Instruction Manual Meade 60EQ-A: 2.4" (60mm) Equatorial Refracting Telescope Meade Instruments Corporation 6001 OAK CANYON, IRVINE, CALIFORNIA 92618-5200 U.S.A. (949) 451-1450 s www.meade.com © 2004 20084 04/04 ­2­ WARNING: NEVER USE A MEADE 60MM REFRACTOR 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. Limited Warranty Every Meade telescope, spotting scope, and telescope accessory is warranted by Meade Instruments Corporation ("Meade") to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for a period of ONE YEAR from the date of original purchase in the U.S.A. Meade will repair or replace a product, or part thereof, found by Meade to be defective, provided the defective part is returned to Meade, freight-prepaid, with proof of purchase. This warranty applies to the original purchaser only and is nontransferable. Meade products purchased outside North America are not included in this warranty, but are covered under separate warranties issued by Meade international distributors. RGA Number Required: Prior to the return of any product or part, a Return Goods Authorization (RGA) number must be obtained from Meade by writing, or by calling (949) 451-1450. Each returned part or product must include a written statement detailing the nature of the claimed defect, as well as the owner's name, address, and phone number. This warranty is not valid in cases where the product has been abused or mishandled, where unauthorized repairs have been attempted or performed, or where depreciation of the product is due to normal wear-and-tear. Meade specifically disclaims special, indirect, or consequential damages or lost profit which may result from a breach of this warranty. Any implied warranties which cannot be disclaimed are hereby limited to a term of one year from the date of original retail purchase. This warranty gives you specific rights. You may have other rights which vary from state to state. Meade reserves the right to change product specifications or to discontinue products without notice. This warranty supersedes all previous Meade product warranties. ­3­ TABLE OF CONTENTS Standard Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Unpacking and Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Aligning the Viewfinder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Balancing the Telescope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Understanding Celestial Movements and Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Lining Up With The Celestial Pole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Polar Alignment of the Equatorial Mount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Using the Telescope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Applications of the Telescope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Calculating Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Optional Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 ­4­ 2) 2! 2@ 2# 2$ 2% 2^ 2& 2* 2( 3) 3! bc 1( 1* 1& 1^ 1% 1$ 1# 3# 3@ 1@ 1! 1) j i h g d ef Fig. 1: Meade 60EQ-A 2.4" Equatorial Refracting Telescope Features in Fig. 1: 1. Adjustable sliding inner leg extension 2. Sliding leg extension lock 3. Accessory tray 4. Leg brace 5. Leg brace support 6. Tripod legs 7. Tripod-to-mount attachment point 8. Right ascension control cable 9. Declination control cable 10. Focuser knob 11. Diagonal mirror thumbscrew 12. Diagonal mirror 13. Eyepiece 14. Eyepiece holder and thumbscrew 15. Focuser draw tube 16. Viewfinder collimation screws 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. Viewfinder Viewfinder bracket Main optical tube Object lens cell Dust cap (not visible) Dew shield/lens shade Optical tube saddle plate Declination lock Declination setting circle Right ascension lock Right ascension setting circle Counterweight Counterweight lock Counterweight shaft Counterweight safety washer Azimuth adjustment lock Latitude adjustment lock ­5­ 3( 2$ 2% 3% Fig. 2: Close up of the mount. Features in Fig. 2: 24. 25. 26. 34. 35. 39. 40. 4) 3^ 1* 2^ 3$ Fig. 3: Attaching the accessory tray. Feature in Fig. 3: 36. Mounting bolt hole 1^ 3& Fig. 4: Attaching the viewfinder. Features in Fig. 4: 16. Viewfinder collimation screws 37. Viewfinder bracket mounting thumbscrews Declination lock Declination setting circle Right ascension lock Right Ascension setting circle Latitude circle Declination axis Polar axis e 4! 3* Feature in Fig. 5: 38. Optical tube attachment thumbscrews 3* Features in Fig. 6: f Fig. 6: Attaching a leg brace to a leg brace support. 4. Leg brace 5. Leg brace support g Features in Fig. 7: 4@ Fig. 5: Attaching the Optical Tube. Underside view of the optical tube saddle plate. Fig. 7: Attaching tripod legs to telescope mount. 6. Tripod leg 41. Telescope mount 42. Wingnut and bolt STANDARD EQUIPMENT · · · · · · · · · · Complete optical tube assembly (objective lens diameter = 60mm; focal length = 900mm) Full-length, fully adjustable, aluminum tripod and accessory tray, with slots for extra eyepieces and other accessories MA 25mm (36X) eyepiece (1.25" O.D., "Outside Diameter"), MH 9mm (75X) eyepiece (1.25" O.D.) 2x Barlow lens Diagonal mirror (1.25" O.D.) 5x24mm viewfinder with bracket Complete equatorial mount with counterweight assembly Flexible control cables on both axes Hardware package: A. 3 bolts (2.5" long) with wing nuts and washers B. 3 screws (1/2" long) with wing nuts and screwdriver tool Astronomy software (separate instructions supplied in software package) ­6­ INTRODUCTION This manual details the set-up, operation, specifications and optional accessories of the Meade 60EQ-A 2.4" (60mm) Equatorial Refracting Telescope. UNPACKING AND ASSEMBLY 1. Remove and identify the telescope's components, using the listing above. 