT 1 BS 420 B Qw PRINT 1 B 430 B Qn PRINT 1 BS 440 B Qs PRINT 1 B 450 RETURN 460 END To use the above program connect the completed cable to your PC serial port and to the LX200 RS 232 Port Load BASIC or GWBASIC if not already loaded and run LX200TST BAS Nothing will appear on the computer screen Press any one of the N S E or W lower case keys on your 6 WIRE MODULAR CONNECTOR DESCRIPTION TO DB 9 CONNECTOR PINZ TO DB 25 CONNECTOR PIN MISC SERIAL OUT USED E USED GROUND S PCRECEEDATA RECEIVE DATA se MISC SERIAL IN MERE USED ee USED PC keyboard this will move the LX200 North South East or West respectively Press the space bar on the PC keyboard to stop Press X to exit the program If the LX200 does not respond to the N S E or W keys be sure the CAPSLOCK is OFF If it still does not work check the PC serial port pinouts of your computer to be sure they are wired correctly to the LX200 6 line connector With a successful check out of the PC link with the LX200 using LX200 TEST you are now ready to write your own software program using the LX200 Command Set or to use the sample program called DEMO that is written in Quick Basic software language 3 LX200 Command Set Intended for professional programmers the LX200 Command Set is used to write cu
89. T 8ST 8ST 8ST 9ST 8ST 8ST 9ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 9ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 9ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 9ST 8ST 8ST 9ST 8ST 9ST 9ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST 8ST COMMON NAME COMMENTS B 5 5 Artia Aldhibah Sabik A 3 0 B 3 5 Ras Algethi Sarin B 8 8 Restaban B 11 5 Shaula Rasalhague Sargas Cebalrai HR6630 Etamin Nash B 8 3 Kaus Australis Kaus Borealis Vega Nunki Sulaphat Ascella A 3 2 B 3 5 Albaldah A 3 7 B 3 8 Nodus Secundus Albireo B 5 1 B 6 4 Ta razed Altair Dabih Sadr Peacock Deneb Cat Alderamin Alphirk Sadalsuud Enif 72 flare STAR Catalog continued STAR RA DEC SIZE 241 22 05 8 22 00 19 242 08 3 22 4658 60 243 18 6 22 16 244 42 7 4652 245 2243 1 30 14 246 2253 6 22 1550 247 57 723 2938 248 03 8 2805 249 2304 8 115 12 250 2339 4 77 38 251 00 06 1 5826 15 252 0040 0 21 27 66 253 00 42 4 0411 15 254 0049 9 2742 44 255 00 54 6 19 11 5 256 0055 0 2338 8 257 0105 7 21 28 299 258 01 09 5 47 15 5 259 0113 7 0735 230 260 01 39 8 56 12 113 261 02 35 5 8935 178 262 0153 6 19 18 78 263 0155 9 01 51 10 264 0157 9 2336 385 265 0202 0 0246 16 266 0203 9 4220 98 267 0212 4 30 18 39 268 0214 0 4729 11 269 0229 1 6725 25 270 02 37 0 2439 383 271 02 43 3 03 15 28
90. T Anilam 51 0537 6 2109 3 0v STAR B2 llpe shell Zeta Tau 8 ST 52 0539 7 3404 2 6v STAR B7IV Alpha Col A 8 ST Phaet 53 05408 0156 24 24v STAR 0951b BOIII Zeta Ori A 9 ST Alnitak B 4 2 54 0547 8 0940 2 1v STAR B05la Kappa Ori 8 ST Saiph BB 0551 0 3546 3 1v STAR Su Beta Col 8 ST Wezn 56 0555 2 0725 04v STAR M2lab Alpha Ori 8 ST Betelgeuse 57 0559 5 4457 19v STAR AN Beta Aur 8 ST Menkalinan BB 0559 8 3713 40 2 6v STAR AOplll si G2 V Theta Aur AB 9 ST BogardusB 7 2 G2V 59 06149 2231 3 3v STAR Ma Eta Gem 8 ST Propus 60 0620 3 3003 3 0v STAR B2 5V Zeta CMa 8 ST Phurud STAR Catalog continued STAR RA DEC SIZE MAG TYPE amp DESCRIPTION ALT NAME Q TAGS COMMON NAME COMMENTS 61 06 22 9 2231 2 8v STAR M3 Illab Mu Gem 8ST Tejat Posterior 62 0622 7 1758 2 0v STAR B1 II III Beta CMa 8ST Murzim 63 06 24 0 5242 0 7v STARAQII Alpha Car 8ST Canopus 64 06 37 7 1624 1 9v STAR A1 IVs Gamma Gem 8ST Alhena 65 06 37 7 4312 3 2v STAR B8 llin Nu Pup 8ST 66 06 44 0 2508 3 0v STAR G8 Ib Epsilon Gem 8ST Mebsuta 67 06 45 2 1643 95 1 5v STAR AOmA1 Va Alpha CMa A 9ST Sirius B 8 5 50y 68 06 48 2 61 56 3 3v STAR A6Vn Alpha Pic 8ST 69 06 49 9 5037 2 9v STAR K1lll Tau Pup 8ST 70 06 58 6 2858 1 5v STAR B2II Epsilon CMa A 8ST Adara 71 0703 1 2350 3 0v STAR B3 lab Omicron 2 CMa 8ST 72 07 08 4 2623 1 8v STAR F8 la Delta CMa 8ST Wezen 73 07 13 5 4438 2 6v STAR M5 llls L2 Pup 8ST HR2748 74 07 17 2
91. TE The backlighting is done by edge lighting a plastic light bar underneath the keypad Four LEDs are used and do not give a perfectly even backlighting of the keys as keys closer to a LED will be a little brighter than those keys further away 23 MAGNIFICATION AND FIELD OF VIEW 1 Magnification The magnification power of the telescope depends on two characteristics the focal length of the main telescope and the focal length of the eyepiece used during a particular observation For example the focal length of the LX200 7 f 15 telescope is fixed at 2670mm the focal length of the 8 f 10 telescope is fixed at 2000mm the focal length of the 10 f 10 telescope is fixed at 2500mm and the focal length of the 12 f 10 telescope is fixed at 3048mm To calculate the power in use with a particular eyepiece divide the focal length of the eyepiece into the focal length of the main telescope Example The power obtained with the 8 LX200 with the SP 26mm eyepiece is Power 2000mm 77X 26mm The type of eyepiece whether MA Modified Achromatic PL Plossl SP Super Plossl etc has no bearing on magnifying power but does affect such optical characteristics as field of view flatness of field and color correction The maximum practical magnification is determined by the nature of the object being observed and most importantly by the prevailing atmospheric conditions Under very steady atmospheric seeing the 7 LX200 may be u
92. The total amount of scattered light will be significant and its effects allow you to see microscopic details that are normally invisible to the unaided eye These anomalous details are real but their combined effects will in no way impose limits on the optical performance even under the most demanding observing or imaging criteria 4 Caution All LX200 Owners CAUTION Serious damage to the drive gears may result from shock in handling while transporting or commercially shipping the LX200 should the R A lock 7 Fig 1 and or the Dec lock 2 Fig 4 be left engaged Always release the locks when storing in the case or when crating for commercial shipment to allow the telescope to give if the case or crate is sharply jarred or dropped Also the optical and mechanical axes of all LX200 telescopes have been carefully aligned at the factory to ensure accurate object pointing Do not loosen or remove the fork arms or optical tube assembly from the drive base the resulting misalignment of the axes will result in inaccurate slewing of the telescope in the GO TO mode 5 Caution 10 and 12 LX200 Owners CAUTION Do not attempt to turn the focuser knob of the optical tube until you have read this note NOTE Next to the base of the focuser you will see a red colored slotted head bolt This bolt is used only for safety in shipment Remove this bolt before attempting to turn the focuser knob In its place insert the rubber plu
93. US 1m 1C 1369 c1ST 7039 2112 2 4539 1500 7 6v OPEN CLUS c s 7063 21 24 4 3630 480 7 0v OPEN CLUS c s 7078 21 30 0 1210 738 6 4v GLOB CLUS sp F2 CNGC 7078 C2ST M15 X Ray Source 34kly 7082 2129 4 4705 1500 7 2v OPEN CLUS c1ST 7086 21 30 6 51 35 540 8 4v OPEN CLUS c1ST 7089 21 33 5 0050 774 6 5v GLOB CLUS Sp F4 CNGC 7089 C2ST M2 40kly 7092 21 32 2 4826 1920 4 6v OPEN CLUS CNGC 7092 D1 ST M39 7093 2139 1 5730 3000 3 5v OPEN CLUS DNEB I 3 mn 1C 1396 b6ST 7099 21 40 3 23 11 660 7 5v GLOB CLUS CNGC 7099 D2S M30 7143 21 53 4 47 16 540 7 2v OPEN CLUS DNEB IV 2 pn 1C 5146 C6ST 7160 21 53 7 6236 420 6 1v OPEN CLUS c1 ST 7202 2210 5 5250 480 9 0p OPEN CLUS II 1p 1C 1434 c1ST 7209 2205 2 4630 1500 6 7v OPEN CLUS c1ST 7243 2215 3 4953 1260 6 4v OPEN CLUS c1ST 7331 2237 1 3426 642 9 5 GALAXY Sb I II UGC 12113 C5ST 10 7x4 0 7380 2247 0 5806 720 7 2v OPEN CLUS ENEB C6ST Red Nebula 7635 2320 7 6112 900 12 8 DIFFENEB C3ST Bubble Nebula Red 7640 2322 1 4051 642 10 9 GALAXY S B b Il UGC 12554 C5ST 107Xx25 7654 2324 2 61 36 780 6 9v OPEN CLUS CNGC 7654 D1ST M52 7686 2330 2 4908 900 5 6v OPENCLUS c1ST 7790 23 58 5 61 13 1020 8 5v OPEN CLUS sp B1 c1 ST 10300ly 7793 2357 9 3234 546 9 1 GALAXY Sdm IN c5ST 9 1x6 6 7815 0002 1 1528 612 10 9 GALAXY Ir IV V UGC A444 CBS 10 2x4 2 43 3 STAR Catalog STAR RA DEC SIZE MAG TYPE amp DESCRIPTION ALT NAME QTAGS COMMON NAME COMMENTS 4 0008 3 2906 2 1v STA
94. X200 This greatly simplifies guiding during astrophotography The menu also has provisions for correcting Declination drift Smart Drive will retain the training given to the R A drive even after the telescope is turned off There is of course a way to erase any training given to it at your command The SMART menu has five options They are LEARN UPDATE ERASE DEC LEARN and DEC CORRECT To use the Smart Drive the LX200 must be mounted with the optional equatorial wedge see APPENDIX A page 25 equipped with an illuminated reticle eyepiece and used in the POLAR align menu selection Be sure to train the Smart Drive in the 60 1 Hz Quartz setting that the LX200 will be automatically set at power up Thereafter you can adjust this setting in the TIMER FREQ mode and still enjoy the periodic error correction Once a polar alignment has been completed your LX200 will point to a bright star overhead that will be near the Celestial Equator This will be a good star to train the Smart Drive on You can of course move to another star just as long as you are near 0 degrees in declination and more or less overhead in Right Ascension Now is good time to set the brightness and or the pulse rate see THE LX200 KEYPAD HAND CONTROLLER page 14 of the illuminated reticle on the guide star and practice guiding for a few minutes To actually begin training the Smart Drive move the LCD arrow to LEARN by using the PREV or NEXT key and press ENTER
95. a Carina Nebula Red 9kly 3379 1047 8 1235 270 9 3 GALAXY E1 2 SYS UGC 5902 CAST M105 4 5x4 0 3496 1059 8 6020 540 8 2v OPEN CLUS c1S 3521 1105 9 0002 570 8 9 GALAXY Sb II UGC 61 50 b5ST 9 5x5 0 3532 1106 5 5840 3300 3 0v OPEN CLUS sp B8 b1ST 1400ly 3556 1111 6 5541 498 10 1 GALAXY Sc NEAR EDGE ON UGC 6225 C5ST M108 8 3x2 5 Near M97 3572 1110 5 60 14 420 6 6v OPEN CLUS ENEB C6ST 3587 11 14 8 5502 194 12 0p PLAN NEB CNGC 3587 C4ST M97 Owl Nebula 12kly 3604 1117 9 6242 720 8 2p OPEN CLUS II 3m 1C 2714 c1ST 3621 11 18 3 3249 600 9 9 GALAXY Sc III IV UGC A232 C5ST 10 0x6 5 3623 1118 9 1305 600 9 3 GALAXY Sb Il UGC 6328 C5ST M65 10 0x3 3 Near M66 3627 11202 1259 522 9 0 GALAXY Sb Il UGC 6346 C5ST M66 8 7x4 4 Near M65 3628 1120 3 1335 888 9 5 GALAXY Sb NEAR EDGE ON UGC 6350 C5ST 14 8x3 6 3680 11 25 7 4315 720 7 6v OPEN CLUS c1ST 3709 11 36 6 6302 900 4 5v OPEN CLUS II 1 pn 1C 2944 b1ST 3718 1132 6 5304 522 10 5 GALAXY SBap UGC 624 C5ST 8 7x4 5 3766 11362 61 37 720 5 3v OPEN CLUS sp B1 c1ST 5800ly 3992 1157 6 5322 456 9 8 GALAXY S B b UGC 6937 D5ST M109 7 6x4 9 4052 1201 9 63 12 480 8 8p OPEN CLUS c1 ST 4111 1207 1 4304 288 10 8 GALAXY SO UGC 7103 C5ST 4 8x1 1 4192 1213 9 1454 570 10 1 GALAXY Sb l ll 3 SYS UGC 7231 DAST M98 9 5x3 2 4216 1215 9 1308 498 10 0 GALAXY Sb II UGC 7284 C5ST 8 3x2 2 Near Edge On 4236 1216 7 6928 1116 9 7 GALAXY SB IV UGC 7306 b5ST 18 6x6 9 4244 1217 6 3748 972 10 2 GALAXY S IV ED
96. and 12 LX200 Owners 6 Keypad Version Number Telescope Assembly 1 The Field Tripod 2 Mounting the Viewfinder a Attaching the Viewfinder b Focusing the Viewfinder c Collimating the Viewfinder 3 Attaching the Diagonal Mirror and Eyepiece 4 Collimation 5 12 Tube Swing Through Limits 6 7 Tube Swing Through Limit 7 Maksutov Fan Quick Start 1 Using the LX200 Manually 2 Using the LX200 in LAND 3 Using the LX200 in ALTAZ Entering Basic Information b Location of the Observing Site c Local Time and Date d Setting Up the Telescope e f D Using the MODE key Library Object Keys 4 Star Alignment a 1 Star with Known SITE b 2 Star with Known SITE c Unknown SITE d Which Alignment Method to Use The LX200 Keypad Hand Controller ENTER Key MODE Key GO TO Key Direction Keys Speed Keys RET Key FOCUS Key AP Key Object Keys 10 PREV and NEXT Keys O W E KA M The LX200 Power Panel 1 ON OFF Switch N S Switch Ammeter DEC Motor Connector CCD Connector Power 12vDC Connector Keypad Connector Reticle Connector Focuser Connector 10 RS 232 Connector 11 Aux Connector mom ban OO oo o Oo o Oo OO Oo OO JJ oO Oo Oo 0 Om Om Om Om C1 C1 Ci Cni EEE GE EE a ee Cae L 0000 Q0 00 CO KM A OO OO CH EE ee A TR PE TR N HE Se Om Om om Om SSES E E E Let EE i echt Eech Lic 2X OO OO OO OO 01010101 Ci Mode Functions 1 Mode 1 Telescope Object Library a Telescope Me
97. and because of optical considerations inherent in the design of a telescope there exists minimum practical powers Generally speaking the lowest usable power is approximately 4X per inch of telescope aperture or about 28X in the case of the 7 telescope During the daytime when human eye pupil diameter is reduced the minimum practical power with the 8 LX200 is increased to about 60X to about 75X with the 10 LX200 and to about 90X with the 12 LX200 powers lower than this level should be avoided during daytime observations A reasonable magnification range for daytime terrestrial observations through the 7 LX200 is from about 70X to 180X 8 LX200 is from about 80X to 190X through the 10 LX200 from about 100X to 200X and the 12 LX200 from 120X to 240X It should be noted however that the higher magnifications may not be used due to atmospheric distortion caused by heat moisture and paniculate matter suspended in the air Accessories are available both to increase and decrease the operating eyepiece power of the telescope See your Meade dealer and the latest Meade Catalog for information on accessories 2 Apparent Field and Actual Field Two terms that are often confused and misunderstood are Apparent Field and Actual Field Apparent Field is a function of the eyepiece design and is built into the eyepiece While not totally accurate but a very good approximation Apparent Field is usually thought of as the angle your ey
98. and the hand control will display the first object in its finding sequence This first object is selected by the LX200 based off of where the instrument is pointing in the sky when you entered START FIND To point your LX200 to the object displayed press the GO TO key and it will slew to the object While in the START FIND option you can either choose the next object in line or skip it as you wish In order to find the next object in sequence press the NEXT key and the display will show the new CNGC object If you do not wish to view this object press NEXT again If you wish to return to a previously viewed object press the PREV key until the desired catalog number is displayed and press the GO TO key If you have set some limitations in the PARAMETERS option it will only find those objects within your chosen confines If you find that the object is not well centered in the eyepiece after executing a GO TO due to poor leveling improper time input or errors in site location center the object then press and hold the ENTER key until the display reads Coordinates Matched This feature in essence synchronizes the LX200 for an area of the sky so that the next object if the leveling time input or site location information is not corrected will be better centered provided it is not too far away from the object that you matched coordinates to To exit the START FIND menu selection and cease its operation to the main menu press
99. anual slow motion knob lock the telescope in Declination using the Declination lock knob 2 Fig 4 and turn the Declination slow motion knob 1 Fig 4 With the above mechanical operations in mind select an easy to find terrestrial object as your first telescope subject for example a house or building perhaps one half mile distant Unlock the Declination lock knob 2 Fig 4 and R A lock 7 Fig 1 center the object in the telescopic field of view and then re lock the Dec and R A locks Precise image centering is accomplished by using the Dec and R A slow motion controls The focus knob 5 Fig 1 is located at the 4 o clock position as you face the rear cell of the telescope Focusing is accomplished internally by a precise motion of the telescope primary mirror so that as you turn the focus knob there are no externally moving parts You will find that if you turn the focus knob counter clockwise you are focusing towards the infinity setting and turning clockwise is for close distance There are about 45 complete turns to go from one end of focus to the other and it is possible to focus past infinity Be patient during focusing as images quickly go in and out of focus with only a slight amount of turning of the focus knob 2 Using the LX200 In LAND The 7 8 10 and 12 LX200 telescopes are shipped with the microprocessor set to LAND the align menu option you will wish to use to view terrestrial objects In this
