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ME A D E

INSTRUCTION MANUAL
Meade® 7" LX200 Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope
8", 10", and 12" LX200 Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes

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If you are anxious to use your Meade LX200 Telescope for the first time, at the very least be sure to read Telescope Assembly and Quick Start sections of this manual. Thereafter, we urge you to read the balance of this manual thoroughly at your leisure, in order that you may fully enjoy the many features offered by the instrument.

4. Caution: All LX200 Owners
Serious damage to the drive gears may result from shock in handling, while transporting or commercially shipping the LX200, should the R.A. Lock (7, Fig. 3), and/or the Dec. Lock (2, Fig. 4) be left engaged. Always release the locks when storing in the case, or when crating for commercial shipment to allow the telescope to give, if the case or crate is sharply jarred or dropped.
Also, the optical and mechanical axes of all LX200 telescopes have been carefully aligned at the factory to ensure accurate object pointing. Do not loosen or remove the fork arms or optical tube assembly from the drive base; the resulting misalignment of the axes will result in inaccurate slewing of the telescope in the GOTO mode.

5. Caution: 10" and 12" LX200 Owners
Do not attempt to turn the focuser knob of the optical tube until you have read this note!
Next to the base of the focuser you will see a red-colored slotted head bolt. This bolt is used only for safety in shipment. Remove this bolt before attempting to turn the focuser knob. In its place, insert the rubber plug provided as a dust protector (this rubber plug is included with your hardware package).
Your focuser is now operational.
Warning! The 10" and 12" LX200 should never be commercially shipped without this red-colored bolt in place. This is essential during commercial transport where rough handling may occur. For your personal transport and storage, you will never have to use this bolt again.

a. TO COMMERCIALLY RE-SHIP THE 10" OR 12" LX200, BE SURE TO FOLLOW THIS PROCEDURE:
1. Turn the focuser knob clockwise until it stops. This will bring the primary mirror all the way back in the tube.
2. Remove the rubber plug and insert the red-headed bolt. Thread it in to a firm snug feel. Do not overtighten. (If you have misplaced the red-headed bolt, you may use any other bolt that is 1/4-20x1" long.
3. When packaging the 10" or 12" LX200, be sure to release the R.A. Lock (7, Fig. 3), and Dec. Lock (2, Fig. 3), to prevent shock to the gears in the motor assemblies should the package suffer severe handling.
Please note that commercial shipment of the 10" and 12" LX200 Telescope without the safety bolt in place and packed in the original factory supplied shipping containers as described above is done at the owner's risk and your warranty may be voided if shipping damage results.

6. Keypad Version Number
The current keypad version is 3.20 (see sticker on back of keypad). This does not indicate the telescope software versionwhich is displayed on the keypad LED at power-up.
C. TELESCOPE ASSEMBLY
Use the following steps to assemble your telescope. Note: Section headings list which LX200 model (7", 8", 10" or 12") is covered under that heading.

Figure 2: Field tripod (Collapsed)

1. The Field Tripod (7", 8", 10" and 12" LX200 Models)
The Field Tripods (Figs. 1 and 2) for Meade 8", 10", and 12" LX200 telescopes are supplied as completely assembled units, except for the spreader bar (4, Fig. 1) and the 6 lock knobs (2 knobs for each of the 3 tripod legs) used to adjust the height of the tripod. These knobs are packed separately for safety in shipment.
For visual (i.e. non-photographic) observations, the drive base (17, Fig. 3) of the telescope's fork mount is attached directly to the field tripod. The telescope in this way is mounted in an "Altazimuth" ("Altitude-Azimuth," or "vertical-horizontal") format. The telescope in this configuration moves along vertical and horizontal axes, corresponding respectively to the Declination and Right Ascension axes (explained later in this manual) in an astronomical observing mode.
Alternately, the field tripod can be used in conjunction with the appropriate optional equatorial wedge (see Appendix A for instructions of the use of the equatorial wedge) for long exposure astrophotography. The equatorial wedge permits alignment of the telescope's Polar Axis with the Celestial Pole (or North Star).

