5. “Automatic Alignment” displays. The system now performs the following routines
(press any AutoStar II key to abort Automatic Alignment; see
IMPORTANT NOTE, at
the bottom left of page 19.) :
Caution: As the telescope performs the following operations, it will swing
and rotate. Keep a safe distance from the telescope.
The telescope now finds
the level and tilt position of the telescope, and also detects where true North is.
It may not actually level or tilt the telescope or point to North—it is just detecting
these positions. This make take a minute or two.
a. Finds the home position. Moves the telescope to find the “home” position.
When the home position is found, the system knows the limiting positions of
the telescope and can avoid tangling cables and over-rotating the telescope.
b. Detects “level” of the base of the telescope; finds tilt and tip. To detect
level, AutoStar II must calculate “level” at three compass points. See
FINDING
TRUE LEVEL in on page 22.
AutoStar II also determines the positioning (
i.e.,
tilt and tip) of the optical tube.
c. Finds North. Locates magnetic North, then calculates true North. See
FINDING TRUE NORTH, page 22.
d. Attempts a “GPS Fix”. The GPS receiver attempts to acquire and sync up with
signals from GPS satellite system. “Getting GPS Fix” displays. See
THE
GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM on page 22.
After performing these operations, AutoStar II now knows:
The telescope’s limiting positions
Where level is for the telescope
The location of true North
The observing site’s location
The date and time
Note: Press any key to abort the GPS fix. You will then be prompted to enter the
time, date and location.
e. Once the level, tilt and North are detected, the telescope will “Go To” 2 alignment
stars. The telescope will go to these stars in order to orient itself to the sky. Once it
has done this, it will be able to point to any of the more than 145,000 stars in its
database.
“Automatic Alignment: Selecting Star” and “Slewing” display. Finally, when it is close
to the alignment star “Center Brightest Star: Press ENTER” displays. Use the Arrow
keys to center the alignment star in the eyepiece. The alignment star will be the
brightest star in that area of the sky (and hence, “brightest star”). When the
alignment star is entered, press ENTER.
Note: If you press the “?” key while “Ctr Brightest Star” displays, the alignment star
that AutoStar has chosen will display. For example, “Arcturus: Press ENTER” m ay
display.
Note: If you have an obstruction, such as a tree or a building blocking your view of
the alignment star, or if you have any doubts at all about the star that has been
chosen, no problem. Just press the Scroll Down key and AutoStar will find another
star to align upon.
Which One’s the Alignment Star?
If AutoStar II has chosen an alignment star with which you are unfamiliar, how
can you be sure if the star in your eyepiece is really the alignment star?
The rule of thumb is that an alignment star is usually the brightest star in that
area of the sky. If you perform a GO TO to an alignment star and you’re not sure
if you have located the alignment star or it isn’t in the eyepiece, look through your
viewfinder. When you view an alignment star in the viewfinder, it stands out
dramatically from the rest of the stars in that portion of the sky. The viewfinder
will help you locate a star more quickly than the eyepiece, because it has a much
wider field of view than the eyepiece. Using AutoStar II, set the slew speed to 6
or higher and use the Arrow keys to center the alignment star in the viewfinder.
If your viewfinder has been aligned with the telescope, the alignment star should
now be in the eyepiece. Set the slew speed to 4 or less and center the star in the
eyepiece. Also see the “Spiral Search” tip, page 21.
LX200-ACF TIPS
Important Note:
The Daylight Saving
menu enables or disables
the Daylight Savings Time
setting: Remember to turn
this setting off or on the two
days a year when Daylight
Saving changes. See
TIMING IS EVERYTHING
,
page 29.
Important Note:
Once the telescope is
aligned, only use the Arrow
keys to move the
telescope. Once the
telescope has been
aligned, do not loosen the
telescope locks (Pg. 7, Fig.
1, 12 and 17), or move the
base manually, or
alignment will be lost.
Important Notes:
It is recommended that you
do not attempt a GPS fix
indoors.
It is also recommended
that you
CALIBRATE
SENSORS
the first time your
telescope takes a GPS fix.
See page 29 for more
information.
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