- 3 -
Captions for Fig. 1
1.Focuser assembly
2.Eyepiece
3.Viewfinder bracket
4.Viewfinder
5.Optical tube assembly
6.Mirror cell
7.Side board
8.Ground plate
9.Base plate
10.Front board
11.Altitude bearing
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© 1999 Meade Instruments Corporation
Contents
6", 8" 10", and 12.5 Starfinder
Dobsonian Telescopes
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Parts Listing and Assembly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Assembling the Mount. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Optical Tube Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Attaching the Focuser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Attaching the Viewfinder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Installing the Primary Mirror. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Balancing the Telescope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 The Viewfinder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Aligning the Viewfinder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Using the Viewfinder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Collimation of the Optical System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Correct Collimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Spider Vane Adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Secondary Mirror Adjustments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Primary Mirror Adjustments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Star Testing the Collimation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Tips on Using a Dobsonian Telescope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Magnification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Seeing Conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Observing Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Care of Optics and Main Tube. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Optional Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Meade Customer Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Specifications and Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11