Instruction Manual DS-114AT Reflecting Telescope Meade Instruments Corporation Reflecting Telescopes use a concave primary mirror to collect light and form an image. In the Newtonian type of reflector, light is reflected by a small, flat secondary mirror to the side of the main tube for observation of the image. Light is collected by a concave mirror and brought to a focus at F. Secondary Mirror Concave Mirror F Reflecting Telescope Eyepiece CONTENTS WARNING! Never use a Meade® DS-114AT Telescope to look at the Sun! Looking at or near the Sun will cause instant and irreversible damage to your eye. Eye damage is often painless, so there is no warning to the observer that damage has occurred until it is too late. Do not point the telescope or its viewfinder at or near the Sun. Do not look through the telescope or its viewfinder as it is moving. Children should always have adult supervision while observing. Quick-Start Guide .......................................................... 4 Telescope Features ...................................................... 7 Autostar Features .......................................................... 8 Getting Started ..............................................................10 Packing List ..............................................................10 How to Assemble Your Telescope ............................10 Some Notes About the Dual-Motor System ..............11 The Viewfinder ..........................................................11 Focusing the Viewfinder ......................................11 Aligning the Viewfinder ........................................12 Choosing an Eyepiece ............................................12 The Barlow Lens ......................................................12 Observing ......................................................................13 Observing by Moving the Telescope Manually ........13 Terrestrial Observing ................................................13 Observing Using Autostar's Arrow Keys ..................13 Slew Speeds ............................................................14 Observe the Moon ....................................................14 Astronomical Observing ............................................14 Tracking an Object Automatically..............................14 Alt/Az Home Position ..........................................15 Moving Through Autostar's Menus......................15 Initializing Autostar ..............................................15 Training the Drive ................................................16 Observe a Star Using Automatic Tracking ..........17 Easy (Two-Star) Align ..............................................17 Two-Star Alt/Az Alignment ........................................18 One-Star Alt/Az Alignment ........................................18 Go To Saturn ............................................................19 Take a Guided Tour ..................................................19 Basic Autostar Operation................................................20 Autostar Navigation Exercise ....................................20 Entering Numbers and Text into Autostar ................21 Navigating Autostar ..................................................21 Adjusting the Speed of a Scrolling Message ............21 Menus and Menu Options ..............................................22 Complete Autostar Menu Structure ..........................22 Object Menu..............................................................22 Event Menu ..............................................................23 Glossary Menu ..........................................................24 Utilities Menu ............................................................24 Setup Menu ..............................................................25 Caring for Your Telescope ............................................28 Collimation ................................................................28 Specifications ............................................................30 Optional Accessories ......................................................31 Meade Customer Service ........................................31 Appendix A: Locating the Celestial Pole ........................32 Appendix B: To Find Objects Not in the Database ........33 Appendix C: Observing Satellites ..................................34 Basic Astronomy ............................................................35 CAUTION: Use care to install batteries as indicated by the battery compartment. Follow battery manufacturer's precautions. Do not install batteries backward or mix new and used batteries. Do not mix battery types. If these precautions are not followed, batteries may explode, catch fire, or leak. Improperly installed batteries void your Meade warranty. If you are anxious to use your DS-114AT Telescope for the first time, before a thorough reading of this instruction manual, see the QUICK-START GUIDE on page 4. ® The name "Meade" and the Meade logo are trademarks registered with the U.S. Patent Office and in principal countries throughout the world. All rights reserved. © 2001 Meade Instruments Corporation. 3 QUICK-START GUIDE This Quick Start procedure explains how to set up your DS-114AT for manual viewing. If you wish to make observations using the Autostar handbox, please turn to HOW TO ASSEMBLE YOUR TELESCOPE, page 10 and take the time and care necessary to assemble all the components that are supplied with this telescope. 1. Remove the optical tube and tripod from the giftbox. Perform this setup on a flat, stable surface. It is recommended that you perform this operation in the daytime or in bright light the first time you assemble the telescope. The optical tube assembly is shipped with the cradle rings, yoke mount, and tripod attached. Carefully remove the assembly from the box. Lay the assembly on the floor. 1 2. Remove the optical tube from the mount. The optical tube is shipped oriented the wrong direction in the yoke mount for observing--you must remove the tube from the mount and turn it around 180°. Loosen the cradle ring lock knobs and move the knobs out of the way so that you can open the cradle rings. Once the rings are open, remove the optical tube from the cradle rings. 