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INTRODUCTION
As a new LX
200 owner, you are preparing for a journey into the
universe with the most advanced amateur telescope ever
produced. This instrument is the culmination of twenty years of
innovation and design at Meade Instruments. Never before
have the features that you have in your hands been available
to amateur astronomers: from robotic object-location to the
revolutionary Smart Drive and the most stable mounting
structure ever. Your telescope comes to you ready for
adventure; it will be your tour guide and traveling companion in
a universe of planets, galaxies, and stars.
Meade 16” LX
200 Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes (SCT) are
instruments of advanced mirror-lens design for astronomical
and terrestrial applications. Optically and mechanically, the 16”
telescope model is perhaps the most sophisticated and
precisely manufactured telescope ever made available to the
serious amateur. This telescope enables the visual astronomer
to reach out for detailed observations of the planets of our Solar
System and beyond to distant nebulae, star clusters, and
galaxies.
The astrophotographer will find a virtually limitless range of
possibilities. With the precision Meade worm-gear motor-drive
system, long-exposure guided photography becomes not a
distant goal but an achievable reality. The capabilities of the
instrument are essentially limited not by the telescope, but by
the acquired skills of the observer and photographer.
IMPORTANT NOTE
If you are anxious to use your LX200 for the first time,
at the very least be sure to read TELESCOPE ASSEMBLY
(page 7),and QUICKSTART (page 9).Thereafter, we urge
you to read the balance of this manual thoroughly at
your leisure, so you may fully enjoy the many features
offered by this instrument.
What Is the LX200? An Overview
Meade LX
200 SCTs mark a new era in telescope technology
for the amateur astronomer, whether beginner or seasoned
veteran. For the beginner, LX
2 0 0 electronics permit the
location and observation of the major planets as well as
hundreds of deep-sky objects
the very first night you use the
t e l e s c o p e
. For the experienced amateur, the telescope’s
pushbutton electric slewing, digital readouts, Smart Drive, and
many other features open up undreamed of visual and photo-
graphic capabilities.
1.
H e avy-Duty Mounts with 4-Speed Dual-Axis
Electronics
DC servo-motor-controlled worm-gear drives on both telescope
axes permit observatory-level precision in tracking, guiding,
and slewing (moving). The 4-speed dual-axis drives cover
every possible contingency of telescope positioning. Press the
SLEW button on the keypad controller for rapid motion of the
telescope across the skies at up to 4° per sec. on both axes
simultaneously. Once near the target, switch instantly to the
FIND speed for centering in the viewfinder at 1° per sec.
Observing the object in the main telescope, use the CNTR
speed (16x sidereal) to place the object in the center of the
field. During long-exposure astrophotography press the GUIDE
button for precise corrections at 2x sidereal speed.
2.
Built-in 64,359-Object Library
Enter into the keypad any object from the following object
libraries, press GO TO, and the telescope automatically slews
to the object at up to 4° per sec. and centers it in the main
telescope field. The object libraries are as follows:
• 15,928 SAO stars (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory)
Catalog of Stars: all stars brighter than 7th magnitude.
• 12,921 UGC (Uppsala General Catalog) galaxies: complete
catalog.
• 7,840 NGC (New General Catalog) objects:* c o m p l e t e
Catalog.
• 5,386 IC (Index Catalog) objects:* complete catalog.
• 21,815 GCVS (General Catalog of Variable Stars) objects:
complete catalog.
• 351 alignment stars: LX
200 alignment stars.
• 110 M (Messier) objects: complete catalog.
• 8 major planets, from Mercury to Pluto.
*NGC 2000 and IC databases are copyrighted by Sky
Publishing Corporation and used with their permission.
3.
Altazimuth Mode Operation
For all visual observing applications and for lunar and planetary
photography, you may set up the telescope in the altazimuth
mode. Just attach its drive base directly to the tripod, use the
fast 1-star alignment procedure, and the telescope’s computer
actuates 2-axis tracking. This keeps objects precisely centered
in the field, even at high powers, during the entire observing
session.
For long-exposure astrophotography, the telescope has an
optional field de-rotator. It eliminates the image rotation caused
by altazimuth tracking.
4.
Terrestrial Operation
The Meade LX
2 0 0 makes an incredible land-viewing
telescope. Set it up in the atazimuth format, activate the Land
menu option on the telescope’s computer, and use the keypad
to track land objects on both axes at any of the same four drive
speeds!
5.
Keypad and Power Panel Functions
The multifunction capability of the LX
2 0 0 includes the
following:
Direct connection of popular CCD autoguider/imagers
RS-232 serial interface with a personal computer (PC),
allowing you to perform all the keypad functions through, or
write custom telescope software for, a PC
Brightness-level control of an illuminated reticle eyepiece
from the keypad and special pulse-mode reticle operation
Electric focuser controls
HOME and PARK commands, which allow true remote
observations
Smart Drive
Smart Drive is included on all Meade 16” LX
200 Schmidt-
Cassegrain telescopes. This technology is used to correct
periodic error (errors induced by tiny gear imperfections that
tend to slightly speed up or slow down the drive tracking speed,
that occur in a regular four-minute pattern, or for every rotation
of the worm) for enhancing the tracking characteristics of your
LX
200. This greatly simplifies guiding during astrophotography.
Most observing programs that the 16” LX
200 will be used for,
can be done with the telescope in an ALTAZ setup (explained
later in this manual). ALTAZ operation incorporates both the
horizontal movement and the vertical movement motors when
tracking celestial objects through the sky. Since both of these
motor/gear systems can have periodic error, Smart Drive
monitors both axes, continuously correcting periodic error
during tracking, a first in commercial telescopes.
When used as an equatorial telescope (described later), the
