 IMPORTANT NOTICE! Never use a telescope or spotting scope to look at the Sun! Observing the Sun, even for the shortest fraction of a second, will cause irreversible damage to your eye as well as physical damage to the telescope or spotting scope itself. |
The power panel incorporates a power switch and LED indicators showing
power on with a current ammeter to show power draw. There is also a N/S
switch for Northern hemisphere and Southern hemisphere use.
The Power Panel has all of the connectors for the AC or DC power input,
the DEC Motor, and the Keypad. There are connectors designed to accept optional
accessories such as a CCD autoguiding camera, the optional Meade Encoders*
that will update the Keypad even if you move the LX200 manually (not using
the N, S, E, W keys), the optional Meade #1206 Electric Focuser*, and an
illuminated reticle eyepiece*. There is even a connector for RS-232 communication
that will allow you to perform every function of the Keypad from your personal
computer. An illustration and a description of the LX200 Power Panel features
follows:
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1. ON/ OFF Switch
When the ON/ OFF Switch (7, Fig. 7) is moved to the ON position, the power
light indicator, the Current Ammeter, and the Keypad all light up. You will
hear the drive motors rev which momentarily pegs the Ammeter, then the drive
motors shift to a slower speed which allows the RA worm gear to find its'
centering position for calibrating the Smart Drive, then resuming to an
even slower tracking speed. The Keypad Display reads 'Meade LX200', then
the version of the software is indicated briefly before defaulting to the
TELESCOPE/ OBJECT LIBRARY. Within 15 seconds, the planetary orbital calculations
with their corresponding apparent sizes and magnitudes, and current stellar
precession calculations are made. Every computer function is checked, and
the LX200 diagnostics is complete.
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2. N/S Switch
The recessed N/S Switch (8, Fig. 7) converts the LX200 for operation in
the Northern or Southern hemisphere, making the drive reverse its' tracking
direction. Before power up, the appropriate N or S switch position should
be made, as the LX200 will not recognize a change made on the N/S switch
afterwards. Use a pen or small tool to slide the switch appropriately. Be
sure before you travel across the equator, that you are setting the proper
+ or - latitude SITE entry for your final destination.
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3. Ammeter
The Ammeter display (1, Fig. 7) is a series of vertical red LED bars. Each
bar that is fully lit represents 0.1 ampere (100 milli-amperes) of current
draw. The LED Ammeter represents its' lowest value on the extreme left of
the scale. During normal tracking speeds, the Ammeter will show about four
fully lit LED bars and at times a fifth that is partially lit, indicating
about 400 to 450 milliamps or 0.4 to 0.45 amps of current draw (when a slew
in initiated, the ammeter will peg the scale momentarily showing the inertia
load, this effect is entirely normal). The current draw information can
be useful if you are trying to calculate how much battery life you will
have during an observing run. As an example, if the ammeter has four bars
lit, indicating 0.4 amps and you are using a 12 amp hour battery, then to
know the approximate number of hours of life the battery would yield, you
would divide 12 by 0.4 indicating a battery life of 30 hours.
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4. DEC Motor Connector
The DEC Motor Port (11, Fig. 7) is an 8 pin phone jack connector socket,
designed to accept standard 8 pin phone jack coil cords. One end of the
supplied coil cord plugs in to the Power Panel and the other plugs into
the DEC MOTOR socket in the right fork arm to power the declination motor.
| CCD Connector Pin |
LX200 Assignment |
| #1 |
#Normally Closed |
| #2 |
West |
| #3 |
North |
| #4 |
Ground |
| #5 |
South |
| #6 |
East |
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5. CCD Connector
The CCD Port (10, Fig. 7) allows direct interface from popular aftermarket
CCD autoguiding/imaging cameras with their compatible connecting cables
to accomplish autoguiding for non-attended astrophotography. The CCD cameras
effectively watch a star and detect slight movements. When star movements
are detected, signals from the CCD electronics make drive corrections in
the LX200, to bring the star to a home position.
Most CCD autoguiding/imaging cameras are supplied with a cable which is
compatible with the LX200 port. If your CCD unit does not have a cable,
one can be obtained from the CCD manufacturer, or you can make your own
cable using the following table of information.
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6. Power 12vDC Connector
The Power 12v DC connector (9, Fig. 7) is designed to accept either the
AC Converter that is supplied as standard equipment with the LX200 or the
DC Power Cord that is available as optional equipment. The acceptable voltage
range (under load) is from 12 to 18 volts.
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7. Keypad Connector
The Keypad connector (6, Fig. 7) is a 4 pin phone jack connector socket,
designed to accept standard 4 pin phone jack coil cords. One end of the
supplied coil cord plugs into the Keypad port, the other end plugs into
the LX200 Keypad.
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8. Reticle Connector
The Reticle connector (5, Fig. 7) accepts optional accessory corded, plug
in style illuminated reticle eyepieces such as the Meade 12mm Illuminated
Reticle Eyepiece, or the Meade Series 4000 Plössl 9mm Illuminated Reticle
Eyepiece (corded style)*, to allow brightness control and on/ off pulsing
rates to be set from the LX200 Keypad.
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9. Focuser Connector
The Focuser connector (4, Fig. 7) accepts optional accessory corded, plug
in style electric focusers such as the Meade #1206 Electric Focuser*, to
allow electric focus adjustment control from the LX200 Keypad.
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10. RS-232 Connector
The RS-232 connector (2, Fig. 7) allows personal computer interface to allow
communications at 9600 baud to access every feature of the LX200 Keypad.
In Appendix F of this manual is a wiring schematic to make your own RS-232
connector cord, a cord test program, a demonstration program, and the LX200
Command Set for writing programs. Meade Instruments supplies this information
for professional programmers. Meade Instruments Corporation does not offer
support or advice for writing software for the RS-232 option.
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11. Aux Connector
The Auxiliary connector (3, Fig. 7) is used for the 7" Maksutov fan
power.
* See the current Meade Telescope Systems and Accessories Catalog.
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