100. arts at 0 degrees in Greenwich U K and increases Westerly only to 359 degrees 59 minutes Many maps will show Easterly longitudes which cannot be entered into the keypad display As an example if your map indicates that you are at an Easterly longitude of 18 degrees 27 minutes then you would enter 341 degrees 33 minutes Do not concern yourself with differences in longitude and latitude as they pertain to different map spheroid projections those minor differences are too small to adversely affect the longitude and latitude data input C Local Time and Date NOTE The Time function on the 16 LX200 telescope is a standard quartz clock Like nearly any timepiece the internal clock of the telescope should be periodically checked and updated to keep it as accurate as possible The local time should be set as accurately as possible using the 24 hour format The local time and date are used to determine Sidereal time star time and the pointing accuracy of the telescope will depend on the accuracy of the time entered Choose a reliable Source as a reference for accurate time such as your local airport or telephone company In the U S A you can double check the accuracy of the exact minutes by dialing WWV for the universal coordinated time at 303 499 7111 be sure to enter your local time hour information not the U T hour For the example we will use 2 40 00 P M on August 5 1998 1 The display should look like Display 1 If it doe
101. b Place the wedge onto the field tripod with the central threaded rod of the tripod fitting through the center hole in the floor of the wedge Thread the 2 1 2 diameter manual knob onto the threaded rod of the tripod and firmly tighten the manual knob 25 Wedge Body Tripod Head Gees n i Fig 9 Azimuth Control a Azimuth Control The azimuth control Fig 9 for the Meade equatorial wedge and field tripod is shipped in a plastic bag and includes the following parts Azimuth base large U shaped piece of aluminum Azimuth arm small T shaped piece of aluminum e 2 Azimuth knobs e 2 8 32x 1 2 flat head machine screws e 2 8 32x 1 round head machine screws To attach the azimuth control to your wedge and tripod follow these steps 1 Remove the 4 set screws from the wedge and field tripod which plug the attachment holes using a screwdriver 2 Attach the azimuth arm to the equatorial wedge using the 2 ea 8 32 x 1 2 flat head machine screws 3 Attach the azimuth base to the field tripod using the 2 ea 8 32 x 1 round head machine screws 4 Thread the two azimuth adjustment knobs into the azimuth base until they just touch the azimuth arm The azimuth control is now ready to use To adjust in azimuth loosen the 3 central wedge knob Rotate the wedge by using the two azimuth knobs in a push pull manner After positioning the wedge tighten the central wedge knob b De
102. ber of degrees above the horizon that will clear the obstructions in the sky To roughly judge how many degrees the obstruction is taking up of the sky merely hold your fist at arms length Each fist diameter is approximately 5 degrees So if a tree is three fists high you would make a setting of 15 degrees in the HIGHER setting Once the setting is finalized press ENTER LOWER The LOWER menu file option sets the zenith limit setting for the telescope At power up the setting is 90 degrees which assumes that you point the telescope straight up If however you have instruments on the telescope which will not clear the fork arms or if you want to avoid the 10 Field De Rotator limit this setting can be used Enter the number of degrees from the zenith that you want to limit Once the setting is finalized press ENTER LARGER The LARGER menu file option allows settings of the lower apparent size limit of the objects you wish to see At power up it is set to 000 arc minutes In order to make a decision as to the size limits that you may impose it helps to have a clear understanding of exactly what an arc minute of sky is A good example is the apparent size of the Moon which could be expressed as 1 2 of a degree 30 arc minutes or 1800 arc seconds Each arc minute is 60 arc seconds and there are 60 arc minutes for each degree of sky Some beginning observers have a tough time discerning objects less than about 1 arc minute
103. ccasion just press the ENTER key for the POLAR option so that it has a check next to it then follow the instructions in Precise Polar Alignment page 30 You will require the use of an illuminated reticle crosshair eyepiece to complete the task Once finished follow the steps below for a permanently mounted LX200 section to access the Object Library The Permanently Mounted Polar Aligned LX200 For those who will permanently mount the LX200 in an observatory or wish to use the already polar aligned telescope for several nights in succession it is recommended that a high precision polar alignment be made with one of the methods described above Once done however you need not bother yourself to go through a polar alignment routine on successive nights provided that you do not move the instrument on the pier to access the Object Library and enjoy near perfect tracking To bypass the polar alignment sequence follow the steps outlined below Return to the POLAR menu option and place a check next to it by pressing the ENTER key Then directly enter the catalog number of an object that you are familiar with in the sky by pressing the M STAR or CNGC key see APPENDIX D page 34 for information on the Object Library and press the ENTER key again Manually center the familiar object in the eyepiece of the telescope Press and hold the ENTER key until the display reads Coordinates matched You have now synchronized the Object
104. d amateur the telescopes pushbutton electric slewing digital readouts Smart Drive and much more open up visual and photographic capabilities heretofore undreamed of a Heavy Duty Mounts with 9 speed Dual Axis Electronics DC servo motor controlled worm gear drives on both telescope axes permit observatory level precision in tracking guiding and slewing The 9 speed dual axis drives cover every possible contingency of telescope positioning Press the SLEW button on the keypad controller for rapid motion of the telescope across the Skies at up to 8 degrees per sec 6 degrees per sec for the 12 LX200 on both axes simultaneously once near the target switch instantly to the FIND speed for centering in the viewfinder at 2 degrees per sec Observing the object in the main telescope use the CNTR speed 32x sidereal to place the object in the center of the field During long exposure astrophotography press the GUIDE button for precise corrections at 2x sidereal speed b Built in 64 359 Object Library Enter into the keypad any of the 110 Messier objects 7 840 of the finest NGC objects galaxies diffuse or planetary nebulae star clusters one of the 8 major planets from Mercury to Pluto one of 351 alignment stars or any one of 56 050 SAO UGC IC or GCVS objects press GO TO and the telescope automatically slews or moves to the object at up to 8 per sec centering it in the main telescope field c Altazimuth Mode Operation
105. d site Command Gg Returns DDD MM Gets the longitude of the currently selected site Command Sg DDD MM Returns Ok Sets the longitude of the currently selected site Command GG Returns sHH Gets the offset from Greenwich Mean Time Command SG sHHtt Returns Ok Sets the offset from Greenwich Mean Time Command WA W2 W3 W4 Returns Nothing Sets the current site number c Telescope Motion Command Mn Ms Me Mw Returns Nothing Starts motion in the specified direction at the current rate Command MS Returns 0 1 2 or 4 see description Slews telescope to current object coordinates O is returned if the telescope can complete the slew 1 is returned if the object is below the horizon 2 is returned if the object is below the higher limit and 4 is returned if the object is above the lower limit If 1 2 or 4 is returned a string containing an appropriate message is also returned Command MA Returns 0 Slews telescope to object alt az coordinates set with the Sa and Sz commands This command only works in the LAND and ALTAZ modes Command Qn Qs Qe Qw Returns Nothing Stops motion in the specified direction Also stops the telescope if a slew to an object is in progress Command Q Returns Nothing Stops a slew to an object Command RGH RCH RMH RSH Returns Nothing Sefs the motion rate to guide RG center PC find RM or slew RS Command Sw
106. drift software software Motor Drive Gear Diameter 5 3 4 Worm Gear 5 3 4 Worm Gear 5 3 4 Worm Gear Manual Slow Motion Controls Dec and R A Dec and R A Dec and R A Hand Controller Motorola 68HC05 microcontroller Motorola 68HC05 microcontroller 2 Motorola 68HC05 microcontroller 2 2 line x 16 alphanumeric character line x 16 alphanumeric character line x 16 alphanumeric character display 19 button keypad red LED display 19 button keypad red LED display 19 button keypad red LED backlit backlit backlit Main Controller 16 MHz 68000 microprocessor 1 16 MHz 68000 microprocessor 1 Meg 16 MHz 68000 microprocessor 1 Meg Meg program memory 16KRAM program memory 16K RAM 51 2 byte program memory 16K RAM 512 byte 512 byte non volatile memory non volatile memory EEROM non volatile memory EEROM EEROM EEN DEXEEEIN Po a em 507 G Cd CCS TEXTS Case for 10 models Accessories 63 Telescope 8 LX2001 10 10 LX200f 10 200 f 10 Ophcai Design an Schmidt Cassegrain Schmidt Cassegrain Catadioptric Schmidt Cassegrain Catadioptric Catadioptric 254mm 107 Primary Mirror Diameter 263 5mm 10 375 314 3mm 12 375 2500mm 1007 3048mm 1207 Timing Photographic Magnitude approx Optical Tube Sze S T Dia x TO Long Secondary Mirror Obstruction ETT Telescope Mounting Heavy Duty Fork Type Double Heavy Duty Fork Type Double Tine Heavy Duty Fork Type Double Tine Tine Setting Circle Diameters Dec
107. e observing for more than one night in a row the telescope can be left set up but covered with a large plastic bag such as the one supplied with the telescope The rear cell opening of the LX200 can also be sealed off to the elements by threading on the optional accessory Skylight 1A Dust Seal Eyepieces diagonals and other accessories are best kept in plastic bags and stored in cases such as the Meade 50 Accessory Case All of the non optical surfaces of the LX200 should be cleaned routinely with a soft rag and alcohol to prevent corrosion The cast metal surfaces and the individual exposed screws can also be kept looking new and corrosion free by wiping them down with a water displacement solution Take care not to smear the solution onto any optical surface and to wipe up any excess solution with a clean dry cloth The painted tube can be polished with a liquid car polish and a soft rag Surprisingly the most common telescope maintenance error is cleaning the optics too often A little dust on any of the optical surfaces causes virtually zero degradation of optical performance It should be of no concern whatsoever to see 51 some small particles on the inside or outside of telescope optics Should the optics get more dust on them than you would care for simply use a photographic grade camel hair brush with very gentle strokes You can also blow off dust with an ear syringe available from a local pharmacy There is a point ho
108. e appropriate number as indicated below NOTE 903 is the Moon 2 CNGC Catalog CNGC RA 0045 0055 0104 0129 0134 0188 0205 0221 0224 0225 0247 0253 0288 0300 0362 0370 0411 0458 0581 0598 0628 0650 0651 0654 0660 0744 0752 0869 0884 0925 0956 0957 1023 1025 1027 1039 1068 1097 1112 1232 1245 1261 1291 1313 1316 1342 1360 1365 1432 1444 1454 1457 1502 1513 1528 1545 1582 1647 1662 1664 00 14 0 00 15 1 0024 1 00 29 9 00 30 4 00 44 3 00 40 4 00 42 8 00 42 8 00 43 5 0047 1 00 47 5 00 52 6 00 55 0 01 02 4 01 04 8 01 07 9 01 14 9 01 33 3 01 33 9 01 36 7 01 42 0 01 42 0 01 43 9 01 43 0 01 58 6 01 57 8 02 19 1 02 22 5 02 27 3 02 32 4 02 33 6 02 40 5 02 39 9 02 42 7 02 42 0 02 42 7 02 46 5 0251 2 03 09 7 03 14 6 03 12 3 0317 3 03 10 0 03 22 6 0331 6 03 33 4 03 33 7 03 46 0 03 49 4 03 46 7 0347 1 04 07 4 04 10 1 04 15 4 04 20 9 04 32 2 04 46 2 04 48 5 0451 0 DEC 2310 39 13 7204 60 14 33 15 8521 41 42 4053 41 17 61 48 2044 25 17 2636 3742 7051 0207 7146 7132 6043 3040 1547 51 34 51 34 61 53 1338 5529 3741 5709 5707 3335 4438 5731 3904 3432 61 33 4247 0001 30 16 6027 2034 47 14 55 14 41 05 6641 37 14 3720 2551
109. e equatorial wedge permits alignment of the telescope s Polar Axis with the Celestial Pole or North Star After removing the field tripod from its shipping carton stand the tripod vertically with the tripod feet down and with the tripod still fully collapsed see Fig 3 Grasp two of the tripod legs and with the full weight of the tripod on the third leg gently pull the legs apart to a fully open position Thread in the 6 lock knobs 2 on each tripod leg near the foot of each tripod leg Fig 2 These lock knobs are used to fix the height of the inner extendible tripod leg sections NOTE Firm feel tightening is sufficient over tightening may result in stripping of the knob threads or damage to the tripod legs and results in no additional strength The spreader bar 4 Fig 2 has been removed for shipment To replace first remove the threaded rod 2 Fig 2 from the tripod head 1 Fig 2 a small piece of plastic holds the threaded rod in place Remove the small plastic bag that is stapled to the threaded rod This bag contains the C clip retainer used below and an extra clip Slide the spreader bar onto the threaded rod note the correct orientation as shown in Fig 2 and position the threaded rod back through the tripod head Place the clip retainer a C clip into the slot in the threaded rod This clip holds the threaded rod in place See Fig 3 Position the spreader bar so that the 3 arms of the spreader bar
110. e facilitated 2 SUPERWEDGE For 10 and 12 LX200 The Superwedge permits use of the 10 and 12 LX200 telescope in an astronomical or equatorial mode The wedge fits onto the field tripod described below and accepts the base of the 10 and 12 LX200 fork mount Fig 10 NOTE The Meade Superwedge is designed solely for use in conjunction with the Meade field tripod The Superwedge should never be used without the field tripod eg by placing the Superwedge alone on a table top and then mounting the telescope on the wedge The 10 and 12 LX200 placed onto the Superwedge alone without the field tripod attached to the wedge may become seriously imbalanced to the point where the telescope may actually tip over FT L Fig 10 Superwedge for 10 LX200 Telescope 1 Tilt Plate 2 Attachment Screw 3 Latitude Scale 4 Wedge Body 5 Tilt Angle Adjustment Screw 6 Vernier Pointer 7 Bubble Level 8 Fine Latitude Control Knob 9 Azimuth Control Knob The Superwedge for the 10 and 12 LX200 telescope is of modern design with several important features incorporated to simplify and facilitate telescope operation After using the Superwedge for your telescope you will find that the functional design features included are of very significant value in routine telescope operations Some of these features include e Attachment of the Superwedge to the field tripod by means of only one manua
111. e is selected while a lower case letter indicates it is not Command Sy GPDCO Returns Ok Sefs the type string for the FIND operation Command Gq Returns SU EX VG GD FR PR or VP Gefs fhe current minimum quality for the FIND operation Command Sq Returns Nothing Sfeps to the next minimum quality for the FIND operation Command Gh Returns DD Gefs the current higher limit Command Sh DD Returns Ok Sefs fhe current higher limit Command Go Returns DD Gefs the current lower limit Command So DD Returns Ok Sefs the current lower limit Command Gb Gf Returns sMM M Gefs the brighter Gb or fainter Gf magnitude limit for the FIND operation Command Sb sMM M Sf sMM M Returns Ok Sets the brighter Sb or fainter Sf magnitude limit for the FIND operation Command GI Gs Returns NNN Gefs the larger GI or smaller Gs size limit for the FIND operation SI NNN Ss NNN Command Returns Ok Sets the larger SI or smaller Ss size limit for the FIND operation Command GF Returns NNN Gets the field radius of the FIELD operation Command SF NNN Returns Ok Sets the field radius of the FIELD operation Command LF Returns Nothing Starts a FIND operation Command LN Returns Nothing Finds the next object in a FIND sequence Command LB Returns Nothing Finds the previous object in a FIND sequence Command Lf Ret
112. e knobs See Fig 16 Press the compass firmly into the knob 2 Assemble the equatorial wedge onto the field tripod as described in the Instruction Manual using the knob compass combination to attach the wedge to the tripod 4 amp Point of knob and Fig 16 Magnetic Compass c Finding True North The Magnetic Compass is now ready to use Just follow these simple steps for a quick and easy azimuth alignment 1 Loosen the knob compass slightly This allows for rotation of the equatorial wedge under the knob compass Fig 17 The magnetic pointing arrow will point to magnetic north Centerline of wedge come c Fig 17 Equatorial Wedge 28 Rotate the knob compass so that the magnetic pointing arrow lies directly over the painted black alignment arrow painted on the bottom surface of the compass Fig 18 The North position on the direction scale and the point on the Magnetic Centerline of wedge North Fig 18 Equatorial Wedge knob compass now point directly north 3 Rotate the equatorial wedge in azimuth without moving the knob compass until the centerline of the wedge lines up with the point of the knob compass Fig 19 The centerline of the Fig 19 Equatorial Wedge equatorial wedge now falls directly on the true north line 4 Tighten the knob compass locking the equatorial wedge into place The field tripod and equatorial wedge are now pointed direct
