Slew Limits – Sets the limits in altitude that the telescope can slew without displaying a warning message first. The NexStar hand control will warn you before allowing the telescope tube to slew to an object below the horizon or slew to an object that is high enough that the tube might hit one of the tripod legs. However, the slew limits can be customized depending on your needs. For example, if you would like to slew to an object that is close to the zenith and are certain that the tube will not hit the tripod legs, you can set the slew limits to 90º in altitude. This will allow the telescope to slew to any object above the horizon without warning.
Direction Buttons –The direction a star moves in the eyepiece varies depending on the accessories being used. This can create confusion when guiding on a star using an off-axis guider versus a straight through guide scope. To compensate for this, the direction of the drive control keys can be changed. To reverse the button logic of the hand control, press the MENU button and select Direction Buttons from the Utilities menu. Use the Up/Down arrow keys (10) to select either the Azimuth buttons (left and right) or Altitude buttons (up and down) and press ENTER. Pressing ENTER again will reverse the direction of the hand control buttons from their current state. Direction Buttons will only change the eyepiece rates (rate 1-6) and will not affect the slew rates (rate 7-9).
Light Control – This feature allows you to turn off both the red key pad light and LCD display for daytime use to conserve power and to help preserve your night vision.
Select Model – The first time the NexStar is powered on, the hand control display allows you to select your NexStar from a list of different models. If for some reason the incorrect model was selected or you wish to use your hand control on a different NexStar model, the Select Model utility feature allows you to re-select the proper NexStar model from the displayed list. Once the correct NexStar model has been selected the power needs to be restarted before beginning the alignment procedure. The Select Model feature will return the hand control to its original factory settings. Parameters such as backlash compensation values along with slew and filter limits will be reset. However, stored parameters such as user defined objects will remain saved even after the model has been changed.
