CARING FOR YOUR TELESCOPE
Your
a.Avoid cleaning the telescope’s optics: a little dust on the front surface of the telescope’s correcting lens causes virtually no degradation of image quality and should not be consid- ered reason to clean the lens.
b.When absolutely necessary, dust on the front lens should be removed with gentle strokes of a camel hair brush or blown off with an ear syringe (available at any pharmacy). DO NOT use a commercial photographic lens cleaner.
c.Organic materials (e.g., fingerprints) on the front lens may be removed with a solution of 3 parts distilled water to 1 part isopropyl alcohol. You may also add 1 drop of biodegrad- able dishwashing soap per pint of solution. Use soft, white facial tissues and make short, gentle strokes. Change tissues often.
CAUTION: Do not use scented or lotioned tissues or damage could result to the optics.
d.If used outdoors on a humid night, water condensation on the telescope surfaces will prob- ably result. While such condensation does not normally cause any damage to the tele- scope, it is recommended that the entire telescope be wiped down with a dry cloth before the telescope is packed away. Do not, however, wipe any of the optical surfaces. Rather, simply allow the telescope to sit for some time in the warm indoor air, so that the wet opti- cal surfaces can dry unattended.
e.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 the telescope. Batteries left in the telescope for prolonged periods may leak, causing damage to the telescope’s electronic circuitry.
f.Do not leave the telescope inside a sealed car on a warm summer day; excessive ambi- ent temperatures can damage the telescope’s internal lubrication and electronic circuitry.
Collimation
The optical systems of Meade
1.Confirm alignment - To confirm optical alignment look down the focuser drawtube (1, Fig. 26) with the eyepiece removed. The edge of the focuser drawtube frames reflections of the primary mirror (2, Fig. 26), the secondary mirror (3, Fig. 26), the three (“spider”) vanes (4, Fig. 26) holding the secondary mirror, and the observer’s eye (5, Fig. 26). With the optics properly aligned, all of these reflections appear concentric (centered), as shown in Fig. 26. Any deviation from concentricity of any of these telescope parts with the eye requires adjustments to the secondary
2.Secondary
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