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17
7. Set
Your Location or Zip Code:
The Location screen displa
ys.This screen asks you if you
wish to choose either the zip code of your observing location or the location (
i.e., entering
the city and state or country of your observing location). Press Up to select the zip code
option or do
wn to enter the city and state.
Note: The location settings (country/state/province and city, or zip code) are only
asked for the first time you turn on the control panel. If you wish to change this set-
ting later on, use the Site menu. See SITE, page 27, for more information.
a. If you chose the zip code option, the leftmost “0” is highlighted. Use the Scroll keys to scroll
through the digits. When you reach the desired number, use the Right Arrow key to move
to the ne
xt digit position. Repeat this process until all 5 digits of your zip code are entered.
Press ENTER.
b. If you chose the location option, the next screen asks for the country or state/province (list-
ed alphabetically) of the obser
ving site.
Use the Scroll keys to scroll through the list of countries, states, and provinces. Press
ENTER when the correct location displays.
The ne
xt screen asks for the city (listed alphabetically) closest to the observing site. Use
the Scroll keys to scroll through the list of cities. Press ENTER when the correct city
appears on screen.
8.
Select model number. As AutoStar operates with several different models of telescopes,
it next requests your telescope model number. Use the Scroll keys to cycle through the
models. Press ENTER when your model number displays.
9.
System initialization is complete.The Easy Alignment feature begins automatically after
the control panel is initialized.
Initialization is a pro-
cedure that ensures
that A
utoStar oper-
ates correctly. When
y
ou first use AutoStar,
it doesn't yet know
where the observa-
tion location site is,
what your model
number is (AutoStar
operates with several
different models of
Meade telescopes) or
if you are in a
daylight savings time
period.
During the procedure,
you are requested to
enter this information.
AutoStar uses this
information, plus time
and date information
it receives for a high-
precision internal
clock to precisely cal-
culate the location of
celestial objects,
such as stars and
planets, and how to
move your telescope
correctly for various
operations.
You will only be
asked for the location
and model number
inf
ormation the first
time you initialize
AutoStar or after a
reset.You can
change this
information (for
example, you may
move more than 50
miles away) by going
to the Site and
Telescope model
options in the Setup
menu.
TIPS
FOR BEGINNERS
Too Much Power?
Can you ever have too much power? If the type of
power you’re referring to is eyepiece magnification,
yes, you can! The most common mistake of the
beginning observer is to “overpower” his or her tele-
scope by using high magnifications which the tele-
scope’s aperture and atmospheric conditions can
not reasonab
ly support. Keep in mind that a small-
er, but bright and well-resolved image is far superi-
or to one that is larger
, b
ut dim and poorly resolved
(see belo
w). Powers above 110X should be
employed only under the steadiest atmospheric
conditions
.
AutoStar can calculate the best eyepiece for you to
use. Try out the “Eyepiece Calc” feature in the
Utilities menu.
Most observers should have three or four additional
eyepieces to achieve the full range of reasonable
magnifications possible with the ETX telescopes.
See
OPTIONAL A
CCESSORIES,
page 32.
Fig. 14a & 14b: Jupiter; example of too much magnification.