113. e results in very accurate polar alignment and minimizes the need for tracking corrections during astrophotography i Polaris Fig 25 Mount too high 31 APPENDIX C LX200 ALIGNMENTSTAR LIBRARY AND STAR CHARTS 1 Alignment Stars The LX200 utilizes 33 bright and well known stars to calibrate the telescope s Object Library in the ALTAZ and POLAR alignments These stars were selected to allow observers from anywhere in the world on any given night to be able to easily and quickly make precision alignments The LX200 Alignment Star Library and Star Charts are below for your reference LX200 ALIGNMENT STAR LIBRARY STAR NAME STAR MAGNITUDE CONSTELL EE C8 ALBIREO 223 CYGNUS 1930 8 URSA MAJOR uw m er orton uesz pu KEE DEE ATAR P PR Pom Ps me ANTARES Ir PR Pas 16205 es ARCTURUS far P om paer mn BETELGUESE P mm PS Pr Bosmous m e eme pesos frais Se a pr beer sve Joe GASTORA 8 fe fem Pas Jas beo gt pMR ENF ms P saus Pi ms FOMURUT f r Hz er 20 Bom pa fpe NUS uus em POLARIS 19 20 JURSAMINOR 02 14 7 8917 PROCYON 80 04 CANIS MINOR 07 39 3 05 14 SIRIUS CE Gam CANIS MAJOR 06 45 2 1 GN 32 2 Star Charts for Northern Hemisphere Observers Aldebaran Betelgeuse G SOUTHEAST YN SOUTH January 7 00 to 9 00 February 7 00 to 9 00 hk Overhead Overhead Ez t e
114. e sees when looking through an eyepiece Actual Field is the amount of the sky that you actually see and is a function of the eyepiece being used and the telescope The Actual Field of a telescope with a given eyepiece is calculated by dividing the Apparent Field of the eyepiece by the power obtained using that eyepiece The table below lists the most common eyepieces available and the Apparent Field for each The power and Actual Field of view that each eyepiece yields is listed for each basic telescope optical design 8 f 10 Power Actual Field 10 f 10 Power Actual Field 12 f 10 Power Actual Field 1 25 O D except as noted 250 0 21 313 0 17 206 0 25 161 0 32 133 0 39 391 0 13 258 0 20 202 0 26 167 0 31 476 0 11 314 0 17 246 0 21 203 0 26 165 0 32 129 0 40 107 0 49 20mm 52 134 0 39 26mm 52 103 0 50 32mm 52 83 0 63 40mm 44 67 0 66 32 1 69 56mm 52 2 O D 48 1 08 23 2 27 Eyepieces 6 elements 1 25 O D 193 0 35 93 0 72 148 0 45 71 0 94 109 0 61 52 1 28 83 0 81 40 1 67 67 1 00 32 2 09 64 0 81 49 1 06 40 1 30 80 0 65 62 0 84 50 1 04 40 1 35 29 1 82 100 0 52 77 0 68 63 0 83 50 0 88 36 1 46 125 0 42 96 0 54 78 0 67 63 0 70 45 1 16 152 0 34 117 0 44 95 0 55 76 0 53 54 1 04 Super Wide Angle 13 8mm 67 1 8mm 67 24 5mm 67
115. e tests Any lack of Collimation at this point will require only very slight adjustments of the 3 set screws You now have a good Collimation i As a final check on alignment examine the star image in focus with the higher power eyepiece as suggested above under good seeing conditions e g steady atmospheric conditions The star point should appear as a small central dot the so called Airy disc with a diffraction ring surrounding it To give a final precision Collimation make extremely slight adjustments of the 3 set screws if necessary to center the Airy disc in the diffraction ring You now have the best alignment of the optics possible 3 Right Ascension Lock After a period of time it is possible that the R A lock 7 Fig 1 of the LX200 will not tighten sufficiently due to internal wear of the clutch mechanism In such an event remove the R A lock lever using one of the hex wrenches supplied with the telescope Then with a pair of pliers tighten the shaft protruding outward from the drive base until you cannot easily rotate the fork arm in R A Take care in this operation not to damage the cosmetic finish of your LX200 Replace the R A lock lever so that the handle points straight out from the crossbar connecting the fork arm 4 Behind the Power Panel The LX200 power panel houses the back up replaceable battery 1 Fig 28 for the clock and calendar and a replaceable 3 voa standard 1 0 amp slow blow
116. e used to fix the height of the inner extendible tripod leg sections CAUTION Firm feel tightening is sufficient over tightening may strip the threads of the lock knobs or damage the tripod and results in no additional strength The spreader bar 5 Fig 1 has been removed for shipment To install first remove the threaded rod 2 Fig 1 from the bottom of the tripod head 1 Fig 1 A small piece of plastic holds the threaded rod in place Enclosed in the plastic bag attached to this instruction sheet is a C clip retainer and an extra clip and 1 flat washer These items will be used below Slide the flat washer 4 Fig 1 onto the threaded rod so that it rests against the tension knob 3 Fig 1 Slide the spreader bar onto the threaded rod note the correct orientation as shown in Fig 1 and from underneath pass the threaded rod through the tripod head 1 Fig 1 Be sure that the spreader bar is not upside down on the threaded rod the flat side of the spreader bar should face 1 Tripod Head 2 Threaded Rod Tension Knob Spreader Bar Lock Knobs Extension Strut Tension Hub Fig 1 Field Tripod ADVANCED PRODUCTS DIVISION up Place 1 C clip retainer into the slot in the threaded rod This clip holds the threaded rod in place See Fig 2 Position the spreader bar so that the 3 arms of the spreader bar are lined up with the 3 tripod legs Place the entire telescope onto the top of the tripod head
117. e version which is displayed on the keypad LED at power up TELESCOPE ASSEMBLY Use the following steps to assemble your telescope NOTE If the section is not applicable to all LX200 models it is noted at the beginning of each section 1 The Field Tripod The field tripods Figs 2 and 3 for Meade 8 10 and 12 LX200 telescopes are supplied as completely assembled units except for the spreader bar 4 Fig 2 and the 6 lock knobs 2 knobs for each of the 3 tripod legs used to adjust the height of the tripod These knobs are packed separately for safety in shipment For visual e non photographic observations the drive base 17 Fig 1 of the telescope s fork mount is attached directly to the field tripod The telescope in this way is mounted in an Altazimuth Altitude Azimuth or vertical horizontal format The telescope in this configuration moves along vertical and horizontal axes corresponding respectively to the Declination and Right Ascension axes explained later in this manual in an astronomical observing mode Fig 2 LX200 Field Tripod 1 Tripod Head 2 Threaded Rod 3 Tension Knob 4 Spreader Bar 5 Lock Knobs 6 Extension Strut 7 Tension Hub Fig 3 Field Tripod collapsed Alternately the field tripod can be used in conjunction with the appropriate optional equatorial wedge APPENDIX A page 25 for long exposure astrophotography Th
118. eehive 590ly 2682 0851 1 1149 1800 6 9v OPEN CLUS sp F2 CNGC 2682 D1ST M67 Very old 2700ly 2808 0911 9 6451 828 6 3v GLOB CLUS sp F8 C2ST SOkly 2841 0922 1 5058 486 9 3 GALAXY Sb UGC 4966 C5ST 8 1x3 8 2903 0932 1 21 30 756 8 9 GALAXY Sb I ll UGC 5079 b5 ST 12 6x6 6 2997 0945 7 31 12 486 10 6 GALAXY Sc I UGCA181 C5ST 8 1x6 5 3031 09 55 7 6904 1542 6 9 GALAXY Sb I II CNGC 3031 C5ST M81 25 7x14 1 NearM82 3034 0955 9 6941 672 8 4 GALAXY P EDGE ON UGC 5322 C5ST M82 11 2x4 6 Exploding 3109 1003 1 26 10 870 10 4 GALAXY Ir IV V UGCA194 C5ST 14 5x3 5 3114 1002 7 6008 2100 4 2v OPEN CLUS sp B5 b1ST 2800ly 3115 1005 3 0743 498 9 2 GALAXY E6 c5ST 8 3x3 2 3157 1008 4 112 18 642 9 9v GALAXY dE3 UGC 5470 c5S 10 7x8 3 3198 1020 0 4533 498 10 4 GALAXY Sc Il UGC 72 C5ST 8 3x3 7 3201 1017 5 4624 1092 6 8v GLOB CLUS b2ST 3228 1021 7 51 43 1080 6 0v OPEN CLUSTER c1 ST 3231 1027 4 5738 480 4 3v OPEN CLUS DNEB 12 m n 1C 2581 C6ST 3234 1028 5 6826 738 10 6 GALAXY S IV V 1C 2574 c5ST 12 3x5 9 UGC 5666 3242 1024 8 1838 1250 8 6p PLAN NEB C4ST Ghost of Jupiter 3293 1035 9 58 14 360 4 7v OPEN CLUS ENEB C6ST 3324 1037 5 5838 360 6 7v DIFF ENEB RNEB OPEN c6 ST 9kly 3328 1043 2 6424 3000 1 9v OPEN CLUS Il 3m 1C 2602 b1ST 3351 1043 9 11 42 444 9 7 GALAXY S B b Il UGC 5850 C5ST M95 7 4x5 1 NearM96 3368 1046 7 11 49 426 9 2 GALAXY Sbp UGC 5882 C5ST M96 7 1x5 1 Near M95 3372 1045 1 5941 7200 5 3 DIFF ENEB OPEN CLUS HIl A6ST Et
119. efaulting to the TELESCOPE OBJECT LIBRARY Within 15 seconds the planetary orbital calculations with their corresponding apparent sizes and magnitudes and current stellar precession calculations are made Every computer function is checked and the LX200 diagnostics are complete 2 N S Switch The recessed N S Switch 8 Fig 7 converts the LX200 for operation in the Northern or Southern hemisphere making the drive reverse its tracking direction Before power up the appropriate N or S switch position should be made as the LX200 will not recognize a change made on the N S switch afterwards Use a pen or small tool to slide the switch appropriately Be sure before you travel across the equator that you are setting the proper or latitude SITE entry for your final destination 3 Ammeter he Ammeter display 1 Fig 7 is a series of vertical red LED bars Each bar that is fully lit represents 0 3 ampere 300 milli amperes of current draw The LED Ammeter represents its lowest value on the extreme left of the scale During normal tracking speeds the Ammeter will show about three fully lit LED bars and at times a fourth that is partially lit indicating about 900 to 1000 milli amps or 0 9 to 1 0 amps of current draw when a slew is initiated the ammeter will peg the scale momentarily showing the inertia load this effect is entirely normal The current draw information can be useful if you are trying to calculate how much battery life
120. enwich U K then you must enter a minus GMT time zone shift by moving the blinking cursor backwards in the display with the W key and then pressing the NEXT key The plus sign will change to minus Use the number keys to enter the Westerly GMT time zone shift determined from the table above or your calculated Easterly time zone shift 7 Press the ENTER key This will select the DATE display Display 12 with a random date showing DATE 07 11 91 Display 12 8 Press and Hold the ENTER key until the keypad hand controller beeps The display will look like Display 13 with the blinking cursor over the first number DATE 07 11 91 Display 13 9 Use the number keys to enter the current date The display should look like Display 14 Use the W and E keys to move the blinking cursor left and right to correct any mistakes Display 14 DATE 08 05 98 10 Press the ENTER key when the date is correct After you press the ENTER key the keypad hand controller will display Updating planetary data The position of the planets depends on the date so anytime the date is changed the planet positions are recalculated This is all the information the LX200 needs to make use of all features The next steps actually align the telescope with the night sky d Setting Up the Telescope After the basic information has been entered into the telescope the telescope is ready to actually set up and use Follow TELES
121. ere use while the other is for Northern hemisphere use Once the latitude angle of the wedge has been fixed and locked in according to the above procedure it is not necessary to repeat this operation each time the telescope is used unless you move a considerable distance North or South from your original observing position Approximately 70 miles movement in North South observing position is equivalent to 1 in latitude change The wedge may be detached from the field tripod and as long as the latitude angle setting is not altered and the field tripod is leveled it will retain the correct latitude setting when replaced on the tripod 3 Precise Polar Alignment It should be emphasized that precise alignment of the telescope s polar axis to the celestial pole for casual visual observations is not necessary Don t allow a time consuming effort at lining up with the pole to interfere with your basic enjoyment of the telescope For long exposure photography however the ground rules are quite different and precise polar alignment is not only advisable but almost essential Notwithstanding the precision and sophistication of the drive system supplied with the Meade LX200 telescopes the fewer tracking corrections required during the course of a long exposure photograph the better For our purposes long exposure means any photograph of about 10 minutes duration or longer In particular the number of Declination corrections required is
122. fferent modes of the LX200 computerized hand controller Once you have selected the desired mode you can then select the individual file within the mode by pressing the PREV or NEXT key up and down arrow key in the bottom right hand portion of the hand controller moving the LCD arrow up or down beside the file description Although you will only be able to see two menu selections at a time in the keypad display you will see more as you continue to press the PREV and NEXT keys When the desired file is chosen press the ENTER key to view the files menu To choose an individual menu again use the PREV or NEXT key to run the LCD arrow up or down the files menu To explore a menu selection again press the ENTER key In some modes there will be options for a files menu selection in others you will only enter data At any time that you wish to return to main file heading in a particular mode just press MODE and it will behave as an exit key 1 Mode One TELESCOPE OBJECT LIBRARY This is the mode that the LX200 will default to after the instrument completes its self check when the LX200 is first turned on The TELESCOPE OBJECT LIBRARY mode can be thought of as command central It is here that we can select the way that we want the LX200 to perform mechanically and where we can explore and select from its extensive library of stored objects To explore either the TELESCOPE menu file or the OBJECT LIBRARY menu file move the LCD arrow to
123. g the NEXT or PREV key to run the arrow beside the desired option of ALTAZ POLAR or LAND and then pressing the ENTER key The display will then give you specific instructions from this point that will literally walk you through the chosen alignment type a ALTAZ ALTAZ Altazimuth requires that you mount the LX200 directly to the top of the field tripod with the power panel facing North and adjust the leg extensions of the tripod until the instrument is level You are then required to align on one or two of the bright stars in its look up table of 33 alignment stars This allows your LX200 to track in altitude and azimuth simultaneously for visual observations or very brief under five minutes exposure astrophotography or CCD imaging longer exposures will require the Field De Rotator ALTAZ allows you to fully access the Object Library as well as all other telescope functions Complete instructions for using ALTAZ are in the QUICK START page 9 POLAR POLAR allows you to use the 16 LX200 mounted on a permanent pier set to your latitude as an equatorial telescope With the LX200 powered up the POLAR file option selected and the field tripod leveled the telescope should be adjusted so that the Declination setting circle 3 Fig 1 is set to 90 degrees and the telescope is rotated to the 00 hour angle HA position in Right Ascension In this position the viewfinder Fig 1 is up side down and the R A pointer 4 Fig 5
124. g cursor over to one of the other category symbols by pressing the W or E key on the keypad You can then deselect the undesired categories If you wish to recall a category symbol move the blinking cursor over the symbol and press the PREV key After your selections are made press ENTER b BETTER The BETTER menu file option allows you to define the visual object quality range At power up the range is set at the bottom of the scale on VP when using the START FIND menu selection it will select all objects that are very poor through super or what could be considered an ALL setting The object quality symbols are QUALITY SYMBOL LEGEND SYMBOL DESCRIPTION SUPER EXCELLENT VERY GOOD GOOD FAIR POOR VERY POOR If you wish to define the object quality range to Very Good and better press the ENTER key until the symbol VG is displayed From the VP setting to VG requires three ENTER key presses The LX200 will now select objects that look Very Good through Super c HIGHER The Higher menu file option sets the horizon setting for the telescope At power up the setting is 00 degrees which assumes that you have an unobstructed line of site to the horizon in every direction If however there are things obstructing a level horizon or if the sky quality is poor due to haze or light pollution you can set an artificial horizon level so that your LX200 will not try to 21 find objects below your setting Enter the num
