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Series Telescopes

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

For Models:

91519 32054 32062

22020 12079 12026

12046 12067 12031

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Advanced VX Mount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Computerized Hand Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Object Catalog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Slewing to an Object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Advanced VX Main Menu Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Optical Tube Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Setting up the Refractor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Setting up the Newtonian Reﬂector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Setting up the Edge HD & Schmidt-Cassegrain Optical Tubes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Aligning the Finderscope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Polar Aligning the Mount. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Appendix A - Advanced VX Mount Technical Speciﬁcations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

I 5

Introduction

Congratulations on your purchase of the Celestron Advanced

VX telescope mount. The Advanced VX German equatorial

mount has been designed with the highest quality materials to

ensure stability and durability. All this adds up to a telescope

that gives you a lifetime of enjoyment with a minimal amount

of maintenance.

Furthermore, the Advanced VX mount is versatile — it will

grow with you as your interest grows from astronomical

observing to astroimaging.

If you are new to astronomy, you may wish to start off by

using the built-in Sky Tour feature, which commands the

telescopes to ﬁnd the most interesting objects in the sky and

automatically slews to each one. If you are an experienced

amateur, you will appreciate the comprehensive database of

over 40,000 objects, including customized lists of all the

best deep-sky objects, bright double stars and variable stars.

No matter your level of experience, Advanced VX will help

you and your friends explore the wonders of the universe.

Some of the features of the Advanced VX include:

• High-torque motors for helping to smoothly drive heavier

loads

• Permanently Programmable Periodic Error Correction

(PEC) to improve your tracking performance

• A dedicated autoguider port for making corrections when

astroimaging

• Large, easy to access polar alignment knobs for quick and

sure movements

• Ergonomic design that disassembles into compact and

portable pieces

• Database lter limits for creating custom object lists

• Storage for programmable user dened objects

• many other high performance features!

The Advanced VX mount provides amateur astronomers with

the most sophisticated and easy to use telescopes available

on the market today.

Take time to read through this manual before embarking

on your journey through the universe. It may take a few

observing sessions to become familiar with your telescope,

so you should keep this manual handy until you have fully

mastered your telescope’s operation. The hand control has

built-in instructions to guide you through all the alignment

procedures needed to have the telescope up and running in

minutes. Use this manual in conjunction with the on-screen

instructions provided by the hand control. The manual gives

detailed information regarding each step as well as needed

reference material and helpful hints guaranteed to make your

observing experience as simple and pleasurable as possible.

Your telescope is designed to give you years of fun and

rewarding observations. However, there are a few things to

consider before using your telescope that will ensure your

safety and protect your equipment.

Warning

• Never look directly at the Sun with the naked eye or

with a telescope (unless you have the proper solar ﬁlter).

Permanent and irreversible eye damage may result.

• Never use your telescope to project an image of the Sun

onto any surface. Internal heat build-up can damage the

telescope and any accessories attached to it.

• Never use an eyepiece solar lter or a Herschel wedge.

Internal heat build-up inside the telescope can cause these

devices to crack or break, allowing unﬁltered sunlight to

pass through to the eye.

• Never leave the telescope unsupervised. Make sure an

adult who is familiar with the correct operating procedures

is with your telescope at all times, especially when children

are present.

6 I

Advanced VX Mount (Advanced VX with 8” Edge HD Optical Tube Shown)

1 Optical Tube

2 Advanced VX Equatorial Mount

3 Latitude Adjustment Scale

4 Tripod Center Leg Brace/Accessory Tray

5 Tripod

6 Counterweight

7 Counterweight Bar

8 Hand Control

9 Control Panel

10 R.A. Motor Housing

11 Dec Motor Housing

CONTROL PANEL

A Power Port

B DEC Motor Port

C Power Switch

D Auxiliary Ports

E Hand Control Port

F Auto Guider Port

I 7

Assembly

This section covers the assembly instructions for your

Celestron Advanced VX mount. Your mount should come

with all of the following:

• Equatorial head

• Tripod

• Accessory tray

• Counterweight bar with locking nut

• Azimuth adjustment screws (x2)

• Hand control

• Hand control holder (2 pieces)

• Declination motor cable

• Car battery adapter cable

• Counterweight

If you purchased the Advanced VX mount by itself, you

should receive one counterweight in the box. If you purchased

an Advanced VX telescope kit, you may receive one or two

additional counterweights, depending on the optical tube

included in the kit. These counterweights will be packed in

separate boxes. More information can be found in the section

of the manual concerning the use of your optical tube.

Remove all the pieces from their respective inner boxes and

place on a ﬂat, clear work area. A large ﬂoor space is ideal.

When setting up your Celestron mount, you must start with

the tripod and work up from there. These instructions are

laid out in the order each task must be performed.

Setting up the Tripod

The Advanced VX tripod comes with an all-metal center leg

brace/accessory tray to give rock solid support to the mount.

The tripod comes fully assembled with a metal plate, called

the tripod head that holds the legs together at the top. In

addition, there is a central rod that extends down from the

tripod head that attaches the equatorial mount to the tripod.

To set up the tripod:

1. Stand the tripod upright and pull the tripod legs apart

until each leg is fully extended. The tripod will now stand

by itself.

2. To adjust the height of the legs, loosen the lever found

at the bottom of each leg by rotating it counterclockwise.

3. Slide each leg out to the desired length and secure in

place by rotating the levers clockwise. Make sure the

levers are tight so the legs do not accidentally slide

inward when you add weight to the tripod.

Attaching the Azimuth Adjustment Knobs

To ensure safe shipment of your Advanced VX mount, the

azimuth adjustment knobs have been removed from the

mount and will need to be attached.

Before securing the mount to the tripod:

1. Locate the Azimuth Adjustment Knobs from the box

containing the Advanced VX equatorial head.

2. Thread one knob into each of the holes located on either

side of the mount.

3. Only thread the knobs about half way in, leaving enough

space for the tripod alignment peg which will need to ﬁt

between the two screw tips.

Attaching the Equatorial Mount

The Advanced VX equatorial mount allows you to tilt the

telescope’s axis of rotation so that you can track the stars as

they move across the sky. On one side of the tripod head

is a metal alignment peg for aligning the mount. This side of

the tripod will face north when setting up for an astronomical

observing session. To attach the equatorial head:

1. Locate the azimuth adjustment screws on the equatorial

mount.

2. Retract the azimuth adjustment screws so they no longer

extend into the azimuth housing on the mount. Do NOT

remove the screws since they are needed later for

polar alignment.

3. Hold the equatorial mount over the tripod head so the

azimuth housing is above the metal peg.

4. Place the equatorial mount on the tripod head so that

the two are ﬂush.

5. Push the knob located on the central rod on the

underside of the tripod head upward and turn it

clockwise to hold the equatorial mount ﬁrmly in place.

Azimuth Knobs

(on both sides of

mount)

Equatorial

Mount

Tripod Head

Mounting Knob

8 I

Your Advanced VX tripod comes with the alignment peg

installed so the polar axis and counterweight bar extends

between two tripod legs. If you wish, you can reposition the

alignment peg so the counterweight bar extends directly

over a tripod leg. This is a matter of personal preference and

does not affect the stability of the mount. Observers at lower

latitudes will prefer to leave the alignment peg between two

legs to avoid the counterweight from making contact with the

tripod leg when the counterweight is in the lowest part of its

swing. To change the position of the alignment peg:

1. Use a wrench to hold the alignment peg in place while

using another wrench to loosen the locking nut under-

neath the alignment peg.

2. Once the nut is loose, you can unthread the alignment

peg and move it to the threaded hole on the opposite

side of the tripod head.

3. Thread the peg in until it stops, and back it off until the

ﬂat sides of the alignment peg are square to the tripod.

4. Hold the peg in this position with one wrench while

using another wrench to tighten the locking nut against

the tripod head.

5. Mount the equatorial head as described above.

Attaching the Accessory Tray

The Advanced VX mount comes with an accessory tray

that has holes specially designed for 1.25” and 2” eyepieces.

The accessory tray also acts as a tripod leg tensioner to add

stability to the mount. To install the tray:

1. Remove the nut and washer from the lower side of the

tripod’s central rod.

2. Slide the accessory tray over the central rod so that

each arm of the tray is pushing against the inside of

the tripod legs.

3. Thread the accessory tray knob onto the central rod

and tighten.

Installing the Counterweight Bar

To properly balance the telescope, the mount comes

with a counterweight bar and at least one counterweight

(depending on model). To install the counterweight bar:

1. Locate the counterweight bar and locking nut from the

box containing the equatorial head. The locking nut

should already be threaded onto the end of the counter-

weight bar.

2. Locate the opening in the equatorial mount on the

declination axis and thread the counterweight bar into

the opening until it is tight.

3. Tighten the counterweight bar lock nut fully.

Once the bar is securely in place, you are ready to attach

the counterweight.

Observing Tip: Since the fully assembled telescope can

be quite heavy, position the mount so that the polar axis is

pointing towards north before the optical tube assembly and

counterweights are attached. This will make the polar

alignment procedure much easier.

Installing the Counterweight

To install the counterweight(s) that were included with your

mount or telescope kit:

1. Orient the mount so the counterweight bar points toward

the ground.

Central

Column

Lock Nut

Declination Axis

Counterweight Bar

Counterweight

Lock Screw

Counterweight

Safety

Screw

Accessory

Tray

Mounting Knob

Alignment Peg

Lock Nut

Tripod Head

Tray Knob

I 9

2. Remove the counterweight safety screw on the bottom

end of the counterweight bar by turning it counterclock-

wise. This screw prevents the counterweight from falling

off the mount in the case the counterweight locking screw

comes loose.

3. Loosen the locking screw on the side of the counter-

weight.

4. Slide the counterweight over the counterweight bar and

move it about halfway up the bar.

5. Tighten the locking screw on the side of the counter-

weight to hold it in place.

6. Replace the counterweight safety screw.

Tip: The hole in the center of your counterweight is slightly

larger on one side. When you slide the counterweight

onto the counterweight bar, make sure that the smaller

hole is facing the equatorial head. This allows you to

slide the counterweight over the safety screw at the

bottom of the counterweight bar in case you need a

little bit more adjustment to balance additional acces-

sories mounted on your optical tube. The smaller hole

prevents the counterweight from completely sliding

over the safety screw.

Attaching the Hand Control Holder

The Advanced VX telescope models come with a hand

control holder that attaches to a tripod leg. The hand control

holder comes in two pieces: the Leg Clamp that snaps

around the tripod leg and the holder which attaches to the

Leg Clamp. To attach the hand control holder:

1. Place the leg clamp up against one of the tripod legs

and press ﬁrmly until the clamp wraps around the leg.

2. Slide the back of the hand control holder downward into

the channel on the front of the legs clamp until it snaps

into place.

Attaching an Optical Tube to the Mount

The telescope attaches to the mount via a dovetail slide

bar which is mounted along the bottom of the telescope

tube. Before you attach the optical tube, make sure that the

declination and right ascension clutch knobs are tight and

the counterweight(s) are securely installed. This will ensure

that the mount does not move suddenly while attaching the

telescope. To mount the telescope tube:

1. Loosen the two mounting screws on the side of the

telescope mounting platform. This allows you to slide

the dovetail bar onto the mount.

2. If your telescope is equipped with one, remove the safety

screws located beneath the dovetail bar.

3. Slide the dovetail bar on the telescope tube into the

mounting platform of the mount. Slide the telescope so

that the back of the dovetail bar is close to the back of

the mounting platform.

4. Tighten the mounting screws on the side of the mounting

platform to hold the telescope in place.

