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Jim's Mobile, Inc. y 8550 W 14th Ave y Lakewood, CO 80215 y USA y 303-233-5353 y Fax 303-233-5359 y jmitelescopes.com
Appendix E — MAX Quick-Start Guide
NOTE: For best results, the following steps should be followed while using the telescope under actual observing conditions.
Simulated star alignments may be used for the purpose of familiarizing yourself with the operation of the computer, however, the
user should be aware that under these conditions the coordinate display and
GUIDE mode will behave unpredictably.
1. Turn unit ON. A message will appear briefly.
2. Use the DIM button to set the brightness of the LED display as desired. If at any time during these steps a single, bright
asterisk (*) is shown on your display, it is an indication of an encoder error. It can also be indicated by the display showing
ENCODER ERROR. This can be caused by turning the telescope too rapidly or a bad electrical connection (including not
having the encoders plugged in).
3. If display shows: Then do this:
DEC=0 Point your telescope such that the Declination setting circle is at the zero degree mark*.
Press the ENTER button and proceed to step 4.
MODE ALIGN STAR The computer is set up for polar alignment. If the telescope is not polar aligned,
or
STAR FIX the POLAR ALIGN mode may be used as an aid to this end. Proceed to step 4.
VERTICAL (Used with Altitude/Azimuth mounts)
Position the telescope tube such that it is pointed directly perpendicular to the bottom of
the rocker box*. Press the ENTER button and proceed to step 4.
LEVEL ME (Used with Altitude/Azimuth mounts)
Position the telescope tube such that it is pointed exactly parallel with the bottom of the
rocker box*. Press the ENTER button and proceed to step 4.
* This initial setting needs to be as accurate as possible. The maximum tolerable error is one half of a degree. Any error larger
than this will result in poor pointing accuracy. Please see the addendum The Importance of the Initial NGC Alignment for
additional help on this setting.
4. Choose a bright star to use as an initial alignment. (Do not use Polaris with an Equatorial mount or a star at Zenith with an
Alt/Az mount.) After entering
ALIGN STAR or STAR FIX mode (by pressing ENTER when this is shown on the LED
display), use the UP and DOWN buttons to scroll through the star list until your chosen star's name is displayed.
5. With the star from step 4 centered in your telescope's eyepiece, press the ENTER button to align on the star. If a W or WARP
value is shown, it may be ignored at this point (only the warps on alignments after the first have real meaning).
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 using a second star which is at least 60 degrees from the first to complete the alignment procedure
(Polaris may be used for this alignment). At this point the warp value should be ±0.50 or less for accurate alignment.
7. To view an object, press the MODE button to enter the mode selection, and use the UP and DOWN buttons to locate the
CATALOG mode (this is two presses of the UP button from ALIGN STAR or STAR FIX).
8. Press the ENTER button to select CATALOG mode. If you followed the above steps properly, the display will now show a
flashing
ST next to a three digit number. This is indicating that you are currently working with the STar catalog, the number
being that of the alignment star from step 5.
9. To select an object, you must first define which catalog it is in. Use the UP and DOWN buttons to set the catalog
(ST=STARS, M=Messier, NGC=New General Catalog, IC=Index Catalog, NEW=User definable objects), then press ENTER.
10. You will now see the first digit of a 2-4 digit number flashing. Use the UP and DOWN buttons to select the first digit of the
catalog number you wish to observe. (If your catalog number is of fewer digits than that displayed, you must use preceding
zeros. For example, to enter M-42, your display would look like this:
M042.)
11. With the first digit set, press ENTER and the second digit will be flashing. Continue this process until you have all digits set
as needed. Pressing ENTER once more will display the Right Ascension and Declination for that object.
12. If you would like to see the information which the MAX has on this object, press ENTER again. The display will scroll the
catalog number, magnitude, (size, common name, constellation), type of object, and Sky Atlas (SA) or Uranometria (UA) chart
reference.
13. Press the MODE button to return to mode selection. Press the UP button then ENTER to select GUIDE mode.
14. Displayed is the angular distance and direction to that object from the telescope's current location. The first angle is that of
Right Ascension/Azimuth, and has a left or right facing arrow to indicate direction. The second angle is that of
Declination/Altitude, and has an up or down facing arrow to indicate direction.
15. Moving the telescope in the direction indicated (one axis at a time if desired), the angles will decrease toward zero.
Whenever an angle is less than ten degrees, that angle is shown to tenths of a degree with the arrow doubling as a decimal
point. Zeroing both angles results in pointing the telescope at the selected object.