125. g or repairs When telephoning or writing please explain the exact nature of the problem so that we may offer a prompt remedial procedure Be sure to include your full name address phone and fax numbers where you can be reached Should you live outside of the United States contact your Authorized Meade Distributor You can reach the Meade Instruments Customer Service Department either by mail phone or fax at Meade Instruments Corporation 6001 Oak Canyon Irvine CA 92620 4205 telephone 949 451 1450 or fax 949 451 1460 Outside of the U S A dial your International Access Code then 1 then the ten digit number above in the 949 area code Customer Service hours are 8 30 AM to 4 30 PM Pacific Time Monday through Friday APPENDIX F LX200 PERSONAL COMPUTER CONTROL Remote operation of a computerized telescope has only been a fanciful dream for most amateur astronomers The realization of fully controlling a telescope through a personal computer has previously been a staggering proposition involving high monetary cost and expert knowledge of software and hardware The LX200 s internal software supports the RS 232 interface requiring only a serial communication program such as Procomm With a serial communication program you can use the individual commands from the LX200 Command Set to simulate keypad control functions of the LX200 Every LX200 command and mode is available to explore the Object Library to adjust slewing speeds
126. g provided as a dust protector this rubber plug is included with your hardware package Your focuser is now operational WARNING The 10 and 12 LX200 should never be commercially shipped without this red colored bolt in place This is essentia during commercial transport where rough handling may occur For your personal transport and storage you will never have to use this bolt again a Commercial Reshipment To commercially re ship the telescope be sure to follow this procedure 1 Turn the focuser knob clockwise until it stops This will bring the primary mirror all the way back in the tube 2 Remove the rubber plug and insert the red headed bolt Thread it in to a firm snug feel Do not overtighten If you have misplaced the red headed bolt you may use any other bolt that is 1 4 20x1 long 3 When packaging the 10 or 12 LX200 be sure to release the R A lock 7 Fig 1 and Dec lock 2 Fig 4 to prevent shock to the gears in the motor assemblies should the package suffer severe handling Please note that commercial shipment of the 10 and 12 LX200 Telescope without the safety bolt in place and packed in the original factory supplied shipping containers as described above is done at the owner s risk and your warranty may be voided if shipping damage results 6 Keypad Version Number The current keypad version is 3 20 see sticker on back of keypad This does not indicate the telescope softwar
127. ge or when activating the electric focuser PREV and NEXT work as well to select the objects from the Object Library when using START FIND MEADE LX200 COMPUTER DRIVE SYSTEM LX QUARTZ DC SERVO MOTOR SMART DRIVE OO msase Focuser Rew Keypad KI 15 THE LX200 POWER PANEL The power panel incorporates a power switch and LED indicators showing power on with a current ammeter to show power draw The power panel has all of the connectors for the AC or DC power input the DEC Motor and the keypad There are connectors designed to accept optional accessories such as a CCD autoguiding camera the optional Meade Field De Rotator the Meade 1206 Electric Focuser and an_ illuminated reticle eyepiece There is even a connector for RS 232 communication that will allow you to perform every function of the keypad from your personal computer An illustration and a description of the 16 LX200 power panel features follows 1 ON OFF Switch When the ON OFF Switch 7 Fig 7 is moved to the ON position the power light indicator the Current Ammeter and the keypad all light up You will hear the drive motors rev which momentarily pegs the Ammeter then the drive motors shift to a slower speed which allows the RA worm gear to find its centering position for calibrating the Smart Drive then resuming to an even slower tracking speed The keypad display reads Meade then the version of the software is indicated briefly before d
128. gested that you train in DEC LEARN for at least half of your intended exposure time for an astrophoto The longer that you train the more accurate the DEC LEARN will be Once the desired time is finished press ENTER and the training will cease The Smart Drive will then determine how many key pushes that you gave in N and S and choose the direction based from which direction received more commands It then averages the time between key pushes in the chosen direction In this way the Smart Drive can correct for Declination drift should your polar alignment be slightly off or will allow you to more precisely guide on non stellar objects such as comets asteroids etc To play back your DEC LEARN training move the LCD arrow to DEC CORRECT and press ENTER To halt the play back press ENTER again To erase the DEC LEARN training either move the LCD arrow back to DEC LEARN and press ENTER twice or turn the LX200 off 12 24 HR The 12 24 HR menu selection of the TELESCOPE file simply toggles between a 12 and 24 hour display of local time in the time mode To toggle between 12 and 24 hours displays move the arrow to 12 24HR and press ENTER To return to the original setting press ENTER again HELP The HELP menu selection of the TELESCOPE file is an electronic mini manual that will briefly describe the function of each command key on the LX200 keypad To use this menu move the arrow with the PREV or NEXT key to HELP and press ENTER To
129. hand part of the display the number 4 is displayed This represents the current slew rate in degrees per second d Press the ENTER key to change the slew rate Each successive ENTER key press increments the slew rate by 1 degree per second e After setting the desired rate press the MODE key to return to the TELESCOPE OBJECT LIBRARY menu NOTE The slew rate is NOT stored in permanent memory and needs to be reset each time the telescope is powered up The default slew rate is 4 degrees per second 11 BACKLASH The Backlash feature is only available in the POLAR mode When taking long exposure astrophotographs it is necessary to guide the photograph to make sure the telescope is tracking perfectly otherwise stars will appear as ovals instead of pinpoints This is done by setting the LX200 keypad to the GUIDE speed monitoring the star location e g with an off axis guider and making small corrections to the telescope position by using the N S E and W keys When making these corrections the R A motor will speed up or slow down by pressing the E and W keys The Declination motor however when activated by pressing the N and S keys will actually stop and reverse direction Because of backlash in the Declination motor gearbox there will be a few seconds delay before the telescope begins to move when reversing direction The Dec backlash feature compensates for the Dec motor gearbox backlash and provides
130. have reached an equilibrium with the environment the fan should be turned off by unplugging the fan power cord Fan operation time should range between 5 and 25 minutes While it is permissible to run the fan continuously it is not recommended because the very slight vibration of the fan may cause noticeable movement of the objects observed in the sensitive optics QUICK START To utilize all the features of the telescope it is necessary to enter some information into the telescope s computer memory and learn the menu structure of the keypad hand controller which is described in the rest of this manual As advanced as LX200 electronics are the telescope is very straightforward to operate even if you have no experience whatsoever in using a personal computer If you are reading this manual for the first time and are anxious to look through the telescope this section will describe how to use the telescope without going through the rest of the manual But be sure to come back and read the details for most of the telescope s features can not be accessed without a full knowledge of these details 1 Using the LX200 Manually The easiest way to use the telescope is to simply operate it manually With the telescope mounted on the field tripod see The Field Tripod page 7 and with the diagonal prism and eyepiece in place you are ready to make observations through the telescope Even without the viewfinder if not yet installed terre
131. he blinking cursor to the first number with the E key and enter the new coordinate numbers If you are already at a minus Declination setting and wish to enter a plus declination setting follow the same instructions as above but press the PREV key instead to get the symbol 3 Mode Three CLOCK CALENDAR The continuously operating clock and calendar is the life pulse of your LX200 At power up the telescope s sidereal clock automatically allows the system computer to make orbital calculations of the planets and correct stellar precession for superior pointing ability Your accurate initial input of local time and date with its long life lithium battery back up need not be re entered every time you use the LX200 thus enhancing the user friendly aspects of the instrument To set the local time and date and to enter the correct GMT offset see QUICK START page 9 Be sure to use your local hour setting appropriately in either 12 hour or 24 hour format as predetermined by the 12 24 HOUR TELESCOPE menu file option The long life lithium battery Panasonic CR2032 3 vDC or Duracell DL2032B is stored behind the power panel of the Drive Base see Behind the Power Panel page 53 for battery replacement information 4 Mode Four TIMER FREQ a TIMER z Menu Option The TIMER menu option is for accurately timing different observing or imaging tasks for up to 12 hours long Counting down to zero in the hours minutes and seconds
132. he method of Collimation easy to do Even the uninitiated can make an alignment of the optics to the same high precision that is performed at the Meade Instruments Optical Laboratories To check the Collimation of your LX200 center a bright star that is overhead or use a reflected hot spot of reflected sunlight from a chrome car bumper or a telephone pole insulator with the supplied 26mm eyepiece To make a correct evaluation of the alignment it helps if the telescope has been allowed to either cool down or warm up to the ambient temperature where the instrument is set up Temperature differences between the optics and the outside air can cause distortion in the images With the star or hot spot centered de focus the image You will notice that the out of focus star image looks like a ring of light the dark center of the ring is the shadow of the secondary mirror Turn the focus knob until the ring of light fills about 1 8th of the eyepiece field Take note that if you keep de focusing the star past about 1 8th of a field that the ring will look perfectly concentric even on all sides even if the optics are out of alignment thus preventing you from seeing any misalignments If the ring of light does not seem to be even on all sides or if the dark center seems to be offset in the in the ring of light follow the method below a To make Collimation easy the only adjustments possible on the 8 10 and 12 LX200 come from the three set
133. he optical system with one exception Do not apply cleaning solutions to the front surface mirrored optics Only use the soft camel hair brush and the suggested ear syringe for removing particles The corrector plate can be cleaned in the normal manner To remove the corrector plate follow the instructions below a Remove the six 8 and 12 models or the eight 10 model stainless steel screws that hold the corrector plate retaining ring with the raised white lettering in place This should be done with the Drive Base placed flat on a work bench and the optical tube assembly pointed up at a 45 degree angle with the declination lock secure to prevent accidental dislodging of the corrector plate b Remove the plastic retaining ring and locate the two white alignment marks one at the edge of the corrector plate lens and one beside it on the black metal front cell These two marks line up and serve as the precise rotational position of the corrector plate in the optical train If no marks exist make them yourself with a small paintbrush and some white paint so that when you return the corrector plate to the front cell you are putting it back in the same position that you took it off c Remove the corrector plate from the telescope holding it by the plastic central secondary housing Gently flip it over so that the secondary mirror is facing you then reinsert the corrector plate back into the front cell This will allow you full acce
134. icle eyepiece brightness controller a two speed electric focuser controller and a red LED flashlight You will find within a few minutes of powering up the LX200 that the keypad becomes warm which is normal for the system The electronics utilize a heat sink as a means to provide the correct operating environment temperature for the LCD display even in sub zero weather If you are in these colder conditions the display may not be visible until the keypad has transferred enough heat This process can take a few minutes upon powering up the telescope While severe cold weather is not damaging to the electronics it is advised to keep the keypad in a warmer area to allow immediate proper display performance Fig 6 Keypad Hand Controller 1 ENTER Key 2 MODE Key 3 GO TO Key 4 Direction Keys 5 RETURN Key 6 Speed Keys 7 Red LED Light 8 Disolay 9 Focus Key 10 Object Keys 11 MAP Key 12 PREVIOUS and NEXT Keys The LX200 keypad buttons are described as follows 1 ENTER Key The ENTER key 1 Fig 6 is used to select a menu file a file option or to edit a value To select a file or an option press and release the ENTER key The LX200 will give a short beep tone and perform the action that you have requested To edit a value press and hold the ENTER key until a double beep tone is heard and a blinking cursor appears in the display There are some other Specific situations where the ENTER key i
135. instant telescope movement when the motor is reversed To program the Dec backlash use this procedure a Move to option 11 from the TELESCOPE menu The keypad display will show 11 BACKLASH 00 The 00 in the display shows the number of arc seconds of backlash the LX200 is set to compensate for the default setting is 0 arc seconds b While observing a star at high power time the Declination movement delay when reversing the motor directions by pressing the N and S keys Typical values are 2 to 4 seconds c The GUIDE speed for the Declination motor is 15 arc seconds per second Therefore multiply the number of seconds delay by 15 d Press and hold the ENTER key for 1 second The keypad will beep and a blinking cursor will appear on the keypad display Enter the number determined in step c above Press ENTER when the number is entered e Check the time delay as described in step b If there is a delay increase the compensation number If there is a slight jump when reversing direction then the number is too large When the compensation number is correct the LX200 telescope will move almost instantly when reversing the direction in Declination This compensation feature also works in conjunction with popular CCD autoguiders allowing for more accurate autoguiding This number is stored in permanent memory and should never need to be set again b OBJECT LIBRARY Menu File The OBJECT LIBRARY menu
136. ism or mirror generally provides a more comfortable right angle viewing position Alternately in the 8 and 10 telescopes an eyepiece may be inserted directly into the eyepiece holder for straight through observations the 12 telescope requires the accessory eyepiece holder Note in this case however that the image will appear inverted and reversed left for right With the diagonal prism and mirror telescopic images appear correctly oriented up and down but still reversed left for right For terrestrial applications where a fully corrected image orientation is desired both up and down and left for right the optional 924 Erecting Prism or 928 45 Erect Image Diagonal Prism should be ordered separately Eyepieces and the diagonal prism are held in their respective places on the telescope by a moderate tightening of the thumbscrews on the diagonal prism and eyepiece holder 4 Checking the Collimation of the Optics The optical systems of all Meade Schmidt Cassegrains are precisely collimated or aligned before leaving the factory However if the telescope has received a severe jolt in shipment the optics can become de collimated a situation which may result in serious image degradation Recollimating the optics is however a simple procedure which is easily performed by the telescope user We urge all LX200 owners to confirm the Collimation of their telescope and to recollimate the optics if necessary For details in this regard
