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Fig. 9: Viewfinder Assembly.
Collimation
Screws
Mounting Slot
Viewfinder
Eyepiece
Track
Fig. 10: Viewfinder collimation
screws and eyepiece.
Fig. 11a & 11b: Jupiter; examples of
the right amount of magnification and
too much magnification.
Thumb-
screws
Mounting and Adjusting the Viewfinder
To align the viewfinder, perform steps 1 through 5 during the daytime; perform step 6
at night.
1. Slide the track on the bottom of the viewfinder into the slot in the viewfinder
mounting assembly. See Fig. 9. To secure the viewfinder to the mounting
assembly, tighten the two thumbscrews (Fig. 9) to a firm feel only.
2. If you have not already done so, insert the 26mm eyepiece into the
diagonal prism.
3. Unlock the R.A. (Pg. 7, Fig. 1, 12) and Dec. (Fig. 1, 17) locks so that the
telescope moves freely on both axes.
4. Point the telescope at some well-defined and stationary land object at least 200
yards distant, such as the top of a telephone pole or street sign. Center the object
in the telescope eyepiece. Re-tighten the R.A. and Dec. locks.
5. Look through the viewfinder eyepiece (Fig. 10) and loosen or tighten, as
appropriate, one or more of the viewfinder collimation screws (Fig. 10) until the
viewfinder crosshairs are precisely centered on the object you previously
centered in the telescope eyepiece.
6. Check this alignment on a celestial object, such as the Moon or a bright star, and
make any necessary refinements, using the method outlined in steps 3 through 5.
Note: Seeing conditions vary widely from night-to-night and site-to-site.
Turbulence in the air, even on an apparently clear night, can distort
images. If an image appears fuzzy and ill-defined, back off to a lower
power eyepiece for a more well-resolved image (see Fig. 11a and 11b).
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” a telescope by using high magnifications
which the telescope’s aperture and atmospheric conditions cannot reasonably
support. Keep in mind that a smaller, but bright and well-resolved image is far
superior to one that is larger, but dim and poorly resolved (see Figs. 11a and
11b). Powers above 400X should be employed only under the steadiest
atmospheric conditions.
AutoStar II 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
LX200-ACF
telescopes. See
OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES
, page 44.
LX200-ACF TIPS
Tip:
Because the space
between the GPS receiver
and the viewfinder is a bit
tight, it is helpful if you
tighten the front, bottom
viewfinder collimation
thumbscrew first and use
the other screws to set the
alignment. However, if you
determine you need to
adjust the front
thumbscrew, choose an
alignment object that allows
you to slightly elevate or
rotate the telescope to a
convenient position for
adjustment of this
thumbscrew.
GPS
Receiver
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