 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 LX50 Hand Controller is a dual-axis drive corrector with 4 photo-guide
or microslew speeds, and allows the very small tracking corrections necessary
for long exposure astrophotography as well as the microslewing to and centering
of objects. This hand controller is also used to access the special functions
of the LX50 telescope such as reversing the button directions and selecting
different drive rates.
[ toc ]
1. LX50 Self Diagnostic Test
When the LX50 is first powered up, all LED's are turned on in rotation four
times, indicating the telescope is performing the self diagnostic tests.
The circuits and logic are tested and if any faults are found, the LED's
will continue to circulate.
Table 1: Keypad Functions
[ toc ]
2. LX50 Hand Controller Normal Operation
a. Direction Keys
Labeled N, S, E, and W (1, Fig.18) these four keys make the LX50 move, or
microslew in a specific direction, with an option of four different speeds,
explained below. When pressing a direction key, the only feedback is the
motion of the telescope.
b. Speed Key
This key is used to change the speed at which the telescope is moved when
pressing one of the direction keys. The currently selected speed is indicated
by the speed indicator illuminated LED beside the speed key, and pressing
the speed key will increment the selected speed to the next speed.
The four speeds are 32x sidereal rate which is useful for centering the
object in a viewfinder, 16x sidereal rate for centering the object in a
wide-field eyepiece, 8x sidereal rate for centering the object in a high-power
eyepiece, and 2x sidereal rate which is used for guiding an astrophotograph.
NOTE: All of the slew speeds will drive the LX50 in all four directions,
except for 2x. The 2x sidereal speed has one difference in that it will
not interrupt the Right Ascension tracking direction to make Easterly (for
Northern hemisphere) or Westerly (for Southern hemisphere) adjustments;
it will merely stop. You will find, however, that the slower drive will
move the image opposite of the tracking direction, without disturbing the
smooth drive action. This performance is absolutely essential when making
astrophotographs.
It should also be noted that the tracking speed of the telescope is VERY
slow-one complete revolution in 24 hours. You will not SEE the telescope
moving when it is tracking. You will also not see the telescope move when
pressing a direction key at the 2x speed unless you are looking at an object
through the eyepiece.
[ toc ]
3. LX50 Hand Controller Special Function Menu
This feature is used to customize the operation of the LX50 telescope by
changing up to four functions of the telescope.
To enter the Special Function Menu, simply hold down the East and West buttons
for 2 seconds. The following chart summarizes these features.
To move between features, use the N and S keys.
To select or change a feature, use the Speed key.
To exit the Special Function Menu, press the N key until all four LED's
blink in pairs and then hit the Speed key. This action will return the telescope
to normal operation.
[ toc ]
a. Northern/Southern Hemisphere Operation (32x LED)
The LX50 is design to be operated from both the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
The default is the Northern hemisphere. It can be temporally changed from
the hand controller, using the Special Function Menu. This change will be
in effect as long as power is supplied to the telescope. Upon power-up,
the hemisphere operation reverts back to the Northern hemisphere setting.
To change the hemisphere operation, use the N / S key to move to the 32x
LED. Note: The LED will blink slowly to indicate Northern hemisphere operation
or rapidly for Southern hemisphere operation. Pressing the Speed button
will toggle between these hemisphere settings.
[ toc ]
b. Reversing the N / S Button Direction
When guiding an astrophoto, it is often desirable to reverse the direction
of the telescope in North and South movements (e.g., when you press the N
button, the telescope will move South). To make this change, use the N /
S key to move to the 16x LED. Press the Speed key. The 16x LED will now
blink quickly indicating the buttons have been reversed.
[ toc ]
c. Reversing the E / W Button Direction
When guiding an astrophoto, it is often desirable to reverse the direction
of the telescope in East and West movements (e.g. when you press the W button,
the telescope will move East). To make this change, use the N / S key to
move to the 8x LED. Press the Speed key. The 8x LED will now blink quickly
indicating the buttons have been reversed.
[ toc ]
d. Changing the Tracking Rate
The tracking rate can be changed in .5% increments using this function.
To change the rate, follow these steps:
1. Use the N / S key to move to the 2x LED.
2. Pressing the Speed key will activate this mode for input and turn off
all four LED's.
3. Press the N key for each .5% speed increase (the 32x LED will blink once
for each key press) or the S key for each .5% speed decrease (the 8x LED
will blink once for each key press).
4. When the desired number of speed correction adjustments is entered, press
the Speed key to complete the adjustment.
When the Speed key is pressed, the 32x or 8x LED will blink once for each
.5% adjustment entered, confirming the number of adjustments, and then return
to the Special Function Menu, with the 2x LED quickly blinking to indicate
the tracking rate has been adjusted.
Note: Whenever tracking speed changes are requested, they are made relative
to the standard speed - NOT relative to the last adjusted speed.
[ toc ]
e. Exiting the Special Function Menu
To exit the Special Function Menu, press the N key until all four LED's
blink in pairs and then hit the Speed key. This action will return the telescope
to normal operation.
Figure 19: LX50 Power Panel
Next Page
Related Topics:
|