137. l improve the telescope s positioning by a substantial amount Using the critical alignment will provide telescope positioning suitable for all but the most demanding pointing applications including CCD imaging with larger chip cameras like the Meade Pictor 416 and Pictor 1616 CCD cameras The HI PRECISION feature increases the pointing accuracy of the LX200 to 1 arc minute or better and also requires the critical alignment described above This will yield the best pointing accuracy possible placing objects onto the active area of the even the smallest CCD cameras available It should be stressed that for most applications using the HP feature is NOT required to get maximum enjoyment out of the telescope For an evening of simple visual observations the casual alignment is all that is required Don t let the pointing precision of the telescope become more important than the fun of observing the night sky The High Precision Pointing mode requires the critical alignment described above to maximize the telescope s pointing ability The LX200 default condition is with HP disabled To activate the HP mode select the hi precision option from the TELESCOPE menu option 9 When selected HI PRECISION will change to upper case letters When HP is active the LX200 automatically does several things whenever a GO TO is initiated a HP will search the alignment star database and find the three closest stars to the object or
138. l knob For photographic applications with the telescope where extreme steadiness is required 3 additional hex head screws are provided Quick azimuth adjustment by loosening the manual knob as described above Bubble level for rapid tripod wedge leveling e Etched latitude scale for fast adjustment of the latitude angle Built in latitude adjustment control To assemble the Superwedge follow this procedure note that all required wedge hardware and manual knobs are shipped within the wedge carton a Locate the two 8 32 nylon set screws on the rim of the tripod head and remove them Attach the tangent arm to the tripod using the supplied 8 32 X 1 2 socket cap screws See Fig 11 a below b Push the field tripod threaded rod up so that the threaded rod extends above the top of the tripod head 26 Holding the threaded rod in position place the Superwedge on top of the tripod head so that the threaded stud extending from the tripod head passes through the center hole on the wedge floor Make sure the pin extending from the bottom of the azimuth thrust bar is positioned in the slot on the tangent arm see Fig 11 a above Install the large hand knob compass onto the threaded stud Pass the three 5M6 18 X 1 1 4 button head screws through the clearance slots on the wedge floor and thread them into the tripod head The lower tilt plate locking screws 3 Fig 11 are installed in the factory to allow the tilt p
139. late to be adjusted for any latitude greater than 25 degrees and less than 55 degrees If viewing in a region with a latitude greater than 55 degrees move the locking bolts to the lower mounting holes 4 Fig 11 Fig 11 Mounting Superwedge 1 Azimuth Thrust Bar Pin 2 Tangent Arm 3 Lower Tilt Plate Locking Screws 4 Lower Mounting Holes 3 Mounting the Telescope On the Wedge With 7 or 8 LX200 telescopes three knobs are supplied for mounting the telescope s drive base to the tilt plate of the equatorial wedge With the 10 and 12 LX200 three socket screws are provided for this purpose Fig 12 Mounting to the Equatorial Wedge 1 Drive Base Attachment Knob 2 Telescope Drive Base 3 Slot for Attachment Knob 4 Additional Attachment Knob Holes 5 Attachment Knob Compass Fig 13 Underside of Drive Base 1 Wedge Attachment Holes 2 Azimuth Attachment Hole 1 2 13 thread Fig 14 Telescope on Wedge 1 Tilt Plate Attachment Knobs 2 Telescope to Tilt Plate Attachment Knobs 3 Deluxe Latitude Control DLC Knob 4 Altazimuth Attachment Hole 5 DLC Main Crossbar 6 DLC Crossbar Attachment Screws Thread one of these knobs or screws as appropriate partially into the hole on the underside of the drive base located at the curved end of the drive base 4 Fig 12 This knob or screw should be threaded in about 3 full turns not fu
140. lly threaded into the hole Check that the knobs or bolts at the side of the wedge 5 Fig 8 or 5 Fig 10 are firmly tightened before placing the telescope onto the wedge Grasping the 2 fork arms of the telescope firmly with the power panel towards you place the telescope onto the tilt plate of the wedge by sliding the knob 7 and 8 LX200 or screw 10 and 12 LX200 into the slot at the top of the curved end of the wedge tilt plate Insert the 2 remaining knobs for the 7 and 8 LX200 or socket screws for the 10 and 12 LX200 through the underside of the tilt plate and into the underside of the drive base Tighten down all 3 knobs or screws to a firm feel Extreme force is not necessary in this regard The telescope is now fully mounted onto the wedge and field tripod Adjustments in wedge latitude angle and or azimuth orientation may be made with the telescope in place Further details on telescope polar alignment see APPENDIX B page 30 21 4 Magnetic Compass The magnetic compass helps the observer to set up the telescope without actually seeing the pole star Polaris This allows setting up before dark or in locations where the view of Polaris is obstructed The magnetic compass has an adjustment to compensate for the local angle of Magnetic Declination Note Magnetic Declination is the difference between Magnetic North which the compass shows and true north where the telescope should be pointed Magnetic Declina
141. luxe Latitude Adjuster The deluxe latitude adjuster DLA attaches directly to the equatorial wedge and permits very precise adjustments in latitude angle by the simple turning of one knob The equatorial wedge for Meade 7 or 8 Schmidt Cassegrain telescope is shipped with the main crossbar of the DLA already installed Loosen the two socket head screws that lock the main crossbar in place to allow the crossbar to rotate slightly if needed Thread the long adjustment knob 3 Fig 14 into the main crossbar and position the end of the adjustment knob into the cavity on the underside of the equatorial wedge tilt plate Tighten the two socket head screws locking the main crossbar into place The DLA is now ready to use To make fine latitude adjustments follow this procedure 1 Slightly loosen the knobs 5 Fig 8 on each side of the wedge 2 Turn the DLA s adjustment knob pressing against the bottom of the tilt plate so that the tilt plate moves in latitude angle 3 Re tighten the two knobs which were loosened in step 1 above NOTE When installing the tilt plate to the wedge note that it is a tight fit and the sides must generally spread slightly to accept the tilt plate If the main crossbar of the DLA is already tightened into place this will inhibit your installation of the tilt plate You will therefore see that by re easing the screws on the ends of the DLA crossbar your installation of the wedge tilt plate will b
142. ly toward celestial north without ever having seen the North Star APPENDIX B EQUATORIAL USE 1 Celestial Coordinates Celestial objects are mapped according to a coordinate system on the Celestial Sphere an imaginary sphere surrounding Earth on which all stars appear to be placed This celestial object mapping system is analogous to the Earth based coordinate system of latitude and longitude The poles of the celestial coordinate system are defined as those two points where the Earth s rotational axis if extended to infinity north and south intersect the celestial sphere Thus the North Celestial Pole 1 Fig 20 is that point in the sky where an extension of the Earth s axis through the North Pole intersects the celestial sphere This point in the sky is located near the North Star Polaris In mapping the surface of the Earth lines of longitude are drawn between the North and South Poles Similarly lines of latitude are drawn in an east west direction parallel to the Earth s Equator The Celestial Equator 2 Fig 20 is a projection of the Earth s Equator onto the celestial sphere Just as on the surface of the Earth in mapping the celestial sphere imaginary lines have been drawn to form a coordinate grid Thus object positions on the Earth s surface are specified by their latitude and longitude For example you could locate Los Angeles California by its latitude 34 and longitude 118 similarly you could locate
143. mo Program Appendix G LX200 Specifications none 16 16 16 20 22 22 22 22 22 23 22 23 24 24 24 25 25 25 25 26 26 27 27 27 28 29 29 29 30 31 31 32 34 34 34 34 34 35 35 35 35 35 36 43 49 51 51 52 53 53 53 54 54 54 55 55 55 56 56 56 57 58 62 INTRODUCTION As a new LX200 owner you are preparing for a journey into the universe with the most advanced amateur telescope ever produced The advent of this instrument is the culmination of twenty years of innovation and design at Meade Instruments never before have the features you have in your hands been available to amateur astronomers from robotic object location to the revolutionary Smart Drive and the most stable mounting structure ever Your telescope comes to you ready for adventure it will be your tour guide and traveling companion in a universe of planets galaxies and stars Meade 8 10 and 12 LX200 Schmidt Cassegrain and 7 Maksutov Cassegrain telescopes are instruments of advanced mirror lens design for astronomical and terrestrial applications Optically and mechanically the 7 8 10 and 12 telescope models are perhaps the most sophisticated and precisely manufactured telescopes ever made available to the serious amateur These telescopes enable the visual astronomer to reach out for detailed observations of the Solar System the planets Jupiter Saturn Mars and beyond to distant nebulae star clu
144. ms are available which directly interface with Meade LX200 telescopes including Epoch 2000sk Sky Software by Meade Instruments Corp In APPENDIX F page 58 of this manual is a wiring schematic to make your own RS 232 connector cord a cord test program a demonstration program and the LX200 Command Set for writing programs Meade Instruments supplies this information for professional programmers Meade Instruments Corporation does not offer support or advice for writing software for the RS 232 option 11 Aux Connector The Auxiliary connector 3 Fig 7 is used for the 7 Maksutov fan power 16 MODE FUNCTIONS To view the separate modes within the LX200 system press the MODE button located between the ENTER and GO TO keys at the top of the hand controller Simple entry and editing of information in the different modes contained within the system will customize the operation of your LX200 to perform virtually any of your observing requirements Better still all of the critical information such as time location alignment type and many other functions are kept in memory even with the LX200 turned off The type of alignment the objects that you see the location that you observe from the tracking speeds of the drives all of the clock and timing functions the position information and even the brightness level of the backlit keypad are defined by the information that you give and or the commands that you edit through five di
145. n in the city The charts are approximately 90 degrees wide with the top of the chart indicating straight up If the time is after 9 00 PM then Display 22 Display 23 for reasons made clear below Polaris is also known as the North Star and is shown for reference only When aligning in ALTAZ overhead stars can confuse the LX200 because of an illegal position that prevents the optical tube assembly from slewing past 90 degrees altitude to protect the viewfinder from hitting the fork arm The LX200 will track an overhead object but it does so by moving higher in altitude up to the illegal position then the drive speeds up and move 180 degrees in azimuth so that the optical tube assembly can now be lowered in altitude to keep up with the overhead object Confusion arises because the LX200 does not know which side of 180 degrees of azimuth that it is on Similarly Polaris presents position problems in ALTAZ alignment because it is so close to the North Celestial Pole In this region of the sky the lines of Right Ascension are so close together that even the LX200 s high resolution encoders can yield ambiguous data In our example of August 5 we would use the August chart face North and look up about 45 degrees Cygnus is probably the easiest constellation to recognize and we will use the star Deneb for our example Use the PREV and NEXT key to scroll through the list of alignment stars until the arrow is positi
146. n the Dec lock Loosen the R A lock and rotate the Fork Arms to the 00 H A position see MODE FUNCTIONS page 16 and initiate the POLAR align sequence on the keypad d Using the azimuth and latitude controls on the wedge center Polaris in the field of view Do not use the telescope s Declination or Right Ascension controls during this process At this point your polar alignment is good enough for casual observations There are times however when you will need to have precise polar alignment such as when making fine astrophotographs or when using the setting circles to find new objects As an aside procedure during your first use of the telescope you should check the calibration of the Declination setting circle 3 Fig 1 located at the top of each side of the fork After performing the polar alignment procedure center the star Polaris in the telescope field Remove the knurled central hub of the Declination setting circle and slightly loosen the two bolts located under the knob Now turn the circle unit until it reads 89 2 the Declination of Polaris and then tighten down the two bolts and replace the knurled knob Also realize should you wish to use the manual setting circles that the R A setting circle 10 Fig 1 must be calibrated on the Right Ascension of a star see APPENDIX C page 31 manually every time the telescope is set up The R A setting circle has two sets of numbers the inner set is for Southern hemisph
147. nu File b Object Library Menu File 2 Mode 2 Coordinates GO TO a Coordinates Menu File b GOTO Menu Option 3 Mode 3 Clock Calendar 4 Mode 4 TIMER FREQ a TIMER Menu Option b FREQ Menu Option 5 Mode 5 Keypad Off Brightness Adjust Magnification and Field of View 1 Magnification 2 Apparent Field and Actual Field Appendix A Equatorial Wedge 1 8 Equatorial Wedge a Azimuth Control b Deluxe Latitude Adjuster 2 Superwedge 3 Mounting the Telescope 4 Magnetic Compass a Setting Magnetic Declination b Compass Installation c Finding True North Appendix B Equatorial Use 1 Celestial Coordinates 2 Lining Up with the Celestial Pole 3 Precise Polar Alignment Appendix C Star Library and Star Charts 1 Alignment Stars 2 Star Charts Appendix D Object Library 1 The LX200 64 359 Object Library SAO Catalog UGC Catalog CNGC Catalog 1C Catalog GCVS Catalog Star Catalog M Messier Catalog Planet Catalog 2 CNGC Catalog 3 STAR Catalog 4 M Messier Catalog Appendix E Maintaining Your LX200 1 Keeping Your Telescope Clean 2 Collimation of the Optical System 3 Right Ascension Lock 4 Behind the Power Panel 5 Factory Servicing and Repairs so70oeo0con Appendix F Personal Computer Control 1 The RS 232 Cable 2 LX200 Test Program 3 LX200 Command Set a Command Set Formats General Telescope Information Telescope Motion Home Position Library Objects f Miscellaneous 4 LX200 De
148. ockwise You are unthreading the dew shield and it may fall off if rotated too far Refocusing the objective lens will only require a few turns of the Dew Shield at most 3 When the Dew Shield is rotated to the sharpest focus for your eye tighten the focus lock ring against the Dew Shield to fix its position c Collimating the Viewfinder The viewfinder will require alignment or Collimation with the main telescope Using the 26mm eyepiece point the main telescope at some easy to find land object e g the top of a telephone pole or corner of a building at least 200 yards distant Center a well defined object in the main telescope Then simply turn the 6 nylon Collimation thumbscrews 2 Fig 1 until the crosshairs of the viewfinder are precisely centered on the object already centered in the main telescope With this Collimation accomplished objects located first in the wide field viewfinder will then be centered in the main telescope s field of view 3 Attaching the Diagonal Mirror and Eyepiece The eyepiece holder 6 Fig 1 threads directly onto the rear cell thread of the 8 and 10 telescopes The diagonal prism 13 Fig 1 slides into the eyepiece holder of the 7 8 and 10 telescopes while the 2 diagonal mirror threads directly into the rear cell thread of the 12 telescope In turn both the diagonal prism and diagonal mirror accept the supplied 1 1 4 O D eyepiece For astronomical observations the diagonal pr
