Meade MYSKY Instruction Manual

InstructIon Manual

mySKY

™

YOUR PERSONAL GUIDE FOR SKY EXPLORATION

InstructIons

mySKY™ is an easy-to-use, multimedia tool that will guide
you through the night sky. It’s like having your own personal
astronomer pointing out the wonders of the universe.

Quick Start

Follow the Quick Start Guide on the back cover to insert
the batteries, plug in the earbuds and turn on mySKY. When
mySKY starts up, a screen displays which offers the choice:
“Instructions” or “SkyMap.”

Instruction Video

If you are using mySKY for the rst time, press the up arrow

to select “Instructions”— a brief introductory video that
explains how to get started using mySKY.

Important Note about your mySKY

Your mySKY uses very sensitive magnetic sensors to
determine where you are pointing it in the sky. The magnetic
lines of force that are detected by these sensors are bent
and distorted by any magnetic materials or large metal
objects such as cars, metal fences or steel reinforced
buildings. In order for your mySKY to work accurately,
you must be about 10 yards or meters from the average car.
The larger the metal object, the farther you should be from
it to get the best performance from your mySKY.

Time, Date, and Location

When the instruction video ends or when you select
“SkyMap,” mySKY needs to know your location, date and
time. The Time and Location screen displays. You will be

presented with three choices the rst time you use mySKY:

• Get From GPS

• Enter Manually

• Demonstration Mode. You can select GPS x or you can

manually enter your location, date and time.

The GPS x will automatically enter the location, time
and date, but because of anomalies and interference
in different geographic locations, GPS acquisition can
take up to several minutes. Manually entering your location,
time and date is the faster method and typically takes less
than a minute.

The instruction video will teach you how to use the buttons,
what the trigger is for, how to use the identify function and
how to take a guided tour. If you wish to exit the instruction
video at any time, press the button labeled “Back” or “Exit.”

You can use the four arrow buttons shown in the second
gure to select options on the display screen. Press one
of the arrow keys to select the item you want. For example,
if you press the up arrow, the option at the top of the screen
is selected and so forth. In most cases, when you press an
arrow key, that option is automatically selected.

To select GPS x, use the Up or Down arrows to select

the “Get from GPS” line (the radio circle will be checked),
and press Done. The unit will attempt to get a GPS x.
After mySKY acquires a GPS signal, you will now be in the

default mode, which is “Identify.” You will learn more about

this mode in the “Identify an Object” section (page 4).

To enter your location time and date manually, use

the arrows to scroll down to the Enter Manually line and
press Done.

First, enter the date: Use the arrow keys to move
the highlight across the number pad. Once the desired
number is highlighted, press Enter. Enter the date
in the format: mm/dd/yy.

For example, if you wish to enter March 6, 2008, press the
following keys:

0 (zero), Enter, Three, Enter (mm)
0, Enter, 6, Enter (dd)
0, Enter, 8, Enter (yy)

Press Done after you have entered the date.

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Soft Buttons

Illuminated Sights

SD Card Slot

Arrow Buttons

Brightness Control

Volume Control

Next, choose your state or country: Press the up or down
arrows to scroll through the list one line at a time. Press the

right or left arrows to scroll through the list one page at a
time. Once your country or state is highlighted, press Enter
and the City list displays.

Scroll through the list of cities and choose the city nearest to
your location. Once your choice is highlighted press Enter.

Next enter the time: Enter the hour and minutes, as correct

to the minute as possible, in military (24 hour) time. Military

Time is the same as 12 hour a.m. times, but for p.m. times,
it is the p.m. time plus 12 hours. Enter the time in the same
manner that you entered the date. For example, if you wish

to enter 9:20 p.m. (9:20 p.m. + 12:00 = 21:20 in military
time), press the following keys:

2, Enter, 1, Enter (hour)
2 Enter, 0, Enter (minutes)

If you’re unused to military time values, for all times past
12 noon, add 12 plus the hour. For example, if the time
is 6:00 pm, add 12 plus 6 and the time is 18:00. Likewise,
2:15 a.m. is 02:15.

mySKY compensates for Daylight Savings automatically.

When you are nished entering the time, press Done. A

“Skymap” screen displays. You are now in the default mode,
which is “Identify.” You will learn more about this mode in

the “Identify an Object” section (page 4).

Your location, time and date are now stored in memory until
you change the batteries. The next time you turn on mySKY,
the Time and Location screen will display four choices:

• [your time, date and last location]

• Get from GPS

Enter

Power ON/OFF

“Identify” Trigger

• Enter manually

• Demonstration mode

If the displayed time, date and location are correct, select
the time, date and location line and press Done to go
directly to the Skymap screen and you can immediately
begin identifying stars and use other mySKY features.

