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Addendum For NexStar GT Hand Control Section Of The Owner's Manual.
The following is an addendum to the NexStar GT section of the owner's manual that explains the current
operation and added features to your NexStar hand control. Please refer to these pages for specific
information regarding telescope alignment and hand control functions.
Celestron International
Technical Support Dept.
2835 Columbia St.
Torrance, CA 90503
310-328-9560
www.celestron.com
Celestron International, 2835 Columbia Str
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T Th he e H Ha an nd d C Co on nt tr ro oll The NexStar GT's hand controller is designed to give you instant access to all the functions the NexStar has to offer. With automatic slewing to over 4,000 objects, and common sense menu descriptions, even a beginner can master its variety of features in just a few observing sessions. Below is a brief description of the individual components of the NexStar GT hand controller: 1. Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) Window: Has a dual-line, 16 character display
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4. Catalog Keys: The NexStar has a key on the hand control to allow direct access to each of the catalogs in its 4,000+ object database. The NexStar contains the following catalogs in its database: Messier – Complete list of all Messier objects. NGC – Many of the brightest deep sky objects from the Revised New General Catalog. Caldwell – A combination of the best NGC and IC objects. Planets - All 8 planets in our Solar System plus the Moon. Stars – A compiled list of the brightest stars from the
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1. Once the NexStar is powered on the display will read NexStar Ready.Press ENTER to begin alignment. The first time that the NexStar is used, it will request information to help identify the model of telescope. Once powered on, the hand control will display the messageSe Se Se Selec lec lec lect Mode t Mode t Mode t Modellll. Use the Up and Down menu keys (10) to scroll through the different NexStar models. Press ENTER when your NexStar model is displayed on the hand control. This information w
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the Star Pointer finder. Once finished slewing, the display will ask you to use the arrow buttons to align the selected star with the red dot in the center of the Star Pointer. If for some reason the chosen star is not visible (perhaps behind a tree or building) you can press UNDO to select and slew to a different star. Once centered in the finder, press ENTER. The display will then instruct you to center the star in the field of view of the eyepiece. When the star is centered, press ALIGN to ac
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3. The hand control will then ask you to input all the same time and location information as you would for the AutoAlign procedure. Once entered, the NexStar will model the sky based on this information and displayAlignment Successful Alignment Successful. Alignment Successful Alignment Successful N Ne ex xS St ta ar r R Re e- -A Alliig gn nm me en nt t The NexStar has a re-alignment feature which allows you to replace either of the two original alignment stars with a new star or celestial objec
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S Slle ew wiin ng g t to o a an n O Ob bjje ec ct t Once the desired object is displayed on the hand control screen, you have two options: • • • • Press the INFO Key. This will give you useful information about the selected object such as magnitude, constellation and fascinating facts about many of the objects. The speed at which information scrolls across the hand control display can be changed while the information is being viewed: Press the “1” key repeatedly to speed up the scroll speed. P
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R Ra at te e B Bu ut tt to on n Pressing the RATE key (11) allows you to instantly change the speed rate of the motors from high speed slew rate to precise guiding rate or anywhere in between. Each rate corresponds to a number on the hand controller key pad. The number 9 is the fastest rate (approximately 4º per second, depending on power source) and is used for slewing between objects and locating alignment stars. The number 1 on the hand control is the slowest rate (2x sidereal) and can be use
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Sidereal Time – Displays the Sidereal time for your current time and location. This is useful for knowing the right ascension of celestial objects that are located on the local meridian at that time. Filter Limits – When an alignment is complete, the NexStar automatically knows which celestial objects are above the horizon. As a result, when scrolling through the database lists (or selecting the Tour function), the NexStar hand control will display only those objects that are known to be above t
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Goto Alt-Az - Allows you to enter a specific altitude and azimuth position and slew to it. To store a set of coordinates (R.A./Dec) permanently into the NexStar database, save it as a User Defined Object as described above. Helpful Hint U Ut tiilliit ty y F Fe ea at tu ur re es s MENU Scrolling through the MENU options will also provide access to several advanced utility functions such as anti-backlash compensation and slew limits. UTILITIES Setup Time-Site - Allows the user to customize the Nex
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N exStar R eady MENU ALIGNMENT LIST TRACKING AUTO ALIGN NAMED STAR NAMED OBJECT ASTERISM S MODE POINT TUBE NORTH & LEVEL TOUR VARIABLE STAR CITY DATABASE ALT-AZ DOUBLE STAR EQ NORTH CALDW ELL EQ SOUTH United States M ESSIER OFF NGC RATE Choose State SOLAR SYSTEM SAO SIDEREAL Choose City SOLAR LUNAR Enter Time VIEW TIM E-SITE SIDEREAL TIM E Enter Date FILTER LIM ITS International ALTM AX IN LIST Choose Country A L TM IN IN L IS T UTILITIES Choose City CUSTOM SITE SETUP TIME/SITE ANTI-BACKLASH Ent
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APPENDIX C – MAPS OF TIME ZONES 12
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