Now that the optical tube is securely in place, the visual

accessories can now be attached to the telescope. This is

covered in detail in the section of this manual dealing with

the use of optical tubes.

Moving the Telescope Manually

In order to properly balance your telescope, you will need to

move your telescope manually at various portions of the sky

to observe different objects. To make rough adjustments,

loosen the R.A. and DEC clutch knobs slightly and move

the telescope in the desired direction.

Both the R.A. and DEC axis have lock levers to clutch down

each axis of the telescope. To loosen the clutches on the

telescope, rotate the lock levers counterclockwise.

Safety

Screw

Dovetail Bar

Telescope

Mounting

Screw

Hand Control Holder

Leg Clamp

Declination

Clutch Lever

RA Clutch

Lever

10 I

Balancing the Mount in R.A.

To eliminate undue stress on the mount, the telescope

should be properly balanced around the polar axis. Proper

balancing is crucial for accurate tracking. To balance the

mount:

1. Verify that the telescope is securely attached to the

telescope mounting platform.

2. Loosen the R.A. lock lever and position the telescope

off to one side of the mount. The counterweight bar will

extend horizontally on the opposite side of the mount.

3. Release the telescope — GRADUALLY — to see which

way the telescope “rolls.”

4. Loosen the set screws on the side of the counterweight,

so it can be moved the length of the counterweight bar.

5. Move the counterweight to a point where it balances the

telescope (i.e., the telescope remains stationary when

the R.A. clutch knobs are loose).

6. Tighten the screw on the counterweight to hold it in

place.

Tip: While the above instructions describe a perfect balance

arrangement, there should be a SLIGHT imbalance to

ensure the best possible tracking. When the scope is

on the west side of the mount the counterweight should

be slightly imbalanced to the counterweight bar side.

And when the tube is on the east side of the mount

there should be a slight imbalance toward the telescope

side. This is done so that the worm gear is pushing

against a slight load. The amount of the imbalance

is very slight. When taking astroimages, this balance

process can be done for the speciﬁc area at which

the telescope is pointing to further optimize tracking

accuracy.

Balancing the Mount in DEC

Although the mount does not track in declination, the telescope

should also be balanced in this axis to prevent any sudden

motions when the DEC lock lever is loose. To balance the

telescope in DEC:

1. Loosen the R.A. clutch lock lever and rotate the telescope

so that it is on one side of the mount (i.e., as described in

the previous section on “Balancing the Mount in R.A.”).

2. Tighten the R.A. lock lever to hold the telescope in place.

3. Loosen the DEC clutch lock lever and rotate the

telescope until the tube is parallel to the ground.

4. Release the tube — GRADUALLY — to see which way it

rotates around the declination axis. DO NOT LET GO OF

THE TELESCOPE TUBE COMPLETELY!

5. Slightly loosen the knobs that hold the telescope to

the mounting platform and slide the telescope either

forward or backward until it remains stationary when the

DEC clutch is loose. Do NOT let go of the telescope

tube while the knob on the mounting platform is loose.

It may be necessary to rotate the telescope so that the

counterweight bar is pointing down before loosening the

mounting platform screw.

6. Tighten the knobs on the telescope mounting platform

to hold the telescope in place.

Like R.A. balance, these are general balance instructions

and will reduce undue stress on the mount. When taking

astroimages, this balance process should be done for the

speciﬁc area at which the telescope is pointing.

Adjusting the Mount

In order for a motor drive to track accurately, the telescope’s

axis of rotation must be parallel to the Earth’s axis of rotation,

a process known as polar alignment. Polar alignment is

achieved NOT by moving the telescope in R.A. or DEC but

by adjusting the mount vertically, which is called altitude and

horizontally, which is called azimuth. This section simply cov-

ers the correct movement of the telescope during the polar

alignment process. The actual process of polar alignment, or

making the telescope’s axis of rotation parallel to the Earth’s,

is described later in this manual in the section on “Polar

Alignment.”

Adjusting the Mount in Altitude

• To increase the latitude of the polar axis, tighten the rear

latitude adjustment screw and loosen the front screw.

• To decrease the latitude of the polar axis, tighten the front

latitude adjustment screw (located below the counter-

weight bar and loosen the rear screw.

The latitude adjustment on the Advanced VX mount has a

range from approximately 7° to 77°.

Azimuth

Adjustment

Knobs

Latitude

Adjustment

Knobs

I 11

It is best to always make ﬁnal adjustments in altitude by

moving the mount against gravity (i.e., using the rear latitude

adjustment screw to raise the mount). To do this you should

loosen both latitude adjustment screws and manually push

the front of the mount down as far as it will go. Tighten the

rear adjustment screw to raise the mount to the desired

latitude.

Adjusting the Mount in Azimuth

For rough adjustments in azimuth, simply pick up the

telescope and tripod and move it. For ﬁne adjustments

in azimuth:

Turn the azimuth adjustment knobs located on either side of

the azimuth housing. While standing behind the telescope,

the knobs are on the front of the mount.

• Turning the right adjustment knob clockwise moves the

mount toward the right.

• Turning the left adjustment knob clockwise moves the

mount to the left.

Both screws push off of the alignment peg on the tripod

head, which means you may have to loosen one screw while

tightening the other. The screw that holds the equatorial

mount to the tripod may have to be loosened slightly.

Keep in mind that adjusting the mount is done during the

polar alignment process only. Once polar aligned, the mount

must NOT be moved. Pointing the telescope is done by

moving the mount in right ascension and declination, as

described earlier in this manual.

Attaching the Declination Cable

The Advanced VX mount comes with a cable that connects

the electronic control panel to the declination motor. To

attach the motor cables:

• Locate the Declination cable and plug one end of the cable

into the port on the electronics panel labeled DEC Port.

• Plug the other end of the cable into the port located on the

declination motor.

Powering the Telescope

The Advanced VX mount can be powered by the supplied

car battery adapter or optional 12V AC adapter. Use only

adapters supplied by Celestron. Using any other adapter

may damage the electronics and will void your manufacturer’s

warranty.

1. To power the telescope with the car battery adapter

(or 12V AC adapter), simply plug the round post into

the 12V outlet on the electronic panel and plug the other

end into your car’s cigarette lighter outlet or portable

power supply.

2. Turn on the power to the telescope by ﬂipping the switch,

located on the electronics panel, to the “On” position.

12 I

Computerized Hand Control

The Advanced VX uses the NexStar+ hand control that is designed to give you instant access to all the functions your mount

has to offer. With automatic slewing to over 40,000 objects and common sense menu descriptions, even a beginner can

master its variety of features in just a few observing sessions. Below is a brief description of the individual components of

The NexStar+ hand controller:

I 13

1. Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) Window: Has a four-line,

18 character display screen that has red backlighting

for comfortable viewing of telescope information and

scrolling text.

2. Align: Instructs the hand control to begin the process

of aligning your telescope.

3. Direction Keys: Allows complete control of the

Advanced VX mount in any direction. Use the direction

keys to center objects in the eyepiece or manually slew

telescope.

4. Catalog Keys: The Advanced VX has a key on the hand

control to allow direct access to each of the main catalogs

in its 40,000+ object database. Your mount contains the

following catalogs in its database:

• Solar System – All 7 planets in our Solar System plus

the Moon, Sun and Pluto.

• Stars – Custom lists of all the brightest stars, double

stars, variable stars and asterisms.

• Deep Sky – Custom lists of all the best galaxies, nebulae

and clusters as well as the complete Messier and select

NGC objects.

5. Identify: Searches the Advanced VX databases and

displays the name and offset distances to the nearest

matching objects.

6. Menu: Displays the many setup and utilities functions,

such as tracking rate and user deﬁned objects and many

others.

7. Option (Celestron Logo): Can be used in combination

with other keys to access more advanced features and

functions.

8. Enter: Pressing ENTER allows you to select any of the

Advanced VX functions, accept entered parameters and

slew the telescope to displayed objects.

9. Back: Pressing BACK will take you out of the current

menu and display the previous level of the menu path.

Press BACK repeatedly to get back to a main menu or

use to erase data entered by mistake.

10. Sky Tour: Activates the tour mode, which seeks out all

the best objects in the sky and automatically slews the

Advanced VX to those objects.

11. Scroll Keys: Used to scroll up and down within any of

the menu lists. A double arrow symbol on the right side

of the LCD indicates that the scroll keys can be used to

view additional information.

12. Motor Speed: Slews the telescope faster or slower

when the direction buttons are pressed.

13. Object Info: Displays coordinates and useful informa-

tion about objects selected from the Advanced VX

database.

14. RS-232 Jack: Allows you to connect your telescope to

a computer, for use with software programs for point-and-

click slewing capability and updating ﬁrmware via PC.

Hand Control Operation

This section describes the basic hand control procedures

needed to operate all Celestron computerized telescopes.

These procedures are grouped into three categories:

Alignment, Setup and Utilities. The alignment section reviews

the initial telescope alignment as well as ﬁnding objects in

the sky. The setup section discusses changing parameters

such as tracking mode and tracking rate. Finally, the last

section reviews all of the utilities functions such as calibrating

your mount, polar alignment and backlash compensation.

Alignment Procedures

In order for the telescope to accurately point to objects in the

sky, it must ﬁrst be aligned with known positions (stars) in the

sky. With this information, the telescope can create a model

of the sky, which it uses to locate any object with known

coordinates. There are many ways to align your telescope

with the sky depending on what information the user is able

to provide:

• Two Star Align uses the entered time/location information

and allows the user to select which two alignment stars the

telescope will automatically slew to.

• One Star Align uses the same time/location information

but only uses one star for alignment.

• Solar System Align will display a list of visible daytime

objects (planets and the Moon) available to align the

telescope.

• Quick-Align will ask you to input all the same information

as you would for the Two Star Align procedure. However,

instead of slewing to the alignment stars for centering and

alignment, the telescope bypasses this step and simply

models the sky based on the information given.

• Last Alignment restores your last saved star alignment

and switch position. Last Alignment also serves as a good

safeguard in case the telescope should lose power.

Startup Procedure

Before any of the described alignments are performed,

the Advanced VX mount needs to be positioned so that

the index marks are aligned on both the right ascension

and declination axes. Once the index position has been set,

the hand control will display the last entered date and time

information stored in the hand control.

1. Press ENTER to begin the alignment process.

2. The hand control will prompt the user to set the mount

to its index position. Move the telescope mount, either

manually or with the hand control, so the index marked in

both R.A. and Dec are aligned. Press ENTER to continue.

• The hand control will then display the last entered

local time, time zone and date.

• Use the Up/Down keys (10) to view the current

parameters.

14 I

• Press ENTER to accept the current parameters.

• Press BACK to enter current date, time and location

information into the hand control.

3. The following information will be displayed:

• Location – The hand control will display a list of cities to

choose from. Choose the city from the database that is

closest to your current observing site. The city you choose

will be remembered in the hand control’s memory so that it

will be automatically displayed the next time an alignment

is done. Alternatively, if you know the exact longitude and

latitude of your observing site, it can be entered directly

into the hand control and remembered for future use as

well. To choose a location city:

• Use the Up and Down scroll keys to choose between

City Database and Custom Site. City Database will

allow you to select the closest city to your observing

site from a list of either international or U.S. location.

Custom Site allows you to enter the exact longitude and

latitude of your observing site. Select City Database and

press ENTER.

• The hand control will allow you to choose from either

U.S. or international locations. For a listing of U.S.

locations by state and then by city, press ENTER while

United States is displayed. For international locations,

use the Up or Down scroll key to select International and

press ENTER.

• Use the Up and Down Scroll buttons to choose your

current state (or country if an International location was

selected) from the alphabetical listing and press ENTER.

