Toc a. Attaching the Viewfinder | Meade LX200 instruction

Meade Instruments Corporation - Meade LX200 Instruction Manuals

[ toc ] 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. 3).

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.

[ toc ] 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. 3).

2.While looking at a star, rotate the Dew Shield (1, Fig. 3) until the star is in focus. (This refocuses the objective lens.) CAUTION! Take care when rotating counter clockwise. 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.

[ toc ] 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. 3) 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.

[ toc ] 3. Attaching the Eyepiece Holder and Diagonal Prism, or Diagonal Mirror

The eyepiece holder (6, Fig. 3) threads directly onto the rear-cell thread of the 7", 8" and 10" telescopes. The diagonal prism (13, Fig. 3) 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 prism or mirror generally provides a more comfortable right- angle viewing position. Alternately, in the 7", 8" 10", and 12" telescopes, an eyepiece may be inserted

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