Select the Demonstration mode if you wish to get

a demonstration of mySKY’s operation during the daytime
or when you are inside.

Sensor Calibration

When mySKY has your time and location, you may be
asked to place mySKY on a stable surface while it adjusts

its sensors. This usually takes about 30 to 45 seconds.

If it takes longer, make sure the mySKY is not setting on
any operating machinery, speaker or other surface that is
moving or vibrating. When the mySKY is done adjusting the
sensors, the sights will light up and the screen will display
the SkyMap.

Demo Mode

If you wish to explore mySKY while indoors where

GPS signals are not available, wait for the GPS satellite
acquisition screen to appear, then press the top right button

just below the screen labeled “Abort.” Then press the down
arrow button twice to select “Demo Mode” and then press
the button in the center of the four arrow buttons. This will
put mySKY in the demo mode so you can get a feel how
mySKY works while you’re indoors and in the light.

Note that whenever a star map is displayed and you press
the trigger, mySKY will attempt to identify the object and

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the screen will show the choices about the object you
were pointed at.

What Happens When You Choose
“Instructions”

A video displays that explains the basic operations
of mySKY. The video covers the following topics:

Volume: Turn your volume control to a comfortable level

by using the volume control button.

Brightness: Press the + or – side of the brightness button

to brighten or dim both the sights on top of mySKY and
the display.

Soft Buttons: The three buttons just below the screen

are called soft buttons. The labels on the lower part of the
screen show the actions that will be performed by the
soft buttons.

Enter: The “Enter” button is the round button in the center

of the arrow buttons. In the case of numbers or a long list

of objects, rst scroll through the list using the down or up
arrow buttons. Press “Enter” to select a highlighted choice.

Three Little Lights (Sights)

Do you see the three small lights on the top of mySKY?
These are the sights to line up the celestial object you wish
identify and learn about.

In the picture above, the left button is labeled “Back,” the
center button is labeled “pause/play” and the right button
is labeled “Next.” Some of the most common labels for the
soft buttons:

Back: The “Back” button lets you go to the previous screen.

Next: The “Next” button moves you forward to the next step

or screen. For example, when you rst select “Instructions,”

mySKY will prompt you to press “Next” to give you a feel for
how “Next” works.

pause/play: The pause/play button lets you pause

the video at any time. Press pause/play to begin/start
were you left off.

SkyMap: When the SkyMap screen displays, you can use

mySKY to identify and locate celestial objects. However, the
labels for the soft buttons will change from screen to screen.
Many of these labels are shortcuts that will take you to other
menus or screens.

Other buttons

Arrow Keys: Press one of the arrow buttons to select an

item. In most cases, when you press an arrow, that option
is automatically selected.

First, line up the light on the front between the two lights on
the back. Then line up the object you wish to identify just

above the front light. Practice lining up an object using the

lights and you’ll be an expert in no time.

The Trigger

The trigger is located on the hand grip. When the trigger
is pushed, you tell mySKY that you are pointing at an object
in the sky that you wish to identify and learn about.

Identify an Object

mySKY has several modes of operation. The most important

mode is “Identify” – this is the default mode. When you rst

turn on mySKY and select the SkyMap option, the built-in

GPS automatically gets a x from three or more satellites.
The x tells mySKY its location and what the time and
date is. mySKY then uses this information to nd celestial

objects, such as stars, constellations, planets and so forth.

In just a few moments a star map will appear on the
screen showing the area of the sky where you are pointing
mySKY. Center an object in the sights and pull the trigger.
mySKY will tell you what the object is. Important Note:
Once you have pressed the trigger, you no longer need

to point mySKY at the object (you can relax your arm and
hold mySKY in a comfortable position to see the display).

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Press “Play” or “Info” to get more information about the

object. In many cases, an image of the selected object

appears on the screen. Press “Play” (if it is displayed) to
hear a verbal descriptions of the object. Pressing the Info

button displays text about the object.

Note: If your mySKY does not get a GPS x, you can
select “Retry” to give the GPS more time to get a x

or select “Enter time, date, location” to enter this
information manually. Just follow the screens to enter
the date and time using the arrow buttons to select the
number and the center button to accept the number.
When the time or date is complete, press “Done.” Enter
your location by selecting the country or state from the
list. You can move up or down in the list by using the
up or down arrows. You can move a full page at a time
in any long list by using the left or right arrows. When
your country or state is highlighted, press the center
button. Now, using the same controls, select the city
nearest your location and press the center button.

Take a Tour

Another mode is “Tour.” When you select the “Tonight’s

™

Best

Tour” mySKY will guide you to the best objects

in the sky for your time, date and location. When the rst

object of the Tour displays, you have several choices.

As you move mySKY closer to the object, the arrow will get
shorter and shorter.