• Use the Up and Down Scroll buttons to choose the

closest city to your location from the displayed list

and press ENTER.

• Time – Enter the current local time for your area. You can

enter either the local time (i.e., 08:00), or you can enter

military time (i.e., 20:00).

• Select PM or AM. If military time was entered, the hand

control will bypass this step.

• Choose between Standard time or Daylight Savings

time. Use the Up and Down scroll buttons (10) to toggle

between options.

• Select the time zone that you are observing from. Again,

use the Up and Down buttons (10) to scroll through the

choices. Refer to Time Zone map in Appendix for more

information.

• Date – Enter the month, day and year of your observing

session.

Note: Updating Your Location – Since you may not

need to update your observing location as often as

the date and time, it is not displayed each time you

update the date and time. To update your city, press

BACK at any time when updating your date and time.

Continue to press BACK to change the state, country

or to add longitude/latitude coordinates.

Note: If incorrect information is entered into the hand control,

the BACK button acts like a back space button

allowing the user to re-enter the correct data.

Select one of the alignment methods as described below.

Two Star Align

Two-Star Align allows the user to select two stars on which

to align the telescope. To align your telescope using the

Two-Star Align method:

1. Select Two-Star Align from the alignment choices given.

Based on the date and time information entered, the hand

control will automatically select and display a bright star

that is above the horizon.

• Press ENTER to select this star as your rst alignment

star.

• If for some reason the chosen star is not visible (perhaps

behind a tree or building), press BACK to have the

hand control automatically select the next brightest star.

• Or you can use the Up/Down keys to browse the entire

Named Star list and select any one of over two hundred

alignment stars.

2. Once the telescope is ﬁnished slewing to your ﬁrst

alignment star, the display will ask you to use the arrow

buttons to align the selected star with the cross hairs

in the center of the ﬁnderscope. When centered in the

ﬁnder, press ENTER.

The display will then instruct you to center the star in the

ﬁeld of view of the eyepiece. When the star is entered, press

ALIGN to accept this star as your rst alignment star.

Important: When moving the telescope, remember

to always ﬁnish slewing using the UP and RIGHT

direction buttons on the hand control to eliminate any

mechanical backlash in the gears.

3. After the ﬁrst alignment star has been entered, the hand

control will automatically select a second alignment star

and have you repeat this procedure for that star.

When the telescope has been aligned on both stars, the

display will ask you if you wish to add additional calibration

stars. Calibration stars are used to improve the pointing

accuracy of your telescope by compensating for subtle

opto-mechanical misalignments between the telescope

optics and the mount. Therefore, it is usually a good idea to

add at least one additional calibration star to improve the

mount’s all-sky pointing accuracy.

4. Press ENTER to select a calibration star. Select a star the

same way you did with the ﬁrst two alignment stars and

press ENTER. You will notice that all the calibration stars

displayed are located on the opposite side of the side of

the sky (Meridian) as the original alignment stars. This is

essential for an accurate calibration of the mount.

Finally, you can choose to continue to add additional calibration

stars or Press BACK to complete the alignment.

I 15

Note: East/West Filtering – In order to ensure the best

possible full-sky pointing accuracy, your computerized

mount automatically ﬁlters and chooses its initial

alignment stars so that the ﬁrst two alignment stars

are located on one side of the Meridian and any

calibration stars are on the opposite side of the

Meridian, as indicated by the “W” or “E” displayed in

the upper-right corner of the LCD. East/West ltering

can be changed simply by pressing the MENU button

at any time during the alignment process.

Tips for adding calibration stars:

• Although for casual observing it is not necessary to add

calibration stars, it is recommended that you add as many

as three calibration stars for optimal point accuracy.

• Choosing calibration stars that are near the celestial

equator offer the better results than stars near the

celestial poles.

• Although it is not necessary to use calibration stars if the

telescope mount has not been moved since its original

alignment/calibration, it may be necessary to recalibrate

the telescope if the optical tube has been removed for any

reason.

Note: Meridian – The Meridian is an imaginary line in the

sky that starts at the North celestial pole and ends at the

South celestial pole and passes through the zenith. If you are

facing south, the meridian starts from your Southern horizon

and passes directly overhead to the North celestial pole.

For safety purposes, the Sun will not be displayed in any of

the hand control’s customer object lists unless it is enabled

from the Utilities Menu. To allow the Sun to be displayed on

the hand control, do the following:

1. Press the BACK button until the display reads

“Advanced VX Ready”

2. Press the MENU button and use the Up and Down keys

to select the Utilities menu. Press ENTER.

3. Use the UP and Down keys to select Sun Menu and

press ENTER.

4. Press ENTER again to allow the Sun to appear on the

hand control display.

The Sun can be removed from the display by using the same

procedure as above.

Tip: To improve the telescope pointing accuracy, you can

use the Re-Align feature as described below.

Quick-Align

Quick-Align uses all the date and time information entered at

startup to align the telescope. However, instead of slewing to

the alignment stars for centering and alignment, the telescope

bypasses this step and simply models the sky based on the

information given. This will allow you to roughly slew to the

coordinates of bright objects like the Moon and planets and

provides the telescope with information needed to track

objects in any part of the sky (depending on accuracy of

polar alignment). Quick-Align is not meant to be used to

accurately locate small or faint deep-sky objects or to track

objects accurately for astroimaging.

To use Quick-Align, simply select Quick Align from the

alignment options and press ENTER. The telescope will

automatically use the entered date/time parameters to align

itself with the sky and display Alignment Successful.

Note: Once a Quick-Align has been done, you can use the

Re-alignment feature (see below) to improve your

telescope’s pointing accuracy.

Last Alignment

The Last Alignment method will automatically recall the last

stored index positions to continue using the alignment that

was saved when the telescope was last powered down.

This is a useful feature should your telescope accidentally

lose power or be powered down.

Note: Just like with Quick-Align, you can use the Re-alignment

feature (see below) to improve your telescope’s

pointing accuracy after using the Last Alignment

method. To maintain a more accurate alignment over

a series of observing sessions, use the Hibernate

feature described later in this chapter.

Re-Alignment

The mount has a re-alignment feature which allows you to

replace any of the original alignment stars with a new star or

celestial object. This can be useful in several situations:

• If you are observing over a period of a few hours, you may

notice that your original two alignment stars have drifted

towards the west considerably. (Remember that stars are

moving at a rate of 15° every hour). Aligning on a new star

that is in the eastern part of the sky will improve your pointing

accuracy, especially on objects in that part of the sky.

16 I

• If you have aligned your telescope using the Quick-Align

method, you can use Re-Align to align on actual objects

in the sky. This will improve the pointing accuracy of your

telescope without having to re-enter additional information.

• If you have used the computer-assisted polar alignment

method and have manually moved the mount, it may be

necessary to re-align the mount for improved pointing

accuracy.

To replace an existing alignment star with a new alignment star:

1. Select the desired star (or object) from the database and

slew to it.

2. Carefully center the object in the eyepiece.

3. Once centered, press the BACK button until you are at

the main menu.

4. With Advanced VX Ready displayed, press the ALIGN

key on the hand control to select Alignment Stars from

the list of options.

5. The display will then ask you which alignment star you

want to replace. Use the UP and Down scroll keys to

select the alignment star to be replaced. It is usually best

to replace the star closest to the new object. This will

space out your alignment stars across the sky.

6. Press ALIGN to make the change.

Object Catalog

Selecting an Object

Once the telescope is properly aligned, you can choose

an object from any of the catalogs in the NexStar+ hand

control’s database. The hand control has a key designated

for each category of objects in its database; Solar System

objects, Stars and Deep Sky objects.

• Solar System – The Solar System catalog will display

all the planets (and Moon) in our Solar System that are

currently visible in the sky. To allow the Sun to be displayed

as a selectable object in the database, see the Sun Menu

option in Scope Setup Menu.

• Stars – The Stars catalog displays custom lists of all

the brightest stars, double (Binary) stars, variable stars,

constellations and selected asterisms.

• Deep Sky – The Deep Sky catalog displays a list of all

the best Galaxies, Nebulae and Clusters, as well as the

complete Messier and select NGC objects. There is also

an alphabetical list of all deep sky objects in order by their

common name.

Use the scroll keys to scroll through the catalogs to ﬁnd the

object you want to view.

When scrolling through a long list of objects, holding down

either the UP or DOWN key will allow you to scroll through

the catalog rapidly.

Slewing to an Object

Once the desired object is displayed on the hand control

screen, you have two options:

• Press the OBJECT INFO Key. This will give you useful

information about the selected object such as magnitude,

constellation and extended information about the most

popular objects.

• Use the UP/DOWN arrow buttons to scroll through the

displayed object info.

• Use the BACK button to return to the object database.

• Press the ENTER Key. This will automatically slew the

telescope to the coordinates of the object displayed on the

hand control. While the telescope is slewing to the object,

the user can still access many of the hand control functions

(such as displaying information about the object).

NOTE: The Messier, NGC and SAO catalogs require the

user to enter a numeric designation. Once you

have selected the appropriate catalog button and

selected the Messier, NGC or SAO catalog, you will

see a ﬂashing cursor indicating you are in numeric

entry mode. Enter the catalog number for the object

you want to view. Press ENTER to command the

telescope to slew to the object or hold the OPTION

button (the Celestron logo) and press OBJECT

INFO to see information about the object you

selected.

Caution: Never slew the telescope when someone is

looking into the eyepiece. The telescope can move at

fast slew speeds and may hit an observer in the eye.

SkyTour Button

The Advanced VX mount includes a tour feature which

allows you to choose from a list of interesting objects

based on the date and time in which you are observing.

The automatic tour will display only those objects that are

within your set catalog ﬁlters limits. To activate the Tour

feature, press the SKY TOUR key on the hand control.

1. Press the SKY TOUR button on the hand control.

2. Use the SCROLL buttons to select Best of Tonight.

3. The Advanced VX mount will automatically slew in

azimuth to its starting position which will help minimize

the chance of wrapping the power cord during the tour.

4. The hand control will display the best objects to observe

that are currently in the sky.

• To see information and data about the displayed object,

press the OBJECT INFO key. Press it once to display

the coordinates of the object. Press it again to display

the text description. Press BACK to return to the

previous screen.

I 17

• To slew to the object displayed, press ENTER.

• To see the next tour object, press the DOWN key.

Identify Button

Pressing the IDENTIFY button will search the mount’s da-

tabase catalogs and display the name and angular distances

to the nearest matching objects from the telescope’s current

location. This feature can serve two purposes. First, it can be

used to identify an unknown object in the ﬁeld of view of your

eyepiece. Additionally, Identify Mode can be used to ﬁnd

other celestial objects that are close to the objects you are

currently observing.

For example, if your telescope is pointed at the brightest

star in the constellation Lyra, choosing Identify will no doubt

return the star Vega as the star you are observing. However,

the Identify feature will also search its NGC and Solar

System databases and display any planets or Deep Sky

objects that are close by. In this example, the Ring Nebula

(M57) would display as being approximately 6° away.

The brightness and proximity of the objects displayed can be

deﬁned by the user using the Identify Filter under Telescope

Setup.

Direction Buttons

The hand control has four direction buttons in the center

of the hand control which control the telescope motion in

altitude (up and down) and azimuth (left and right). The

telescope can be controlled at nine different speed rates.

