iOptron 8500 manual

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Table of contents for the manual

  • Page 1

    SmartStar ® -E Series Mount and Telescopes (For 8500, 8502, 8503 and 8504) Instruction Manual[...]

  • Page 2

    2 Table of Content Table of Content .............................................................................................................. 2 1. SmarStar ® -E Series Ov erview ..................................................................................... 4 1.1. SmartStar ® -E Series F eatures ........................................[...]

  • Page 3

    3 5.9. Set Telesc ope Coord. ......................................................................................... 20 5.10. Park Scope ....................................................................................................... 20 6. Maintenance and Servicin g ..........................................................................[...]

  • Page 4

    1. SmarStar ® -E Series Overview 1.1. SmartStar ® -E Series Features Alt-Azimuth Mount– The Cube™ The SmartStar ® -E series come with our patented Alt-Azimuth (AltAzi) mount, a.k.a . The Cube™. This compact mount design is probably the most functional and flexible unit on the market. It was named “Hot Product 2008” by Sky and Telescope[...]

  • Page 5

    5 Package Contents 1 (1) SmartStar ® -E Mount, the Cube TM ( Models 8500, 8502, 8503 and 8504 ) (1) GOTONOVA TM Hand Controller (Part No. 8403) (1) Controller Cable (1) Tripod (1) Tripod bolt and Tray Lock (1) Tripod Tray (1) AC adapter with cord For Model 8502 (SmartStar ® -E-R80) (1) 80mm Refractor Telescope (2) Eyepieces (PL 10mm & PL 25mm[...]

  • Page 6

    6 1.2. Assembly Terms 1. Telescope tube 2. Dovetail lock 3. Hand controller 4. Altitude lock 5. Mount 6. Tripod 7. Tripod bolt 8. Tray 9. Tray lock[...]

  • Page 7

    7 2. Telescope Assembly Step 1. Preparing the Tripod Extend tripod legs to full extension. Step 2. Attaching the Mount Attach mount to tripod using the long bolt (#7). Slide tray on bottom of shaft. Then screw on round black knob (#9). Step 3a. Installing Batteries (not included) Note: you may use 8 AA batteries (Step 3) or the AC adaptor (Step 5) [...]

  • Page 8

    8 Step 5. Plug in hand controller and AC adaptor. Plug hand controller into either one of the two HBX ports on the mount. Next plug in AC adaptor. (Or use batteries—see step 3). Turn on power (the red light should go on). At this point you can begin observing manually. Use the 4 Arrow keys ( ▲▼ ◄► ) to rotate the scope Up, Down, Left, and[...]

  • Page 9

    9 For 90mm Maksutov-Cassegr ain (#8504) …………………………………. Install Diagonal by screwing it onto the back end of the sco pe. You can adjust the position of the diagonal by loosening the free- spinning threader on the diagonal. Install the Finderscope by sliding the dovetail plate onto the sleeve (see arrow) and tightening the s[...]

  • Page 10

    10 3. GOTONOVA TM 8403 Hand Controller Figure 1. GOTONOVA #8403 Hand Controller GOTONOVA TM 8403 hand controller (HC) is the standard controller for a SmartStar ® -E series mount and telescope, as shown in Figure 1. 3.1. Key Description • MENU: Press “MENU” to enter the Main Menu. • BACK: Move back to the previous screen, or end/cancel cur[...]

  • Page 11

    11 2. Mount/GPS Status: display current status of the mount. If the mount equipped with an external GPS module, it also indicates GPS status, when the mount is turned on. • Land (Mount Status): the telescope is at a standby position or observing a land object; • Sola (Mount Status): the telescope is tracking an object in Solar system at a solar[...]

  • Page 12

    12 or 2. Turn the mount power on. Press the SPEED button to select a slew speed (MAX for fast slew and 2X for fine tuning). Turn the SOUTH mark pointing to south using ► or ◄ button. An additional compass may needed. Rotate the telescope point to the zenith using ▲ or ▼ button. A torpedo level may help. Then turn the mount power off and tur[...]

