Meade LXD55 instruction manual Contents

WARNING!

Never use a Meade® LXD55-SeriesTelescope to look at the Sun! Looking at or near the Sun will cause instant and irre- versible 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.

CAUTION: Use care to install batteries in the orientation indicated by the illustration in the battery slots of the battery holder. Follow battery manufacturer's precautions. Do not install batteries backwards or mix new and used batteries. Do not mix battery types. If these precautions are not followed, batteries may explode, catch fire, or leak. Improperly installed batteries void your Meade warranty.

®The name "Meade" and the Meade logo are trademarks registered with the U.S. Patent Office and in principal coun- tries throughout the world. "LXD55" and "Autostar" are trademarks of Meade Instruments Corporation.

"Easy Align" U.S. patent 6,392,799 and other patents pend- ing.

Intelligent Network Architecture to Facilitate Parallel Task Management U.S. patent 6,304,376

© 2003 Meade Instruments Corporation.

CONTENTS
Telescope Features	4
Autostar Features	9
Getting Started	11
Unpacking and Assembly	11
How to Assemble Your Telescope	11
Balancing the Telescope	13
Aligning the Viewfinder	14
Choosing an Eyepiece	14
Observing By Moving the Telescope Manually	15
Activate the Arrow Keys	16
Slew Speeds	16
Observe the Moon	17
Tracking Objects	17
Setting the Polar Home Position	17
Observe a Star Using Automatic Tracking	18
Using Autostar's GO TO Capabilities	18
Moving Through Autostar’s Menus	19
Initializing Autostar	19
Training the Drive	20
Easy Alignment	21
Go To Saturn	21
Using the Guided Tour	22
Basic Autostar Operation	23
Autostar Navigation Exercise	23
Entering Data into Autostar	24
Navigating Autostar	24
Autostar's Menus	25
Object Menu	26
Event Menu	27
Glossary Menu	27
Utilities Menu	27
Setup Menu	28
Useful Autostar Features	32
Adding Observing Sites	32
Using Autostar to Find Objects Not in the Libraries....	33
Observing Satellites	34
Landmarks	34
To Check on Available Memory	35
Photography	36
Optional Accessories	37
Maintenance	39
Specifications	45
Appendix A: Celestial Coordinates	48
Setting Circles	48
Locating the Celestial Pole	49
One- And Two-Star Polar Alignment	49
Appendix B: Enhancing Pointing Precision	50
The Polar Alignment Viewfinder	50
Axis Alignment Method 1	50
Axis Alignment Method 2	53
Appendix C: Latitude Chart	54
Appendix D: EC Handbox	55
Appendix E: Mounting the Model SC-8 Optical Tube ....	59
Appendix F: Basic Astronomy	60