Meade Telescopes User Manual
Instruction Manual
8”, 10", 12", 16" LightBridge™ Truss Tube
Dobsonian Telescopes
MEADE.COM
WARNING!
Never use a Meade®to look at the
Sun!
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 at or near the Sun. Do not
look through the telescope or
SmartFinder
should always have adult supervision
while observing.
Looking at or near the Sun will
™
as it is moving.
Children
CONTENTS
Telescope Features ...................................................... 8
Assembly
Observing ......................................................................12
Meade Customer Service ..............................................16
Specifications
Optional Accessories ......................................................19
Appendix A: Altitude Adjustment Knobs ........................21
........................................................................ 5
Assemble the Base .................................................. 5
Assemble the Tube .................................................. 6
Insert Eyepiece, Attach Red Dot Finder .................. 7
Collimating the Optical System ................................ 8
Align the deluxe Red Dot Finder ..............................11
Using a Dobsonian Telescope ..................................11
Calculate Magnification ............................................12
Some Tips ................................................................15
Care of the Optics ....................................................15
................................................................17
WARNING!
Never leave the primary mirror uncovered during the daytime unless using
the telescope to view terrestrial objects.
The name "Meade" and the Meade logo are trademarks
®
rademark Of
registered with the U.S. Patent and
principal countries throughout the world. "LightBridge " is a
trademark of Meade Instruments Corporation.
© 2006 Meade Instruments Corporation.
T
fice and in
Fig. 1 Telescope features.
1%
1#
A
1^
B
D
Tube Assembly
1. Eyepiece
2. Focuser assembly
3. Front OTA (optical tube
assembly)
4. Top truss lock knobs (3)
5. Trusses (3)
6. Bottom truss lock knobs (3)
7. Altitude bearing
8. Rear OTA
Base Assembly
9. Side base panels (2)
10. Front base panel
11. Circular base plates (2)
12. Feet (3)
Inset
A
13. a) Focus knob
b) Fine focus knob (16" models
only)
14. Focus lock & tension adjustment
knobs
15. 1.25" & 2"eyepiece holder
16. Draw tube
17. Thumbscrew
C
2!
Inset B
18. Fan
19. Fan battery
pack (inset)
20. Collimation
adjustment
screw (3)
21. Collimation
Lock screw (3)
1*
2)
2!
Inset B: Base of mirror tube (see page 9 for 16" base information).
F
1(
2)
2)
B
J
2!
E
1$
1#
Inset A: Focuser assembly.
A
F
B
G
H
1)
J
1!
1&
I
1@
4
Looking a
this telescope at or near the Sun. Do not look through the telescope as it is moving.
t or near the
Sun will cause irreversable dama
ge to your eye.
Do not point
ASSEMBLY
Countersunk
depression
on this side
of base
ASSEMBLE THE BASE
Note: You will need to supply a phillips screwdriver and a one-
quarter inch or adjustable wrench to assemble the telescope.
Note: Numbers in parentheses. e.g., (9), refer to Fig.1 and Fig. 1
insets.
STEP 1: The base supports the telescope and allows you to
move the telescope from side to side.
Line up one of the base side panels (9) with the base front panel
(10) as shown here. Thread in the two black attachment bolts to
secure the panels together. Tighten the bolts to a firm feel.
Repeat with second side panel.
STEP 2: Turn the base panels on their side.
Line up the circular base(11) with the 7 predrilled holes against
the panels.
Thread 6 black bolts into the base, as shown here. Make sure that
the side with the countersunk holes on the base face the bottom
(see photo)
roller
bearing
center
bearing
bushing
adjustment
bolt
washers
roller
bearing
plates
STEP 3:
Slide the center bearing bushing into the 7th (center) hole of the
circular base.
Line up the other circular base (sometimes called the ground
base), which contains three teflon pads (finger points to a pad)
STEP 4:
Place the center bearing bushing into the countersunk hole of the
ground plate. Slide the three roller bearing plates over the center
bearing bushing: First the roller bearing plate, then the roller
bearing itself (the plate that looks alike a wagon wheel), then the
second roller bearing plate. Place the top part of the base plate
o secure in place:
assembly over the center bearing bushing.