  • Page 13

    13 time zone). Enter minutes “ahead of” or “behind” UT (universal time). The minimum time difference is 60 minutes. • New York City is 300 minutes “behind” UT • Los Angeles is 480 minutes “behind” UT • Rome is 60 minutes “ahead of” UT • Beijing is 480 minutes “ahead of” UT • Sydney is 600 minutes “ahead of” UT [...]

  • Page 14

    14 telescope section). Tighten all lock knobs (Declination, Latitude, Right Ascension, Horizontal Axis) so that telescope’s aim is not disturbed. 2. Turn on the red dot finder and look through the finder window. Adjust the red dot alignment screws to center the red dot on the object. 3. Now, objects located with the finderscope first will be cent[...]

  • Page 15

    15 number. A check mark “ √ ” indicates the object is above the horizon, and cross mark “X ” means it is below the horizon. Only those objects above the horizon can be observed. In some catalogs, those stars below the horizon may not display. 5.2.1. Planets, Sun, Moon There are 9 objects in Solar system. 5.2.2. Deep Sky Objects This menu [...]

  • Page 16

    16 Goto Landmark: Use ▼ or ▲ button to move the cursor to “Goto Landmark” line, press ENTER. The first saved landmark will display: Use ► or ◄ button to move the cursor and ▼ or ▲ button to change the number, then press ENTER. The mount will automatically slew to the target. This function only works if a land object has been stored [...]

  • Page 17

    17 Delete All Data Use ▼ or ▲ button to move the cursor to “Delete All Data” line, and press ENTER. Press ENTER to confirm the deletion. Press BACK to back to main menu. 5.4. Sync to Target This operation will match the telescope's current coordinates to Target Right Ascension and Declination. After slew to an object, move the cursor t[...]

  • Page 18

    18 If you have a very good initial setup, one star alignment should be sufficient for good GOTO accuracy. To increase the accuracy you may choose to do two star alignment. 5.6.2. Two Star Alignment Two star ali gnment will increase the GOTO accuracy of the mount. It is suggest ed to do two star alignment after one star alignment. Select “Two Star[...]

  • Page 19

    19 Edit one data Use ▼ or ▲ button to move the cursor to “Edit one data” line, and press ENTER. A user object screen will show: The first line shows the number of the user object. The second line shows the name of the user object, here is “SAO2940”. The third line shows target’s current RA and DEC coordinates. Use ◄ or ► move the [...]

  • Page 20

    20 position and ▲ or ▼ key change the number and press ENTER to select the object you want to edit. Follow the same procedure as “Add a new comet” to edit it. Delete one comet Use ▼ or ▲ button to move the cursor to “Delete one comet” line, and press ENTER. A screen consists comet information will show: Use ► or ◄ button to move[...]

  • Page 21

    21 6. Maintenance and Servicing 6.1. Maintenance The SmartStar ® E mount or telescope is a precision instrument designed to yield a lifetime of rewarding applications. Given the care and respect due any precision instrument, your telescope will rarely require factory servicing or maintenance. Maintenance guidelines include: 1. Using wet cloth to c[...]

  • Page 22

    22 fresh? How long have they been used? (frequent slew and GOTO will deplete battery power very quickly) • Using AC or DC adapter? Check the plugs to the mount and to the power outlet. • Using extension cord? Make sure the cord is in good condition. Power drop along the extension cord was known to cause the problem. Also check all the plugs and[...]

  • Page 23

    23 Appendix A. Technical Specifications SmartStar ® GOTO Mount Mount AltAzimuth Mount Body Materials Die-cast Aluminum Motor Dual-Axis DC Servo motor with encoders Gear Acetal worm wheel/Nylon 6 worm gear Bearing 4 steel ball bearings Speed Dual-Axis, 5-Gear, Electronic (2×,8×,64×,256×,MAX) GOTO System GOTONOVA TM 8403 Processor 32bit ARM Obje[...]

