Instruction/ maintenance manual of the product LX90 Meade
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Instruction Manual 8" LX90 Schmidt-Cassegrain T elescope A utoStar ® — LNT ™ — Smar tFinder ™.
Primary Baffle Tube Field Stops Primary Mirror Ray (1) Ray (2) (2) (1) (2) (1) Secondary Mirror Correcting Plate S econdary B affle (2) (1) F ocal P lane In the Schmidt-Casseg rain design .
Quick-Start Guide .......................................................... 4 T elescope F eatures ...................................................... 6 A utoStar Features .......................................................... 9 Getting Star ted .
4 QUICK-ST AR T GUIDE It is recommended that you attach the supplied tripod to the LX90 f or obser ving. P erform the telescope and AutoStar setup indoors in the light so that you become f amiliar with the par ts and operation bef ore moving the telescope outside into the dark for observing.
5 R ib Battery H older B attery C ompar tment 10. Tighten, to a firm feel only , the Dec and R.A. locks ( 6 and 9, Fig. 1) . Remov e the dust cover from the end of the telescope tube . 9. Press the ke y prompted by A utoStar to accept the Sun warning.
6 Fig. 1 : The LX90 T elescope and AutoStar Handbo x. TELESCOPE FEA TURES 2 D 3 6 8 J L M O P Q A R K N 2! 2) A B C D D E (not sho wn) 9 1 Eyepiece 2 Ey epiece Holder Thumbscre w 3 Eyepiece Holder 4 Diagonal Prism 5 Optical T ube 6 Dec. Lock 7 Fork Arms 8 Focus Knob 9 R.
7 LX90: Y our P ersonal Window to the Universe The Meade LX90 is an e xtremely versatile, high-resolution telescopes with f eatures similar to those av ailable only with larger and more specializ ed imaging systems.
8 D . Auxiliary (A UX) P or t (2) : Pro vides connection f or the LNT module, and also current and future Meade accessories, such as the Meade Accessor y P or t Module.
9 Fig. 2: The LX90 AutoStar Handbo x. L 1 B D E H I J K C F G T our the Cosmos with Just the Push of a Button Control of the LX90 is through the operation of the standard-equipment A utoStar . Nearly all functions of the telescope are accomplished with just a f ew pushes of A utoStar’ s buttons.
10 The A utoStar Computer Controller provides control of vir tually ev er y telescope function within a compact handbo x. AutoStar has soft-touch k eys designed to hav e a positive f eel. The LCD (Liquid Cr ystal Displa y) is backlit with a red LED (Light Emitting Diode) f or easy viewing in the dark.
11 8. The Smar tFinder’ s red dot will now blink on f or 10.2 seconds and tur n off for 0.7 seconds , and then repeat the cycle until you change the v alues again. Press and hold MODE c to e xit this function. Similar ly , you can set the Intensity value b y scrolling through the intensity values with the Scroll keys h .
12 Getting the telescope ready f or first obser vations requires only a f ew minutes . When first opening the packing bo x, note carefully the following parts: • LX90 T elescope with fork mount system and attached Smar tFinder • A utoStar handbox and interf ace coil cord • Eyepiece holder and 1.
13 6. Place the entire telescope onto the top of the tripod head, and inser t the threaded rod into the centr al hole in the bottom of the drive base of the telescope . Tighten the tension knob ( 3, Fig. 3 ); firm tightening of the tension knob is sufficient to result in r igid positioning of the tr ipod legs.
14 Choosing an Eyepiece A telescope’ s eyepiece magnifies the image f or med by the telescope’ s main optics. Each ey epiece has a focal length, e xpressed in millimeters, or “mm.
15 Aligning SmartFinder In order f or the Smar tFinder to be useful, it must first be aligned with the main telescope, so that both the Smar tFinder and the main telescope are pointing at precisely the same location.
16 OBSER VING Observing By Moving the T elescope Manually If you wish to observe a distant land object, such as a mountain top or a bird, y ou can obser ve by merely pointing the telescope and looking through the e yepiece. 1. Loosen the telescope’ s R.
17 2. V er ify that AutoStar is properly connected to your telescope . See “HOW T O ASSEMBLE Y OUR TELESCOPE,” page 13. 3. Flip the telescope power s witch to the ON position. The A utoStar screen is activated and a cop yright message displays briefly , follo wed by a shor t beep.
Initialization is a procedure that ensures that AutoStar operates correctly . When you first use A utoStar , it doesn't yet know where the obser v ation location site is . During the procedure, you will enter the observation l ocation or zip code .
19 Observe a Star using the Automatic T racking Feature In this e xample, the AutoStar Arro w ke ys are used to find a star , and then AutoStar's tr acking capability automatically keeps the star centered in y our telescope's ey epiece. 1. Make sure that the Dec and R.
20 Ho we ver , when the telescope slews to the first star , it ma y not appear in the field of view in the ey epiece. Use the Smar tFinder ( 17 , Fig. 1 ) and /or the viewfinder ( 1, Fig. 20 ) to locate the star . The alignment star will be easy to recognize—it will be the brightest star in the area of the sky where the telescope is pointing.
