Meade LXD 75 instruction manual Appendix D EC Handbox

Important Note:

The Electronic Controllers available for Meade's ETX and DS telescope series are not compatible and will not operate with the LXD75 EC series models. Do not plug in other telescope series' EC handboxes into the LXD75 computer control panel, nor plug the LXD75 EC series handboxes into any other telescope series computer control panel.

Fig 50: Indicator Light Key. The procedures in this manu- al identify the status of the four indicator lights as depict- ed above: on, blinking, or off.

APPENDIX D: EC HANDBOX

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Fig. 49: Electronic Controller. (1) Arrow Keys; (2) Indicator

Lights; (3) SPEED Key; (4) Coil Cord; (5) MODE Key; (6) OUT

Key; (7) IN Key.

Some LXD75 models (designated with an “EC,” for example, AR-5EC) come equipped with an Electronic Controller (EC) handbox, rather than the Autostar Handbox. The Electronic Controller provides you with the means to control the telescope motors from a compact handbox. The Electronic Controller (Fig. 49) has soft-touch keys designed to have a positive feel, even through gloves.

The primary functions of the Electronic Controller are to move (slew) the telescope to an object, to set operation for the Northern or Southern Hemispheres, and to indicate the slew speed.

Users of the EC models should follow the procedures described in GETTING STARTED, BALANCING THE TELESCOPE, ALIGNING THE VIEWFINDER, CHOOSING AN EYEPIECE, and OBSERVING BY MOVING THE TELESCOPE MANUALLY, pages 11 - 16. Other sec- tions relevant to EC users include: OBSERVE THE MOON and SETTING POLAR HOME POSITION, page 17, and PHOTOGRAPHY, OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES, GENERAL

MAINTENANCE, SPECIFICATIONS, and CELESTIAL COORDINATES, pages 36 - 39 and 46 - 51. LATITUDE CHARTS, page 57, and BASIC ASTRONOMY, pages 63 - 64, may also be useful. Note that SLEW SPEEDS, page 16, refers to Autostar functions only. Slew speed functions of the Electronic Controller are covered in this appendix.

The following numbers refer to Fig. 49 above.

1Arrow Keys: Press one of the four Arrow keys to slew the telescope (i.e., up, down, left, and right) at any one of four slew speeds (see SPEED KEY below).

Important Note: If you reverse directions while using the Arrow keys to slew to objects, there may be a slight pause as the telescope motors com- pensate for the reversal of the internal gears.

2Indicator Lights: The four red LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights indicate the cur- rent slew speed of the telescope.

Note: For purposes of this manual, the lights are identified as 1 through 4, with 1 being the top light and 4 being the bottom light.

3SPEED Key: Press SPEED to change the speed at which the telescope slews to an object. Each press of the SPEED key changes the slew speed to the next slow- er setting. If the controller is already on the slowest slew speed (light 4), pressing SPEED cycles back to the highest speed (light 1). Slew speeds are signified by the indicator lights (2, Fig. 49).

4Coil Cord: Plug into the HBX connector of the Computer Control Panel.