2 3. Stand the tripod and orient the cradle rings. Stand the tripod on a flat surface and gently pull the legs apart to a fully open position. Turn the cradle rings so that the ring base is horizontal (parallel) to the ground. Tighten the alt lock (A) to a firm feel, so the rings remain in that position. A 3 4 4. Attach and balance the optical tube. Turn the optical tube around and replace it into the cradle rings. Fasten the cradle rings lock knobs so that they only hold the optical tube loosely; do not tighten the lock knobs yet. Note the optical tube's and the yoke's orientation in photo. Slide the tube back and forth until you find a position where the tube remains horizontal (i.e., without tipping up or down). Then tighten the cradle rings lock knobs to a firm feel. 4 5. Insert the eyepiece. Remove the supplied 25mm eyepiece (B) from its container and place it into the eyepiece holder. Tighten the thumbscrews (C) to a firm feel only. Remove the dust cover from the end of optical tube assembly. Use the focus knobs (D) to bring objects into focus. B C D 5 6. Adjust tripod. Adjust the height of the tripod by lifting the clip on each leg and extending the sliding inner section of each tripod leg to the desired length. Then press the clip back against the leg to lock in place. 6 7. Sight along the tube. Sight along the side of the telescope's main tube to locate an object and then observe through the eyepiece. 7 If you wish to attach the viewfinder, see page 10. If you wish to initialize Autostar, see page 15. If you wish to align the telescope, see page 17. If you wish to use Autostar to automatically view objects, see page 19 for some examples. 5 10 9 7 6 5 3 3 4 2 Fig. 1c: Cradle Rings Lock Knobs (on opposite side). 8 1 11 23 22 12 21 13 14 19 18 20 17 15 16 A B C D E F Fig. 1: DS-114AT Series Telescope. Fig. 1b (Inset): Computer Control Panel. (A) LED (B) 12V Port (C) Handbox Port (D) AZ Port (E) ALT Port (F) AUX Port 6 TELESCOPE FEATURES The DS-114AT telescope has a variety of useful features. Be sure to become acquainted with all of these controls before you begin making observations through the telescope. ³ Focus Knobs: Move the telescope's focus drawtube in a finely-controlled motion to achieve precise image focus. Eyepiece Holder: Holds the eyepiece in place. Eyepiece Holder Thumbscrews (2): Tighten the eyepiece in place. Tighten to a firm feel only. Eyepiece: Place one of the supplied eyepieces into the eyepiece holder (2, Fig. 1). Want to learn more about the viewfinder? See pages 10 through 12. Viewfinder: Provides an easier way to initially sight objects than the main telescope eyepiece which has a narrower field of view. Viewfinder Alignment Screws (4): Adjust these screws to align the viewfinder. Viewfinder Alignment Bracket: Attaches the viewfinder to the telescope (11, Fig. 1). Alt Indicator: Displays the angle (in degrees) of the altitude of the optical tube. Cradle Rings (2): Hold optical tube securely in place. ¹ Want to learn more about collimation? See pages 29 and 30. µ ¸ ¹ Cradle Ring Lock Knobs (2): Tighten to a firm feel to hold the optical tube securely in place. Fig. 1c depicts a cradle ring clamped in place by one of the lock knobs and one of the lock knobs hanging loose. Optical Tube: The main optical component that gathers the light from distant objects and brings this light to a focus for observation with the eyepiece. Primary Mirror Cell: Contains the optical tube's primary mirror and 3 screws that are used in a collimation adjustment. Note: Do not remove the piece of felt from the cell. Alt (Vertical) Gear and Motor: Moves the telescope along the vertical axis. Battery Pack: Supplies power to the assembly. Install 10 user-supplied AA batteries. Autostar: Autostar is able to control nearly all the functions of the telescope. Tripod Legs: To use, spread the legs as far as they will open. Adjust the height of the tripod by lifting the clip on each leg and extending the sliding inner section of each tripod leg to the desired length. Then press the clip back against the leg to lock in place. Accessory Tray: Conveniently holds extra eyepieces, Autostar, and other accessories. Az (Horizontal) Gear and Motor: Moves the telescope along the horizontal axis. Az Lock: Controls the manual horizontal movement of the telescope. Turning the Alt lock counterclockwise unlocks the telescope enabling it to be freely moved by hand on the horizontal axis. Turning the Alt lock clockwise (to a firm feel only) prevents the telescope from being moved manually and engages the vertical motor drive clutch for Autostar operation. Computer Control Panel (Fig. 1b) Want to learn more about Autostar's buttons? See pages 8 and 9. Autostar's menus? See pages 22 through 27. A. LED: The red power indicator light illuminates when power (i.e., the battery pack) is supplied to the Autostar handbox and to the telescope's motor drive. B. 12V: Plug the battery pack into this port. C. Handbox (HBX) Port: Plug the #494 Autostar handbox into this port. D. Azimuth (AZ) Port: Plug the Az motor into this port. E. Altitude (ALT) Port: Plug the Alt motor into this port. F. Auxiliary (AUX) Port: Provides connection for Meade accessories. 21 © Yoke Mount: Along with the cradle rings, holds the optical tube assembly (11, Fig. 1). 22 © Alt Lock: Controls the manual vertical movement of the telescope. Turning the Alt lock counterclockwise unlocks the telescope enabling it to be freely tilted by hand on the vertical axis. Turning the Alt lock clockwise (to a firm feel only) prevents the telescope from being moved manually and engages the vertical motor drive clutch for Autostar operation. Dust Cap: Pull to remove the dust cap from the front lens of the telescope. Note: The dust cap should be replaced and the power turned off to the telescope after each observing session. Verify that any dew that might have collected during the observing session has evaporated prior to replacing the dust cap. 23 © 7 AUTOSTAR FEATURES Control of the DS-114AT Series Telescopes is through the operation of the #494 Autostar handbox. Nearly all functions of the telescope can be operated with just a few pushes of Autostar's buttons. Some of the major features of Autostar are: s Automatically move the telescope to any of the 1400 objects stored in the database or manually enter the astronomical coordinates of any celestial object. Take a guided tour of the best celestial objects to view on any given night of the year. Access a glossary of astronomical terms. Calculate which eyepiece to use for optimum viewing of a celestial obje ...