When you get very close to the object, a red crosshair will
be displayed at the position of the object on the SkyMap.

If this is an object you wish to learn more about, press
“Play” for audio descriptions and images or “Info” for
on-screen text data about the object. If you wish to skip
this object, press the right arrow to choose “Next” and
proceed to the next object on the Tour. If you wish to have

mySKY nd the object in the sky for you, press the up arrow

to select “GoTo.”

How to Locate an Object in the Sky:

When you press “GoTo” on any screen, the screen will
display a star map and an arrow will appear. Move mySKY
in the direction the arrow is pointing.

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Move mySKY slowly to center the red crosshair in the circle
at the center of the display.

The circle will then ash to let you know that you have found

the object, a chime will sound and the screen will display
the object page.

Push the soft key labeled “Play” for audio descriptions

and images of the object or “Info” for on-screen text data

about the object. To exit a tour: Press the button labeled

“End Tour.” If the “End Tour” option is not displayed, keep
pressing the “Back” button until “End Tour” is displayed.

Catalogs of Celestial Objects

The sky is full of interesting and mysterious objects, not
just stars and planets. mySKY has a database that contains
over 30,000 celestial objects. Although most of these
objects cannot be seen with the naked eye, mySKY can
still show you where they are and give you images and
information about them. If you select an object from any of
mySKY’s catalogs, mySKY will display a screen like the one
above. If you select “GoTo,” mySKY will display an arrow
on the screen to guide you to the object you have chosen.
mySKY’s catalogs include: stars; double and variable stars;
planets; constellations; galaxies; and nebulas, just to name
a few. These objects are arranged in various catalogs:

Solar System—planets, the Moon, comets, and asteroids

Deep Sky—star clusters, nebulas, galaxies and more

Constellations—all 88 constellations with star maps

Stars—several catalogs of stars

Press the key just below the “Objects” label. The “Objects”
screen displays.

Notice the “Solar System” option is at the top of the screen.

Press the up arrow to select “Solar System.” The “Solar

System” screen displays.

Notice the “Planets” option is at the top of the screen.
Press the up arrow to select “Planets.” The “Planets”

screen displays.

Example of locating an object: Choosing

Saturn from one of mySKY’s catalogs

If necessary, push the “Back” button until you see the
SkyMap screen. The three soft Buttons are labeled
“Objects,” “Options” and “Tours.”

There are two Planets screens available. The rst screen

displays the four most commonly viewed planets: Venus,
Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. If you select “More,” a second

Planets page will be displayed. Any time you see “More”

displayed on a screen, it means you can go to another
screen with more choices or information. Notice the
“Saturn” option is at the bottom of the screen. Press
the down arrow to select “Saturn.”

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For most objects (in this case, Saturn), you will see an image

of the object or a similar object representing the object type.

If you press “Play,” you may see additional images of the

object on the screen and hear a description of the object
in your earbuds. All the planets, constellations, major stars
and most popular celestial objects have both audio and

visual information. If “Play” is not shown as an option or you

want technical data about the object, press “Info” and text
with details about the object will be displayed.

you to the star currently highlighted on the star map. Press

“Back” to trace more stars.

Other Options

Explore the features of the “Options” menu—you may nd
them quite useful while using mySKY. The features include

Battery Level, Night Vision, Lights and Connection.

Battery Level

After selecting “Options,” press the down arrow to select
“Technical Info.” Press the right arrow to select “Battery.”
A screen will display showing your current battery level.
If you notice mySKY acting erratically, it may be time
to change the batteries. Keep pressing “Back” to exit
this menu.

Nightvision

Press the up arrow to toggle between Nightvision and the

Full Color Display. When you select Nightvision, the screen
is displayed in red to protect your night vision.

If the object you selected is part of a list or catalog, you can
use the left or right arrows to display the previous or next
object in the list. When the object you want is displayed,

press “Play” or “GoTo.”

If you select “GoTo” with the up arrow, mySKY will display
the SkyMap and guide you to Saturn with an arrow as
described earlier. Congratulations! You have located Saturn!

Use this technique to nd other objects in the sky. mySKY

contains over 30,000 celestial objects and you can locate
any of these objects just as easily.

30,000 objects may seem overwhelming at rst and you

may never check all of these out. Start with the planets
and constellations. Then move to Messier objects and

Named Stars, or perhaps Variable Stars (stars that vary
in brightness). You will not be able to see many of these

objects without a telescope, but you will become more and
more familiar with the night sky and with the objects that

inhabit it. mySKY can be a personalized astronomy course

that lets you learn at your own speed while having fun.

Constellations

If you choose a selection from mySKY’s Constellation list
and then select “Trace,” mySKY will highlight, one by one,
the major stars of the chosen constellation, tracing out its

popular shape on the displayed star map (for example,
it will trace out the “dipper” shape of Ursa Major).

