Meade LXD55 Series Instruction Manual Download

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APPENDIX D: EC HANDBOX

The model

SN-6EC

, model

SN-8EC

, and model

AR-5EC

come equipped with an

Electronic Controller (EC) handbox, rather than the Autostar Handbox. The Electronic
Controller provides you with the means to control the telescope motors from a com-
pact handbox. The Electronic Controller (Fig. 3) has soft-touch keys designed to have
a positive feel, even through gloves.

The primary functions of the Electronic Controller are to move (slew) the telescope to
an object, to set operation for the Northern or Southern Hemispheres, and to indicate
the slew speed.

Users of the EC models should follow the procedures described in

GETTING STARTED,

BALANCING THE TELESCOPE

ALIGNING THE VIEWFINDER, CHOOSING AN EYEPIECE,

and OBSERVING BY MOVING THE TELESCOPE MANUALLY

, pages 11 - 16. Other sec-

tions relevant to EC users include:

OBSERVE THE MOON

and

SETTING POLAR HOME

POSITION

, page 17, and

PHOTOGRAPHY, OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES, GENERAL

MAINTENANCE, SPECIFICATIONS,

and

CELESTIAL COORDINATES

, pages 36 - 40 and

44 - 49.

LATITUDE CHARTS

, page 54, and

BASIC ASTRONOMY

, pages 61 - 62, may

also be useful. Note that

SLEW SPEEDS

, page 16, refers to Autostar functions only.

Slew speed functions of the Electronic Controller are covered in this appendix.

The following numbers refer to Fig. 43 above.

Arrow Keys: Press one of the four Arrow keys to slew the telescope (i.e., up,
down, left, and right) at any one of four slew speeds (see

SPEED KEY

below).

Important Note: If you reverse directions while using the Arrow keys to
slew to objects, there may be a slight pause as the telescope motors com-
pensate for the reversal of the internal gears.

Indicator Lights: The four red LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights indicate the cur-
rent slew speed of the telescope.

Note: For purposes of this manual, the lights are identified as 1 through 4, with
1 being the top light and 4 being the bottom light.

SPEED Key: Press SPEED to change the speed at which the telescope slews to
an object. Each press of the SPEED key changes the slew speed to the next
slower setting. If the controller is already on the slowest slew speed (light 4),
pressing SPEED cycles back to the highest speed (light 1). Slew speeds are sig-
nified by the indicator lights (2, Fig. 43).

Coil Cord: Plug into the HBX connector of the Computer Control Panel.

Fig. 43: Electronic Controller. (1) Arrow Keys; (2) Indicator
Lights; (3) SPEED Key; (4) Coil Cord; (5) MODE Key; (6) OUT
Key; (7) IN Key.

Fast

Medium

Moderate

Slow

Fig 44: Indicator Light Key.
The procedures in this manu-
al identify the status of the
four indicator lights as depict-
ed above: on, blinking, or off.

Important Note:
The Electronic
Controllers available for
Meade's ETX and DS
telescope series are not
compatible and will not
operate with the LXD55
EC series models. Do
not plug in other tele-
scope series' EC hand-
boxes into the LXD55
computer control panel,
nor plug the LXD55 EC
series handboxes into
any other telescope
series computer control
panel.