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Instruction Manual
NGC-Series Telescopes
NG-Series Telescopes
MEADE.COM
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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 painle
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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. Insets: Tripod leg lock (13), Alternate tray style (14). 1. Dust Cap 10. Focus Knobs Your telescope may look different from the one depicted 2. Optical Tube 11. Tripod Nuts, Bolts above. Some differences include: 3. Tube Bracket 12. Leg Brace • NG models do not include a control panel (4, Fig. 1) or 4. Control Panel Supports a battery compartment (18, Fig. 2) 5. Attachment Knobs 13. Leg Lock (inset) • Access
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E 1* 2) Fig. 2: Top view of the NGC base. Fig. 3: Detailed view of the NGC computer control panel. 2# G 1( 2! H 2@ 2% 2^ 2$ I Fig. 4: Detailed view of the focuser assembly and the viewfinder. Inset: Compass/bubble level (19). J 1) 6. Red Dot VF 20. Slow Motion Control A. Liquid Crystal Display 7. Eyepiece 21. Red Dot battery B. Enter Button 8. Diagonal Mirror 22. Alignment Screws C. Mode Button 9. Focuser Drawtube 23. Intensity Slider D. Up/Down Button 10. Focus Knobs 24. Red Dot B
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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 the
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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 Leg Brace Supports: Stabilizes the tripod and supports the accessory tray. See HOW TO
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GETTING STARTED Parts Listing • Complete optical tube assembly with dew shield, dust cap, red dot 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 (1 1/4" long) with flange 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 pins (certa
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movement of the tube to suit your own preference. See ADJUSTING THE HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL TENSION OF THE OPTICAL TUBE, page 20. Bracket 8. Insert the diagonal mirror and eyepiece: Insert the diagonal mirror (8, Fig. 1) Attachment into the focuser drawtube (9, Fig. 1) and a low-power eyepiece (e.g., 25mm or Nuts 26mm eyepiece) into the diagonal mirror. Tighten the eyepiece and diagonal mir- ror thumbscrews (25 and 26, Fig. 4) to a firm feel. Note: Some models are supplied with one of two styles
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located and centered in the eyepiece, you may wish to switch to a higher power eye- piece 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 in the air, even on an apparently clear night, can distort NOTE: If you have images. If an image appears fuzzy and ill-defined, back off to a lower some familiarity with power eyepiece for a more well-resolved image (Figs. 11a and 11b). “Go To” tele
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After displaying "Then Press Enter," the control panel displays two numbers, one on each line. For example: "+35 -115." These two numbers are called "displace- ment numbers" and will assist you in locating a celestial object. 4. Move the telescope: Move the telescope tube to the right or left and you will notice the first displacement number getting larger or smaller. Move the tube in the direction that makes the number smaller. Keep moving the tube until the num- ber nears zero. As you near zer
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Next, move the tube upward or downward until the second displacement number also reaches zero. As you near zero, use the vertical slow motion control (F, Fig. 3) to move the optical tube. If you performed the alignment procedure correctly, IMPORTANT NOTE: Saturn will appear in your eyepiece. You may need to center the image. As you observe 7. If you wish to display information about Saturn, press MODE and then keep Saturn, you will notice pressing UP/DOWN to scroll through various lines of infor
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MENUS 13 Select Item: Select Item: Select Item: Select Item: Select Item: Select Item: Object Event Guided Tour Glossary Utilities Setup Sunrise Timer Easy Align Solar System Tour Objects A... Mercury Sunset Accretion Disk Set Date Tonight's Best Etc. Moonrise Etc. Start & Stop Time A Star's Life Moonset Daylight Saving Moon B... Alarm How Far is Far Asteroids Moon Phases C... Set Train Encoders Star Groups Next Full Moon On & Off Site Comets D... Messier Marathon Constellati
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How to Move through Menu Options (NGC Models Only): It is helpful to understand that menu selections are set in a loop. This means that press- ing the DOWN button scrolls down through all the available options within a given cate- gory, then returns to the first option. Pressing the UP key scroll up through the options IMPORTANT in the opposite order. Note that this capability is a quick way to get to an option that is NOTE: No matter near the bottom of the list. The following example demonstrat
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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 constellat
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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. Moon Phases displays the date and time of the next Full, New, 1st Quarter, and 3rd NOTE: Meteors are Quarter Moon. fast moving objects Meteor Showers provides information on upcoming meteor showers,
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• 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. • Focal length: Enter the focal length of you telescope so that the control panel can make the Eyepiece Calc menu calculations. Use UP/DOWN to scroll through the numbers and press Enter after each number is displayed. See NG AND NGC SPECIFICATIONS, page 21, to find out
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ACCESSORIES 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 eye- pieces, available in focal lengths of 9, 12, 25, and 40mm, provide a high level of image resolution and
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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
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• If inside a warm house or building, move outside. Interior air conditions may distort terrestrial or celestial images, making it difficult, if not impossible, to obtain a sharp focus. For optimal viewing, use the telescope outside in the open air instead of observing through an open or closed window or screen. • If viewing a land object on a warm day, heat waves distort the image. See SIMPLE OBSERVATIONS, page 10. • For clear viewing of objects, turn the focus knob (10, Fig. 4) slowly since th