2. Attach the 3 aluminum tripod legs (6, Fig. 1) to the base of the altazimuth mount (7, Fig. 1) with the 3 leg braces supports (5, Fig. 1) facing inward. Three bolts each about 2.5"" long, with washers and wing nuts (42, Fig. 7), are provided for this purpose in a hardware package. Stand the telescope upright, spreading the tripod legs evenly apart so that the accessory tray can be positioned to attach to the 3 leg braces. 3. Use the provided 3 short screws, washers and bolts to attach the accessory tray (3, Fig. 1) to the tripod. Line up one of the leg braces (4, Fig. 1) between the opening of one of the tripod leg brace supports (5, Fig. 1) on the tripod so that one of the short screws will be able to pass through the holes of the leg brace support and the leg brace. Using a Phillips-head screwdriver, thread one of the short screws through the hole. Place a washer on the other end, followed by the matching nut. Tighten to a firm feel. Repeat this procedure until all 3 leg braces are mounted on the 3 leg brace supports. See Fig. 6. 4. To attach the accessory tray (3, Fig. 1) to the leg braces (4, Fig. 1), place the round accessory tray over the over mounting bolt hole (36, Fig. 3). Threading the attachment knob into the the mounting hole on top of the tray and turning the knob clockwise. Tighten to a firm feel, but do not overtighten--you will need to remove the tray if you wish to collapse the tripod. To remove the tray, just rotate the knob counterclockwise and remove the knob. You can then lift and remove the tray. 5. Extend the sliding center portion of the adjustable height tripod leg (1, Fig. 1) to the desired length for all 3 legs. Lock the tripod legs by tightening the leg lock thumbscrew (2, Fig. 1) to a firm feel. 6. Holding the counterweight (28, Fig. 1) firmly in one hand, slip the counterweight onto the counterweight shaft (30, Fig. 1). Attach the counterweight and counterweight shaft, by supporting the unlocked counterweight firmly in one hand while threading the counterweight shaft into the base of the Declination axis of the telescope's equatorial mount (see position in Fig. 1). Once firmly attached, slide the counterweight about 2 inches from the bottom of the counterweight shaft and secure it in place with the counterweight lock (29, Fig. 1) of the counterweight. Note: If the counterweight ever slips, the secured threaded safety washer/screw (31, Fig. 1) will not let the weight slide entirely off the counterweight shaft. Be certain that this safety washer/screw is always in place. 7. Attach the flexible cables (8, Fig. 1) and (9, Fig. 1), as shown. These cables are secured in place with a firm tightening of the thumbscrews located at the attachment ends of each cable. 8. Tilt the polar axis (40, Fig. 2) of the telescope to roughly a 45° angle with the horizon. This tilt is accomplished by first loosening the latitude adjustment lock (33, Fig. 1), adjusting the mount and firmly re-tightening the latitude control lock. 9. Remove the optical tube attachment thumbscrews (34, Fig. 3) from the optical tube mounting bolts that are on the underside of the main optical tube (19, Fig. 1). Then lay the telescope optical tube assembly onto the saddle plate (23, Fig. 1) passing the mounting bolts through the holes in the saddle of the mount. Re-attach the attachment thumbscrews to the mounting bolts, and tighten to a firm feel. See Fig. 5. Be sure the focuser portion of the optical tube is on the same side of the saddle as the Declination control cable (9, Fig. 1). 10. Attach the viewfinder bracket (18, Fig. 1) to the telescope using the 2 thumbscrews provided (37, Fig. 4). The bracket fits over the two small bolts near the focus knob (10, Fig. 1). Thread the thumbscrews over the bolts and tighten to a firm feel. Slide the Viewfinder tube into the bracket and loosely tighten the tube. See "Aligning the Viewfinder" below. 11. Insert the diagonal mirror (12, Fig. 1) into the focuser drawtube (15, Fig. 1) and the 25mm eyepiece (13, Fig. 1) into the diagonal mirror. Secure each in place with a moderate tightening of the respective thumbscrews. The telescope is now completely assembled. Before it can be affectively used, however, the viewfinder (17, Fig. 1) must be aligned with the main telescope. ­7­ ALIGNING THE VIEWFINDER The wide field of view provided by the 5 x 24mm viewfinder (17, Fig. 1) permits easy object sighting prior to observation in the higher-power main telescope. To align the viewfinder, follow this procedure: 1. First remove the dust cap (21, Fig. 1, not visible in photo) from the dew shield/lens shade (22, Fig. 1). Then using the lowest power (25mm) eyepiece, point the main telescope at some well defined land target (e.g. the top of a telephone pole) at least 200 yards distant. 2. Look through the viewfinder and tighten or loosen, as appropriate, the viewfinder's 6 collimation screws (16, Fig. 1 and Fig. 4), until the cross hairs of the viewfinder are precisely centered on the same object already centered in the main instrument's field of view. Hint: Center the front of the viewfinder in the bracket using the 3 front ring thumbscrews, then make final object centering adjustments with the 3 back ring thumbscrews. 3. With this alignment accomplished, objects located first in the wide-field viewfinder will then be centered in the main telescope's field of view. Focusing of objects in the viewfinder is accomplished by turning the threaded eyepiece of the viewfinder. (Note: The viewfinder presents an image which is upside-down; this is customary in all astronomical viewfinders). BALANCING THE TELESCOPE In order for the telescope to move smoothly on its mechanical axes, it must first be balanced as follows: Note: If the counterweight is positioned as recommended on the previous page--the telescope is already approximately balanced. 1. Loosen the Right Ascension lock (26, Fig. 1). With the R.A. lock loosened, the telescope mount will turn freely about the polar axis. Rotate the telescope about the polar axis so that the counterweight shaft (30, Fig. 1) is parallel ...