iOptron MiniTower Pro Set Up Time Zone, Press ENTER. Scroll down and select Set up site

longitude and latitude information from satellites after the link is established. However, manual input is still needed for time zone and Daylight Saving setting.

A clear sky outside is needed for GPS to communicate well with the satellites.

5.2.1. Set Up Time Zone

Press MENU button, from the main menu, scroll down and select “Set up controller”

Select and slew

Sync. to target

Electronic focuser

Set up controller

Align

PEC option

Set up Tracking

User objects

Press ENTER. Scroll down and select “Set up site”

Set up Local Time

Set up site

Set N/S hemisphere

Set display contrast

Set Eyepiece light

Set Backlight

Set anti-backlash

Set Key Beep

Press ENTER. The longitude and latitude coordinates will be updated when the GPS picks up satellite signals. “W/E” means west/east hemisphere; “N/S” means north/south hemisphere; “d” means degree; “m” means minute; and “s” means second.

Set up site info:

Longitude:

W071d27m47s

Latitude:
N42d15m40s		UT
300 Min.	behind

If for any reason your GPS can’t pick up a signal you can manually enter the GPS coordinates. Press ◄ or ► key to move the

cursor and using ▲ or ▼ key to toggle between “W” and “E”, “N” and “S”, using number key to change the numbers. It is always a good idea to do your home work to get the GPS coordinates before traveling to a new observation site.

The site coordinates information can be found from internet, such as GPSVisualizer (http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/geocode), by entering the city name or address. In case you only find the site information in decimal format you can convert them into d:m:s format by multiplying the decimal numbers by 60. For example, N47.53 can be changed to N47º31'48”: 47.53º = 47º

+0.53º,0.53º=0.53x60'=31.8',

0.8'=0.8x60"=48".Therefore, 47.53º=47º31'48" or 47d31m48s. Same as N47º31.8’: 31.8’=31’+0.8’, 0.8’=0.8x60”=48”.

Press ◄ or ► key, move the cursor to the bottom of the screen to set the time zone information (add or subtract 60 minutes per time zone). Enter minutes “ahead of” or “behind” UT (universal time).

•New York City is 300 minutes “behind”

UT

•Los Angeles is 480 minutes “behind” UT

•Rome is 60 minutes “ahead of” UT

•Beijing is 480 minutes “ahead of” UT

•Sydney is 600 minutes “ahead of” UT

All the time zones in North America are behind UT, as shown in the following table. So make sure it shows “behind” instead of “ahead of” UT.

Time Zone	Hours behind	Enter Minutes
Hawaii	-10	600
Alaska	-9	540
Pacific	-8	480
Mountain	-7	420
Central	-6	360
Eastern	-5	300

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