1. If the tripod does not seem to extend or collapse easily, do not force the tripod legs in or out. By following the instructions above, the tripod will function properly, but if you are unclear on the proper procedure, forcing the tripod into an incorrect position may damage the extension strut system.
2. Do not overtighten the 6 lock-knobs used to fix the inner tripod leg sections at various heights. "Firm feel" tightening is sufficient.
3. Be sure the spreader bar (4, Fig. 1) is not upside-down on the threaded rod.

The R.A. Slow-Motion Control Knob may be turned, if desired, with the R.A. Lock in a "partially locked" position. In this way, a comfortable "drag" in R.A. is created. But do not attempt to operate the R.A. Slow-Motion Control Knob with the telescope fully locked in R.A., as such operation may result in damage to the internal gear system.
Releasing the Declination Lock Knob (2, Fig. 4), permits sweeping the telescope rapidly through wide angles in Declination.
To use the Declination fine-adjust, or Manual Slow-Motion Knob, lock the telescope in Declination using the Declination Lock Knob (2, Fig. 4), and turn the Declination Slow-Motion Knob (1, Fig. 4).
With the above mechanical operations in mind, select an easy to find terrestrial object as your first telescope subject -- for example, a house or building perhaps one-half mile distant.
Unlock the Declination Lock Knob (2, Fig. 4), and R.A. Lock (7, Fig. 3), center the object in the telescopic field of view and then re-lock the Dec. and R.A. locks. Precise image centering is accomplished by using the Dec. and R.A. slow motion controls.
The Focus Knob (5, Fig. 3) is located at the "4 o'clock" position as you face the rear cell of the telescope. Focusing is accomplished internally by a precise motion of the telescope primary mirror so that, as you turn the focus knob, there are no externally moving parts. You will find that if you turn the focus knob counter-clockwise you are focusing towards the infinity setting, and turning clockwise is for close distance. There are about 45 complete turns to go from one end of focus to the other, and it is possible to focus past infinity. Be patient during focusing as images quickly go in and out of focus with only a slight amount of turning of the focus knob.
Before using the telescope manually during the daytime, be sure to read "Daytime Slewing."
2. Using the LX200 In Land
The 7", 8", 10", and 12" LX200 telescopes are shipped with the microprocessor set to Land, the align menu option you will wish to use to view terrestrial objects. In this menu option 4 different motion speeds are active, allowing the telescope to be moved electronically by means of the Keypad. To use the telescope in Land, follow these steps.
1. Loosen the Dec. Lock Knob (2, Fig. 4) and position the optical tube assembly approximately level, so that the Dec. Circle (3, Fig. 3) reads 0°. Retighten the Dec. Lock Knob.
2. Loosen the R.A. Lock (7, Fig. 3) and rotate the telescope so that the R.A. Pointer (9, Fig. 3) and the Hour Angle (HA) Pointer (16, Fig. 3) are approximately in line with each other. This will position the fork arms so that they are parallel to the Power Panel (11, Fig. 3). Tighten the R.A. lock
The above two steps are not necessary for the telescope to work, so don't worry about having to get it exactly right. The telescope has some "illegal" positions, places where the telescope will not go and these two steps insure proper operation.
3. After setting up the telescope, plug in both coil cords with the Keypad, one of the supplied power sources, either the AC Wall Adapter Power Converter (for AC current wall outlets), or the optional DC Cigarette Lighter Power Cord (used in an automobile's cigarette lighter outlet, with the ignition turned on only to allow the electric power on from the car battery).