The rst star in the constellation will be highlighted when

you select “Trace.” Press “Next” and the second star will
be highlighted. Continue to press “Next” to highlight each

star in the constellation. Press “Go To” to have mySKY lead

Lights

The Lights menu offers you two submenus: Blink Sights
and Light Balance.

Blink Sights: This option allows you to blink the three sights

on top of mySKY. This will help when you’re lining up with
a celestial object that is dim. Select the Blink Sights option

and then press the left arrow to enable blinking. Press the

left arrow again to turn on the lights without blinking.

Light Balance: Select the Light Balance option and then

press the right or left arrow to change the brightness of the
three sights on top of mySKY. Select “Done” after you have
set the brightness level. Note that the Brightness button
on the side of mySKY sets the brightness level for both the
sights and the display. The Light Balance option does not
set the brightness level of the display.

Connection

This option allows you to connect to a PC or a Meade®
computerized telescope (cable sold separately). Use the

up and down arrows to toggle between the two selections.
Select “Done” after you make your choice.

Connecting mySKY
to a Meade® Computerized Telescope

If you have a Meade computerized telescope, you can
connect mySKY with a special cable (sold separately).

This will allow you to command your telescope to move

(GoTo) any object you have selected with mySKY. Your
telescope must rst be setup and aligned as usual. Then

connect one end of the cable to mySKY and the other

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to your telescope. See the instructions that came in the
cable package for details.

Requirements:

Microsoft® Windows® 98se / Me / 2000 / XP/ Vista™.
Updating mySKY software:

1. Install Autostar® Suite Astronomer’s Edition software
on your computer. Insert the Autostar Suite DVD into
your DVD drive. The installation software should start
automatically.

2. Power off mySKY.

3. Remove the SD memory card by moving the rubber
cover on the side of the mySKY and pushing in on the
edge of the SD card. The card will pop-out.

4. Insert into a PC SD card reader. If your PC does not
have a built-in SD card reader, you will need to obtain

a stand-alone reader (inexpensive and available at most
local PC and electronic stores).

reader to a USB port on your computer and insert the
SD card into the card reader.

5. Find the “Update mySKY” icon that was installed on
your computer desktop and double click it. In the

Follow the on-screen instructions.

Connect the SD card

Updater window, click on the drive letter that contains
your SD card. Now click on the “Update mySKY SD
card” button. The update process will start, the “Update
mySKY SD card” button will be grayed out, and the

progress bar will begin to ll in. Wait until the progress
bar is completely lled in and the “Update mySKY SD

card” button is no longer grayed out before you remove
the SD card. Do not remove the SD card, close the
updater program, or turn off your computer while the SD
card is being updated. In the unlikely event of a computer
crash, start this step over.

6. After the software has been updated, reinsert the
SD memory card back into mySKY.

7. Turn on mySKY. That’s it! You now have updated software.

How to Reset mySKY if It Freezes Up

First, press the ON/OFF button.

If that does not work, open the battery compartment and
remove one battery for 15 seconds. Replace the battery.

Press the ON/OFF button again to restart mySKY.

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Notes

Notes

MEADE LIMITED WARRANTY

Meade’s mySKY is warranted by Meade Instruments Corporations (“Meade”) to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for a period
of ONE YEAR from the date of original purchase in the U.S.A and Canada. Meade will repair or replace a product, or part thereof, found by Meade
to be defective, provided the defective part is returned to Meade, 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 from Meade by writing,
or calling [phone]. 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, and phone number.

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. Meade specically disclaims special, indirect, or consequential damages or lost
prot which may result from a breach of this warranty. Any implied warranties which cannot be disclaimed are hereby limited to a term of one year

from the date of original retail purchase.

This warranty gives you specic rights. You may have other rights which vary from state to state.

Meade reserves the right to change product specications or to discontinue products without notice.

© 2007 Meade Instruments Corporation. All rights reserved. Specications subject to change

without notice. Meade, mySKY, Tonight’s Best, and Autostar are trademarks, or registered trademarks
of Meade Instruments Corporation in the United States and other countries. Microsoft, Windows, and
Vista are trademarks, or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or
other countries. Images depicted on this package may not be representative of the images seen or

captured through this product. 40-07036-Rev09/07.

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STEP

1

STEP

2

For technical support, please call: [phone]

Install Batteries

Slide door forward
and flip open.

QUICK START GUIDE

Connect Headphones

STEP

Power On

3

Open rubber cover.
Plug headphone ja ck
into headphone port .

STEP

Choose Instructions or SkyMap

4

Ch oo se In structions
to view introduction
video or Sk y Map
to start exploring.

PRESS

Press power button
to power on.