1 = 2x 6 = .3° / sec

2 = 4x 7 = 1° / sec

3 = 8x 8 = 2° / sec

4 = 16x 9 = 4° / sec

5 = 32x

Motor Speed Button

Pressing the MOTOR SPEED button (12) allows you

to instantly change the speed rate of the motors from

high speed slew rate to precise guiding rate or anywhere

in between. Each rate corresponds to a number on the

hand controller key pad. The number 9 is the fastest rate

(approximately 4° per second, depending on power source)

and is used for slewing between objects and locating

alignment stars. The number 1 on the hand control is the

slowest rate (2x sidereal) and can be used for accurate

centering of objects in the eyepiece. To change the speed

rate of the motors:

• Press the MOTOR SPEED key on the hand control.

The LCD will display the current speed rate.

• Press the number on the hand control that corresponds

to the desired speed.

The hand control has a “double button” feature that allows

you to instantly speed up the motors without having to

choose a speed rate. To use this feature, simply press the

arrow button that corresponds to the direction that you want

to move the telescope. While holding that button down,

press the opposite directional button. This will increase the

speed to the maximum slew rate.

When using the UP and DOWN buttons on the hand control,

the slower slew rates (6 and lower) move the motors in the

opposite direction than the faster slew rates (7- 9). This is

done so that an object will move in the appropriate direction

when looking into the eyepiece (i.e., pressing the up arrow

button will move the star upwards in the ﬁeld of view of the

eyepiece). However, if any of the slower slew rates (rate 6

and below) are used to center an object in the starpointer,

you may need to press the opposite directional button to

make the telescope move in the correct direction.

Help Button

In future ﬁrmware updates, this button will offer troubleshooting

tips. For your convenience, it currently functions as a shortcut

to the Messier Catalog.

Menu Button

The Advanced VX mount contains many user-deﬁned

setup functions designed to give the user control over the

telescopes many features. All of the setup and utility features

can be accessed by pressing the MENU key and scrolling

through the options below.

Tracking Menu

Tracking Mode – This allows you to change the way the

telescope tracks depending on the type of mount being used

to support the telescope. The telescope has three different

tracking modes:

• EQ North – Used to track the sky when the telescope is

polar aligned in the Northern Hemisphere.

• EQ South – Used to track the sky when the telescope

is polar aligned in the Southern Hemisphere.

• Off – When using the telescope for terrestrial (land)

observation, the tracking can be turned off so that the

telescope never moves.

Tracking Rate – In addition to being able to move the

telescope with the hand control buttons, your telescope

will continually track a celestial object as it moves across

the night sky. The tracking rate can be changed depending

on what type of object is being observed:

• Sidereal – This rate compensates for the rotation of the

Earth by moving the telescope at the same rate as the

rotation of the Earth, but in the opposite direction. When

the telescope is polar aligned, this can be accomplished

by moving the telescope in right ascension only.

• Lunar – Used for tracking the Moon when observing the

lunar landscape.

• Solar – Used for tracking the Sun when solar observing

with the proper ﬁlter.

18 I

View Time-Site Menu

This menu displays the current time and longitude/latitude

downloaded from the optional SkySync GPS receiver.

It will also display other relevant time-site information like

time zone, daylight saving and local sidereal time. Local

sidereal time (LST) is useful for knowing the right ascension

of celestial objects that are located on the Meridian at that

time. View Time-Site will always display the last saved time

and location entered while it is linking with the GPS. Once

current information has been received, it will update the

displayed information. If GPS is switched off or not present, the

hand control will only display the last saved time and location.

The Hand Control Menu

The “Hand Control” menu allows you to customize certain

features of the NexStar+ hand control. To access this menu,

press the MENU button (#7 on the keypad) and use the

scroll buttons to select “Hand Control” and press ENTER.

Use the scroll buttons to select from the following options:

• Lights Control: Independently adjust the brightness of

the number keypad and the LCD.

• Scrolling Menu: Adjust how fast words move across the

face of the LCD.

• Toggle Bold Font: Change the format of the font

displayed on the LCD from normal to boldface.

• Set Contrast: Use the scroll keys to adjust the contrast

of the LCD.

• Set Language: Change the displayed language on the

LCD.

Note: The Set Language feature may also appear the rst

time you use your new hand control. You may also

initiate it at any time by holding down the Option

button (the Celestron logo) for 10 seconds while

powering up the telescope.

Scope Setup Menu

Setup Time-Site – Allows the user to customize the

telescope’s display by changing time and location

parameters (such as time zone and daylight savings).

Anti-backlash – All mechanical gears have a certain

amount of backlash or play between the gears. This play

is evident by how long it takes for a star to move in the

eyepiece when the hand control arrow buttons are pressed

(especially when changing directions). The Advanced VX

anti-backlash feature allows the user to compensate for

backlash by inputting a value which quickly rewinds the

motors just enough to eliminate the play between gears.

The amount of compensation needed depends on the

slewing rate selected; the slower the slewing rate the longer

it will take for the star to appear to move in the eyepiece.

There are two values for each axis, positive and negative:

• Positive is the amount of compensation applied when you

press the button in order to get the gears moving quickly

without a long pause.

• Negative is the amount of compensation applied when you

release the button, winding the motors back in the other

direction to resume tracking.

Normally, both values should be the same. You will need to

experiment with different values (from 0-99); a value between

20 and 50 is usually best for most visual observing, whereas

a higher value may be necessary for photographic guiding.

To set the anti-backlash value, scroll down to the anti-backlash

option and press ENTER. While viewing an object in the

eyepiece, observe the responsiveness of each of the four

arrow buttons. Note which directions you see a pause in the

star movement after the button has been pressed. Working

one axis at a time, adjust the backlash settings high enough

to cause immediate movement without resulting in a

pronounced jump when pressing or releasing the button.

Now, enter the same values for both positive and negative

directions. If you notice a jump when releasing the button but

setting the values lower results in a pause when pressing

the button, use the higher value for positive, but use the

lower value for negative. The telescope will remember these

values and use them each time it is turned on until they are

changed.

Filter Limits – When an alignment is complete, the telescope

automatically knows which celestial objects are above the

horizon. As a result, when scrolling through the database

lists (or selecting the Tour function), the hand control will

display only those objects that are known to be above the

horizon when you are observing. You can customize the

object database by selecting altitude limits that are appropriate

for your location and situation. For example, if you are

observing from a mountainous location where the horizon

is partially obscured, you can set your minimum altitude limit

to read +20°. This will make sure that the hand control only

displays objects that are higher in altitude than 20°.

Tip: If you want to explore the entire object database, set

the maximum altitude limit to 90° and the minimum limit

to –90°. This will display every object in the database

lists regardless of whether it is visible in the sky from

your location.

Direction Buttons – The direction a star appears to move

in the eyepiece changes depending on which side of the

Meridian the telescope tube is on. This can create confusion

especially when guiding on a star when doing astroimaging.

To compensate for this, the direction of the drive control keys

can be changed. To reverse the button logic of the hand

control, press the MENU button and select Direction

Buttons from the Utilities menu. Use the Up/Down arrow

keys (10) to select either the azimuth (right ascension) or

altitude (declination) button direction and press ENTER.

Select either positive or negative for both axes and press

ENTER to save. Setting the azimuth button direction to

positive will move the telescope in the same direction that

the telescope tracks (i.e., towards the west). Setting the

altitude buttons to positive will move the telescope counter-

clockwise along the DECLINATION axis.

I 19

GoTo Approach – Lets the user dene the direction that

the telescope will approach when slewing to an object. This

allows the user the ability to minimize the effects of backlash

when slewing from object to object. Just like with Direction

Buttons, setting GoTo Approach to positive will make the

telescope approach an object from the same direction

as tracking (west) for azimuth and counterclockwise in

declination. Declination GoTo approach will only apply while

the telescope tube is on one side of the Meridian. Once the

tube passes over to the other side of the Meridian, the GoTo

approach will need to be reversed.

To change the GoTo approach direction, simply choose

GoTo Approach from the Scope Setup menu, select either

Altitude or Azimuth approach, choose positive or negative

and press ENTER.

Hint: In order to minimize the affect of gear backlash

on pointing accuracy, the settings for Button Direction

should ideally match the settings for GoTo Approach. By

default, using the up and right direction buttons to center

alignment stars will automatically eliminate much of the

backlash in the gears. If you change the GoTo approach

of your telescope, it is not necessary to change the Button

Direction as well. Simply take notice of the direction the

telescope moves when completing its ﬁnal GoTo approach.

If the telescope approaches its alignment star from the

west (negative azimuth) and clockwise (negative altitude)

then make sure that the buttons used to center the align-

ment stars also move the telescope in the same directions.

Autoguide Rate – Allows the user to set an autoguide

rate as a percentage of sidereal rate. This is helpful when

calibrating your telescope to a CCD autoguider for long

exposure astroimaging.

OTA Orientation – Some users may wish to use an optional

tandem bar adapter which allows you to attach two optical

tubes to the mount at the same time. When most tandem

bars are attached to a mount, the optical tubes are positioned

at a 90° angle from the standard conﬁguration. In order for

the mount to be successfully aligned with the stars, it must

know that a tandem bar is being used and in which direction

the optical tube(s) are positioned (East or West) when

beginning an alignment. The tandem option must be set before

beginning any of the initial star alignments. To set this option,

go to the Scope Setup menu, select the Tandem option and

press ENTER. Then select from one of the

following options:

• East – If the attached optical tubes are facing towards the

east when the declination index makers are align, select

East.

• West – If the attached optical tubes are facing towards

the west when the declination index makers are align,

select West.

• Normal – If the tandem bar is no longer being used,

select “normal” to turn off this feature.

Meridian – This feature instructs the mount on how to

respond when it is slewing to objects that are accessible

from both sides of the Meridian. The Meridian feature allows

the telescope tube to remain on a desired side of the mount

when slewing, and continue to track according to the R.A.

slew limits the user has set. See R.A. Limits below. The

Meridian feature allows for four choices:

• Favor Current – Allows the mount to favor whatever side

of the mount that it is currently on when slewing to objects

close to the Meridian. For example, if your R.A. slew limits

are set to allow the mount to track 10° past the meridian,

then the telescope will continue to stay on its current side

of the Meridian when slewing to objects that are as far as

10° beyond your Meridian.

• Favor West – If the target object is accessible from both

sides of the mount, selecting “Favor West” instructs the

mount to point to the object as if it were on the west side

of the meridian. The optical tube will then be positioned on

the east side of the mount and pointing west.

• Favor East – If the target object is accessible from both

sides of the mount, selecting “Favor East” instructs the

mount to point to the object as if it were on the east side

of the meridian. The optical tube will then be positioned on

the west side of the mount and pointing east.

• Disable – This is the default setting, which instructs the

mount to always swing around to the other side of the pier

as required to view objects on the opposite side of the

Meridian. However, once at the desired object, the mount

will continue to track past the Meridian according to the

R.A. slew limits that have been set.

Mount Settings – Once the mount settings have been

calibrated (see Utilities section below) the values are stored

and displayed in the hand control. It is not recommended

that the calibration values be changed. However each setting

can be changed if necessary to improve the performance of

the telescope.

• Cone Value – This is the cone error value set when

Utilities/Calibrate Mount/DEC Switch – Cone is carried out.

• DEC Index – This is the declination index error value that

is stored when calibration stars are added after your initial

star alignment.

• R.A. Index – This is the R.A. index error value set when

Utilities/Calibrate Mount/R.A. Switch is carried out.

