BASIC AUTOSTAR OPERATION
Important Note: Some models are equipped with an Electronic Controller handbox, rather than the Autostar Handbox. The following sections (BASIC
AUTOSTAR OPERATION, AUTOSTAR MENUS, AND USEFUL AUTOSTAR
PROCEDURES), are rele- vant only to models equipped with the Autostar handbox and do not apply to the EC mod- els. For more information about the EC handbox, see APPENDIX D: EC HANDBOX, page 62.
SETUP MENU Easy alignment
permits all telescope operations with only
a quick setup.
Select Item:
Setup
UTILITIES MENU
Calculate eyepiece magnifications; set timer alerts; create your own landmark survey.
Select Item:
Utilities
GLOSSARY
What is an elliptical galaxy? How far away is the Sun? Expand your knowledge of astronomy by displaying terms
and definitions, and other information.
Select Item: |
|
| OBJECT MENU | |
|
| Want to see Mars? The Orion nebula? | ||
| Object |
|
| |
|
|
| The Andromeda galaxy? Select from | |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| over 30,000 database objects and press |
|
|
|
| GO TO to move the telescope |
|
|
|
| automatically to an object. |
|
|
|
| Select Item: |
| MEADE |
|
| Event |
| EVENT MENU | |
The Universe of | Display the time of | |
past, present, and future | ||
Autostar | astronomical events, | |
| such as Moon phases | |
| or meteor showers. | |
| Select Item: | |
| Guided Tour | |
| GUIDED TOUR | |
| Autostar escorts you | |
| on a tour of tonight's | |
Select Item: | best celestial objects | |
at your viewing location. | ||
Glossary | ||
|
Object
Event
Guided Tours
Glossary
Utilities
Setup
Fig. 19: Menus set in a loop.
Setup
Align
Date
Time
Daylight Saving Telescope Targets
etc.
Fig. 20: Menu options dis- play on the second line. Use the Scroll keys to move up or down through the list of options. Press ENTER to select the desired option.
Fig. 18: The Autostar Universe.The six primary categories listed in the Select Item menu of Autostar.
It is important to understand that menu selections are set in a loop (Fig. 19). This means that pressing the Scroll Down key (7, Fig. 2) cycles down through all the available options within a given category, then returns to the first option. The Scroll Up key (7, Fig. 2) cycles up through the options in the opposite order. Note that this capability is a quick way to get to an option that is near the bottom of the list. The following example demonstrates this capability.
Example:
To navigate to the “Select Item: Setup” menu option when the “Select Item: Object” menu is displayed:
1.Press the Scroll Down key five times or the Scroll Up key once.
The screen in Fig. 20 displays two lines of information. The top line shows the current menu level. The second line displays an option which may be selected within that menu level. Some options are choices that select the next menu level down. The Scroll keys move up and down within the list of available options, showing one option at a time.
When the desired option is displayed on the second line, press the ENTER key to choose that option and move down one menu level.
Press the MODE key to leave a level; e.g., the wrong menu option is chosen.
Important Note: No matter how many levels into Autostar are traveled, each press of the MODE key moves up a level, until the top level, "Select Item," is reached. Once in the Select Item level, press MODE to return to the topmost level, "Select Item: Object."
Autostar Navigation Exercise
To demonstrate how the Autostar menu structure works, the following exercise calcu- lates Sunset time so an evening observing session can be planned.
Note: Before proceeding with this exercise, Autostar must be properly ini- tialized and aligned (see pages 19 and 21).
To Calculate Sunset time:
1.Press the MODE key several times, until “Select Item: Object” is displayed.
2.Press the Scroll Down key once to display the “Event” option in the “Select Item” menu.
23
