Meade Tripod LX600-ACF 14 inch User Manual - Page 34

AutoASuttaorSt#a4r9I7I HOApeNrDatBiOonX select N & S, North only, South only, and off. • Reverse L/R: Reverses the functions of the Left and Right Arrow keys for controlling the telescope's motion (i.e., the Right key moves the telescope to the left). • Reverse U/D: Reverses the functions of the Up and Down Arrow keys for controlling the telescope's motion (i.e., the Up key moves the telescope down). • Home Sensor: Turns off or on the True North sensor, if preferred, for Easy, One-Star, and TwoStar alignment. The default setting for this menu is "On." • GPS Alignment: Allows three options. Select "Off" if you wish to align the telescope manually (turns off GPS). Select "On" (default setting) if you wish to automatically align your telescope and want the telescope to get the GPS fix when it is needed during alignment. Select "At Start Up" if you want the telescope to get a GPS fix when the telescope is powered up. • HPP Dome Delay: Allows time for the dome of an observatory-mounted telescope to catch up with the telescope before StarLock takes a highprecision star sighting. By default, this value is "0." The value should be set based on the worstcase rotation time of your dome. The time is entered in seconds of delay. Advanced software programs can release this hold early if the dome system is configured to notify the telescope when it is ready. See the Meade Telescope Protocol Specifications for details. • RA PEC: Allows you to perform periodic error correction on the RA drive worm gear. Must be performed with a high-power reticle (eg., 9mm) or StarLock. You may restore the factory default setting by selecting "On." See Page 54 for more details. • High Precision Pointing With StarLock: If High Precision is turned on in the StarLock menu, when a GoTo command is issued, the telescope first slews to a bright star near the target object. StarLock then measures the error from center and applies the correction to the slew to the target object providing ultra-precision pointing accuracy. 34 When StarLock is turned off and manual highprecision pointing is turned on, the telescope first slews to a bright star near the target object. The user must center the star using the slew keys on the AutoStar II hand controller. Once centered, push "ENTER" and the telescope then slews to the target object with high precision. Time: Changes the time entered into Autostar II. Setting the correct time is critical for Autostar II to properly calculate locations and events. Time may be set to "AM," "PM," or 24-hour mode (military time). To select the 24-hour mode, press ENTER when the "blank" option displays (i.e., neither "AM" nor "PM" is displayed). Look Into The Future The AutoStar II Date option in the Setup menu is much more than just an entry of today's date; with it you can look far into the future or learn about past events. AutoStar II can calculate the date and times of future events and, except for eclipses, past events as well (based on the current calendar system). E.g., a Sunrise on March 6, 2043 A.D. or the Vernal Equinox in 1776 A.D. To use this feature, enter the desired date in the Setup menu or select an option in the Event menu. AutoStar II, using the Event menu, can calculate dates and times for Sunrises, Sunsets, Moonrises, Moonsets, Moonphases, Solar and Lunar Eclipses (for the next 100 years), meteor showers, equinoxes and solstices, and the minimums of Algol. One very practical use of the Event menu is to check the Sunset option to determine when you can begin your astronomical observing session. Targets: Switches between astronomical targets and Terrestrial targets. If "Astronomical" is selected, the telescope tracking motor is activated and any object you observe in the sky will remain centered in the eyepiece. If "Terrestrial" is selected, the tracking motor is turned off. Date: Changes the date used by Autostar II. This function is useful to check events in the past or future. For example: Set the Date menu for a day three months in the future. Then check the "Select Item: Event" menu for the Sunset time on that date. See EVENT MENU, page 31.