R.A. Limits – Sets the limits that the telescope can slew or

track in Right Ascension (R.A.) before stopping. The slew

limits are represented in degrees and by default set to 0°,

being the position of the telescope when the counterweight

bar is extended out horizontally. However, the slew limits can

be customized depending on your needs. For example, if

you are using CCD imaging equipment that has cables that

are not long enough to move with the telescope as it slews

across the sky, you can adjust the slew limit on the side of

the mount that is restricted by the cables, and command the

mount the stop slewing before it reaches this point. Or if you

are taking an image of an object that has just crossed the

Meridian, you can set the limit to allow the mount to continue

20 I

tracking in the same direction past the Meridian without the

need to “ﬂip” the telescope around to the opposite side of

the mount (see Meridian feature above). Using the ﬁrst example

above, the user could slew the telescope in R.A. (azimuth)

until it reaches the point that the cables are extended to their

maximum. Then by displaying the telescope’s azimuth in this

position (by looking at Get Axis Position under the Utilities

menu) you can determine the telescope’s azimuth at its most

extended position. Enter this azimuth reading for either the

maximum or minimum azimuth slew limit to ensure that the

telescope will not slew beyond this point. The telescope slew

limits can be set to automatically stop anywhere between

40° above level to 20° below level. To set the R.A. slew limit

select the following:

• R.A. East Limit – Enter a number between +40° to -20°

to deﬁne the slew limit when the tube is on the east side of

the mount.

• R.A. West Limit – Enter a number between +40° to -20°

to deﬁne the slew limit when the tube is on the west side

of the mount.

• Disable Limits – This disables any pre-dened values

that have been entered and allows the mount to track the

maximum amount pass the Meridian (i.e., -20° on both

sides)

Warning: In order for the telescope to be able to slew to a

star from the direction that minimizes the amount of backlash

in the gears, it may be necessary for the telescope to slew

beyond the speciﬁed slew limit in order to approach the star

from the correct direction. This can limit your ability to slew to

an object by as much as 6° from the R.A. slew limit set in the

hand control. If this proves to be a problem, the direction that

the telescope takes to center an object can be changed. To

change the telescopes slewing direction, see GoTo Approach

under the Scope Setup menu.

Custom Rate 9 – This allows you to customize the speed at

which the mount slews to a target. You can set the R.A. and

Dec axes individually.

Utilities Menu

Scrolling through the MENU (9) options will also provide

access to several advanced utility functions within the

telescope such as; Calibrate Mount, Hibernate as well as

many others.

Calibrate Mount – In order to optimize the performance

and pointing accuracy of the telescope, the mount has built-in

calibration routines allowing it to compensate for mechanical

variation inherent in every German equatorial mount. Each

calibration is completely automatic and in most cases only

needs to be performed once. It is highly recommended that

you take a few minutes to go through the mount calibration

procedures.

• R.A. Switch – This procedure records the offset error

when the right ascension index mark is aligned at start-up.

Calibrating the R.A. Index will improve the accuracy of your

initial star alignments when aligning the telescope in the

future.

• GoTo Calibration – GoTo Calibration is a useful tool

when attaching heavy visual or photographic accessories

to the telescope. GoTo Calibration calculates the amount

of distance and time it takes for the mount to complete

its ﬁnal slow GoTo when slewing to an object. Changing

the balance of the telescope can prolong the time it takes

to complete the ﬁnal slew. GoTo Calibration takes into

account any slight imbalances and changes the ﬁnal GoTo

distance to compensate.

Home Position – The telescope’s “home” position is a

user-deﬁnable position that is used to store the telescope

when not in use. The home position is useful when storing

the telescope in a permanent observatory facility. By default

the Home position is the same as the index position used

when aligning the mount.

To set the Home position for your mount, simply use the

arrow buttons on the hand control to move the telescope

mount to the desired position. Select the Set option and

press Enter.

Select the GoTo option to slew the telescope back to the

Home position at any time.

Factory Settings – Returns the hand control to its original

factory settings. Parameters such as backlash compensation

values, initial date and time, longitude/latitude, along with

slew and ﬁlter limits will be reset. However, stored parameters

such as user deﬁned objects will remain saved even when

Factory Settings is selected. The hand control will ask you

to press the “0” key before returning to the factory default

setting.

Version – Selecting this option will allow you to see the

current version number of the hand control and motor

control. The ﬁrst set of numbers indicate the hand control

software version. For the motor control, the hand control

will display two sets of numbers; the ﬁrst numbers are for

azimuth and the second set are for altitude.

Get Axis Position – Displays the relative altitude and

azimuth for the current position of the telescope.

GoTo Axis Position – Allows you to enter a specic relative

altitude and azimuth position and slew to it.

I 21

Hibernate – Hibernate allows the telescope to be completely

powered down and still retain its alignment when turned

back on. This not only saves power, but is ideal for those

that have their telescope permanently mounted or leave their

telescope in one location for long periods of time. To place

your telescope in Hibernate mode:

1. Select Hibernate from the Utility Menu.

2. Move the telescope to a desire position and

press ENTER.

3. Power off the telescope. Remember to never move

your telescope manually while in Hibernate mode.

Once the telescope is powered on again, the display will

read Wake Up. After pressing Enter, you have the option of

scrolling through the time/site information to conrm the

current setting. Press ENTER to wake up the telescope.

Hint: Pressing BACK at the Wake Up screen allows you

to explore many of the features of the hand control without

waking the telescope up from hibernate mode. To wake up

the telescope after BACK has been pressed, select Hibernate

from the Utility menu and press ENTER. Do not use the

direction buttons to move the telescope while in hibernate

mode.

Sun Menu

For safety purposes, the Sun will not be displayed as a

database object unless it is ﬁrst enabled. To enable the Sun,

go to the Sun Menu and press ENTER. The Sun will now

be displayed in the Planets catalog and can be used as an

alignment object when using the Solar System Alignment

method. To remove the Sun from displaying on the hand

control, once again select the Sun Menu from the Utilities

Menu and press ENTER.

Set Mount Position

The Set Mount Position menu can be used to maintain

your alignment in cases where you wish to disengage the

clutches or similar situation. For instance, you might use this

feature if you needed to rebalance the mount after having

completed an alignment. To set the mount position, simply

slew to a bright star in the named star list and select Set

Mount Position. The hand control will sync on the star by

asking you to center the star in the eyepiece and pressing

the Align button. Once synced on the star, you are free to

manually move the mount in both axes in order to rebalance.

When you are ready to slew the telescope to your next object,

just remember to manually return the tube to the same bright

star and carefully center it in the eyepiece. Using this tool will

invalidate the PEC index.

Turn On/Off GPS – If using your telescope with the

optional SkySync GPS accessory, you will need to turn the

GPS on the ﬁrst time you use the accessory. If you want to

use the telescope’s database to ﬁnd the coordinates of a

celestial object for a future or past dates, you will need to

turn the GPS off in order to manually enter a time other than

the present.

Turn On/Off RTC – Allows you to turn off the telescope’s

internal real time clock. When aligning, the telescope still

receives time information from the RTC. If you want to use

the hand control database to ﬁnd the coordinates of a

celestial object for a future or past dates, you will need to

turn the RTC off in order to manually enter a time other than

the present.

Periodic Error Correction (PEC) – PEC is designed to

improve photographic quality by reducing the amplitude of

the worm gear errors and improving the tracking accuracy of

the drive. This feature is for advanced astrophotography and

is used when your telescope is accurately polar aligned. For

more information on using PEC, refer to the section of the

manual on “Astroimaging.”

User Objects Menu

Your telescope can store up to 400 different user-deﬁned

objects in its memory. The objects can be daytime land

objects or an interesting celestial object that you discover

that is not included in the regular database. There are several

ways to save an object to memory depending on what type

of object it is:

GoTo Object: To go to any of the user deﬁned-objects

stored in the database, scroll down to either “GoTo Sky Obj”

or “GoTo Land Obj” and enter the number of the object

you wish to select and press ENTER. The telescope will

automatically retrieve and display the coordinates before

slewing to the object.

Save Sky Object: Your telescope stores celestial objects

to its database by saving its right ascension and declination

coordinates in the sky. This way the same object can be

found each time the telescope is aligned. Once a desired

object is centered in the eyepiece, simply scroll to the “Save

Sky Obj” command and press ENTER. The display will ask

you to enter a number between 1 and 200 to identify the

object. Press ENTER again to save this object to the database.

Save Database (Db)

• Object: This feature allows you to create your own custom

tour of database objects by allowing you to record the

current position of the telescope and save the name of the

object by selecting it from any one of the database catalogs.

These objects then can be accessed by selecting GoTo

Sky Object.

• Enter R.A. - Dec: You can also store a speciﬁc set of

coordinates for an object just by entering the R.A. and

declination for that object. Scroll to the “Enter RA-DEC”

command and press ENTER. The display will then ask

you to enter ﬁrst the R.A. and then the declination of the

desired object.

• Save Land Object: The telescope can also be used as

a spotting scope on terrestrial objects. Fixed land objects

can be stored by saving their altitude and azimuth relative

to the location of the telescope at the time of observing.

Since these objects are relative to the location of the

22 I

telescope, they are only valid for that exact location. To

save land objects, once again center the desired object in

the eyepiece. Scroll down to the “Save Land Obj” command

and press ENTER. The display will ask you to enter a

number between 1 and 200 to identify the object. Press

ENTER again to save this object to the database.

To replace the contents of any of the user deﬁned-objects,

simply save a new object using one of the existing

identiﬁcation numbers; the telescope will replace the

previous user-deﬁned object with the current one.

Get R.A./DEC - Displays the right ascension and declination

for the current position of the telescope.

Goto R.A./Dec - Allows you to input a speciﬁc R.A. and

declination and slew to it.

Hint: To store a set of coordinates (R.A./Dec) permanently

into the database, save it as a User-Deﬁned Object as

described above.

Identify

Identify Mode will search any of the mount’s database

catalogs or lists and display the name and offset distances

to the nearest matching objects. This feature can serve two

purposes. First, it can be used to identify an unknown object

in the ﬁeld of view of your eyepiece. Additionally, Identify

Mode can be used to ﬁnd other celestial objects that are

close to the objects you are currently observing. For example,

if your telescope is pointed at the brightest star in the

constellation Lyra, choosing Identify and then searching the

Named Star catalog will no doubt return the star Vega as

the star you are observing. However, by selecting Identify

and searching by the Named Object or Messier catalogs,

the hand control will let you know that the Ring Nebula (M57)

is approximately 6° from your current position. Searching the

Double Star catalog will reveal that Epsilon Lyrae is only 1°

away from Vega. To use the Identify feature:

• Press the Menu button and select the Identify option.

• Use the Up/Down scroll keys to select the catalog

that you would like to search.

• Press ENTER to begin the search.

Note: Some of the databases contain thousands of objects

and can therefore take several minutes to return the

closest objects.

Precise GoTo

The mount has a Precise Goto function that can assist in

ﬁnding extremely faint objects and centering objects closer

to the center of the ﬁeld of view for astroimaging. Precise

GoTo automatically searches out the closest bright star to

the desired object and asks the user to carefully center the

star in the eyepiece. The hand control then calculates the

small difference between its GoTo position and its centered

position. Using this offset, the mount will then slew to the

desired object with enhanced accuracy.

To use Precise GoTo:

1. Press the MENU button and use the Up/Down keys

to select Precise GoTo.

• Choose Database to select the object that you want

to observe from any of the database catalogs listed or;

• Choose R.A./DEC to enter a set of celestial coordinates

that you wish to slew to.

2. Once the desired object is selected, the hand control

will search out and display the closest bright star to

your desired object. Press ENTER to slew to the bright

alignment star.

3. Use the direction buttons to carefully center the alignment

star in the eyepiece.