21 It is impor tant to understand that menu selections are set in a loop ( Fig. 10 ). This means that pressing the Scroll Down k ey ( 7, Fig. 2 ) cycles down through all the a vailab le options within a giv en categor y , then retur ns to the first option.
22 T o Calculate Sunset time: 1. Press the MODE ke y sev eral times, until “Select Item: Object” is displa yed. 2. Press the Scroll Down k ey once to displa y the “Ev ent” option in the “Select Item” menu. 3. Press the ENTER ke y to choose the "Event" option and mo ve down a le vel.
A UT OST AR’S MENUS 23 T o night's Best H o w Far is Far A Star's Life D o wnloaded T ours U s er-created T ours Solar System M e rcury Etc . M o on A s teroids Comets Constellations A n dromeda Etc . Deep Sky Named Object Galaxies Nebulae M e ssier Etc .
24 MENUS AND MENU OPTIONS Object Menu Almost all obser ving with A utoStar is performed using the Object menu categor y . ( NO TE: Exceptions include Guided T our and Landmar k Sur ve y . ) See “GO TO SA TURN,” page 20, for an e xample of obser ving using the Object menu.
25 Event Menu The Event men u provides access to dates and times of astronomical e vents. The Event database includes: Sunrise and Sunset calculates the time that the Sun rises or sets on the current date. Find rise and set times for other dates b y entering a new date into the “Setup: Date” men u.
26 J Set : Enter the time of day f or the alar m to sound, in hours, minutes, and seconds , then press ENTER. J Start/Stop : Activates the alarm set previously . Use the Scroll k eys to toggle between ON and OFF . When ON is displa yed, press ENTER to activate the alarm.
27 P ark Scope is designed for a telescope that is not mov ed between obser ving sessions. Align the telescope one time , then use this function to park the telescope. Next time it is pow ered up, enter the correct date and time – no alignment is required.
Time Zone Shift Atlantic -4 Hours Easter n -5 Hours Central -6 Hours Mountain -7 Hours P acific -8 Hours Haw aii -10 Hours T able 1: Time Zone Shift. 28 J Re ver se L/R: Re v erses the functions of the Left and Right Arrow ke ys ( i.e . , the Right k ey mov es the telescope to the left) .
29 NO TE: A utoStar compensates f or daylight savings time , if selected. See “ SETUP MENU: D A YLIGHT SA VING, ” page 27. Owner Info accesses the o wner information menu, including: J Name : Users may enter both their first and last names using the Up and Do wn Arrow ke ys to cycle through the alphabet.
30 AD V ANCED A UT OST AR FEA TURES Adding Observing Sites If you plan to observe using A utoStar at different geog raphic locations, y ou can store up to six obser vation sites in A utoStar's memor y to help simplify your telescope setup . P erform these procedures using the Site options (Add, Select, Delete, Edit) of the Setup menu.
31 4. Using the Arrow k eys, change the name of the site so that it no w reads the name of your obser ving location. Press ENTER. "Edit: Name" displays again. 5. Press the Scroll Down k ey and "Edit: Latitude" displa ys. Press ENTER.
32 9. A utoStar then prompts you to enter the magnitude of the object. This step is also optional. Use the Number ke ys to enter this information, if so desired, and press ENTER to go to the ne xt display . "User Object: Add" displa ys again.
33 How to Create Y our Own Guided T our When a Guided T our is selected, AutoStar sle ws your telescope to a predetermined list of objects and displa ys information about each object, such as type of object, constellation location, R.A. and Dec coordinates, and so f or th.
34 Writing a T our Using the list of commands listed abov e, a custom tour can be created. Placing the word A UT O SELECT bef ore any of the command lines activates A utomatic Mode and, when selected, A utoStar automatically searches and finds the designated object.
35 ASTER OID "name" Enter ASTEROID and then the name of the desired asteroid in quotes . A utoStar displays inf or mation about the asteroid from its database. F or e xample: ASTEROID: "Ceres" COMET "name" Enter COMET and then the name of the desired comet in quotes.
36 A UTO SLEW ON / A UTO SLEW OFF With A UTO SLEW ON enab led in the tour , AutoStar automatically sle ws the telescope to objects first bef ore displaying the te xt description. This feature is useful when designing tours in which obser ving cer tain objects is required.
37 2. Displa y the "Landmar k: Select" menu option. Press ENTER. 3. Use the Scroll ke ys to scroll through the list of objects you ha ve pre viously entered. When the desired object displa ys, press ENTER to select the object. Use the Scroll ke ys to scroll through location inf or mation about the object, if desired.
38 T wo-Star Alt/Az Alignment T wo-Star Alignment requires some knowledge of the night sky . A utoStar provides a database of bright stars and two stars from this database are chosen by the observer f or alignment. Note: If you choose “Easy Align, ” Autostar will choose the tw o alignment stars.
39 Photog raph y through the LX90 requires the addition of the optional #62 T–Adapter . See “OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES , ” page 39. With the #62 T -Adapter and a T -mount attached to the telescope ( Fig. 14 ), through-the-telescope photograph y is possible with any 35mm camera body with a remov able lens.
