Meade 114ST EQ-D User Manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL Meade 114ST EQ-D

4.5" Equatorial Reflecting Telescope

Meade Instruments Corporation

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WARNING! NEVER USE A MEADE 114ST EQ-D

TELESCOPE TO LOOK AT THE SUN! LOOKING AT OR

NEAR THE SUN WILL CAUSE INSTANT AND IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE TO YOUR EYE. EYE DAMAGE IS OFTEN PAINLESS, SO THERE IS NO WARNING TO THE OBSERVER THAT DAMAGE HAS OCCURRED UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE. DO NOT POINT THE TELESCOPE OR ITS VIEWFINDER AT OR NEAR THE SUN. DO NOT LOOK THROUGH THE TELESCOPE OR ITS VIEWFINDER AS IT IS MOVING. CHILDREN SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE ADULT SUPERVISION WHILE OBSERVING.

Meade Limited Warranty

Every Meade telescope, spotting scope, and binocular is warranted by Meade Instruments Corp. (MIC) to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for a period of ONE YEAR from date of original retail purchase in the U.S.A. MIC will repair or replace the product, or part thereof, found upon inspection by MIC to be defective, provided the defective part or product is returned to MIC, freight prepaid, with proof of purchase. This warranty applies to the

original purchaser only and is non-transferable. Meade products purchased outside North America are not included in this warranty, but are covered under separate warranties issued by Meade International Distributors.

RGA Number Required: Prior to the return of any product or part, a Return Goods Authorization (RGA) number must

be obtained by writing to MIC or calling 949-451-1450. Each returned part or product must include a written statement detailing the nature of the claimed defect, as well as the owner’s name, address, phone number, and a copy of the original sales invoice.

This warranty is not valid in cases where the product has been abused or mishandled, where unauthorized repairs have been attempted or performed, or where depreciation of the product is due to normal wear-and tear. MIC specifically disclaims special, indirect, or consequential damages or lost profit, which may result from a breach of this warranty. Any implied warranties which can not be disclaimed are hereby limited to a term of one year from the date of purchase by the original retail purchaser.

This warranty gives you specific rights. You may have other rights which vary from state to state.

MIC reserves the right to change product specifications or to discontinue products without prior notice.

This warranty supersedes all previous Meade product warranties.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Telescope Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Unpacking and Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

1. Balancing the Telescope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2. Alignment of the Viewfinder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Understanding Celestial Movements and Coordinates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Lining Up with the Celestial Pole. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Using the Telescope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Using Setting Circles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Calculating Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Maintenance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Cleaning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Mount and Tripod Adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Collimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

a. Correct Collimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

b. Diagonal Holder Adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

c. Primary Mirror Adjustments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

d. Star Testing the Collimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Specifications: Model 114ST EQ-D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Optional Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

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1. Eyepiece

2. Equatorial mount

3. Right Ascension (R.A.) flexible cable

control

4. Declination (Dec.) flexible cable control

5. Counterweights

6. Counterweight shaft

7. Counterweight lock

8. Safety washer/thumbscrew

9. Viewfinder Dustcover

10. Polar axis

11. Latitude lock knob

12. Optical tube assembly

13. Optical tube saddle plate

14. Optical tube mounting thumbscrews

15. Equatorial mount base

16. Viewfinder bracket mounting bolts

17. Focuser drawtube and eyepiece holder

18. Eyepiece holder thumbscrew

19. Focuser

20. Viewfinder bracket

21. Focus knobs

22. R.A. lock

23. Dec. lock

24. 5 x 24 viewfinder

25. Viewfinder focuser

26. Viewfinder adjustment thumbscrews

27. R.A. setting circle

28. Dec. setting circle

29. Latitude dial

30. Azimuth lock

31. Declination axis

32. Tripod leg brace

33. Tripod leg brace support

34. Tripod legs

35. Tripod-to-mount wingnuts

36. Accessory tray

37. Eyepiece holder slots

38. Mounting bolt hole

39. Telescope front dust cover

40. Collimating Screws

41. Counterweight shaft attachment location

Key to Figs. 1a - 1g

Fig. 1b: Bolt hole for tray assembly.

Fig. 1c: Mount features.

Fig. 1f: Leg brace and tray assembly.

Fig. 1g: Attaching tripod leg to mount.

Fig. 1e: More mount features.

Fig. 1d: Optical tube attachment

(underside view).

Fig. 1a: Model 114ST EQ-D: Optical tube assembly.

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+ 11 hidden pages