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■ Tracking Rate: Changes the speed at which the telescope tracks targets in the sky.
a. Sidereal: The default setting for Autostar; sidereal rate is the standard rate at which
stars move from East to West across the sky due to the rotation of the Earth.
b. Lunar: Choose this option to properly track the Moon over long observing sessions.
c. Custom: Allows entry of user-defined tracking rates.
■ Reverse L/R: Reverses the functions of the Left and Right Arrow keys (i.e., the Right key
moves the telescope to the left).
■ Reverse UP/DOWN: Reverses the functions of the Up and Down Arrow keys (i.e., the Up
key moves the telescope down).
■ Calibrate Motor: If the telescope motors appear to have a problem, use this option to
retest the motors before performing a Reset. This option is also used if an Autostar unit is
moved between telescopes, to match Autostar to the new telescope. To calibrate the
motors, select this option and press ENTER.
■ High Precision: If High Precision is turned on, when looking for a faint celestial object (i.e.,
a nebula or galaxy), Autostar first slews to a nearby bright star and displays "ENTER to
Sync." Center the star in the eyepiece, then press ENTER. At that point the telescope has
a high precision alignment to that part of the sky and it then slews to the object that was
originally requested.
Targets switches between Astronomical targets and Terrestrial targets. If "Astronomical" is
selected, the telescope tracking motor is activated and any object you observe will remain
centered in the eyepiece. If "Terrestrial" is selected, the tracking motor is turned off. To learn
how to track an object automatically, see page 18.
Site provides access to several options including:
■ Select: Displays the currently selected observing site. Use the Scroll keys to cycle through
all available sites (see
ADD below). Press ENTER when the site you wish to select
displays. Use this option when you move to a different geographic location.
■ Add: Allows you to add new observing sites to the database (up to six sites may be stored).
Scroll through the list of Countries/States. Press ENTER when the site you wish to add
displays. Then choose the desired city in the same manner.
■ Delete: Deletes a stored site from the database.
■ Edit: Edits a selected site, including: the name, latitude, longitude, and time zone. Time
Zone refers to the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) time zone shift. Users West of Greenwich,
England use “-” hours, East of Greenwich use “+” hours. For the United States, look up the
time zone shift in table above.
NOTE: Autostar compensates for daylight savings time, if selected. See
SETUP
MENU: DAYLIGHT SAVING
, page 27.
Owner Info accesses the owner information menu, including:
■ Name: Users may enter both their first and last names using the Up and Down Arrow keys
to cycle through the alphabet. Use the Right and Left Arrow keys to move through the text.
Press ENTER when the entry is complete.
■ Address: Use the Up and Down Arrow keys to enter your street address, city, state, and
zip code. Press ENTER when the entry is complete.
Download transfers information from a personal computer or another Autostar. During the
operation, the warning “Downloading Do Not Turn Off” appears.
NOTE: The Download function requires the optional #505 Astrofinder Software and
Cable Connector Kit. See the instruction sheet included with the kit for more
information on how to download. Also see
OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES, page 37.
Clone uploads information from one Autostar handbox to another. Three options are available:
■ Catalogs: Sends only user-defined object information, such as new satellite orbits or
comet data to another Autostar handbox.
Time Zone Shift
Atlantic -4 Hours
Eastern -5 Hours
Central -6 Hours
Mountain -7 Hours
Pacific -8 Hours
Hawaii -10 Hours
Table 1: Time Zone Shift.