Meade MAX-ACF, Instruction Manual

Page 1: ...Instruction Manual 20 MAX ACF Advanced Coma Free Telescope on MAX Robotic German Equatorial Mount MEADE COM...

Page 2: ...attempting to assemble the MAX ACF mount and attaching the OTA Follow steps as outlined in this manual in order to assemble the telescope safely Failure to follow steps may result in injury or death...

Page 3: ...reating User Objects 43 Observing Satellites 44 Identify 44 Browse 45 Alternate Polar Alignment Methods 46 To Download the Latest Autostar II Software 46 Periodic Error Correction 47 Optional Accessor...

Page 4: ...ly Together all of the components and an OTA assembly fit easily into a station wagon SUV minivan or small truck When assembled quick release but rock solid dovetail plates allow OTA and instrument pa...

Page 5: ...ured to cover three latitude ranges without the need of disassembly Together the three ranges allow the mount to operate anywhere on the planet PEDESTAL WEDGE ASSEMBLY RA Lock Knob Latitude Lock Knobs...

Page 6: ...e rigid block delivering accu rate and repeatable pointing and tracking per formance The RA Housing contains Meade s patented Autostar II telescope control system a massive 13 625 pitch diameter worm...

Page 7: ...ow you to track more than 6 degrees past meridian without interference This mount will let you cover the whole sky In addition to accepting quick change dovetail plates MAX has two generous wing mount...

Page 8: ...It provides a wide stance to assure that it can safely carry MAX s massive payload in all orientations but still collapses down to a size that is easy to handle Its design assures that despite its wid...

Page 9: ...ody Advanced Coma Free optics Electronic Collimation Integrated Dew Heater OTA fan for quick cool down Digital Electronic Focus with Presets THE OTA Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversible...

Page 10: ...moving Off On USB Port AUX port 12vDC In 12VDC Switched 12VDC Switched Out HBX port Handbox port Serial port USB Ports Reticle Port Focuser HBX port Auto Guider Smart Accessory Ports CONTROL PANELS AN...

Page 11: ...re Automatically move the telescope to any of the more than 180 000 objects stored in the object library including Library of Objects New General Catalog NGC 7 840 Index Catalog IC 5 386 Messier Catal...

Page 12: ...muth horizontal coordinates Local Time and Local Sidereal Time LST Timer and Alarm Status Date Site coordinates Battery status Press MODE again to return to the previous menu e GO TO Key Press to slew...

Page 13: ...to access the Help file Help provides on screen information on how to accomplish whatever task is currently active Press the key and then follow the prompts on the display to access details of Autost...

Page 14: ...e or if on the ground must be a solid surface such as granite CAUTION AVOID GRASS AND DIRT THE MAX ASSEMBLY WILL SINK INTO GROUND NOT REMAIN LEVEL AND TIP OVER CAUSING SERIOUS INJURY TO THE ASSEMBLY A...

Page 15: ...high range loosen all four latitude lock knobs 2 on each side remove the 4 latitude bolts from each side of the pedestal 8 total using a supplied hex wrench see photo above The pedestal will now swin...

Page 16: ...e Sun will cause irreversible damage to your eye Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun Do not look through the telescope as it is moving Fine tune the latitude adjustment using the Latitude A...

Page 17: ...CLEAR OF THE TRACK BEFORE YOU SLIDE THE RA ASSEMBLY INTO THE PEDESTAL TRACK THE RA ASSEMBLY REQUIRES TWO PEOPLE TO LIFT With a person on each side of the assembly lift and slide the DEC assembly in fr...

Page 18: ...FIXED COUNTERWEIGHT WHILE THE OTHER PERSON TIGHTENS IT IN PLACE 17 18 Retighten the Dec clamp knob Plug in the RA to Dec jumper cables there are two 2 such cables The first being a 25 pin to 25 pin c...