Figure 5: LX200 Keypad Hand Controller

Motion Speeds

4. Turn on the power switch on the Power Panel of the LX200. The Keypad Display (1, Fig. 5) will show "MEADE" for several seconds as the microprocessor does a self-diagnostic test. When the self-diagnostic test is complete, the display will show "TELESCOPE" on the top line, "OBJECT LIBRARY" on the lower line, and the red LED light next to the "SLEW" button will light up.
5. At this point, the LX200 is ready to use. Select the speed at which you want to move the telescope by pressing the appropriate Speed Selection Key (4, Fig. 5). Note that you will be able to "see" the telescope move only in the SLEW and FIND modes; CNTR (center) and GUIDE motions can only be seen while looking through the telescope. The red LED next to that key (3, Fig. 5) will light, indicating the speed selected. Then press one of the four direction keys (2, Fig. 5) to move the telescope in that direction at the selected speed.
The LX200 can also be moved manually with the R.A. and Dec. locks released, or as described above only. The Declination Manual Slow-Motion Knob (1, Fig.4) is non-functional when power is supplied to the telescope. When the power is "on", only use the N, S, E, and W keys on the Keypad Hand Controller. Serious damage can occur to the internal gears of the motor assembly if the Declination Manual Slow-Motion Knob is turned even a slight amount by hand.
Before using the telescope during the daytime, be sure to read "Daytime Slewing."
3. Using the LX200 In Altazimuth (ALTAZ)
The two quick start methods described above allow you to use the telescope, but do not make use of any of the computer features available, including finding objects from the Object Library and automatic tracking of stars. In order for these features to work, the telescope's power needs to be "on", and the computer needs some basic information, which is entered through the Keypad. Once entered, the information is permanently remembered by the telescope's computer and need never be entered again, even if the telescope is turned "on" and "off" many times.
This section will explain what keys to push to get the minimum data required into the computer, without any detailed explanation. Later, see Section G, LX200 Modes for detailed instructions. These steps will only take a few minutes and will allow you to begin making use of all the LX200 features. Note also, much of this information can be skipped if using the UNKNOWN site.
a. Entering Basic Information
In order for the LX200 to make the conversions between the stellar coordinate system (R.A. and Declination) and the Altazimuth coordinate system (Altitude and Azimuth), it needs to know three pieces of information. This information only needs to be entered one time--the LX200 remembers the data even when the power is off.

1) Latitude and Longitude of the Observing Site.
NOTE: The SITE information cannot be entered if the telescope is in LAND mode. If the telescope is in LAND mode, the SITE menu option (Display 2, below) will appear in lower case letters. Follow steps 4-8 to change the telescope's operation to Altazimuth (ALTAZ) mode before proceeding.
You should find the position of your observing site to within 1 or 2 minutes of arc in both latitude and longitude. Many automobile, pilot, and topographical maps, as well as most atlases show latitude and longitude in 15 minute increments or better. The accuracy of the LX200 will depend on how close you get, so take a little time to get as accurate as you can.
Once the above information is determined, it can be entered into the telescope. It is easiest to enter the data with the telescope sitting on a table indoorsdo not try to do it outside at night.
Each step below is given without any details or explanations to keep the process as simple and fast as possible. Next to each step will also be a sample of what the Keypad Hand Controller display (1, Fig. 5) should look like after each step.
As an example, we will enter the data for Costa Mesa, CA (LAT=33°35', LONG=117°42'). If at any time you get "lost," simply turn off the telescope and restart this procedure.
1. Turn the telescope on. After a few seconds (after the self-diagnostic test is complete), the display will look like Display 1.
2. Press the ENTER key. This selects the TELESCOPE functions. The display should look like Display 2.
3. Press the ENTER key. This selects the SITE functions. The display should look like Display 3.
4. Press and Hold the ENTER key until the Keypad Hand Controller beeps. This selects the first site for editing. The display should look like Display 4, with the first "A" flashing.
5. Press the ENTER key. The display should look like Display 5.
6. Use the number keys to enter your Latitude. The underline designates the current cursor position. Mistakes can be corrected by moving back (using the "E" and "W" keys). A negative latitude can be entered by positioning the cursor under the "+" and hitting the "NEXT" key (lower right-hand key). When the Latitude is correct, press ENTER. The display will look like Display 6.
7. Use the number keys to enter your Longitude as above. When complete, the display will look like Display 7.
8. Press ENTER to complete the site information input. The display will go back to Display 3.
9. Press MODE to go back to Display 2.
10. Press MODE again to go back to Display 1.
It is important to note that the longitude standard used in the LX200 starts at 0 degrees in Greenwich U.K. and increases Westerly only to 359 degrees 59 minutes. Many maps will show Easterly longitudes which cannot be entered into the Keypad Display. As an example, if your map indicates that you are at an Easterly longitude of 18 degrees 27 minutes, then you would enter 341 degrees 33 minutes.
Do not concern yourself with differences in longitude and latitude as they pertain to different map spheroid projections, those minor differences are too small to adversely affect the longitude and latitude data input.