T
On the adjustment knob bolt, place two washers on either side of
the roller bearing washer
. Slide the adjustment bolt through the
top base board and into the center bearing bushing and
nut is captured on the bottom plate. See drawing
hand-tighten.
A
STEP 5: Next attach the three feet to the bottom panel. Line up
each foot and thread a small attachment screw into the foot to
hold it in place. Tighten to a firm feel.
Note: When attaching the feet, make sure that the center
countersink depression is on the opposite side of the base.
STEP 5: Next attach the three feet to the bottom panel. Line up
each foot and thread a small attachment screw into the foot to
hold it in place.
ighten to a firm feel.
T
Looking a
t or near the
Sun will cause irreversable dama
ge to your eye.
Do not point
this telescope at or near the Sun. Do not look through the telescope as it is moving.
5
ASSEMBLE THE TUBE
dust
cover
seam
front
panel
STEP 6: Move the circular panels. They should move easily
about, without any stiffness. If not, tighten or loosen them using a
screwdriver while holding the attachment nut in place (with your
fingers or a wrench) on the other end of the bolt.
STEP 7: Turn the base so that it is now resting on the feet.
Place the rear OTA (8) into the base. Make sure that the altitude
bearings fit snugly into the openings on the side panels of the
base. Make sure that the seam of the tube is pointing at the
front panel.
Lift to remove the dust cover from the mirror.
Note: You can thread the Altitude Adjustment Knob into the
protrusion just below the Altitude Bearing (7). Use the Altitude
Adjustment Knob when you add larger eyepieces, cameras or
other accessories to the Meade LightBridge telescope without
causing the tube to slip or drift. To learn how to install the Altitude Adjustment Knob, see page 21.
slots
truss
knobs
STEP 8: Loosen the three bottom truss knobs (6).
Place each truss (5) into a set of slots.
truss
slots
Tighten the truss knobs after all three trusses are in place.
STEP 9: After all 3 trusses are in place, loosen the knob (4) on
top of each truss.
Place the secondary mirror tube (3) into the slots at the top of
each truss....
6
STEP 10: ...and tighten the truss knobs.
Make sure that the seam on the tube is also pointing towards
the front panel (see step 7).
Looking a
this telescope at or near the Sun. Do not look through the telescope as it is moving.
t or near the
Sun will cause irreversable dama
ge to your eye.
Do not point
INSERT EYEPIECE AND ATTACH RED DOT FINDER
STEP 10: The entire assembly should move easily up and
down and from side to side.
STEP 11: If you wish to insert the deluxe 2 inch eyepiece,
remove the 1.25" eyepiece holder (15) from the focuser assembly by loosening holder thumbscrew (as shown in photo to the
left). Slide the 2 inch eyepiece into the focuser and tighten with
the eyepiece locking screw. To focus the eyepiece, turn the
eyepiece
holder
holder
thumbscrew
focuser wheels (13) in or out.
The focuser has both a lock knob and a tension adjustment knob.
The first lock prevents the draw tube (16) from moving in and out.
The second lock locks the focuser knob, thereby
locking a focus position into place. Experiment with these knobs
to discover which adjustments are comfortable with your viewing
style.
Note that the 16" model comes with a two-speed focuser. Use
the large focus wheel (13A) for fast focus and the small focus
knob (13B) for fine focus.
hex screw
top end
thumbscrew
bracket
bracket
groov
STEP 12: A red dot finder projects a red dot in place of
crosshairs, to make it easier to line up more precisely with a
target.
First, assemble the red dot finder. Slide the bracket over the
groove of the red dot finder scope. Tighten the two hex screws
with the supplied hex wrench to secure in place.
Slide the red dot finder bracket into the slot on the top OTA. Slide
it in from the top (it will only go into the slot from this end). Tighten the thumbscrew to hold the red dot bracket securely in place.
You will need to align the red dot finder. See page 8.
STEP 13: To move the telescope, remove the tube assembly
from the base assembly. Grasp the tube assembly by the trusses and lift up. It is recommended that you relocate the telescope
when it is disassembled into two pieces.
STEP 14: Note that there is a fan on the bottom of the mirror
tube. It is powered by a battery pack using 4 AA user-supplied
batteries.