Page 19: ...n the head of the shaft see photo Using the screwdriver as a lever rotate the counterweight shaft until it tightened 19 Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversible damage to your eye Do not poi...

Page 20: ...IN PLACE WHEN THERE ARE COUNTERWEIGHTS ON THE SHAFT ATTACH LOW LATITUDE COUNTERWEIGHTS ONLY IF USING A TRIPOD OPTIONAL ACCESSORY If your observing site is within 20 of the equator you must attach the...

Page 21: ...OTA lock knobs are loosened as described in step 27 Lift the tube up over the low end the rear of the Dec assembly and drop it into the dec assembly track Hint It is not necessary to lift the OTA all...

Page 22: ...tele scope s eyepiece Look through the viewfinder and loosen or tighten as appropriate one or more of the collimation screws until the viewfinders crosshairs are precisely centered on the object in th...

Page 23: ...ll keys to position the RA axis at 45 Photo 33 Go to the Utilities menu Scroll down to Balance Scope Press the down arrow key to see the two choices available Balance RA and Balance Dec With Balance R...

Page 24: ...osition Position 4 people to hold onto the tube securely and loosen the Dec lock knobs See Photo 37 Move the OTA forward or backward within the female dovetail track and tighten the lock knobs Move th...

Page 25: ...the two supplied locking screws 4 Fig 40a 3 Attach the viewfinder bracket Slide the track on the bottom of the viewfinder bracket into the slot in the viewfinder mounting assembly See Fig 40b To secu...

Page 26: ...ss FOCUS and use the Up and Down Arrow keys to focus the telescope until the object is sharply focused as previous ly explained 2 Press the Focus key again FOCUS toggles between the Focus menu and the...

Page 27: ...utoStar II will reset all the other presets back to the focus preset positions you previously defined 1 Press the Focus key twice Focuser Preset Go To Preset displays Use a Scroll key and scroll until...

Page 28: ...performing these operations Autostar II now knows The telescope s limiting positions The observing site s location The date and time 6 CTR Polaris Slewing displays When the telescope stops slewing ce...

Page 29: ...few minutes Your telescope is now drift aligned Next collimate your telescope Collimation This collimation procedure is for Meade MAX ACF models only The optical collima tion alignment of any astrono...

Page 30: ...as necessary g Carefully examine the concentricity of the diffraction rings Always double check the image in the center of the field of the eyepiece The star point should appear as a small central dot...

Page 31: ...he arrow keys and then hold ENTER down for more than two seconds This acti vates the Enter to Sync function and fine tunes and improves the telescope s align ment Important Note When the Park Scope op...

Page 32: ...evening observing session can be planned To Calculate Sunset time 1 Press the MODE key several times until Select Item Object is displayed 2 Press the Scroll Down key once to display the Event option...

Page 33: ...the choices that are available with the Telescope menu 7 Continue to press the Scroll Down key until Setup Owner Info displays 8 Press ENTER Owner Info Name displays Press ENTER again Name displays wi...

Page 34: ...ull Moon Next New Moon Next 1st Qtr Next 3rd Qtr Meteor Showers Quadrantids etc Solar Eclipse Lunar Eclipse Autumn Equinox Vernal Equinox Winter Solstice Summer Solstice Select Item Guided Tour Tour O...

Page 35: ...alogs are accessed directly using the Autostar II hot keys Caldwell key 2 Messier catalog 3 Solar System 5 IC 8 and NGC 9 To slew the telescope to catalog objects Enter the catalog number of the objec...

Page 36: ...m brightness of the dramatic eclipsing binary star system Algol It is relatively close at a distance of 100 light years Every 2 8 days during a 10 hour period Algol undergoes a major change in apparen...

Page 37: ...e eyepieces When an eyepiece is selected the field of view is calculated Magnification Scroll through a list of available eyepieces When an eyepiece is selected the magnification is calculated Suggest...