2) Local Time and Date.
The local time should be set as accurately as possible, using the 24 hour format. The local time and date are used to determine sidereal time (star time) and the pointing accuracy of the telescope will depend on the accuracy of the time entered. Choose a reliable source as a reference for accurate time such as your local airport, or telephone company. In the U.S.A. you can double check the accuracy of the exact minutes by dialing WWV for the universal coordinated time at (303) 499-7111 (be sure to enter your local time hour information, not the U.T. hour). For the example, we will use 4:25:00 P.M. on Jan. 15, 1992.
1. The display should look like Display 1. If it does not, press the MODE key until it does.
2. Press the MODE key twice. The display will look like Display 8, but with a random LOCAL and SIDE times.
3. Press and HOLD the ENTER key until the Keypad Hand Controller beeps (display like Display 9).
4. Using the number keys, enter the current local time to within 5 seconds. (Remember, 4:25:00 P.M. is 16:25:00 in the 24 hour format.) Corrections can be made by moving the flashing cursor using the W and E keys. The display should look like Display 10.
5. Press the ENTER key when the time is correct. The display will change to Display 11.
The next step is to enter the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) time zone shift. (This procedure is a lot easier than it sounds.) Simply look up your time zone in the table below to find the GMT time zone shift.

Use the top row during Standard Time and the bottom row during Daylight Savings Time.
For example: You live in the Pacific Time Zone and you are on Daylight Savings Time. The GMT time zone shift is +7 hours.
6. Use the number keys to enter the GMT time zone shift determined from the table above. Press ENTER when done; the display will go back to Display 8. If you are using the LX200 East of Greenwich U.K., then you must enter a - (minus) GMT time zone shift by moving the blinking cursor backwards in the display with the W key and then pressing the NEXT key. The + (plus) sign will change to - (minus). Use the number keys to enter the Westerly (+) GMT time zone shift determined from the table above or your calculated Easterly (-) time zone shift.

7. Press the ENTER key. This will select the DATE display (Display 12), with a random date showing.
8. Press and Hold the ENTER key until the Keypad Hand Controller beeps. The display will look like Display 13, with the blinking cursor over the first number.
9. Use the number keys to enter the current date. The display should look like Display 14. Use the W and E keys to move the blinking cursor left and right to correct any mistakes.
10. Press the ENTER key when the date is correct.
After you press the ENTER key, the Keypad Hand Controller will display "Updating planetary data". The position of the planets depends on the date, so anytime the date is changed, the planet positions are recalculated.
This is all the information the LX200 needs to make use of all features. The next steps actually align the telescope with the night sky.

b. Setting Up the Telescope
After the basic information has been entered into the telescope, the telescope is ready to actually set-up and use. Follow Section A: Telescope Assembly to setup the telescope outside, and follow these steps:
1. Using the Bubble Level (15, Fig. 3) located on the telescope's drive base, level the telescope. Position the drive base so that the power panel faces North (i.e. to view the power panel, you must face South.)
2. Loosen the Dec. Lock Knob (2, Fig. 4 ) and position the optical tube assembly approximately level (so that the Dec. Circle (3, Fig. 3) reads 0°. Retighten the Dec. Lock Knob.
3. Loosen the R.A. Lock (7 Fig. 3) and rotate the telescope so that the R.A. Pointer (9, Fig. 3) and the Hour Angle (HA) Pointer (16, Fig. 3) are approximately in line with each other. This will position the fork arms so that they are parallel to the Power Panel (11, Fig. 3). Lock the R.A. lock.