4. Press ENTER to slew to the desired object.

I 23

Advanced VX Main Menu Tree

Tracking Mode EQ North

EQ South

Off

SiderealRate

Solar

Lunar

View Time-Site

Hand Control

Saved Site

Light Control Keypad Level

Display Level

Scrolling Menu

See Diagram - Next PageScope Setup

Save Db Objects

Set Contrast

GoTo Sky ObjectsUser Objects

GoTo Land Object

Toggle Bold Font

See Diagram - Next PageUtilities

Enter RA & Dec

Set Language

Save Sky Objects

Save Land Object

Get RA-Dec

GoTo RA Dec

Identify

Precise Goto

24 I

Advanced VX Main Menu Tree

Scope Setup

Utilities

Setup Time-Site

Meridian

Mount Settings

Custom Rate 9

OTA Orientation

GoTo Approach

RA Limits

Anti-Backlash

Filter Limits

Direction Button

Autoguide Rates

Calibrate Mount

PEC

Version

Sun Menu

Home Position

Get Axis Position

Set Mount Position

Goto Axis Position

Turn on/off GPS

Factory Setting

Hibernate

Turn on/off RTC

Custom Site

Dec Rate

Dec Positive

Disabled

Dec Button

Cone Value

RA Axis Enable

City Database

Normal

Dec Negative

Favor Current

RA Approach

RA East Limit

Set Rate

RA Positive

East

Favor West

Dec Approach

RA West Limit

Dec Axis Enable

RA Negative

West

RA Button

Favor East

RA Rate

Disable Limits

Set Rate

GoTo

Set

I 25

Setting Up the Refractor (#21020)

Installing the Finderscope

To install the ﬁnderscope onto the telescope, you must ﬁrst

mount the ﬁnderscope through the ﬁnder bracket and then

attach it to the telescope. Toward the rear of the telescope

tube, near the focusing assembly, there is a small bracket

with a set screw in it. This is where the ﬁnderscope bracket

will be mounted. To install the ﬁnderscope:

1. Slide the rubber O-ring over the eyepiece end of the

nderscope and roll it 2/3 of the way up the nderscope.

2. Insert the eyepiece end of the ﬁnderscope through the

bracket until the O-ring presses tightly between the ﬁnder

and the inside of the bracket.

Optical Tube Assemblies

Depending on the telescope kit you purchased, you may have received one of the following optical tubes. This section of the

manual will walk you through the setup of the basic types.

Kit # 22020 32054 32062 12031

Optical Design Refractor Newtonian Newtonian Edge HD

Diameter 6” (150 mm) 6” (150 mm) 8” (200 mm) 8” (203 mm)

Focal Length 1200 mm f/8 750 mm f/5 1000 mm f/5 2032 mm f/10

Eyepiece 20 mm (60x) - 1.25” 20 mm (38x) - 1.25” 20 mm (50x) - 1.25” 40 mm (51x) - 1.25”

Finderscope 9x50 6x30 9x50 9x50

Star Diagonal 90° - 1.25” - - 90° - 1.25”

Mount Advanced VX Advanced VX Advanced VX Advanced VX

Tripod 2” Stainless Steel 2” Stainless Steel 2” Stainless Steel 2” Stainless Steel

Counterweights 2x 12 lbs 1x 12 lbs 2x 12 lbs 1x 12 lbs

Tube Length 51” (128 cm) 27” (69 cm) 27” (69 cm) 17” (43 cm)

Tube Weight 19 lbs 10 lbs 14 lbs 13 lbs

Kit # 12079 12026 12046 12067

Optical Design Schmidt-Cassegrain Schmidt-Cassegrain Schmidt-Cassegrain Schmidt-Cassegrain

Diameter 6” (150 mm) 8” (203 mm) 9-1/4” (235 mm) 11” (280 mm)

Focal Length 1500 mm f/10 2032 mm f/10 2350 mm f/10 2800 mm f/10

Eyepiece 20 mm (75x) - 1.25” 25 mm (81x) - 1.25” 25 mm (94x) - 1.25” 40 mm (70x) - 1.25”

Finderscope 6x30 6x30 6x30 9x50

Star Diagonal 90° - 1.25” 90° - 1.25” 90° - 1.25” 90° - 1.25”

Mount Advanced VX Advanced VX Advanced VX Advanced VX

Tripod 2” Stainless Steel 2” Stainless Steel 2” Stainless Steel 2” Stainless Steel

Counterweights 1x 12 lbs 1x 12 lbs 2x 12 lbs 3x 12 lbs

Tube Length 16” (40 cm) 17” (43 cm) 22” (56 cm) 24” (61 cm)

Tube Weight 10 lbs 12 lbs 21 lbs 28 lbs

Finder

Bracket

Finderscope

Mounting Bracket

Set Screw

26 I

3. Tighten the adjustment screws until they make contact

with the ﬁnderscope body.

4. Locate the mounting bracket near the rear (open) end

of the telescope.

5. Loosen the set screw on the mounting bracket on the

telescope.

6. Slide the ﬁnder bracket (attached to the ﬁnderscope)

into the mounting bracket on the telescope.

7. The ﬁnderscope bracket will slide in from the back.

The ﬁnderscope should be oriented so that the objective

lens is toward the front (open) end of the telescope.

8. Tighten the set screw on the mounting bracket to hold

the ﬁnderscope in place.

Installing the Eyepieces

The eyepiece, or ocular as it is also called, is an optical

element that magniﬁes the image focused by the telescope.

Without the eyepiece, it would be impossible to use the

telescope visually. The eyepiece ﬁts directly into the focuser.

To attach an ocular:

1. Loosen the set screw on the eyepiece adapter so that it

does not obstruct the inner diameter of the barrel.

2. Slide the chrome portion of the eyepiece into the focuser.

3. Tighten the set screw to hold the eyepiece in place.

To remove the eyepiece, loosen the set screw on the focuser

and slide the eyepiece out. You can replace it with another

ocular.

Eyepieces are commonly referred to by focal length and

barrel diameter. The focal length of each eyepiece is printed

on the eyepiece barrel. The longer the focal length (i.e., the

larger the number), the lower the eyepiece magniﬁcation

(i.e., power). The shorter the focal length (i.e., the smaller the

number), the higher the eyepiece magniﬁcation. Generally,

you will use low-to-moderate power when viewing.

Your refracting telescope can use eyepieces with both a

1.25” and 2” barrel diameters. To use a 2” barrel eyepiece,

the 1.25” eyepiece adapter must ﬁrst be removed. To do this,

simply loosen the two chrome thumbscrews located around

the focuser barrel and remove the 1 1/4” adapter. Once

removed, a 2” eyepiece or accessory can be inserted directly

into the focuser barrel and secured with the two thumb

screws.

Your telescope comes with a 1.25” star diagonal. This

diagonal can be inserted into the end of the 1.25” adapter

allowing you to use 1.25” eyepieces at a more comfortable

angle when viewing near the zenith.

Setting Up the Newtonian Reﬂector

(#32054 & #32062)

Installing the Finderscope

To install the ﬁnderscope onto the telescope you must ﬁrst

mount the ﬁnderscope through the ﬁnder bracket and then

attach it to the telescope. Toward the front of the telescope

tube, near the focusing assembly, there is a small bracket

with a set screw in it. This is where the ﬁnderscope bracket

will be mounted. To install the ﬁnderscope:

1. Slide the rubber O-ring over the eyepiece end of the

nderscope and roll it 2/3 of the way up the nderscope.

2. Insert the eyepiece end of the ﬁnderscope through the

bracket until the O-ring presses tightly between the ﬁnder

and the inside of the bracket.

3. Tighten the adjustment screws until they make contact

with the ﬁnderscope body.

4. Locate the mounting bracket near the front (open) end

of the telescope.

5. Loosen the set screw on the mounting bracket on the

telescope.

6. Slide the ﬁnder bracket (attached to the ﬁnderscope)

into the mounting bracket on the telescope.

7. The ﬁnderscope bracket will slide in from the back.

The ﬁnderscope should be oriented so that the objective

lens is toward the front (open) end of the telescope.

8. Tighten the set screw on the mounting bracket to hold

the ﬁnderscope in place.

Installing the Eyepieces

The eyepiece, or ocular as it is also called, is an optical

element that magniﬁes the image focused by the telescope.

Without the eyepiece, it would be impossible to use the

telescope visually. The eyepiece ﬁts directly into the eyepiece

holder. To attach an ocular:

Focuser Tension Screw

1.25 Eyepiece Adapter

T-Adapter

Thread

Focuser Knob

2” Focuser Barrel

I 27

1. Loosen the set screw on the eyepiece holder so that

it does not obstruct the inner diameter of the eyepiece

holder.

2. Slide the chrome portion of the eyepiece into the

eyepiece holder.

3. Tighten the set screw to hold the eyepiece in place.

To remove the eyepiece, loosen the setscrew on the

eyepiece holder and slide the eyepiece out. You can replace

it with another ocular. Eyepieces are commonly referred to

by focal length which is printed on the eyepiece barrel. The

longer the focal length (i.e., the larger the number), the lower

the eyepiece magniﬁcation. The shorter the focal length (i.e.,

the smaller the number), the higher the eyepiece magniﬁcation.

Generally, you will use low-to moderate power when viewing.

If you have the 8” Newtonian optical tube (#32062), your

telescope can use eyepieces with both a 1.25” and 2” barrel

diameters. To use a 2” barrel eyepiece, the 1.25” eye-

piece adapter must ﬁrst be removed and replaced with the

included 2” eyepiece adapter. To do this, simply loosen the

two chrome thumbscrews located around the focuser barrel

and remove the 1.25” adapter. Once removed, a 2” eyepiece

adapter can be inserted directly into the focuser barrel and

secured with the two thumb screws.

Setting up the EdgeHD and Schmidt-

Cassegrain Optical Tubes (#12031, #12079,

#12026, #12046 and #12067)

Installing the Star Diagonal

The star diagonal is a prism that diverts the light at a right

angle to the light path of the telescope. This allows you to

observe in positions that are physically more comfortable

than if you looked straight through. To attach the star

diagonal onto the optical tube:

1. Turn the set screw on the visual back until its tip no

longer extends into (i.e., obstructs) the inner diameter

of the visual back.

2. Slide the chrome portion of the star diagonal into the

visual back.

3. Tighten the set screw on the visual back to hold the

star diagonal in place.

If you wish to change the orientation of the star diagonal,

loosen the set screw on the visual back until the star

diagonal rotates freely. Rotate the diagonal to the desired

position and tighten the set screw.

Installing the Eyepiece

The eyepiece, or ocular, is an optical element that magniﬁes

the image focused by the telescope. The eyepiece ﬁts into

either the visual back directly or the star diagonal. To install

an eyepiece:

1. Loosen the set screw on the star diagonal until the tip

no longer extends into the inner diameter of the eyepiece

end of the diagonal.

2. Slide the chrome portion of the eyepiece into the star

diagonal.

3. Tighten the set screw on the star diagonal to hold the

eyepiece in place.

To remove the eyepiece, loosen the set screw on the star

diagonal and slide the eyepiece out. You can replace it with

another eyepiece (purchased separately).

Eyepieces are commonly referred to by focal length and

barrel diameter. The focal length of each eyepiece is printed

on the eyepiece barrel. The longer the focal length (i.e., the

larger the number), the lower the eyepiece magniﬁcation.

The shorter the focal length (i.e., the smaller the number),

the higher the magniﬁcation. Generally, you will use low-

to-moderate power when viewing. For more information on

how to determine power, see the section on “Calculating

Magniﬁcation.”

