10
You will need to align the red dot finder. See
the section Aligning the red dot finder for more
information.
THE COOLING FAN
Note that there is a fan (38) mounted on the bottom
of the primary mirror assembly. It is powered by a
battery pack using 8 AA user-supplied batteries.
If you begin observing at sunset, and the telescope
has been heated by the sun or by being in your car,
you may notice “turbulence” in your images. In this
case, you can run the fan until your images stabilize
and are steady. The fan probably needs to be used
less than an hour.
Note also that there are locking and collimation
screws for adjusting the alignment of the optics.
See Figures 3 & 5. These screws are for use with
the collimation procedure described below.
COLLIMATION OF THE OPTICAL SYSTEM
Precise collimation, or alignment, of your telescope’s
optical system is essential for good performance.
All Meade telescopes are accurately collimated
at the factory prior to shipment. You may want to
collimate after the telescope has been shipped or
if it has endured rough handling or a bumpy car
journey—usually, though, just a small touch up is
all that’s required. It is also common to need to
re-collimate the telescope after assembly of the
telescope to achieve optimal optical performance.
Meade offers an optional laser collimator to help
you to collimate your telescope (see Optional
Accessories). Before your first observing session,
take the time now to familiarize yourself with the
following collimation procedure so that you may
recognize a properly collimated instrument and
adjust the collimation yourself, if necessary.
Note: A small paper ring is attached to the primary
mirror. This ring was attached at the factory for
purposes of laser collimation. The ring will not
diminish your telescope’s imaging capabilities and
does not need to be removed.
SIMPLIFIED COLLIMATION
The optical systems of Newtonian Reflector
telescopes include the following parts: primary
mirror (1, Fig. 22); secondary mirror (2, Fig. 22);
secondary mirror-holder (3, Fig 22); secondary
mirror-vanes (4, Fig. 22); primary mirror-tilt screws
(5, Fig. 22). The telescope’s image is brought to a
focus at (6, Fig. 22).
1. Confirm alignment - To confirm optical alignment
look down the focuser draw tube (1, Fig. 25) with
the eyepiece removed. The edge of the focuser
draw tube frames reflections of the primary mirror
(2, Fig. 25), the secondary mirror (3, Fig. 25), the
four (“spider”) vanes (4, Fig. 25) (note Figures 25-
28 only show three) holding the secondary mirror,
and the observer’s eye (5, Fig. 25). With the optics
properly aligned, all of these reflections appear
concentric (centered), as shown in Fig. 28.
Figure 19
Replace battery
with CR-2032
Reticle
Patten
Adjustment
On/Off
Dial
Reticle
Adjustments
Viewing
Window
Figure 20
Bracket
Mounting
Screws
Bracket
Lock
knob
Figure 21
