Meade DS-2090AT-TC, DS-2102AT-TC Using AutoStar to Find Objects Not in the Database

Time Zone	Shift
Atlantic	-4 Hours
Eastern	-5 Hours
Central	-6 Hours
Mountain	-7 Hours
Pacific	-8 Hours
Hawaii	-10 Hours

Table 1: Time Zone Shift.

NQuiet Slew: Sets the maximum slew rate to 1.5° for quieter operation.

NMax Elevation: Allows you to enter a value in degrees that sets a limit as to how far the optical tube can swing upward during a programmed slew. (Note that it does not prevent

you from performing a manual slew past this limit.) This is useful when you have a camera or other peripheral attached to the telescope—you can prevent it from striking the telescope base.

NMin AOS (Acquisition of Signal): Allows you enter a value in degrees. This value repre-

sents the altitude at which your telescope begins to slew when acquiring a satellite track. This is useful when you are observing satellites, but a tall tree or building is obstructing the telescope. For example, you might begin to track the satellite at 15° altitude, instead of 5°.

NCalibrate Motor: If the telescope motors appear to have a problem, use this option to retest the motors before performing a Reset. This option is also used if an AutoStar unit is moved between telescopes, to match AutoStar to the new telescope. To calibrate the motors, select this option and press ENTER.

NHigh Precision: If High Precision is turned on, when looking for a faint celestial object (i.e., a nebula or galaxy), AutoStar first slews to a nearby bright star and displays "ENTER to Sync." Center the star in the eyepiece, then press ENTER. At that point the telescope has a high precision alignment to that part of the sky and it then slews to the object that was originally requested.

Targets switches between Astronomical targets and Terrestrial targets. If "Astronomical" is selected, the telescope tracking motor is activated and any object you observe will remain cen- tered in the eyepiece. If "Terrestrial" is selected, the tracking motor is turned off.

Site provides access to several options including:

NSelect: Displays the currently selected observing site. Use the Scroll keys to cycle through all available sites (see ADD below). Press ENTER when the site you wish to select displays. Use this option when you move to a different geographic location.

NAdd: Allows you to add new observing sites to the database (up to six sites may be stored). Scroll through the list of Countries/States. Press ENTER when the site you wish to add dis- plays. Then choose the desired city in the same manner.

NDelete: Deletes a stored site from the database.

NEdit: Edits a selected site, including: the name, latitude, longitude, and time zone. Time Zone refers to the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) time zone shift. Users West of Greenwich, England use “-” hours, East of Greenwich use “+” hours. For the United States, look up the time zone shift in Table 1.

Download transfers information from a personal computer or another AutoStar. During the operation, the warning “Downloading Do Not Turn Off” appears.

NOTE: The Download function requires the optional #505 Astrofinder Software and Cable Connector Kit. See the instruction sheet included with the kit for more infor- mation on how to download. See the Meade General Catalog or go to www.meade.com for more information.

Statistics provides basic statistical data about AutoStar, including:

NCharacters Free: Shows how much room is available in user-defined object memory.

NVersion: Shows the current version of the AutoStar software.

Reset completely resets AutoStar. Most values entered into the menus revert to factory defaults. AutoStar requires initialization again after a Reset before proceeding with observations.

Using AutoStar to Find Objects Not in the Database

Although AutoStar contains a database of more than 30,000 celestial objects (stars, nebulae, planets, etc.) that you can observe, you may eventually want to view objects that are not part of the database. AutoStar provides a feature that allows you to enter an object's R.A (Right Ascension) and Dec. (Declination) coordinates in the "User: Objects" option of the Object menu

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