6.Maintenance and Servicing
6.1. Maintenance
The SmartStar® N114 telescope is a precision optical instrument designed to yield a lifetime of rewarding applications. Given the care and respect due any precision instrument, your telescope will rarely require factory servicing or maintenance. Maintenance guidelines include:
1.Using wet cloth to clean the mount and hand controller. Do not use the solvent.
2.Leave the dust cap on while not operating the telescope. As with any quality instrument, lens or mirror surfaces should be cleaned as infrequently as possible. Front surface aluminized mirrors, in particular, should be cleaned only when absolutely necessary. In all cases avoid touching any mirror surface. A little dust on the surface of a mirror or lens causes negligible loss of performance and should not be considered reason to clean the surface. When lens or mirror cleaning does become necessary, use a camel’s hair brush or compressed air gently to remove dust.
3.If your telescope is used outdoors on a humid night, telescope surfaces may accumulate water condensation. While such condensation does not normally cause any damage to the telescope, it is recommended that wait the entire telescope be dried before being packed away. Do not wipe any of the optical surfaces. In addition, the dust cap should not be placed back on to the optical tube until the telescope is thoroughly dry.
4.If your telescope is not to be used for an extended period, perhaps for one month or more, it is advisable to remove the batteries from battery holder, if they are installed. Batteries left installed for prolonged periods may leak, causing
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damage to the telescope’s electronic circuitry.
5.Do not leave your telescope outdoors on a warm day or inside a sealed car for an extended period of time. Excessive ambient temperatures can damage the telescope’s internal lubrication and electronic circuitry.
6.2. Storage and Transport
When not in use, store the telescope in a cool, dry place. Do not expose the instrument to excessive heat or moisture. It is best to store the telescope in its original box with the altitude lock knob unlocked. If shipping the telescope, use the original box and packing material to protect the telescope during shipment.
When transporting the telescope, take care not to bump or drop the instrument; this type of abuse can damage the optics or affect the GOTO tracking accuracy.
6.3. Troubleshooting
The following suggestions may be helpful with operation of the SmartStar N114.
The power indicator light on the mount does not come on or there is no response when pressing hand controller’s arrow keys:
(1)Verify that the power switch on the mount is in the ON position.
(2)Verify that the hand controller cord is firmly connected to the HBX port on the mount, or switch the cord to the other HBX port.
(3)Check the power source, which include:
•Using the battery? Are the batteries installed correctly? Are the batteries fresh? How long have they been used? (frequent slew and GOTO will deplete battery power very quickly)