Page 38: ...red in Autostar II s memory and are remembered after you power off the telescope When you power on the telescope Automatic Alignment displays after the start up routine Press MODE do not press ENTER T...

Page 39: ...lly 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 R A...

Page 40: ...formation from one Autostar II handbox to another Three options are available Catalogs Sends only user defined object information such as new satellite orbits or comet data to another Autostar II hand...

Page 41: ...Reticle Control Menu Press Number key 7 to select this menu directly from Autostar II s keypad Reticle Control Set Intensity displays Press ENTER The Intensity menu allows you to change the intensity...

Page 42: ...pro cedure 1 Using the Add option choose a site on the list that is closest to your observing site and press ENTER so that the site is added to your observing sites list Choosing a site already on the...

Page 43: ...Object displays If necessary use the Scroll keys to scroll through the menus as previously described to find this option Press ENTER 3 Object Solar System displays Keep pressing the Scroll Up key unt...

Page 44: ...in the viewfinder then look through the eyepiece to view the object Satellite orbits change and new satellites including the Space Shuttle are launched Visit the Meade website www meade com approximat...

Page 45: ...stands for arc minutes Press ENTER 4 Largest mins and a value displays Using the Number keys enter a size in arc minutes Autostar II will search for objects up to this size and no larger Press ENTER 5...

Page 46: ...lignment Press the Scroll keys until Align Two Star displays Press ENTER 3 Set Home Position Place the telescope in the home position 4 Star Alignment Select Star displays Autostar II then displays a...

Page 47: ...perturbations from center that occur due to the mechanical nature of a telescope To perform this procedure you need to use a high power reti cle such as the 9mm reticle see OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES pages...

Page 48: ...irtually all other eyepiece brands as well Meade filters are available in 12 colors for lunar and planetary appli cations and in Neutral Density as a lunar glare reduction filter Fig 46 Series 5000 5...

Page 49: ...grain models Thread the T Adapter on to the rear cell of your telescope followed by a T Mount for your 35mm camera and the camera body is rigidly coupled to the telescope 777 Off Axis Guider The Off A...

Page 50: ...bat teries Astrometric Eyepiece A high precision 3 element achromatic eyepiece for a wide range of astronomical measurements Measure double star separations position angles planetary diameters lunar...

Page 51: ...ioned tissues or damage could result to the optics d Do not for any reason remove the correcting plate from its machined housing for cleaning or other purposes You will almost certainly not be able to...

Page 52: ...1 arc min Autostar II Hand Controller Included 147 541 object database Alignment Equatorial North electronic sensors Included Temperature Control Thermal stabilization fan Power 12VDC 5amp power suppl...

Page 53: ...Flash Memory 4 MB reloadable Database 180 000 objects Drive Control Smart Mount plus 185 speeds on both axes Autostar II Handbox Specifications Keypad 20 key alphanumeric Display 2 line 16 character...

Page 54: ...ania 40 N Phoenix Arizona 33 N Portland Oregon 46 N Salt Lake City Utah 41 N San Antonio Texas 29 N San Diego California 33 N San Francisco California 38 N Seattle Washington 47 N Washington District...

Page 55: ...key until Solar System Moon displays Press ENTER 4 Moon Overview displays Press GO TO The telescope slews to the Moon 5 With Moon Overview on Autostar II s display use the Scroll keys to browse throu...

Page 56: ...done by training Smart Mount Once training has been completed you will save your model Autostar II allows you to save several models under different names This allows you to for example save one mode...

Page 57: ...odel using the Load command Update The Update mode allows you to update training for the current model you have enabled You will sync on several stars as previously described which will further refine...

Page 58: ...up your latitude with the indicator line at the edge of scale Line up your latitude with the indicator Count the longer tick marks down to the indicator In the example above lets say you have chosen...

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Page 60: ...product or part a Return Goods Authorization RGA number must be obtained from Meade by writing or calling 800 626 3233 Each returned part or product must include a written statement detailing the natu...