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Instruction Manual Model 4500: 4.5" Equatorial Reflecting Telescope A D V A N C E D P R O D U C T S Meade Instruments Corporation World’s Leading Manufacturer of Astronomical Telescopes for the Serious Amateur 6001 Oak Canyon, Irvine, California 92618...
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.
These instructions detail the set-up, operation, specifications, and optional accessories of your Meade Model 4500. In order that you may achieve maximum enjoyment of the instrument, we urge that you take a few minutes to read all of this manual before making first observations through the telescope. As you read this manual, the technical terms associated with telescopes will be made clear.
1. Balancing the Telescope In order for the telescope to move smoothly on its mechanical axes, it must first be balanced about the 2 telescope axes: the polar axis (10) and the Declination axis (21). All motions of the polar aligned telescope (more on this later) take place by moving about these two axes, separately or simultaneously.
Right Ascension and Declination, the task of finding objects (in particular, faint objects) in the telescope is vastly simplified. The setting circles, R.A (27) and Dec. (28) of the Model 4500 telescope may be dialed, in effect, to read the object coordinates and the object found without resorting to visual location techniques.
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This condition is caused by air turbulence in the upper atmosphere. The Meade Model 4500 may be used for a lifetime of rewarding astronomical observing, but basic to your enjoyment of the telescope is a good understanding of the instrument. Read the above instructions carefully until you understand all of the telescope’s parts and functions.
For example, the focal length of the Model 4500 telescope is fixed at 910mm. To calculate the power in use with a particular eyepiece, divide the focal length of the eyepiece into the focal length of the main telescope. For example, using the MA25mm eyepiece supplied with the Model 4500, the power is calculated as follows: Meade Instruments manufactures several types of eyepiece designs that are available for your telescope.
3. Collimation (Alignment) of the Optics All Meade Model 4500 telescopes are optically aligned at the factory prior to shipment. It is unlikely that you will need to align, or collimate, the optics after receipt of the instrument. However, if the telescope received unusually rough handling in shipment, it is possible that the optics must be re-aligned for best optical performance.
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– 13 – Fig. 5: Diagonal Assembly Fig. 6: Primary Mirror Cell falls directly through the center of the focuser drawtube (17, Fig. 1). These mirror tilt adjustments are made with the diagonal assembly (Fig. 5) and the primary mirror cell (Fig. 6), and will be discussed later. To inspect the view of the mirror collimation, look down the focuser drawtube with the eyepiece removed.
With the collimation performed, you will want to test the accuracy of the alignment on a star. Use the MA25mm eyepiece and point the telescope at a moderately bright (second or third magnitude) star, then center the star image in the telescope’s field-of-view. With the star centered follow the method below: •...
(2, Fig. 6), to allow free turning movement of the tilt knobs. • Using the flexible cable controls (3) and (4), Fig. 1, move the telescope until the star image is at the edge of the field-of-view in the eyepiece, as in Fig. 11B.
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A D V A N C E D P R O D U C T S D I V I S I O N Meade Instruments Corporation World’s Leading Manufacturer of Astronomical Telescopes for the Serious Amateur 6001 Oak Canyon, Irvine, California 92618...
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