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Instruction Manual
NGC-Series Telescopes
NG-Series Telescopes
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CONTENTS WARNING! Telescope and Features.................................................. 4 ® Telescope and Tripod Features...................................... 6 ™ ™ Never use a Meade NGC or NG Telescope to look at the Sun! Looking at or Getting Started................................................................ 8 near the Sun will cause instant and irre- Parts Listing .............................................................. 8 versible damage to your eye. Eye damage is often painles
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TELESCOPE FEATURES G E D C B F H 1& I 1^ J 1% 1) 1! 1@ 1# 1$ Fig. 1: The NGC telescope. Inset: Alternate tray style. Your telescope may look different from the one depicted above. Some differences include: • NG models do not include a control panel (4, Fig. 1) or a battery compartment (18, Fig. 2) • 90° diagonal mirror styles vary (8, Fig. 1 or 28, Fig. 4 inset) • Some models include 1.25" diameter eyepieces; other models include .965" diameter eyepieces (7, Fig. 1) • Viewfinder bracket (6, Fig
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E 1* A B C D E F 1( 2) G Fig. 2: Top view of the NGC base. Fig. 3: Detailed view of the NGC computer control panel. 2@ 2# G 2! H 2% 2^ 2$ I J 1) 2& 2* Fig. 4: Detailed view of the focuser assembly and the viewfinder. Inset: Alternate style focuser and viewfinder. 5
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Telescope and Tripod Features b Dust Cap (not shown): Pull to remove from the dew shield (17, Fig. 1). NOTE: The dust cap should be replaced after each observing session and the power turned off (NGC models only) to the telescope. Verify that any dew that might have collected during the observing session has evaporat- ed prior to replacing the dust cap. C Optical Tube: The main optical component that gathers the light from distant objects and brings this light to a focus for examination with t
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1) Focus Knobs: Use to move the telescope’s focuser assembly to obtain precise image focus. Rotate the focus knobs clockwise to focus on distant objects, and counterclockwise to focus on nearby objects. 1! Tripod Leg Nuts and Bolts (3): Attach the tripod legs (15, Fig. 1) to the tripod head (16, Fig. 1) using these three nuts and bolts. See HOW TO ASSEMBLE YOUR TELESCOPE, page 8, for more information. 1@ Tripod Struts: Attach the struts to accessory tray. See HOW TO ASSEMBLE YOUR TELESCOPE, pag
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GETTING STARTED Parts Listing • Complete 60mm diameter optical tube assembly with dew shield, dust cap, 5 x 24 viewfinder, and rack-and-pinion focuser; electronic control panel (NGC models only). • Continuously adjustable aluminum tripod and leg braces. • Accessories: Eyepieces and 90° diagonal mirror Accessory tray 3 screws (3/8" long) with wing nuts and screwdriver tool 3 screws (1 9/16" long) with hex nuts 2 nuts for attaching optical tube to bracket (certain models) Insert 3 cylindrical
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6. Insert the diagonal mirror and eyepiece: Insert the diagonal mirror (8, Fig. 1) into the focuser drawtube (9, Fig. 1) and a low-power eyepiece (e.g., 25mm or Bracket 26mm eyepiece) into the diagonal mirror. Tighten the eyepiece and diagonal mir- Attachment ror thumbscrews (25 and 26, Fig. 4) to a firm feel. Nuts Note: Some models are supplied with one of two styles of the 90° diagonal mirror. Quantities of eyepieces and eyepiece size varies with each model. 7. Install battery (NGC Models Only
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Low power eyepieces offer a wide field of view, bright, high-contrast images, and eye relief during long observing sessions. To find an object with a telescope, always start with a low power eyepiece (e.g., 25mm or 26mm eyepiece). When the object is locat- ed and centered in the eyepiece, you may wish to switch to a higher power eyepiece to enlarge the image as much as practical for prevailing seeing conditions. NOTE: Seeing conditions vary widely from night-to-night and site-to-site. Turbulence
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Initializing the Control Panel (NGC Models Only) 1. Make sure that you have installed a 9v battery in the battery compartment. 2. Press ON/OFF to turn the power on. The control panel display lights up and a copyright message displays briefly. 3. A message displays that warns you not to use the telescope to look at the Sun. At the end of this message, press the button prompted by the display to signify that the message has been read and understood. 4. The control panel display then requests t