149. oftware will stop the telescope from moving into the mount If the telescope is not aligned there are also mechanical stops and some parts of the sky might be restricted if using a wedge depending on the latitude of the observing site Observing sites with latitudes higher than 45 will not have any restrictions Latitudes below 45 will have the southern horizon somewhat restricted when using a wedge and polar aligning To determine the amount of sky not available subtract the latitude of the observing site from 45 this will give the number of degrees of the southern horizon that the 7 LX50 will not reach For example if the latitude of the observing site is 35 then 10 45 35 of southern sky is unavailable for observations No restrictions of observable sky occur in the altaz mode of alignment and operation 7 Maksutov Fan The Maksutov optics are equipped with a fan which will assist in the stabilization of the temperature of these optics The fan will operate when a special power cord supplied in the accessory box is plugged into the fan and the LX50 panel plug marked Aux with the power switch in the ON position The amount of time required to stabilize the temperature will be dependent upon ambient conditions including the observation site and preexisting condition of the telescope The fan should be activated at the beginning of the observation session to accelerate the temperature stabilization As soon as the optics
150. omer Service at 949 451 1450 Customer Service hours are from 8 30am to 4 30pm Pacific Time Monday through Friday mQ Ve Clip Fig 2 Field Tripod collapsed 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 Version 0700 2000 Part Number 14 0220 00 Operating Instructions Meade 18 volt DC Power Supply For Use with Meade LX200 Model Telescopes INTRODUCTION Meade LX200 model telescopes are now supplied with 18 volt DC systems This higher voltage allows for smoother slewing at high speeds and more reliable telescope operation You can operate Meade LX200 telescopes from any 120vAC indoor power outlet using the 18 volt AC Adapter or from a 12vDC source a car battery using the optional 1812 Electronic DC Adapter see the figure below AC OPERATION To power the telescope using AC house current follow these steps LPlug the AC Adapter into an indoor wall receptacle CAUTION The AC adapter supplied with this telescope is for indoor use only Do not plug this adapter into an outdoor AC receptacle or serious electrical shock may result 2 Connect the 25 ft 8 m DC power cord to the AC adapter 3 Plug the 25 ft 8 m DC power cord into the 18vDC connector on the power panel of the LX200 4 Operate the telescope as described in the
151. on by their celestial coordinates of Right Ascension and Declination the task of finding objects in particular faint objects is vastly simplified The setting circles R A 10 Fig 1 and Dec 3 Fig 1 of the LX200 telescope may be dialed in Morth Celestial Pole Vicinity of Polaris Fig 20 The Celestial Sphere 29 effect to read the object coordinates and the object found without resorting to visual location techniques However these setting circles may be used to advantage only if the telescope is first properly aligned with the North Celestial Pole 2 Lining Up with the Celestial Pole Objects in the sky appear to revolve around the celestial pole Actually celestial objects are essentially fixed and their apparent motion is caused by the Earth s axial rotation During any 24 hour period stars make one complete revolution about the pole making concentric circles with the pole at the center By lining up the telescope s polar axis with the North Celestial Pole or for observers located in Earth s Southern Hemisphere with the South Celestial Pole see MODE FUNCTIONS page 16 astronomical objects may be followed or tracked simply by moving the telescope about one axis the polar axis In the case of the Meade LX200 7 8 10 and 12 Schmidt Cassegrain telescopes this tracking may be accomplished automatically with the electric motor drive If the telescope is reasonably well aligned with the pole the
152. on volatile memory EEROM EEROM Telescope Size SwungDown 9 25 x 16 x25 12 x 19 x 31 15 x20 x37 mm Linear im Gaver HT 6 2 x 8 7 5 0 x 7 0 4 1 x 5 8 be vet Telescope Welghis ang Sd Ens Wege Gu dL 35 Case or T0 model Operating Instructions Meade Standard Field Tripod For use with the 7 LX200 Maksutov Cassegrain 8 LX200 and 10 LX200 Schmidt Cassegrain and 4 and 5 ED APO Telescopes The Standard Field Tripod is supplied as a completely assembled unit except for the spreader bar 4 Fig 1 and the 2 lock knobs 6 Fig 1 for each of the 3 tripod legs used to adjust tripod height These knobs are packed separately for safety in shipment For visual i e non photographic observations the drive base of the telescope s fork mount is attached directly to the field tripod The telescope in this way is mounted in an Altazimuth Altitude Azimuth or Vertical Horizontal format After removing the field tripod from its shipping carton stand the tripod vertically with the tripod feet down and with the tripod fully collapsed Fig 2 Remove the carton strap holding one leg and extension strut together Grasp two of the tripod legs and with the full weight of the tripod on the third leg gently pull the legs apart to a fully open position Thread in the 6 lock knobs 2 on each tripod near the foot of each tripod leg These lock knobs ar
153. oned on Deneb Display 24 CASTOR A DENEB The TELESCOPE and OBJECT LIBRARY features are accessed through a series of menus which are shown on the keypad hand controller display You can scroll up or down through the list of choices by using the PREV and NEXT keys and select the indicated menu option with the ENTER key Menu choices that are shown in lower case letters are unavailable in the current operating mode LAND ALTAZ or POLAR If you try to select a lower case menu option the keypad hand controller will emit three warning beeps Three beeps always indicate an attempt to perform an invalid telescope operation 14 Press the ENTER key to select Deneb The keypad hand controller displays a message Display 25 Center DENEB then press ENTER 15 Center the alignment star Deneb in our example in the eyepiece of the telescope You can manually move the telescope by loosening the Dec lock knob and R A lock or electrically by using the N S W and E keys If moving the telescope electrically be sure to use the speed keys SLEW to get close FIND to center in the viewfinder and CNTR to center the star in the eyepiece When the star is centered press ENTER The telescope is now aligned and fully functional and automatically begins to track objects From this point on make all telescope movements using of the keypad hand controller Manual movements by loosening the Dec or R A locks will cause the LX200 to lose
154. ould be changed from COM2 to COM1 The program is as follows CIS DEFINTA X counter 0 OPEN COM2 9600 N 8 1 CDO CSO DS0 0PO RS TB2048 RB2048 FOR RANDOM AS 1 KEY ON KEY 1 ON KEY 1 GOTO ONKEY 1 GOSUB key1 KEY 2 ON KEY 2 SYNC ON KEY 2 GOSUB KEY2 KEY 3 ON KEY 3 SLEW ON KEY 3 GOSUB key3 KEY 4 ON KEY 4 FIND ON KEY 4 GOSUB KEY4 KEY 5 ON KEYS CNTR ON KEY 5 GOSUB KEYS KEY 6 ON KEY 6 GUIDE ON KEY 6 GOSUB KEY6 KEY 11 ON ON KEY 11 GOSUB ker KEY 12 ON ON KEY 12 GOSUB key12 KEY 13 ON ONKEY 13 GOSUBkey13 KEY 14 ON ON KEY 14 GOSUB key14 GOSUB status GOSUB key3 GOSUB help 20 GOSUB telpos GOSUB OBDRAWGOSUB TIME 50 key INKEY IF key THEN GO TO 20 Please note that Meade Instruments does not support these programs or programs that you may write in any way For questions relating to after market software programs refer back to those manufacturers Meade does recommend and support our Epoch 2000sk software package which is fully compatible with the LX200 telescope Fig 30 This program presents on the display of a personal computer an incredibly detailed simulation of the entire sky including up to 281 000 celestial objects Epoch 2000 allows the presentation of the most complex starfields just as they actually appear through the telescope This software is available for Windows 3 1 or higher including Windows 95 TRAM L tee T8300 4 LR udi RA uM
155. our telescope away in a moist case can result in giving it a steam bath later CAUTION Anytime the LX200 is being stored or transported be sure to release the R A and Dec locks to prevent serious damage to the drive gears CAUTION Never attempt to wipe down optics that are covered with dew Dust and dirt may be trapped with the collected dew and upon wiping the optics you may scratch them After the dew has evaporated you will most likely find them in fine condition for the next observing session If you live in a very moist climate you may find it necessary to use silica desiccant stored in the telescope s case to ward off moisture and the possibility of fungus growing on and within the coatings of the optics Replace the desiccant as often as necessary Those living in coastal areas or tropic zones should also cover the electronic ports on the power panel and the keypad with gaffers tape to reduce corrosion on the metal contacts Apply a dab of a water displacement solution i e WD 40 with a small brush on all interior metal contacts and the input cord metal contacts The keypad and all separate accessories should be kept in sealable plastic bags with silica desiccant A thick layer of dust will attract and absorb moisture on all exposed surfaces Left unattended it can cause damaging corrosion To keep dust at bay when observing the telescope can be set up on a small section of indoor outdoor carpet If you ar
156. pe slew to the new coordinates a Coordinates Menu File You will at first see the RA and DEC coordinates of where the telescope is pointing If you move the LX200 with the N S W or E keys the coordinates display will immediately update the new position in Right Ascension and Declination You can also display computed information of the Altazimuth coordinates ALT and A2 by pressing the ENTER key To return to RA and DEC press the ENTER key again The RA display is broken down into hours minutes and tenths of a minute and the DEC display is broken down into for North Declination and for South Declination into degrees and minutes as shown in Display 32 Display 32 RA 02 45 9 DEC 22 54 If you have made an ALTAZ style of alignment the ALT and AZ coordinate display is formatted so that 0 degrees azimuth AZ is due South that increases to up to 359 degrees and 59 minutes moving clockwise or from due South moving Westerly altitude ALT is formatted so that straight overhead is 90 degrees and 00 minutes decreasing to 00 degrees and 00 minutes as you move the telescope level with the horizon and then as the LX200 moves below 00 00 it will give minus altitude readings The Altazimuth coordinate display is shown in Display 33 ALT 72 50 AZ 158 10 Display 33 While in ALTAZ you will find during slewing in one direction that both the RA and DEC display will change at the same time
157. position requiring realignment e Using the MODE Key The LX200 has 5 basic keypad hand controller displays and the MODE key is used to move between them The 5 modes are 1 Telescope Functions The TELESCOPE mode is where all telescope functions are changed or activated and the OBJECT LIBRARY is where the features of the object library are accessed Display 24 Display 25 2 Telescope Position The first display shows the RA and DEC telescope position in stellar coordinates and the second display accessed by pressing the ENTER key shows the telescope position in ALTAZ coordinates 3 Time and Date The first display shows local and Sidereal time and the second display accessed by pressing the ENTER key shows the date 4 Timer and Freq This display is a countdown timer and allows the user to change drive rates These are advanced features 5 All Off This mode simply turns off all displays and backlighting You can also adjust the backlighting brightness by pressing the ENTER key and using the PREV and NEXT keys to adjust the brightness f Library Object Keys While in any of the 5 main keypad display modes you can directly access the library objects by using the M STAR or CNGC keys see APPENDIX C page 31 of this manual for more information on the 64 359 Object Library Simply press an object key and type in the number of the object desired followed by ENTER For example a good first object for
158. pper level of brightness may also be adjusted with the FAINTER menu file option although you may find few applications for limiting it to a lower value RADIUS The RADIUS value sets the boundaries of 22 in a given eyepiece while in the FIELD menu At power up the RADIUS menu file option is set to 15 arc minutes the radius of 1 2 a degree 30 arc minutes which is about the proper setting for a 26mm eyepiece used in an 8 f 10 LX200 To calculate the true field of an eyepiece in the telescope first divide the focal length of the telescope e g 2000mm for an 8 f 10 by the focal length of the eyepiece the standard supplied eyepiece is a 26mm Super Plossl 2000 divided by 26 equals 77X magnification Then find the apparent field of the eyepiece which is 52 degrees for the 26mm Super Plossl and divide it by the magnification 52 divided by 77 equals 0 67 degrees multiplied by 60 equals 40 2 arc minutes To get the radius of the true field of view divide the true field by 2 In the case of the above equation 40 2 arc minutes divided by 2 equals 20 1 arc minutes 2 Mode Two COORDINATES GO TO Mode Two allows you to see where you have pointed the LX200 in two celestial coordinate formats either R A and Dec or Altazimuth Also in this mode you can enter new Right Ascension and Declination coordinates for any sky position perhaps to locate objects not in the LX200 library such as comets or asteroids and have your telesco
159. r East Fig 22 b If the star drifts North or up the telescope s polar axis is pointing too far West Fig 23 d Move the wedge in azimuth horizontally to effect the appropriate change in polar alignment Reposition the telescope s East West polar axis orientation until there is no further North South drift by the star Track the star for a period of time to be certain that its Declination drift has ceased Please note that Figs 22 23 24 and 25 show the telescope pointed in the 90 degree position and not the 0 degree position that is required for Drift method alignment This is done to illustrate the position of the pole star relative to the polar axis of the telescope e Next point the telescope at another moderately bright star near the Eastern horizon but still near the celestial equator For best results the star should be about 20 or 30 above the Eastern horizon and within 5 of the celestial equator f Again note the extent of the star s drift in Declination a Ifthe star drifts South or down the telescope s polar axis is pointing too low Fig 24 b Ifthe star drifts North or up the telescope s polar axis is pointing too high Fig 25 g Use the latitude angle fine adjust control on the wedge to effect the appropriate change in latitude angle based on your observations above Again track the star for a period of time to be certain that Declination drift has ceased The above procedur
160. re not editing a value or setting a parameter or selecting a file menu Use the Object keys when you are at a top level of a mode After pressing one of these keys the keypad s display will give a blinking cursor allowing you to enter the catalog number for objects listed in the library see APPENDIX C page 31 After entry press the ENTER key To see the entered object press the GO TO key A brief description of the catalog key symbols are M Messier objects STAR stars and planets and CNGC Computerized New General Catalog The 16 LX200 has several object libraries which are accessed with the STAR and CNGC keys When you press the STAR or CNGC keys the display will show which object library you are currently in and wait for a number entry as described above To switch to a different library press the ENTER key instead of entering a number The keypad display will show a menu of libraries available Move the cursor to the desired library and press ENTER to select The 16 LX200 will remember the database you last accessed Each time you press the STAR or CNGC keys the same object database will be displayed on the first line of the keypad display 10 PREV AND NEXT Keys The PREV and NEXT up and down arrow keys 12 Fig 6 move the display LCD arrow up and down the menu files and menu file options so that you may choose an individual selection to enter These keys are also used when adjusting the RET brightness ran
161. refore very little use of the telescope s Declination slow motion control is necessary virtually all of the required telescope tracking will be in Right Ascension If the telescope were perfectly aligned with the pole no Declination tracking of stellar objects would be required For the purposes of casual visual telescopic observations lining up the telescope s polar axis to within a degree or two of the pole is more than sufficient with this level of pointing accuracy the telescope s motor drive will track accurately and keep objects in the telescopic field of view for perhaps 20 to 30 minutes Begin polar aligning the telescope as soon as you can see Polaris Finding Polaris is simple Most people recognize the Big Dipper The Big Dipper has two stars that point the way to Polaris see Fig 21 Once Polaris is found it is a straightforward procedure to obtain a rough polar alignment a LP 6 end i Little Dipper d Polaris o E Big Dipper Cassiopeia Fig 21 Locating Polaris To line up the 7 8 10 or 12 LX200 with the Pole follow this procedure a Using the bubble level located on the floor of the wedge adjust the tripod legs so that the telescope wedge tripod system reads level b Set the equatorial wedge to your observing latitude as described in Appendix A C Loosen the Dec lock and rotate the telescope tube in Declination so that the telescope s Declination reads 90 Tighte