Installing the 6x30 Finderscope

The 6”, 8” and 9-1/4” Schmidt Cassegrain telescopes come

with 6x30 ﬁnderscopes used to help you locate and center

objects in the main ﬁeld of your telescope. To accomplish

this, the ﬁnder has a built-in cross-hair reticle that shows the

optical center of the ﬁnderscope. To install the ﬁnderscope:

1. Attach the bracket to the optical tube. To do this, place

the curved portion of the bracket with the slot over the

two holes in the rear cell. The bracket should be oriented

so that the rings that hold the ﬁnder are over the telescope

tube, not the rear cell. Start threading the screws in by

hand and tighten fully with an screw driver

Eyepiece

Eyepiece Holder

Chrome Portion

Star

Diagonal

Visual Back

28 I

2. Partially thread-in the three nylon thumbscrews that hold

the ﬁnder in place inside the bracket. Tighten the screws

until the nylon heads are ﬂush with the inner diameter of

the bracket ring. Do NOT thread them in completely, or

they will interfere with the placement of the ﬁnder. (Having

the screws in place when the ﬁnder is installed will be

easier than trying to insert the screws after the ﬁnder has

been installed.)

3. Slide the rubber O-ring over the back of the ﬁnder

(it will NOT ﬁt over the objective end of the ﬁnder).

It may need to be stretched a little. Once on the main

body of the ﬁnder, slide it up about one inch from the

end of the ﬁnder.

4. Rotate the ﬁnder until one cross hair is parallel to the

R.A. axis and the other is parallel to the DEC axis.

5. Slide the eyepiece end of the ﬁnder into the front of the

bracket.

6. Slightly tighten the three nylon thumbscrews on the front

ring of the bracket to hold the ﬁnder in place.

7. Once on, push the ﬁnder back until the O-ring is snug

inside the back ring of the ﬁnder bracket.

8. Hand tighten the three nylon tipped thumbscrews until

snug.

Installing the 9x50 Finderscope

The 8” Edge HD and the 11” Schmidt Cassegrain telescopes

come with 9x50 ﬁnderscopes used to help you locate

and center objects in the main ﬁeld of your telescope. To

accomplish this, the ﬁnder has a built-in cross-hair reticle that

shows the optical center of the ﬁnderscope. The ﬁnderscope

must ﬁrst be mounted in the included quick-release bracket

then attached to the rear cell of the telescope. To install the

ﬁnderscope:

1. Locate the nderscope mounting bracket attached to

the bottom portion of the nder bracket. Loosen the two

thumb screws to slide the mounting bracket from the

ﬁnderscope bracket.

2. Find the two holes in the rear cell of the telescope on the

top left, when looking from the back of the tube.

3. Place the mounting bracket over the two holes of the rear

cell on the optical tube.

4. Insert the screws through the bracket and into the rear

cell.

WARNING: If you remove the mounting bracket, do not

completely thread the screws back into the rear cell of the

telescope. The screws may be long enough to obstruct the

movement of, and possibly damage the primary mirror.

With the bracket ﬁrmly attached to the telescope, you are

ready to attach the ﬁnder to the bracket.

1. Slide the O-Ring over the back of the ﬁnderscope and

position it on the tube toward the objective end of the

ﬁnderscope.

2. Slide the eyepiece end of the ﬁnderscope into the front

ring of the bracket (the front ring is the one without the

adjustment screws), then through the back ring. It may be

necessary to push down the spring loaded pivot screw so

that the ﬁnder will pass through the back ring.

3. Push the ﬁnder back until the O-Ring is snug inside the

front ring of the ﬁnder bracket.

4. Hand tighten the two alignment thumb screws until they

make contact with the ﬁnderscope.

Alignment

Screws

Finderscope

Nylon Adjustment Screw

Finder Bracket

Rear Cell

Quick Release

Screws

Pivot

Screws

I 29

Aligning the Finderscope

The ﬁnderscope is adjusted using two adjustment screws,

located on the top and on the right (when looking though the

ﬁnder) of the ﬁnder bracket and a spring-loaded pivot screw

(located on the left side of the bracket). This allows you to

turn the top adjustment screw to move the ﬁnderscope up

and down, and turn the right adjustment screw to move

the ﬁnderscope right to left. The spring-loaded pivot screw

puts constant pressure on the ﬁnder so that the adjustment

screws are always making contact with the ﬁnder.

To make the alignment process a little easier, you should

perform this task in the daytime when it is easier to locate

objects in the telescope without the ﬁnder. To align the ﬁnder:

1. Choose a conspicuous object that is in excess of one

mile away. This will eliminate any possible parallax effect

between the telescope and the ﬁnder.

2. Point your telescope at the object you selected and

center it in the main optics of the telescope.

3. Lock the azimuth and altitude clamps to hold the

telescope in place.

4. Check the ﬁnder to see where the object is located

in the ﬁeld of view.

5. Adjust the thumb screws on the ﬁnder bracket until

the cross hairs are centered on the target.

Removing the Lens Cap

The EdgeHD and Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes utilize a

lens cap with a bayonet-type locking mechanism to hold it

in place. To remove the lens cap, hold the cover ﬁrmly and

rotate the outer edge 1/2” counterclockwise and pull off.

Polar Aligning the Mount

Latitude Scales

The easiest way to polar align a telescope is with a latitude

scale. Unlike other methods that require you to ﬁnd the

celestial pole by identifying certain stars near it, this method

works off of a known constant to determine how high the

polar axis should be pointed. The Advanced VX mount can

be adjusted from 7 to 77 degrees.

The constant, mentioned above, is a relationship between

your latitude and the angular distance the celestial pole

is above the northern (or southern) horizon; the angular

distance from the northern horizon to the north celestial pole

is always equal to your latitude. To illustrate this, imagine that

you are standing on the North Pole, latitude +90°. The north

celestial pole, which has a declination of +90°, would be

directly overhead (i.e., 90° above the horizon). Now, let’s say

that you move one degree south — your latitude is now +89°

and the celestial pole is no longer directly overhead. It has

moved one degree closer toward the northern horizon.

This means the pole is now 89° above the northern horizon.

If you move one degree further south, the same thing happens

again. You would have to travel 70 miles north or south to

change your latitude by one degree. As you can see from

this example, the distance from the northern horizon to the

celestial pole is always equal to your latitude.

If you are observing from Los Angeles, which has latitude

of 34°, then the celestial pole is 34° above the northern

horizon. All a latitude scale does then is to point the polar

axis of the telescope at the right elevation above the northern

(or southern) horizon. To align your telescope:

1. Make sure the polar axis of the mount is pointing due

north. Use a landmark that you know faces north.

2. Level the tripod. There is a bubble level built into the

mount for this purpose.

3. Adjust the mount in altitude until the latitude indicator

points to your latitude. Moving the mount affects the

angle the polar axis is pointing. For speciﬁc information

on adjusting the equatorial mount, please see the section

“Adjusting the Mount.”

This method can be done in daylight, thus eliminating the

need to attempt in the dark. Although this method does

NOT put you directly on the pole, it will limit the number of

corrections you will make when tracking an object. It will also

be accurate enough for short exposure prime focus planetary

imaging (a couple of seconds) and short exposure piggyback

astroimaging (a couple of minutes).

Polar Align using the Hand Control

The Advanced VX mount has a polar alignment function

called “All-Star” Polar Alignment that will help you polar

align your telescope for increased tracking precision and

for astroimaging. This feature allows you to choose any

bright alignment star to assist in accurately aligning your

telescope’s mount with the North Celestial Pole. Before

using the Polar Align feature, the scope must ﬁrst be roughly

pointed towards north and should be aligned with three

stars in the sky. See the “Latitude Scale” section for help

with ﬁnding north and adjusting the mounts latitude.

Once your telescope is aligned on two stars and at least

one additional calibration star, slew the telescope to any

bright star in its Named Star database list. For best results,

choose a polar alignment star that is high in the sky and near

the Meridian. Try to avoid stars that are close to the west/

east horizon, directly overhead or too near the celestial pole.

30 I

Once completed, press the Align button and use the Up/

Down buttons on the hand controller to select Polar Align

from the list.

Align Mount – After performing a two star alignment with one

calibration star and slewing your telescope to any bright star

in the telescope’s database, select the “Align Mount” option.

The telescope will then slew away from and then back to the

same star.

1. The hand control will ask you to re-center the star in the

ﬁnderscope and press ENTER.

2. The hand control will ask you to accurately center the star

in your eyepiece and press ALIGN. The telescope will

then “sync” on this star and slew to the position that the

star should be if it were accurately polar aligned.

Note: For the most accurate alignment, it is best to use a

reticle eyepiece or a high power eyepiece to precisely center

the star in the ﬁeld of view.

3. Use the mount’s latitude and azimuth adjustments to

place the star in the center of the eyepiece. Do not use

the direction buttons on the hand control to position the

star. Once the star is centered in the eyepiece, press

ENTER; the polar axis should now be pointed towards

the North Celestial Pole.

Updating your Star Alignment

After polar alignment, it is a good idea to check the pointing

accuracy of the telescope to see how much it may have been

affected by moving the mount. Since the polar alignment

process requires you to “sync” the telescope on a bright

star before you begin, it will be necessary to undo the sync

before re-aligning. To undo the sync:

• Press the Align button and use the Up/Down buttons on

the hand controller to select Undo Sync from the list, and

press Enter. The message Complete will display on the

LCD.

To re-align your telescope:

1. Slew the telescope to one of the original alignment stars

or another bright star if the original alignment stars are

no longer in a convenient location. Press the Align button

and use the Up/Down buttons on the hand controller to

select Alignment Stars from the list.

2. The hand control will ask you which of the original

alignment stars you wish to replace. Use the Up/Down

buttons to select the desired star and press Enter.

3. Once again, center the star in the ﬁnderscope and

press Enter.

4. Center the star in the eyepiece and Press Align.

5. Repeat the process on a second alignment star.

For additional all-sky pointing accuracy, it is a good idea to

align on at least one additional calibration star located on

the opposite side of the Meridian. To add calibration stars:

1. Slew the telescope to a bright star on the opposite side

of the Meridian from your two alignment stars.

2. Press the Align button and use the Up/Down buttons on

the hand controller to select Calib. Stars from the list, and

press Enter.

3. Align the star in the ﬁnderscope and then in the eyepiece

as you did with the alignment stars.

Display Align – the user can now display the polar

alignment error in the RA and DEC axes. These values show

how close the mount is pointed at the celestial pole base on

how accurately the user centered the alignment star with the

hand control and with the mount adjustment. To display the

alignment error:

• Press the Align button and use the Up/Down buttons on

the hand controller to select Display Align from the list,

and press Enter.

Pointing at Polaris

This method of Polar aligning utilizes Polaris as a guidepost

to the celestial pole. Since Polaris is less than a degree from

the celestial pole, you can simply point the polar axis of your

telescope at Polaris. Although this is by no means perfect

alignment, it does get you within one degree and is suitable

for visual observing and short exposure piggyback photography.

This must be done in the dark when Polaris is visible and can

be done using the hole in the polar axis or with the help of

the optional polar axis ﬁnderscope.

1. Set up the telescope so the polar axis is pointing towards

north.

2. Remove the polar ﬁnderscope cover and the polar axis

cover from both sides of the mount. The polar ﬁnderscope

cover unthreads from the rear of the mount, and the polar

axis cover presses into the front of the mount

3. Loosen the DEC clutch knob and move the telescope so

the tube is perpendicular to the polar axis (i.e., the tube

should be pointing either due west or east).

4. Look through the hole located underneath the polar

ﬁnderscope cover (or through the eyepiece if using the

optional polar axis ﬁnderscope). You should be able to

see the sky from the hole under the polar axis cover.

