Celestron CGEM II 700 Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope CGEM II EQ Mount Manual 5l - Page 18

View Time-Site Menu This menu displays the current time and longitude/latitude downloaded from the optional SkySync GPS receiver. It will also display other relevant time-site information like time zone, daylight saving and local sidereal time. Local sidereal time (LST) is useful for knowing the right ascension of celestial objects that are located on the Meridian at that time. View Time-Site will always display the last saved time and location entered while it is linking with the GPS. Once current information has been received, it will update the displayed information. If GPS is switched off or not present, the hand control will only display the last saved time and location. The Hand Control Menu The "Hand Control" menu allows you to customize certain features of the NexStar+ hand control. To access this menu, press the MENU button (#7 on the keypad) and use the scroll buttons to select "Hand Control" and press ENTER. Use the scroll buttons to select from the following options: • Lights Control: Independently adjust the brightness of the number keypad and the LCD. • Scrolling Menu: Adjust how fast words move across the face of the LCD. • Toggle Bold Font: Change the format of the font displayed on the LCD from normal to boldface. • S et Contrast: Use the scroll keys to adjust the contrast of the LCD. • S et Language: Change the displayed language on the LCD. Note: The Set Language feature may also appear the first time you use your new hand control. You may also initiate it at any time by holding down the Option button (the Celestron logo) for 10 seconds while powering up the telescope. Scope Setup Menu Setup Time-Site - Allows the user to customize the telescope's display by changing time and location parameters (such as time zone and daylight savings). Anti-backlash - All mechanical gears have a certain amount of backlash or play between the gears. This play is evident by how long it takes for a star to move in the eyepiece when the hand control arrow buttons are pressed (especially when changing directions). The CGEM II anti-backlash feature allows the user to compensate for backlash by inputting a value which quickly rewinds the motors just enough to eliminate the play between gears. The amount of compensation needed depends on the slewing rate selected; the slower the slewing rate the longer it will take for the star to appear to move in the eyepiece. There are two values for each axis, positive and negative: • Positive is the amount of compensation applied when you press the button in order to get the gears moving quickly without a long pause. • Negative is the amount of compensation applied when you release the button, winding the motors back in the other direction to resume tracking. Normally, both values should be the same. You will need to experiment with different values (from 0-99); a value between 20 and 50 is usually best for most visual observing, whereas a higher value may be necessary for photographic guiding. To set the anti-backlash value, scroll down to the anti-backlash option and press ENTER. While viewing an object in the eyepiece, observe the responsiveness of each of the four arrow buttons. Note which directions you see a pause in the star movement after the button has been pressed. Working one axis at a time, adjust the backlash settings high enough to cause immediate movement without resulting in a pronounced jump when pressing or releasing the button. Now, enter the same values for both positive and negative directions. If you notice a jump when releasing the button but setting the values lower results in a pause when pressing the button, use the higher value for positive, but use the lower value for negative. The telescope will remember these values and use them each time it is turned on until they are changed. Filter Limits - When an alignment is complete, the telescope automatically knows which celestial objects are above the horizon. As a result, when scrolling through the database lists (or selecting the Tour function), the hand control will display only those objects that are known to be above the horizon when you are observing. You can customize the object database by selecting altitude limits that are appropriate for your location and situation. For example, if you are observing from a mountainous location where the horizon is partially obscured, you can set your minimum altitude limit to read +20°. This will make sure that the hand control only displays objects that are higher in altitude than 20°. Tip: If you want to explore the entire object database, set the maximum altitude limit to 90° and the minimum limit to -90°. This will display every object in the database lists regardless of whether it is visible in the sky from your location. Direction Buttons - The direction a star appears to move in the eyepiece changes depending on which side of the Meridian the telescope tube is on. This can create confusion especially when guiding on a star during an astroimaging session. To compensate for this, the direction of the drive control keys can be changed. To reverse the button logic of the hand control, press the MENU button and select Direction Buttons from the Utilities menu. Use the Up/Down arrow keys (11) to select either the azimuth (right ascension) or altitude (declination) button direction and press ENTER. Select either positive or negative for both axes and press ENTER to save. Setting the azimuth button direction to positive will move the telescope in the same direction that the telescope tracks (i.e., towards the west). Setting the altitude buttons to positive will move the telescope counterclockwise along the DECLINATION axis. 18 | ENGLISH