  • Page 24

    24 Appendix B. GOTONOVA TM 8403 HC MENU STRUCTURE MENU Select and Sl ew Select and Sl ew Plane ts, Sun, Moon Plane ts, Sun, Moon Comets Comets Asteroids Asteroids Stars Stars Mercury Venus Mars Jupite r Saturn Uranu s Neptune Sun Moon Deep Sk y Objects Deep Sk y Objects Named Dee psky O bject Messier Catalog Named Stars Constellations Double St ars[...]

  • Page 25

    25 Align Align One Star Align One Star Align Two Star Alig n Two Star Align User Obj ect List R.A. and DEC. Comets Asteroids User Obj ect List User Obj ect List R.A. and DEC. R.A. and D EC. Comets Comets Asteroids Asteroids Watch List Add a W atch Obj ect Delete One Data Delete Al l Browse the List Watch List Watch List Add a W atch Obj ect Add a W[...]

  • Page 26

    26 Appendix C. GOTONOVA TM Star List GOTONOVA Deep Sky Object List for 8403 ID No. OBJECT NGC # Messier # IC# A(Abell) U(UGC) 1 Andromeda Galaxy 224 31 2 Barnards Galaxy 6822 3 Beehive Cluster 2632 44 4 Blackeye Galaxy 4926 64 5 Blinking Planetary Nebula 6826 6 Blue Flash Nebula 6905 7 Blue Planetary 3918 8 Blue Snowball Nebula 7662 9 Box Nebula 63[...]

  • Page 27

    27 36 Lagoon Nebula 6523 8 37 Little Gem 6445 38 Little Gem Nebula 6818 39 Little Ghost Nebula 6369 40 North American Nebula 7000 41 Omega Nebula 6618 17 42 Orion Nebula 1976 42 43 Owl Nebula 3587 97 44 Pelican Nebula 5070 45 Phantom Streak Nebula 6741 46 Pinwheel Galaxy 598 33 47 Pleiades 45 48 Ring Nebula 6720 57 49 Ring Tail Galaxy 4038 50 Roset[...]

  • Page 28

    28 Messier This table is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License . It uses material from the Wikipedia article List of Messier objects[...]

  • Page 29

    29 001 Acamar 049 Ascella 097 Kaus Australis 145 Rassalas 002 Achernar 050 Asellus Australis 098 Kaus Borealis 146 Rasagethi 003 Acrux 051 Asellus Borealis 099 Kaus Media 147 Rasalhague 004 Acubens 052 Aspidiske 100 Keid 148 Rastaba 005 Adhafera 053 Atik 101 Kitalpha 149 Regulus 006 Adhara 054 Atlas 102 Kochab 150 Rigel 007 Al Na’ir 055 Atria 103[...]

  • Page 30

    30 No. Constellation Abbreviation No. Constellation Abbreviation 1 A ndromeda A nd 45 Lacerta Lac 2 A ntlia A nt 46 Leo Leo 3 A pus A ps 47 Leo Minor LMi 4 A quarius A qr 48 Lepus Lep 5 A quila A ql 49 Libra Lib 6 A ra A ra 50 Lupus Lup 7 A ries A ri 51 Lynx Lyn 8 A uriga A ur 52 Lyra Lyr 9 Boötes Boo 53 Mensa Men 10 Caelum Cae 54 Microscopium Mic[...]

  • Page 31

    31 No. Object Const SAO Name 1 Eta Cas 21732 Achird 2 Alpha Psc 110291 Alrisha 3 Theta Per 38288 4 Alpha For 168373 Fornacis 5 Alpha Aur 40186 Capella 6 Sigma Ori 132406 7 Mu Ori 113389 8 Alpha CMa 151881 Sirius 9 Delta Gem 79294 Wasat 10 Alpha Gem 60198 Castor 11 Alpha CMi 115756 12 Epsilon Hya 117112 13 HR 3579 42642 14 Kapa UMa 42661 15 Psi Vel [...]

  • Page 32

    32 IOPTRON ONE YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY A. iOptron warrants your telescope, mount, or controller to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for one year. iOp tron will repair or replace such product or part which, upon inspection by iOptron, is found to be defective in materials or workman ship. As a condition to the obligation of iOptron to[...]