162. ress ENTER At power up the FREQ default is the 60 1 Hz Q setting The quartz rate is precisely fixed and cannot be altered To choose a different rate press the ENTER key to see 60 1 M and then again to see 60 1 M with the up and down arrow These two menu file options can adjust the tracking speeds The adjustment techniques are described below Display 34 shows the manual rate menu file option that can be adjusted by pressing and holding the ENTER key to get the double beep tone and the blinking cursor Type in the new rate then when finished press the ENTER key again FREQ 60 1 M Display 35 shows the menu file option that allows you to step the drive tracking frequency setting in tenths of a hertz by using the PREV and NEXT up and down arrow keys This is a convenient feature if you are trying to match the precise speed of a planet comet or any other non stellar object To exit this option press the MODE key Display 34 5 Mode Five KEYPAD OFF BRIGHTNESS ADJUST In order to see very faint objects it will sometimes be necessary to either dim or completely turn off the keypad red LCD backlighting To do so press the MODE button until the display goes blank This is the OFF option To set the keypad brightness press the ENTER button and adjust the brightness to your satisfaction with the PREV and NEXT keys To exit press the MODE key This brightness setting also dims the power panel power LED and Ammeter NO
163. s not press the MODE key until it does 2 Press the MODE key twice The display will look like Display 8 but with a random LOCAL and SIDE times Display 8 z 11 24 30 21 38 02 3 Press and HOLD the ENTER key until the keypad hand controller beeps displav like Displav 9 LOCAL 11 24 30 21 38 02 4 Using the number keys enter the current local time to within 5 seconds Remember 2 40 00 P M is 14 40 00 in the 24 hour format Corrections can be made by moving the flashing cursor using the W and E keys The display should look like Display 10 NOTE The time should be checked and reset about once a month Display 9 SIDE 14 40 00 Display 10 21 38 02 5 Press the ENTER key when the time is correct The display will change to Display 11 Display 11 Hours from GMT 08 The next step is to enter the Greenwich Mean Time GMT time zone shift This procedure is a lot easier than it sounds Simply look up your time zone in the table below to find the GMT time zone shift U S A TIME ZONES TIME ZONE STANDARD TIME DAYLIGHT TIME 10 Hours PACIFIC MOUNTAIN EASTERN ATLANTIC 3 Hours For example You live in the Pacific Time Zone and you are on Daylight Time The GMT time shift is 7 hours 6 Use the number keys to enter the GMT time zone shift determined from the table above Press ENTER when done the display will go back to Display 8 If you are using the LX200 East of Gre
164. s used These are described in detail where necessary From now on the two types of presses will be called press and press and hold 14 2 MODE Key The MODE key 2 Fig 6 cycles through the five modes of the LX200 and is used to exit from specific menu files 3 GO TO Key The GO TO key 3 Fig 6 causes the LX200 to automatically slew to specific library entry coordinates The GO TO key also produces a blinking cursor in the GO TO menu file of the COORDINATES GO TO mode to allow new Right Ascension and Declination coordinates to be entered 4 Direction Keys Labeled N S E and W 4 Fig 6 these four keys make the LX200 move or slew in a specific direction with an option of four different speeds explained later During entry to change a value the E and W keys can be used to move the blinking cursor back and forth across the LCD display so that if an error is made during entry it can be erased and changed The remaining 12 keys have multiple functions there are up and down arrow keys and numbered keys from 0 through 9 Each one of these keys also has alternate functions listed above the arrow symbols and numbers The ALT LED light is only visible when entering numerical data A description of the individual keys follows 5 Speed Keys SLEW FIND CENTER and GUIDE These keys 6 Fig 6 allow you to set the rate of movement slew speed in the drives of the LX200 as activated by the N 5 E and W keys The
165. sed at powers up to about 450X on astronomical objects the 8 LX200 may be used at powers up to about 500X the 10 LX200 up to about 600X and the 12 LX200 up to about 750X Generally however lower powers of perhaps 250X to 350X will be the maximum permissible consistent with high image resolution When unsteady air conditions prevail as witnessed by rapid twinkling of the stars extremely high power eyepieces result in empty magnification where the object detail observed is actually diminished by the excessive power When beginning observations on a particular object start with a low power eyepiece get the object well centered in the field of view and sharply focused then try the next step up in magnification If the image starts to become fuzzy as you work into higher magnifications then back down to a lower power the atmospheric steadiness is not sufficient to support high powers at the time you are observing Keep in mind that a 7 f 15 Eyepiece Apparent Field 8 f 6 3 Power Actual Field Power Actual Field Super Plossl Eyepieces 5 elements 6 4mm 52 417 0 12 9 7mm 52 275 0 19 12 4mm 52 215 0 24 15mm 52 178 0 29 200 0 26 132 0 39 103 0 50 85 0 61 24 10 f 6 3 Power Actual Field bright clearly resolved but smaller image will show far more detail than a dimmer poorly resolved larger image Because of certain characteristics of the human eye in particular eye pupil diameter
166. ss to clean the interior optical surfaces without touching them with your fingers d When cleaning is complete replace the corrector plate in it s original position carefully lining up the rotational index marks described in paragraph b above Then replace the retainer Partially thread in all of the stainless steel screws then one at a time snug the screws down to prevent the corrector plate from rotating in the front cell Take care not to overtighten the screws as it will stress the corrector plate lens e A final check of the optical system is to inspect for proper Collimation alignment of the optics Fig 26 Collimation of the Optical System 1 2 3 Set screws for adjusting collimation 2 Collimation of the Optical System The optical Collimation alignment of any astronomical telescope used for serious purposes is important but in cases of the Schmidt Cassegrain design of the 8 10 and 12 LX200 such Collimation is absolutely essential for good performance Take special care to read and understand this section well so that your LX200 will give you the best optical performance NOTE The 7 LX200 does not require Collimation For final optical tests every Meade Schmidt Cassegrain is precisely collimated at the factory before shipment Our company is well aware that through shipment and normal handling the optical alignment can be degraded The design of the optical support system make t
167. ssue to make the final clean up again using no pressure If there is still some sort of residue repeat the procedure using the three part formula described above again using the same cleaning techniques The inside surface of the corrector plate and secondary mirror may at some point become dirty due to particles falling inside the tube when removing or replacing the rear dust cover or threading on accessories To reduce the chance of interior contamination the Meade Skylight 1A Dust Seal is very effective If the Dust Seal is not used it helps to have the rear cell pointed downward when replacing the rear dust cover or attaching accessories Another more serious but not damaging problem is the possibility of a hazy usually uneven film building up on the inside of the corrector plate This can be caused by environmental pollutants or temperature changes reacting with the interior paint causing outgassing or water condensation or combinations thereof It is possible to clean the interior of the optical system yourself or to have it done professionally In the case of the former take great care in handling the optics Any impact or rough handling can damage the surfaces which may require complete optical replacement at Meade Instruments at substantial cost Meade Instruments assumes no liability for damage incurred to the telescope by the customer The cleaning techniques described above are used while cleaning the interior of t
168. standard size primary mirrors The optical design of the 4 Model 2045D is almost identical but does not include an oversize primary since the effect in this case is small LX200 Schmidt Cassegrain telescopes now feature new baffle tube designs These computer optimized designs incorporate a series of 7 to 11 depending on the focal ratio and size of the LX200 internal field stops to eliminate almost all internal reflections yielding the best image contrast available in any Schmidt Cassegrain available today The Meade 7 Maksutov Cassegrain Optical System Diagram not to scale The Meade 7 Maksutov Cassegrain design optimizes imaging performance by utilizing a combination of two sided spherical meniscus lens right a strongly aspheric f 2 5 primary mirror and a spherical secondary mirror The convex secondary mirror multiplies the effective focal length of the primary by a factor of six resulting in an overall f 15 system at the Cassegrain focus The oversize 8 25 primary mirror results in a fully illuminated unvignetted field of view significantly wider than can be obtained with Maksutov optics incorporating primary mirrors of the same aperture as their meniscus correcting lenses Computer optimized primary and secondary mirror baffles as well as a sequence of field stops internal to the primary mirror baffle yield lunar planetary stellar and deep space images of uncommonly high contrast and resolution WARNING Never use the
169. sters and galaxies The astrophotographer will find a virtually limitless range of possibilities since with the precision Meade worm gear motor drive system long exposure guided photography becomes not a distant goal but an achievable reality The capabilities of the instrument are essentially limited not by the telescope but by the acquired skills of the observer and photographer The 7 8 10 and 12 LX200 are with the exception of a few assembly operations and features almost identical operationally Most standard and optional accessories are interchangeable between the three telescopes The instructions in this manual generally apply to all three telescopes when exceptions to this rule occur they are clearly pointed out Important Note If you are anxious to use your Meade LX200 Telescope for the first time at the very least be sure to read TELESCOPE ASSEMBLY page 7 and QUICK START page 9 sections of this manual Thereafter we urge you to read the balance of this manual thoroughly at your leisure in order that you may fully enjoy the many features offered by the instrument 1 What Is the LX200 An Overview Meade LX200 SCT s mark a new era in telescope technology for the amateur astronomer whether beginner or seasoned veteran For the beginner LX200 electronics permit the location and observation of the major planets as well as hundreds of deep sky objects the very first night you use the telescope For the experience
170. stom software for remote operation of the telescope with a PC Each command is listed in a section appropriate to its type Each entry in the command list includes the command name any parameters any return values and a description The parameters and the return data are shown in a manner that indicates their format These formats are listed below along with examples of how the data might actually appear the legal range of values and a short description Below is a detailed description a Command Set Formats HH MM T Example 05 47 4 Range 00 00 0 23 59 9 Hours minutes and tenths of minutes sDD MM Example 45 59 Range 90 00 90 00 Signed degrees and minutes the represents ASCII 223 which appears on the handbox as a degree symbol DDD MM Example 254 09 Range 000 00 359 59 Unsigned degrees and minutes HH MM SS Example 13 15 36 Range 00 00 00 23 59 59 Hours minutes and seconds MM DD YY Example 02 06 92 Range 01 01 00 12 31 99 see description Month day and year The two digit year indicates the following 92 99 1992 1999 00 9 22000 2091 sHH Example 5 Range 24 24 Signed hour offset NNNN Example 3456 Range 0000 9999 Four digit object number sMM M Example 05 5 20 0 Signed magnitude value 02 4 Range NNN Example 134 Range 000 200 Three digit object size minutes 55 DD Example 56 Range 00 90 Higher parameter degrees TT T Example 59 2 Range
171. strial objects will be fairly easy to locate and center in the telescope s field of view with a low power eyepiece simply by gun sighting along the side of the main telescope tube By unlocking the R A lock 7 Fig 1 the telescope may be turned rapidly through wide angles in Right Ascension R A The reason for the terminology Right Ascension and its complementary term Declination will be made clear later in this manual For now Right Ascension simply means horizontal and Declination means vertical Fine adjustments in R A are made by turning the R A slow motion control knob 8 Fig 1 while the R A lock is in the unlocked position CAUTION Do not attempt to move the telescope manually in a horizontal direction when the R A lock is in the locked position The R A slow motion control knob may be turned if desired with the R A lock in a partially locked position In this way a comfortable drag in R A is created But do not attempt to operate the R A slow motion control knob with the telescope fully locked in R A as such operation may result in damage to the internal gear system Releasing the Declination lock knob 2 Fig 4 permits sweeping the telescope rapidly through wide angles in Declination Fig 4 LX200 Declination Vertical System 1 Manual Slow Motion Control Knob 2 Declination Lock Knob 3 Declination Worm Gear Cover To use the Declination fine adjust or m
172. t the shipping cartons show damage then it is important that you retain all the original packing and contact the shipper to arrange a formal inspection of the package or packages This procedure is required prior to any warranty servicing by Meade Instruments 3 Inspecting the Optics Note on the Flashlight Test If a flashlight or other high intensity light source is pointed down the main telescope tube you may at first be shocked at the appearance of the optics To the uninitiated the view depending on your line of sight and the angle the light is coming from may reveal what would appear to be scratches dark or bright spots or just generally uneven coatings giving the appearance of poor surface quality These effects are only seen when a high intensity light is transmitted through lenses or reflected off the mirrors and can be seen on any high quality optical system including the giant research telescopes in use today It should be pointed out however that optical quality cannot be judged by this grossly misleading test but through careful star testing The Flashlight Test causes even the very best optics to look terrible As the high intensity light passes through the Schmidt corrector plate most of it is transmitted through about 98 while the rest of the light scatters through the glass As the light hits the mirrored surfaces most of it is reflected back about 94 while the rest of it scatters across the coatings
173. t is complete the display will show TELESCOPE on the top line OBJECT LIBRARY on the lower line and the red LED light next to the SLEW button will light up e At this point the LX200 is ready to use Select the speed at which you want to move the telescope by pressing the appropriate Speed Selection Key 4 Fig 5 Note that you will be able to see the telescope move only in the SLEW and FIND modes CNTR center and GUIDE motions can only be seen while looking through the telescope The red LED next to that key 3 Fig 5 will light indicating the speed selected Then press one of the four direction keys 2 Fig 5 to move the telescope in that direction at the selected speed M57 EX PNEB MAG 9 7 SZ S 3 leg 5 K ypad Hand Controller 1 Display 2 Diraction Keys 3 Speed Indicator LEDs 4 Speed Selection Kays Motion Speeds SLEW 7 8 sec amp 10 6 sec 12 FINO 4 2 sec CNTR 11 480 arcsec sec GUIDE 0 30 arcsec sec The LX200 can also be moved manually with the R A and Dec locks released or as described above only The Declination manual slow motion knob 1 Fig 4 is non functional when power is supplied to the telescope When the power is on only use the N S E and W keys on the keypad hand controller Serious damage can occur to the internal gears of the motor assembly if the Declination manual slow motion knob is turned even a slight amount by