5. Adjust the mount in altitude and/or azimuth until Polaris

is visible through the polar axis hole. Center Polaris as

accurately as possible.

Like the Display Align method, this gets you close to the

pole but not directly on it. For help in identifying and locating

Polaris, read the section below.

Finding the North Celestial Pole

In each hemisphere, there is a point in the sky around which

all the other stars appear to rotate. These points are called

the celestial poles and are named for the hemisphere in

which they reside. For example, in the northern hemisphere

all stars move around the north celestial pole. When the

telescope’s polar axis is pointed at the celestial pole, it is

parallel to the Earth’s rotational axis.

I 31

Big

Dipper

Lile Dipper

Cassiopeia

N.C.P

Polaris

(North Star)

Pointer Stars

Many methods of polar alignment require that you know how

to ﬁnd the celestial pole by identifying stars in the area. For

those in the northern hemisphere, ﬁnding the celestial pole

is not too difﬁcult. Fortunately, we have a naked eye star less

than a degree away. This star, Polaris, is the end star in the

handle of the Little Dipper. Since the Little Dipper (technically

called Ursa Minor) is not one of the brightest constellations

in the sky, it may be difﬁcult to locate from urban areas. If this

is the case, use the two end stars in the bowl of the Big

Dipper (the pointer stars). Draw an imaginary line through

them toward the Little Dipper. They point to Polaris. The

position of the Big Dipper changes during the year and

throughout the course of the night. When the Big Dipper

is low in the sky (i.e., near the horizon), it may be difﬁcult to

locate. During these times, look for Cassiopeia. Observers in

the southern hemisphere are not as fortunate as those in the

northern hemisphere. The stars around the south celestial

pole are not nearly as bright as those around the north. The

closest star that is relatively bright is Sigma Octantis. This

star is just within naked eye limit (magnitude 5.5) and lies

about 59 arc minutes from the pole.

Long Exposure Prime Focus Photography

This is the last form of celestial photography to be attempted

after others have been mastered. It is intended primarily for

deep sky objects, that is, objects outside our solar system

including star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. While it may

seem that high magniﬁcation is required for these objects,

just the opposite is true. Most of these objects cover large

angular areas and ﬁt nicely into the prime focus ﬁeld of your

telescope. The brightness of these objects, however,

requires long exposure times and, as a result, are rather

difﬁcult.

There are several techniques for this type of photography,

and the one chosen will determine the standard accessories

needed. The best method for long exposure deep sky astro-

photography is with an off-axis guider. This device allows you

to photograph and guide through the telescope simultaneously.

In addition, you will need a T-Ring to attach your camera to

the Radial Guider.

Other equipment needs include an autoguider, which is a

small camera that attaches to the radial guider and keeps

your guide star centered while you are imaging with your

main camera. Here is a brief summary of the technique.

1. Polar align the telescope. For more information on polar

aligning, see the Polar Alignment section earlier in the

manual.

2. Remove all visual accessories.

3. Thread the Radial Guider onto your telescope.

4. Thread the T-Ring onto the Radial Guider.

5. Mount your camera body onto the T-Ring the same

as you would any other lens.

6. Set the shutter speed to the “B” setting.

7. Focus the telescope on a star.

8. Center your subject in the ﬁeld of your camera.

9. Using your autoguider, ﬁnd a suitable guide star in the

telescope ﬁeld. This can be the most time-consuming

part of the process.

10. Open the shutter using a cable release.

11. Monitor your guide star for the duration of the exposure

using the buttons on the hand controller to make the

needed corrections.

12. Close the camera’s shutter.

Periodic Error Correction (PEC)

Periodic Error Correction, or PEC for short, is a system

that improves the tracking accuracy of the drive by reducing

the number of user corrections needed to keep a guide

star centered in the eyepiece. PEC is designed to improve

imaging quality by reducing the amplitude of the worm errors.

Using the PEC function is a three-step process. First, the

Advanced VX mount needs to know the current position of

its worm gear, so it has a reference when playing back the

recorded error. Next, you must guide using an autoguider for

at least 10 minutes during which time the system records

the correction you make. (It takes the worm gear 10 minutes

to make one complete revolution). This “teaches” the PEC

chip the characteristics of the worm. The periodic error of

the worm gear drive will be stored in the PEC chip and used

to correct periodic error. The last step is to play back the

corrections you made during the recording phase. Keep in

mind, this feature is for advanced astrophotography and still

requires careful guiding since all telescope drives have some

periodic error.

Using Periodic Error Correction

Once the telescope has been properly polar aligned, select

PEC from the Utilities menu and select the Record option.

Here’s how to use the PEC function:

1. Find a bright star relatively close to the object you want

to image.

2. Insert the autoguider into the eyepiece holder of your

telescope. Orient the guider so that one axis of the

sensor is parallel to the declination axis while the other

is parallel to the R.A. axis.

3. Focus the telescope, and study the periodic movement.

32 I

4. Plug the autoguider cable into the autoguider port on the

mount’s electronics panel.

5. To begin recording the drive’s periodic error, press the

MENU button and select PEC from the Utilities menu.

Use the Up/Down scroll buttons to display the Record

option and press ENTER. When you are ready to record,

press the ENTER button again to begin. You will have

5 seconds before the system starts to record. The ﬁrst

time each observing session that PEC record or play is

selected, the worm gear must rotate in order to mark its

starting position. If the worm gear rotation moves your

guide star outside the ﬁeld of view of the eyepiece, it will

have to be re-centered before the recording begins.

Note: Once the worm gear is indexed, it will not need to

be positioned again until the telescope is turned off. To give

yourself more time to prepare for guiding, it may be necessary

to restart PEC recording after the worm gear has found its

index.

6. After 10 minutes, PEC will automatically stop recording.

7. Point the telescope at the object you want to image and

center the guide star on the illuminated cross hairs. You

are ready to play back the periodic error correction.

8. Once the drive’s periodic error has been recorded, use

the Playback function to begin playing back the correction

for future imaging guiding. If you want to re-record the

periodic error, select Record and repeat the recording

processes again. The previously recorded information

will be replaced with the current information. Repeat

steps 7 and 8 to playback the PEC corrections for your

next object.

Does the PEC function make unguided astroimaging

possible? Yes and no. For solar (ﬁltered), lunar and piggy-

back (up to 200 mm), the answer is yes. However, even

with PEC, autoguiding is still mandatory for long exposure,

deep sky astroimaging.

I 33

Appendix A – Advanced VX Mount Technical Speciﬁcations

Payload Capacity (excluding counterweight) 30 Pounds

Optical Mounting System Standard Vixen-style “V” dovetail bar

Computerized Hand Control

NexStar+ hand control with LCD display, 19 ber-optic

backlit LED buttons

Database

40,000+ objects, 100 user-deﬁned programmable objects.

Enhanced information on over 200 objects

Slew Speeds Nine slew speeds, 4 deg/sec maximum

Tracking Modes EQ North, EQ South, Off

Tracking Rates Sidereal, Lunar, Solar

Alignment Procedures

2-Star Align, Quick Align, 1-Star Align, Last Alignment,

Solar System Align

Motor Type Low cog DC servo motors with encoders on both axes

Power Requirements 12V DC 3.5A (tip positive)

Latitude Range 7 degrees to 77 degrees

PEC Yes, Permanently Programmable

GPS Optional SkySync GPS Accessory

Backlash Compensation Yes

Internal Real-Time Clock Yes

Available Ports

2x AUX ports, Autoguider port, RS-232 port

(on hand control)

Setting Circles No

Polar Axis Scope Optional

Counterweight Shaft Length 12”

Counterweight Shaft Diameter 0.75”

Tripod Adjustable, Stainless Steel

Tripod Leg Diameter 2.0”

Height Range of Mount 44” to 64”

Weight of Tripod 18 lbs

Weight of EQ Head 17 lbs

Weight of Counterweight 1x 12 lbs

Total Telescope Kit Weight 47 lbs

CELESTRON TWO YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY

A. Celestron warrants your telescope mount to be free from defects

in materials and workmanship for two years. Celestron will repair

or replace such product or part thereof which, upon inspection by

Celestron, is found to be defective in materials or workmanship. As

a condition to the obligation of Celestron to repair or replace such

product, the product must be returned to Celestron together with

proof-of-purchase satisfactory to Celestron.

B. The Proper Return Authorization Number must be obtained from

Celestron in advance of return. Call Celestron at (310) 328-9560 to

receive the number to be displayed on the outside of your shipping

container.

All returns must be accompanied by a written statement setting forth

the name, address, and daytime telephone number of the owner,

together with a brief description of any claimed defects. Parts or

product for which replacement is made shall become the property of

Celestron.

The customer shall be responsible for all costs of transportation and

insurance, both to and from the factory of Celestron, and shall be

required to prepay such costs.

Celestron shall use reasonable efforts to repair or replace any

telescope mount covered by this warranty within thirty days of

receipt. In the event repair or replacement shall require more

than thirty days, Celestron shall notify the customer accordingly.

Celestron reserves the right to replace any product which has been

discontinued from its product line with a new product of comparable

value and function.

This warranty shall be void and of no force of effect in the event

a covered product has been modiﬁed in design or function, or

subjected to abuse, misuse, mishandling or unauthorized repair.

Further, product malfunction or deterioration due to normal wear is

not covered by this warranty.

CELESTRON DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR

IMPLIED, WHETHER OF MERCHANTABILITY OF FITNESS

FOR A PARTICULAR USE, EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY SET

FORTH HEREIN. THE SOLE OBLIGATION OF CELESTRON

UNDER THIS LIMITED WARRANTY SHALL BE TO REPAIR OR

REPLACE THE COVERED PRODUCT, IN ACCORDANCE WITH

THE TERMS SET FORTH HEREIN. CELESTRON EXPRESSLY

DISCLAIMS ANY LOST PROFITS, GENERAL, SPECIAL,

INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES WHICH MAY

RESULT FROM BREACH OF ANY WARRANTY, OR ARISING

OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE ANY CELESTRON

PRODUCT. ANY WARRANTIES WHICH ARE IMPLIED AND

WHICH CANNOT BE DISCLAIMED SHALL BE LIMITED IN

DURATION TO A TERM OF TWO YEARS FROM THE DATE OF

ORIGINAL RETAIL PURCHASE.

Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or

consequential damages or limitation on how long an implied warranty

lasts, so the above limitations and exclusions may not apply to you.

This warranty gives you speciﬁc legal rights, and you may also have

other rights which vary from state to state.

Celestron reserves the right to modify or discontinue, without prior

notice to you, any model or style telescope.

If warranty problems arise, or if you need assistance in using your

telescope mount contact:

Celestron

Customer Service Department

2835 Columbia Street

Torrance, CA 90503

Tel. 800.421.9649

Monday-Friday 8AM-4PM PST

NOTE: This warranty is valid to U.S.A. and Canadian

customers who have purchased this product from an

authorized Celestron dealer in the U.S.A. or Canada.

Warranty outside the U.S.A. and Canada is valid only to

customers who purchased from a Celestron’s International

Distributor or Authorized Celestron Dealer in the speciﬁc

country. Please contact them for any warranty service.

FCC Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with

the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC

Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection

against harmful interference in a residential installation. This

equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy

and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions,

may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However,

there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular

installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to

radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the

equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the

interference by one or more of the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from

that to which the receiver is connected.

• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

Product design and speciﬁcations are subject to change without

prior notiﬁcation.

This product is designed and intended for use by those 14 years of

age and older.

www.celestron.com

2835 Columbia Street • Torrance, CA 90503 U.S.A.

Telephone: 800.421.9649

Celestron Advanced VX Handleiding

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