Meade LXD55 instruction manual Appendix D EC Handbox

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Important Note: The Electronic Controllers available for Meade's ETX and DS telescope series are not compatible and will not operate with the LXD55 EC series models. Do not plug in other tele- scope series' EC hand- boxes into the LXD55 computer control panel, nor plug the LXD55 EC series handboxes into any other telescope series computer control panel.

Light No.

Light Status

Light 1

On

 

Light 2

Blinking

 

Light 3

Off

 

Light 4

 

Fig 44: 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

Fast

Medium

Moderate

Slow

Fig. 43: Electronic Controller. (1) Arrow Keys; (2) Indicator

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

Key; (7) IN Key.

The model SN-6EC, model SN-8EC, and model AR-5ECcome 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 com- pact handbox. The Electronic Controller (Fig. 3) 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 - 40 and 44 - 49. LATITUDE CHARTS, page 54, and BASIC ASTRONOMY, pages 61 - 62, 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. 43 above.

Arrow 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.

Indicator 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.

SPEED 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 slower 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 sig- nified by the indicator lights (2, Fig. 43).

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

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Contents Meade Instruments Corporation Page Contents 1 1% g f e Telescope Features$2% LXD55-SeriesYour Personal Window to the Universe Computer Control Panel see e LXD55 Tips Features Autostar FeaturesTour the Cosmos with Just the Push of a Button Tip Getting Started How to Assemble Your TelescopeTelescope Assembly AccessoriesViewfinder assembly Schmidt-Newtonian models Insert eyepiece into holder and tighten thumbscrews Balancing the TelescopeChoosing an Eyepiece Aligning the ViewfinderObserving by Moving the Telescope Manually Too Much Power?Slew Speeds Autostar Models Only Activate the Arrow Keys Autostar Models Only16b Setting the Polar Home PositionObserve the Moon Tracking ObjectsUsing Autostars GO to Capabilities Autostar Models Only Observe a Star using the Automatic Tracking FeatureInitializing Autostar Autostar Models Only Moving Through Autostar’s Menus Autostar Models OnlyTraining the Drive Autostar Models Only Go To Saturn Autostar Models Only Easy Alignment Autostar Models OnlyPlanet Saturn is over 800 million miles from the Earth Using the Guided Tour Autostar Models OnlyTo Calculate Sunset time Autostar Navigation ExerciseNavigating Autostar Entering Data into AutostarSelect Item Object Autostars MenusObject Menu MenusLXD55-Series Event MenuGlossary Menu Utilities MenuEnter Setup MenuObserving Considerations Setup Menu Daylight SAVING, Surf the Web To Add a Site to the user-defined site list Adding Observing SitesTo Edit a Site To GO to a user-entered object Using Autostar to Find Objects Not in the LibrariesLandmarks Observing SatellitesTo Add a landmark to the database To Select a landmark from the database To Check on the Available MemoryTo perform a Landmark Survey Few tips on photography with the LXD55-Seriestelescopes Photography10 f/4 Optional AccessoriesSeries 4000 Photo-Visual Page General Maintenance MaintenanceD e f g Page Defocused star images. Misaligned 1, 2, Aligned Inspecting the Optics Meade Customer Service5 Model SN-6, SN-6EC Specifications Specifications4 Model SN-8, SN-8EC Specifications 9.3 Model AR-5, AR-5EC Specifications 10 f/4 Model SN-10 Specifications8 Model AR-6 Specifications Autostar Specifications 10 Model SC-8 SpecificationsAutostar Dimensions Appendix a Celestial Coordinates Setting CirclesTwo-Star Polar Alignment Locating the Celestial PoleOne- and Two-Star Polar Alignment One-Star Polar AlignmentMethod 1 Manual Alignment Axis Alignment ProcedureProcedure #1 To correct for attitude misalignment Polar Alignment ViewfinderPosition a Procedure #2 To correct for elevation misalignmentTips Star ChartsMethod 2 Axis Alignment Using Autostar City Country Latitude Appendix C Latitude ChartLatitude Chart for Major Cities of the World City State/Prov./Country LatitudeAppendix D EC Handbox Modes of Operation To move the telescope using the Electronic ControllerSlew Speeds Tracking Rates Optional Autostar Computer Controller for LXD55 EC Users Changing the Polar ModeMounting the SC bracket and optical tube to the mount How to Attach the Optical Tube to the MountMoon Appendix F Basic AstronomyAutostar Glossary Objects in SpaceDeep-Sky Objects PlanetsFurther Study Page Meade Instruments Corporation
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