CARING FOR YOUR TELESCOPE
Your telescope is a precision optical instrument designed for a lifetime of
rewarding viewing. It will rarely, if ever, require factory servicing or mainte-
nance. Follow these guidelines to keep your telescope in the best condition:
Avoid cleaning the telescope’s optics. A little dust on the mirror or lens sur-
faces of the telescope will not cause loss of image quality. When absolutely
necessary, dust on the lens or mirrors should be removed with very gentle
strokes of a camel hair brush or blown off with an ear syringe (available at
most pharmacies).
Fingerprints and organic materials on the optics may be removed with a
solution of 3 parts distilled water to 1 part isopropyl alcohol. You may also
add 1 drop of biodegradable dish washing soap per pint of solution. Use
soft, white facial tissues and make short, gentle strokes. Change tissues
often.
CAUTION:
Do not use scented or lotioned tissues or damage could
result to the optics. DO NOT use a commercial photographic lens cleaner.
COLLIMATION (ALIGNMENT) OF OPTICS
All Meade reflecting telescopes are optically aligned at the factory prior to
shipment. It is unlikely that you will need to align, or collimate, the optics
after receipt of the instrument. However, if the telescope received unusu-
ally rough handling in shipment, it is possible that the optics must be re
aligned for best optical performance. In any case this alignment procedure
is simple, and requires only a few minutes the very first time the telescope
is used. Take the time to familiarize yourself with the following collimation
procedure, so that you will recognize a properly collimated instrument and
can adjust the collimation yourself, if necessary.
1. CORRECT COLLIMATION
The properly collimated (aligned) mirror system in the Meade telescope
assures the sharpest images possible. This occurs when the primary mir-
ror and secondary mirror are tilted so that the focused image falls directly
through the center of the focuser draw tube. These mirror tilt adjustments
are made with the secondary mirror assembly and the primary mirror cell
(Fig. E,F,G) and will be discussed later.
To inspect the view of the mirror collimation, look down the focuser draw
tube with the eyepiece removed. The edge of the focuser drawtube (1, Fig.
H), will frame the reflections of the primary mirror with the 3 mirror clips (2,
Fig. H), the secondary mirror (3, Fig. H), the spider vanes (4, Fig. H), and
your eye (5, Fig. H). Properly aligned, all of these reflections will appear
concentric (i.e., centered) as illustrated in Fig. H. Any deviation from the
concentric reflections will require adjustments to the secondary mirror as
-
sembly and/or the primary mirror cell (Fig. F,G).
2. SECONDARY MIRROR HOLDER ADJUSTMENTS
If the secondary mirror (1, Fig. I) is centered in the draw tube (2, Fig. I), but
the primary mirror is only partially visible in the reflection (3, Fig. I), one or
more of the 3 secondary mirror collimation screws need adjusting. First, un-
thread each of the secondary mirror collimation screws slightly to the point
of where you can tilt the secondary holder from side-to-side. By grasping
the secondary holder with your hand, tilt the secondary mirror holder until
you see the primary mirror become as centered in the reflection of the di
-
agonal mirror as possible. Once you are at the best position, thread in the
3 secondary mirror collimation screws to lock the holder in place. Then, if
necessary, make adjustments to these 3 screws to refine the tilt-angle of
the secondary mirror until the entire primary mirror can be seen centered
within the secondary mirror reflection. When the secondary mirror is cor
-
rectly aligned, it will look like Fig. J (Note: The primary mirror is shown out
of alignment).
3. PRIMARY MIRROR ADJUSTMENTS
If the secondary mirror (1, Fig. J) and the reflection of the primary mirror (2,
Fig. J) appear centered within the draw tube (3, Fig. J), but the reflection
of your eye and the reflection of the secondary mirror (4, Fig. J) appear off
center, you will need to adjust the primary mirror tilt screws of the prima-
ry mirror cell (2, Fig. G). These primary tilt screws are located behind the
primary mirror, at the lower end of the main tube. The long screws lock the
mirror in place where the shorter screws perform the adjustment.
To adjust the primary mirror tilt screws (2, Fig G), first turn by several turns,
the primary mirror cell lock knobs (3, Fig. G) that are next to each primary
mirror tilt screw. The three primary mirror cell locking screws are Phillips
head screws and are longer than the adjustment screws.
Then by trial-and-error, turn the short primary mirror tilt screws (2, Fig. G)
until you develop a feel for which way to turn each knob to center the reflec
-
tion of your eye. Once centered, as in Fig. H, turn the 3 long primary mirror
cell locking screws (3, Fig. G) lightly to re-lock the tilt-angle adjustment.
4. STAR TESTING THE COLLIMATION
With the collimation performed, you will want to test the accuracy of the
alignment on a star. Use the 20mm eyepiece and point the telescope at
a moderately bright (second or third magnitude) star, then center the star
image in the telescope’s field-of-view. With the star centered follow the
method below:
• Bring the star image slowly out of focus until one or more rings are visi
-
ble around the central disc. If the collimation was performed correctly, the
central star disk and rings will be concentric circles, with a dark spot dead
center within the out-of-focus star disk (this is the shadow of the secondary
mirror), as shown in Fig. K3. (An improperly aligned telescope will reveal
elongated circles (Fig. K1), with an off-center dark shadow.)
•If the out-of-focus star disk appears elongated (Fig. K1), you will need to
adjust the primary mirror adjusting tilt screws of the primary mirror cell (3,
Fig. G)
•To adjust the primary mirror tilt screws (3, Fig. G), first unscrew several
turns the 3 hex-head primary mirror cell locking screws (2, Fig. G), to allow
free turning movement of the tilt knobs.
•Using the flexible cable controls move the telescope until the star image is
at the edge of the field-of-view in the eyepiece, as in Fig. K2.
•As you make adjustments to the primary mirror tilt screws (3, Fig. G), you
will notice that the out-of-focus star disk image will move across the eye-
piece field. Choose one of the 3 primary mirror tilt screws and slightly move
the shadow to the center of the disk. Then slightly move the telescope using
the flexible cable controls to center the star disk image in the center of the
eyepiece.
• If any further adjustments are necessary, repeat this process as many
times as needed until the out-of-focus star disk appears as in Fig. K3, when
the star disk image is in the center of the eyepiece field.
• With the star testing of the collimation complete, tighten the 3 hex-head
primary mirror locking screws (2, Fig. G)
CHANGING THE VIEWFINDER BATTERY
If the viewfinder red dot does not illuminate, verify the viewfinder is on by ro
-
tating the knob below the viewfinder lens clockwise. If the red dot does not
illuminate, the battery may need replacing. To replace the battery, press the
left side of the viewfinder housing labeled “push”. The battery compartment
will slide out on the right side of the viewfinder (see Fig. L). Replace the
battery with a Lithium CR-2032 battery with the positive side up. Then push
the battery compartment back into the viewfinder and power on.
MEADE LIMITED WARRANTY
Every Meade telescope and telescope accessory is warranted by Meade
Instruments Corp (“Meade”) to be free of defects in materials and work-
manship 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 non-transferable. Meade products purchased out-
side North America are not included in this warranty, but are covered under
separate warranties issued by Meade international distributors. RGA Num-
ber 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 (800) 626-3233. 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 unautho-
rized 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 war
-
ranty supersedes all previous Meade product warranties.
VISIT MEADE.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION!
CR-2032
battery
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compartment
Figure L
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Figure E
Figure F
Figure I
Figure H
Figure G
Figure K
Figure J
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Meade Instruments Corp. 27 Hubble, Irvine, CA. 92618, USA
REV0. 20160606