174. tabases are accessed through the M STAR and CNGC keys The M key accesses the M object database only the STAR key the SAO STAR GCVS and planet databases and the CNGC key the UGC NGC and 1C databases When the STAR or CNGC key is pressed the display will show which database is currently active At this point you can enter the object number for that database or hit ENTER to bring up the menu to change databases The LX200 will remember which database was last used a SAO Catalog The standard Star catalog used in astronomy this catalog includes all stars brighter than 7th magnitude b UGC Catalog This catalog of galaxies includes objects as faint as 15th magnitude c CNGC Catalog The CNGC is enhanced from the RNGC in many ways Angular sizes are given in arc seconds on the CNGC listing and in a convenient scaled format on the LX200 display Magnitudes are given to 0 1 magnitude where possible The coordinates in the CNGC listing are listed for the year 2000 The LX200 calculates object positions upon power up to the current date as shown on the time date display This makes the LX200 pointing more accurate Objects have been assigned a Visual Quality Rating VQ A large number of VQs have been obtained by observing the objects To make the VQs as useful as possible all observations have been made with the same telescope and eyepiece under substantially identical observing conditions Only for very small objects
175. te OR Could not see despite carelul use of averted vision All or very nearly all of the objects in the CNGC are visible with standard instrumentation and observing conditions used to obtain the visual quality ratings It is a good indication of what to expect with similar equipment by experienced deep sky observers in excellent conditions Naturally smaller telescopes and or less optimal observing conditions will lower the apparent quality of all objects The following is a description of the format of the optional CNGC listing for each object COLUMN NAME DESCRIPTION CNGC 0001 CNGC 7840 RA Right Ascension DEC Declination SIZE Size of object arc seconds MAG Magnitude 5 5 through 19 9 TYPE Type of object object is not in the RNGC ALT CAT Alternate catalog name amp number oO AN o0 FW WM VO Visual Quality Rating abcdefg or ABCDEFG Object Type 0 F S Sky Cat T Tirion COMMENTS Name comments other info 35 DESCRIPTION The following types are distinguished in the CNGC LEGEND None Unverified Southern Object OPEN Open Cluster GLOB Globular Cluster DNEB Diffuse Nebula PNEB Planetary Nebula or SN Remnant GAL Galaxy OPEN DNEB Open Cluster Diffuse Nebula None Non Existent Object STAR Star MULTI STAR Multiple Star MULTI GAL Multiple Galaxy Usually Interacting DNEB Dark Nebula in front of Diffuse Nebula GAL OPEN Open Cluster in External Galaxy G
176. the appropriate selection by using the PREV or the NEXT key and press the ENTER key a TELESCOPE Menu File Below are the 14 selections of the TELESCOPE menu file illustrating the individual menu files and file options 1 SITE The SITE menu option allows you to enter up to four of your favorite viewing locations in longitude and latitude The entered longitude and latitude is compared by the LX200 s computer to your local time GMT offset and calendar date to accurately calculate celestial coordinates Once entered the information is stored in the telescope s internal memory you need never re enter the same information To enter new site information or to change an old one see QUICK START page 9 You can choose any one of the four site options or the UNKNOWN site at your convenience without the bother of entering longitude and latitude every time you use the LX200 Once the site is chosen exit the SITE menu by pressing the MODE key 2 ALIGN The Align menu selection of the TELESCOPE file demonstrates the unique ability to transform the LX200 into an Altazimuth celestial tracking telescope a polar equatorial celestial tracking telescope or land spotting scope with electric Altazimuth movements within three options which are ALTAZ POLAR and LAND Assuming that you have already entered correct local time latitude and longitude see QUICK START page 9 you are ready to choose a particular type of alignment by pressin
177. the cable Below is a simple program called LX200 TEST that is written in GW Basic programming language and will work with virtually any IBM compatible computer LX200 TEST is an effective program to fully check the RS 232 line communications from your personal computer to the LX200 allowing you to concentrate on de bugging your RS 232 cable To enter the following program first load BASIC or GWBASIC whichever your computer system uses then type in the following program When complete be sure to save the program as LX200TST BAS 635241 Telescope Panel Connector Fig 29 LX200 Modular Connector 10 CLS 20 DEFINTA X 30 OPEN COM1 9600 N 8 1 CDO CSO DSO RS FOR RANDOM AS 1 50 key1 INKEY IF key1 THEN GO TO 50 60 REM KEY1S 70 IF key1 CHR 119 THEN GOSUB 200 REM w key 80 IF key1 CHR 101 THEN GOSUB 200 REM e key 90 IF key1 CHR 110 THEN GOSUB 200 REM n key 100 IF key1 CHR 115 THEN GOSUB 200 REM s key 105 IF key1 x THEN END REM To exit test 110 GO TO 50 120 END 200 REM directions 210 REM west 220 IFkey1 w THENa Mw PRINT 1 a REM GO west 230 REM east 240 IFkey1 e THEN a Me PRINT 1 a REM GO east 250 REM north 260 IF key1 lt n THEN a Mn PRINT 1 a REM GO north 270 REM south 280 IFkey1 lt s THENa Ms PRINT 1 a REM GO south 290key1 INKEYS 300 IF key1 CHR 32 THEN GO TO 400 EL
178. the constellation Ursa Major which includes the Big Dipper by its general position on the celestial sphere R A 11 hr Dec 50 Right Ascension The celestial analog to Earth longitude is called Right Ascension or R A and is measured in time on the 24 hour clock and shown in hours hr minutes min and seconds sec from an arbitrarily defined zero line of Right Ascension passing through the constellation Pegasus Right Ascension coordinates range from Ohr Omin Osec to 23hr 59min 59sec Thus there are 24 primary lines of R A located at 15 degree intervals along the celestial equator Objects located further and further east of the prime Right Ascension grid line Ohr Omin Osec carry increasing R A coordinates Declination The celestial analog to Earth latitude is called Declination or Dec and is measured in degrees minutes and seconds eg 15 27 33 Declination shown as north of the celestial equator is indicated with a sign in front of the measurement e g the Declination of the North Celestial Pole is 90 with Declination south of the celestial equator indicated with a sign e g the Declination of the South Celestial Pole is 90 Any point on the celestial equator itself which for example passes through the constellations Orion Virgo and Aquarius is specified as having a Dec of zero shown as 0 0 0 With all celestial objects therefore capable of being specified in positi
179. tion should not be confused with the astronomical term Declination which when used with Right Ascension describes the celestial coordinate system a Setting Magnetic Declination In order to obtain an accurate reading using the compass you must first adjust for the Magnetic Declination for your location 1 First determine the Magnetic Declination in your area using the Isogonic Chart Fig 15 2 Squeeze the clear central vial with thumb and index finger of the left hand 3 With the right hand rotate the outer dial until the orienting arrow the black arrow painted on the inside clear surface is lined up with the desired Magnetic Declination angle on the declination scale Notice that East Magnetic Declination is to the right of the North position and West Magnetic Declination is left As an example Fig 16 shows the correct setting for 16 degrees West Declination which covers Providence Rhode Island E Deciination W Fig 15 Magnetic Declination Map b Compass Installation The Magnetic Compass is now set for the correct declination angle To attach to the equatorial wedge follow these steps 1 Snap the Magnetic Compass into the 3 diameter wedge attachment knob after setting the Magnetic Declination as described above Position the compass into the knob so that the 360 degree location on the direction scale the North position lines up with one of the nine points of th
180. urns see description Performs a FIELD operation returning a string containing the number of objects in the field and the object that is closest to the center of the field Command LC NNNNZ LM NNNN LS NNNN Returns Nothing Sets the object to the NGC LC Messier LM or Star LS specified by the number Planets are stars 901 909 The object type returned for LC and LS commands depends on which object type has been selected with the Lo and Ls commands see below Command L Returns lt obj gt info Gefs the current object information Command Lo N Returns Ok Sefs the NGC object library type 0 is the NGC library 1 is the 1C library and 2 is the UGC library This operation is successful only if the user has a version of the software that includes the desired library Command Ls N Returns Ok Sefs the STAR object library type 0 is the STAR library 1 is the SAO library and 2 is the GCVS library This operation is successful only if the user has a version of the software that includes the desired library f Miscellaneous Command B B BO 57 B1 B2 B3 Returns Nothing Increases B or decreases B reticle brightness or sets to one of the flashing modes BO B1 B2 or B3 F F FOH FFH FSH Returns Nothing Sfarts focus out F starts focus in F stops focus change FQ sets focus fast FF or sets focus slow FS Command Command GM GN GO
181. use these commands at any time that you have an object entered in the keypad while directly entering in specific objects by pressing the M STAR or CNGC keys in the START FIND menu selection the OBJECT INFORMATION menu selection or the FIELD menu selection 4 PARAMETERS It is here that you can edit the Press ENTER to find eight options which can be reviewed by scrolling through this menu selection using the PREV or NEXT key To edit an option move the arrow to the desired option and press and hold ENTER until a double beep is heard and a blinking cursor appears except in the BETTER option Where numerical values are to be input simply type them in from the keypad If you make a mistake you can move the cursor backward using the W key then re enter the data To exit to the main option menu press the ENTER key once again A description of the eight options and how to set them is below a TYPE GPDCO This menu file option allows you to select the type of CNGC objects that you wish to locate GPDCO represent OBJECT SYMBOL LEGEND SYMBOL DESCRIPTION GALAXIES PLANETARY NEBULAE DIFFUSE NEBULAE GLOBULAR STAR CLUSTERS OPEN STAR CLUSTERS Initially the blinking cursor appears over the G symbol If you decide not to look for galaxies press NEXT and the symbol will change from an upper case letter G to a lower case letter g to deselect the GALAXIES category If you wish to leave GALAXIES selected then move the blinkin
182. utes The LX200 calculates the distance between the two stars that you chose in the alignment steps and compares this to the distance that you actually slewed the telescope This is a check to be sure you centered the correct stars during the alignment steps Should the LX200 discover a discrepancy the keypad will display an Align Mismatch Check Stars message If you get this message after aligning the telescope check that you are using the correct stars and align again c Unknown SITE To use the LX200 telescope at an unknown location use the following procedure 1 Select site 45 UNKNOWN from the SITE menu NOTE This site cannot be edited like site numbers 1 to 4 as described in Entering Basic Information page 10 2 Follow the keypad display prompts to select and center the two alignment stars As described above the LX200 will check the accuracy of the two stars and give the Align Mismatch Check Stars message if it detects an error d Which Alignment Method to Use Each of the three method described above has advantages and disadvantages The following table summarizes these properties 1 Star Known 2 Star Known 2 Star Unknown Pointing 2 Star Accuracy Alignment Determined By Atmospheric Refraction Correction Level of Telescope Atmospheric Refraction Correction Determined By When Best Used Best used when the SITE information is not available Best used on a transportable
183. ve a cable one can be obtained from the CCD manufacturer or you can make your own cable using the following table of information CCD Connector Pin LX200 Assignment GE 6 Power 12 vDC Connector The power 12 vDC connector 9 Fig 7 is designed to accept either the standard equipment AC Converter or the optional DC Power Cord The acceptable voltage range under load is from 12 to 18 volts 7 Keypad Connector The keypad connector 6 Fig 7 is a 4 pin phone jack connector socket designed to accept standard 4 pin phone jack coil cords One end of the supplied coil cord plugs into the keypad port the other end plugs into the LX200 keypad 8 Reticle Connector The Reticle connector 5 Fig 7 accepts optional accessory corded plug in style illuminated reticle eyepieces such as the optional Meade 12mm Illuminated Reticle Eyepiece or the Meade Series 4000 Plossl 9mm Illuminated Reticle Eyepiece corded style to allow brightness control and on off pulsing rates to be set from the LX200 keypad 9 Focuser Connector The focuser connector 4 Fig 7 accepts optional accessory corded plug in style electric focusers such as the Meade 1206 Electric Focuser to allow electric focus adjustment control from the LX200 keypad 10 RS 232 Connector The RS 232 connector 2 Fig 7 allows personal computer interface to allow communications at 9600 baud to access every feature of the LX200 keypad Many popular astronomy progra
184. wever when the optics must be cleaned This is when you can easily tell that there is a thin layer of fine particulates that make the optics look very slightly hazy To clean the optics we must suggest that you make your own lens cleaning solutions since it is impossible to know all of the ingredients used in commercial lens cleaners Pure isopropyl alcohol 90 or better will clean most residual film build up on optical surfaces and metal surfaces too Organic materials e g fingerprints on the front lens may be removed with a solution of 3 parts distilled water to 1 part isopropyl alcohol A single drop of biodegradable dishwashing soap may be added per pint of solution Use soft white facial tissues and make short gentle strokes Change tissues often CAUTION Do not use scented colored or lotioned tissues or damage could result to the optics Sprayer bottles are a convenient dispenser of lens cleaning solutions onto the tissues Use soft white facial tissues and make short gentle strokes Change tissues often If the optics are small such as viewfinders or eyepieces the tissue can be rolled to the appropriate thickness and then broken in half to create two cleaning wands It is advised that you avoid many of the so called lens cleaning papers many which contain fiberglass lens cloths or chamois Before attempting to clean an optical surface with a liquid solution it is very important that as much dust as possible
185. with digital readout display permanently programmable Smart Drive 9 speed drive control on both axes GO TO controller High Precision Pointing and 64 340 object onboard celestial software library internal tube cooling fan for rapid image stabilization 25 ft power cord and adapter for telescope operation from 115v AC 8 x 50mm viewfinder eyepiece holder and diagonal prism 1 25 Series 4000 SP26mm eyepiece variable height field tripod operating instructions b 8 Model LX200 Includes 8 Schmidt Cassegrain optical tube assembly with EMC super multi coatings D 203mm F 1280mm f 6 3 or 2000mm f 10 heavy duty fork mount with 4 dia sealed polar ball bearing quartz microprocessor controlled 5 75 worm gears on both axes and multi function power panel display on the drive base manual and electric slow motion controls on both axes setting circles in RA and Dec handheld keypad Electronic Command Center with digital readout display PPEC Smart Drive 9 speed drive control on both axes GO TO controller High Precision Pointing and 64 340 object onboard celestial software library 25 ft power cord and adapter for telescope operation from 115V AC 8 x 50mm viewfinder eyepiece holder and diagonal prism 1 25 Series 4000 SP26mm eyepiece variable height field tripod operating instructions c 10 Model LX200 Includes 10 Schmidt Cassegrain optical tube assembly with EMC super multi coatings D 254mm F 1600mm f 6 3 or

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