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7. "Enter Time: 08:00:00AM" displays. The leftmost "0" is highlighted. Press UP/DOWN until "1" displays. Press ENTER. 8. "8" is highlighted. Press UP/DOWN until "1" displays. Press ENTER. 9. "0" is highlighted. Press UP/DOWN until "3" displays. Press ENTER. 10. Keep pressing ENTER until "AM" is highlighted. Press UP/DOWN until "PM" dis- plays. Press ENTER. 11. The time display now reads "11:30:00PM." Easy Alignment (NGC Models Only) 1. Easy Align: Once the control panel is initialized, the con
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Go To Saturn (NGC Models Only) After performing the Easy Alignment procedure, the telescope is aligned for a night of viewing. IMPORTANT NOTE: IMPORTANT NOTE: Once aligned, do not move the telescope's tripod As you observe and base from the level position or alignment will be lost. Saturn, you will notice This exercise demonstrates how to select an object for viewing from the control that the image moves panel's Object menu. The control panel provides an Object menu which displays a list in the
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1. After observing Saturn, press MODE twice so that "Select Item: Object" displays again. 2. Press UP/DOWN until "Select Item: Guided Tour" displays. 3. Press ENTER. "Guided Tour: Tonight’s Best" displays. Press ENTER. NOTE: If you wish to try out other Guided Tours, press UP/DOWN to scroll through other tour choices. When the tour you wish to select dis- plays, press ENTER. 4. "Tonight’s Best: Searching..." displays. After calculating, "Tonight’s Best: Jupiter" displays. NOTE: Different objec
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Select Item:
Select Item:
Select Item:
Select Item:
Select Item:
Select Item:
Object Event Guided Tour Glossary Utilities Setup Sunrise
Easy Align
Solar System
Tour Objects A...
Timer
Mercury
Sunset
Accretion Disk
Set
Date
Tonight's Best
Etc.
Moonrise
Etc.
Start & Stop
Time
How Far is Far
Moon
Moonset
B...
Alarm
Daylight Saving
A Star's Life
Asteroids
Moon Phases
C...
Set
Site
Messier Marathon Next Full Moon
Select
Comets
D...
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Object Menu Almost all observing is performed using the Object menu category. (NOTE: Exceptions include Guided Tour and Landmark Survey.) See GO TO SATURN, page 13, for an example of observing using the Object menu. Also see USING THE GUIDED TOUR, page 13. The Object Menu includes: Solar System is a list of the eight planets (Earth is not included) in order out from the Sun, followed by the Moon, asteroids, and comets. Constellation is a list of all 88 Northern and Southern Hemisphere constella
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Sunrise and Sunset calculates the time that the Sun rises or sets on the current date and location. Find rise and set times for other dates by entering a new date into the "Setup: Date" menu. Moonrise and Moonset calculates the time that the Moon rises or sets on the current date and location. Find rise and set times for other dates by entering a new date into the "Setup: Date" menu. NOTE: Meteors are Moon Phases displays the date and time of the next Full, New, 1st Quarter, and 3rd fast movin
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Eyepiece Calc calculates information about an eyepiece for your telescope. • Field of View: Scroll through a list of available eyepieces. When an eyepiece is selected, the field of view is calculated. • Magnification: Scroll through a list of available eyepieces. When an eyepiece is selected, the magnification is calculated. • Suggest: Suggests the best eyepiece for viewing, based on the telescope and the object being viewed. Brightness Adj: Adjusts the brightness of the display using UP/DOW
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OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES A wide assortment of professional Meade accessories is available for the NG-Series and NGC-series telescopes. Consult the Meade General Catalog for complete details of these and other accessories. Eyepieces (1.25" barrel diameter): For higher or lower magnifications with the tele- scopes that accommodate 1.25" eyepieces, Meade 3-element Modified Achromatic eyepieces, available in focal lengths of 9, 12, 25, and 40mm, provide a high level of image resolution and color correct
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MAINTENANCE AND SERVICING General Maintenance Your telescope is a precision optical instrument designed to yield a lifetime of reward- ing applications. Given the care and respect due any precision instrument, your tele- scope will rarely require factory servicing or maintenance. Maintenance guidelines include: 1. Avoid cleaning the telescope’s optics. A little dust on the front surface of the tele- scope’s lens causes virtually no degradation of image quality and should not be considered reason
