User manual MEADE LX400-ACF MODELS

[. . . ] Instruction Manual 10", 12", 14" RCX400TM Advanced Ritchey-Chrétien Telescopes with AutoStar II® Hand Controller and Digital Front Focus MEADE. COM Focusing the Telescope As you look over your new RCX telescope, one of the first things you will notice is that it has no Focus Knob!Because this design is of key importance, we are presenting this information on how to focus your telescope on the inside front cover so that it is immediately accessible. The Focus Key All focusing of the RCX400 is performed digitally, using AutoStar II's Focus key (number key 4). The Focus key functions as a toggle key: Press the Focus key the first time to focus the telescope and to control the speed at which you focus. [. . . ] Calculations are for standard time. Note: The Download function requires the USB cable supplied with the RCX telescope. See page 43 for more information on how to download. Important Note: If your download fails in the middle of the download attempt (e. g. , your PC crashes), turn off the telescope. Turn the telescope back on and as soon the Autostar II display lights up, press "999. " Then attempt the download again. All: Everything--user-defined information and Autostar II software--is received by another Autostar II handbox. Statistics: Provides basic statistical data about Autostar II, including: Characters Free: Displays how much room is available in user-defined object memory. Version: Displays the current version of the Autostar II software. Serial Number: Displays the unit's serial number. Most values entered into the menus revert to factory defaults. Autostar II requires initialization again after a Reset before proceeding with observations. See AUTOMATIC ALIGNMENT, page 22. 35 "Hot Button" Menus Two menus, six object libraries and two functions can be accessed directly using the Number keys (commonly referred to as "hot buttons"). The two functions, the Speed mode and the Utility light are described earlier in the manual. Focus Control Menus: Press Number key "4" to select these menus directly from Autostar II's keypad. Each time you press Focus, the key toggles between focus/focus speed menus and the preset control menus. When "Focuser: Fast" displays, press the Up or Down Scroll keys to select a focus speed (fast, medium, slow or fine). When "Focuser: Position" displays, use the Up or Down Arrow keys to achieve fine focus of the object. You can toggle the Focus key to display the "Focuser: Preset" menus. The Focuser preset menu allows you to assign nine focus positions. If you "park" the telescope, you can set your own focus, focus for your observing partners and the focus for your camera or imager. Other Preset menus allow you to select a focus you have assigned and also to Sync on a Focus Preset. The Sync on a Focus Preset allows you retrieve focus positions when you do not park your telescope. Also see page 32 for information about parking your telescope. Reticle Control Menu: Press Number key "7" to select this menu directly from Autostar II's keypad. "Reticle Control: Set Intensity" displays. [. . . ] Open Clusters are loose groupings of young stars, all recently formed from the same diffuse nebula. The Pleiades is an open cluster 410 light years away (Fig. Through the RCX400, numerous stars are visible. Constellations are large, imaginary patterns of stars believed by ancient civilizations to be the celestial equivalent of objects, animals, people, or gods. [. . . ]