40 Shor ter exposure times is one of the biggest dr awback. Long exposures with digital cameras introduce undesirab le noise and ar tif acts into a digital image.
41 OPTIONAL A CCESSORIES A wide assor tment of professional Meade accessories is av ailable for the LX90 telescope . The premium quality of these accessories is well-suited to the quality of the instrument itself. Consult the Meade General Catalog for complete details on these and other accessories.
42 #62 T -Adapter: The T -Adapter ( Fig. 22 ) is the basic means of pr ime-focus photog raphy through all Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain models . Thread the T -Adapter on to the rear cell of your telescope, f ollowed b y a T -Mount for y our 35mm camera, and the camera body is rigidly coupled to the telescope.
43 MAINTENANCE The LX90 is a precision optical instrument designed to yield a lifetime of re warding applications. Given the care and respect due an y precision instrument, the LX90 will rarely , if ev er , require f actor y ser vicing. Maintenance guidelines include: a.
44 ring of light fills about 10% of the eyepiece field-diameter . If the dark central spot is offset in (i.e., not concentric with) the ring of light, your telescope’ s optical system is misaligned and requires collimation. F ollow these steps for collimation of the optical system: a.
45 Inspecting the Optics A Note About the “Flashlight T est:" If a flashlight or other high-intensity light source is pointed down the main telescope tube , the view (depending upon the observe.
46 LX90 Specifications Optical design ............................................................Schmidt-Cassegrain Clear aper ture ............................................................8" F ocal length ....................................
47 P olar Alignment In P olar Alignment, the telescope is or iented so that the horizontal and vertical axes of the telescope are lined up with the celestial coordinate system. In order to P olar align your telescope, it is essential to ha ve an understanding of how and where to locate celestial objects as they mo ve across the sky .
48 Locating the Celestial P ole T o get basic bear ings at an obser ving location, tak e note of where the Sun rises (East) and sets (W est) each day .
49 Note that the R.A. circle is double-inde xed (i.e ., there are two series of numbers running in opposite directions around the circumf erence of the R.
50 Begin polar aligning the telescope b y locating P olaris. Finding P olar is is simple. Most people recognize the “Big Dipper . ” The Big Dipper has two stars that point the w ay to P olar is ( Fig. 29 ) . Once P olar is is found, it is a straightf orward procedure to obtain a rough polar alignment.
51 1. Obtain a rough polar alignment as described ear lier . Place the illuminated reticle ey epiece (or ey epiece/Bar low combination) into the e yepiece holder of the telescope.
52 NORTH AMERICA City State/Pro v ./Country Latitude Albuquerque New Me xico 35° N Anchorage Alaska 61° N Atlanta Georgia 34° N Boston Massachusetts 42° N Calgary Alber ta 51° N Chicago Illinois .
53 T rain the telescope motors using AutoStar . P erform this procedure if you are e xperiencing any pointing accuracy problems . Fig. 31 depicts the complete Dr ive T raining procedure. NO TE: Use a terrestrial object, such as a telephone pole or lamp post, to train the dr ive .
54 APPENDIX D: CHANGING THE LNT MODULE B A TTER Y The LNT Module uses a lithium coin CR2023 batter y that will last about 5 years and is installed with the or iginal LNT Module assembly . After y ou replace the batter y , you will need to recalibrate the telescope’ s sensors and reset the time and date.
55 In the ear ly 17th centur y Italian Scientist Galileo, using a crude telescope considerab ly smaller than the LX90, turned it to look towards the sky instead of distant trees and mountains. What he sa w , and what he realized about what he saw , fore ver changed the wa y mankind thought of the universe .
56 Planets Planets change positions in the sky as they orbit around the Sun. T o locate the planets on a given da y or month, consult a monthly astronomy magazine, such as Sky and T elescope or Astronom y . Y ou can also consult A utoStar for inf or mation about planets.
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14-0670-01 10/04 MEADE LIMITED W ARRANTY Every Meade telescope, spotting scope, and telescope accessory is warranted b y Meade Instruments Cor poration (“Meade”) to be free of defects in materials and workmanship f or a period of ONE YEAR from the date of or iginal purchase in the U .
An important point after buying a device Meade LX90 (or even before the purchase) is to read its user manual. We should do this for several simple reasons:
If you have not bought Meade LX90 yet, this is a good time to familiarize yourself with the basic data on the product. First of all view first pages of the manual, you can find above. You should find there the most important technical data Meade LX90 - thus you can check whether the hardware meets your expectations. When delving into next pages of the user manual, Meade LX90 you will learn all the available features of the product, as well as information on its operation. The information that you get Meade LX90 will certainly help you make a decision on the purchase.
If you already are a holder of Meade LX90, but have not read the manual yet, you should do it for the reasons described above. You will learn then if you properly used the available features, and whether you have not made any mistakes, which can shorten the lifetime Meade LX90.
However, one of the most important roles played by the user manual is to help in solving problems with Meade LX90. Almost always you will find there Troubleshooting, which are the most frequently occurring failures and malfunctions of the device Meade LX90 along with tips on how to solve them. Even if you fail to solve the problem, the manual will show you a further procedure – contact to the customer service center or the nearest service center