If you begin observing at sunset, and the telescope has been
heated by the sun or by being in your car, you may notice
“turbulence” in your images. In this case, you can run the fan until
your images stabilize and are steady. The fan probably needs to
be used less than an hour.
Note also that there are three lock screws and three collimation
screws. These screws are for use with the collimation procedure.
See page 14.
Looking a
this telescope at or near the Sun. Do not look through the telescope as it is moving.
t or near the
Sun will cause irreversable dama
ge to your eye.
Do not point
7
COLLIMATION OF THE OPTICAL SYSTEM
Precise collimation, or alignment, of your telescope’
good performance. All Meade telescopes are accurately collimated at the factory prior
to shipment.
has endured rough handling or a bumpy car journey—usually, though, just a small
touch up is all that's required.
Meade of
O
PTIONAL ACCESSORIES, page 18). Nevertheless, take the time now to familiarize your-
self with the following collimation procedure so that you may recognize a properly
collimated instrument and adjust the collimation yourself, if necessary.
Correct Collimation
The collimation procedure for the Meade LightBridge Dobsonian is slightly different
from that of other Newtonian reflecting telescopes, because of the "fast" f/5 to f/6 focal
ratio of the primary mirror. In typical Newtonian reflectors with more conventional focal
ratios (i.e. longer focal ratios), when the observer looks down the focuser tube (without an eyepiece in the focuser), the images of the diagonal mirror, primary mirror,
focuser tube and the observer's eye appear centered relative to each other.
However, with the short focal ratio primary mirror of the LightBridge Dobsonian, correct collimation requires that the diagonal mirror be offset in 2 directions: (1) away
from the focuser and (2) towards the primary mirror, in equal amounts. This offset is
approximately 1/8" in each direction. Note that these offsets have been performed at
the factory prior to shipment of your telescope. It is only necessary for you to confirm
that the telescope has not been badly jarred out of collimation, and to perform the final
fine-tuning of Step 4, below.
Fig. D shows a correctly collimated LightBridge Dobsonian telescope, as it appears
when viewed through the focuser with the eyepiece removed.
You may want to collimate after the telescope has been shipped or if it
fers an optional laser collimator to help you to collimate your telescope (see
s optical system is essential for
Note: A small paper ring is
attached to the primary
mirror. This ring was
attached at the factory for
purposes of laser collimation. The ring will not diminish your telescope's imaging capabilities and does
not need to be removed.
To check and, if necessary, set the optical collimation, follow these steps:
1. Observe through the focuser and orient your body so that the telescope's primary
mirror is to your right, and the open end of the telescope tube is to your left.
The diagonal mirror will appear centered as shown (
appears off center, then adjust the 3 collimation screws (
onal mirror housing.
2. If the reflection of the primary mirror (
the diagonal mirror, adjust the 3 collimation adjustment screws on the diagonal mirror
housing to center the reflection.
As described above, the 3 collimation screws on the diagonal mirror housing are used
for two different adjustments during the collimation procedure.
Important Note: Do not force the 3 screws past their normal travel, and do not rotate
any screw or screws more than 2 full turns in a counterclockwise direction (i.e., not
more than 2 full turns in their "loosening" direction), or else the diagonal mirror may
become loosened from its support. Note that the diagonal mirror collimation adjustments are very sensitive: generally turning a collimation screw 1/2-turn will have a
dramatic effect on collimation.
3. If the reflection of the diagonal mirror is not centered within the reflection of the primary mirror
rear of the primary mirror cell.
Proceed by "trial and error" until you develop a feel for which collimation screw to turn
in order to change the image in any given way.
4. Perform an actual star test to confirm the accuracy of steps 1 through 3. Using the
26mm eyepiece, point the telescope at a moderately bright (second or third magnitude) star, and center the image in the main telescope's field of view.
, adjust the 3 collimation adjustment screws (
3, Fig. D) is not centered on the surface of
2, Fig. D). If the diagonal
2, Fig. B) on the plastic diag-
20, Fig. C) located on the
8
Looking a
this telescope at or near the Sun. Do not look through the telescope as it is moving.
t or near the
Sun will cause irreversable dama
ge to your eye.
Do not point
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