Steps 2 and 3 above, are not necessary for the telescope to work, so don't worry about having to get it exactly right. The telescope has some "illegal" positions (places where the telescope will not go) and these two steps ensure proper operation.
4. Turn the telescope on. After a few seconds (after the self-diagnostic test is complete), the display will look like Display 15.
5. Press the ENTER key. This selects the TELESCOPE functions. The display should look like Display 16.
6. Press the NEXT key. This will move the arrow to the lower line (see Display 17).
7. Press the ENTER key to select the ALIGN function. The display will look like Display 18. (If the display looks like Display 19 - with a checkmark already next to ALTAZ, go to step 9.)
8. Press the ENTER key to activate the ALTAZ mode. The Keypad Hand Controller will beep and display a checkmark next to the ALTAZ (see Display 19).
9. Press the ENTER key to use the checked mode (ALTAZ). The Keypad Hand Controller display will look like Display 20.
10. If you have not already leveled the telescope, do so now. When the telescope is level, select 1 STAR or 2 STAR alignment. The display will look like Display 21.
11. This message simply reminds you what you should do next. Press ENTER to show a display like Display 22.
12. Using the monthly star charts in Appendix C, pick an alignment star. Look at the chart for the current month and face the direction indicated. The constellations shown are easily found -- even in the city. The charts are approximately 90 degrees wide, with the top of the chart indicating straight up. If the time is after 9:00 P.M., then use the next month's chart. Once you identify the constellation, pick any of the labeled stars that is not within a 10 degree radius of overhead, but do not choose Polaris, for reasons made clear below. Polaris is also known as the North Star, and is shown for reference only.

If the planet is too close to the Sun for safe viewing (closer than 15 degrees) the Keypad will display a message to that effect.

3) Daytime Slewing
Some amateurs may want to use the slewing feature of the LX200 to locate the planets or other astronomical objects during the daytime. If not done correctly, this can be very dangerous.
The LX200 "knows" where the planets are in relation to the Sun, but the telescope does not "know" where the Sun actually is. When the GO TO button is pushed, the telescope will slew to the object by the most direct route, which may move directly over the Sun. Use extreme caution before using the GO TO feature of the telescope to locate objects in the daytime! Looking into the telescope or viewfinder, even for the shortest fraction of a second, with sunlight entering the optics, will cause instant and irreversible eye damage. The telescope itself may also suffer serious damage if it is pointed at or near the Sun.
A responsible adult should supervise every aspect of telescope operation when children are observing in the daytime.
Use the following procedure to safely locate objects during the daytime, whether by manual slewing, using the N,E,W,S keys, or using the GO TO key:
1. Before allowing the telescope to move, place the dust covers on the main telescope and viewfinder (or remove the viewfinder from the telescope completely). This will keep the Sun's damaging light out of the telescope should it move across the Sun.
2. Press the GO TO button or manually move the telescope.
3. After the telescope has stopped moving, visually check the telescope's position to be sure it is not pointing near the Sun. If there is any question in your mind that the telescope may be pointing at or near the Sun, do not look through the telescope.
4. Only when you are absolutely convinced that the telescope is pointing away from the Sun should you remove the telescope's dust cover and observe the object.
5. Above all, be careful and use common sense. Observing the Sun, even for the shortest fraction of a second, will cause instant and irreversible eye damage.

• Go to Part 2 of LX200 Manual
• Go To Part 3 of LX200 Manual
• 3. Precise Polar Alignment
• Return to Instruction Manual Index
• Return to Main Index
• Warranty

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Meade Lx200 manual page 1