Meade NGC-Series, NG-Series Maintenance and Servicing, General Maintenance, Storage and Transport

Horizontal adjustment nut

Fig. 13: Horizontal adjustment nut. (View of the underside of the base.)

Vertical adjustment nut

Fig. 14: Vertical adjustment nut. (Bracket shown with optical tube removed.)

MAINTENANCE AND SERVICING

General Maintenance

Your telescope is a precision optical instrument designed to yield a lifetime of reward- ing applications. Given the care and respect due any precision instrument, your tele- scope will rarely require factory servicing or maintenance. Maintenance guidelines include:

1.Avoid cleaning the telescope’s optics. A little dust on the front surface of the tele- scope’s lens causes virtually no degradation of image quality and should not be considered reason to clean the lens.

2.When absolutely necessary, dust on the front lens should be removed with gen- tle 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.

3.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. A single drop of biodegradable dishwashing soap may be added per pint of solution. Use soft, white facial tissues and make short, gentle strokes. Change tissues often.

CAUTION: Do not use scented, colored or lotioned tissues as damage could result to the optics.

4.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 the entire telescope be wiped down with a dry cloth before being packed away. Do not, however, wipe any of the optical surfaces. Rather, simply allow the telescope to sit for some time in warm indoor air, so that the wet optical surfaces can dry unattended. In addi- tion, the dust cap should not be placed back on to the optical tube until the tele- scope is thoroughly dry.

5If your telescope is not to be used for an extended period, perhaps for one month or more, it is advisable to remove the 9v battery from inside the base. Batteries left installed for prolonged periods may leak, causing damage to the telescope’s electronic circuitry.

6.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.

Adjusting the Horizontal and Vertical Tension of the Optical Tube

If the horizontal and/or vertical movement of the optical tube seems to be too loose or too tight, you can adjust the amount of tension in the movement of the optical tube to suit your own preference. To adjust the horizontal tension of the optical tube, use an adjustable wrench or nut driver to tighten or loosen the horizontal adjustment nut located under the base of the telescope. See Fig. 13.

To adjust the vertical tension of the optical tube, first loosen the attachment knobs (5, Fig. 1) and remove the optical tube from the bracket (3, Fig. 1). Use an adjustable wrench or nut driver to tighten or loosen the vertical adjustment nut located on the inner side of the bracket. See Fig. 14. Check the amount of tension by moving the bracket up and down before reattaching the optical tube.

Storage and Transport

When not in use, store the telescope in a cool, dry place. Do not expose the instru- ment to excessive heat or moisture. It is best to store the telescope in its original box. If shipping the telescope, use the original box and packing material to protect the tel- escope during shipment.

When transporting the telescope, take care not to bump or drop the instrument; this type of abuse can damage the optical tube and/or the objective lens.

Troubleshooting

Unable to see an image through the eyepiece:

•Confirm that the dust cap has been removed from the telescope.

Images through the eyepiece appear unfocused or distorted:

•The magnification used may be too high for the seeing conditions. Back off to a lower power eyepiece. See TOO MUCH POWER? page 10.

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