Instruction Manual Model 4500: 4.5" Equatorial Reflecting Telescope M E A D E PRODUCTS 30 90 ADVANCED 0 60 90 60 30 DIVISION Meade Instruments Corporation World’s Leading Manufacturer of Astronomical Telescopes for the Serious Amateur 6001 Oak Canyon, Irvine, California 92618 ■ (949) 451-1450 FAX: (949) 451-1460 ■ www.meade.com © 1995 Rev.
–2– WARNING NEVER ATTEMPT TO OBSERVE THE SUN THROUGH YOUR MEADE TELESCOPE! OBSERVING THE SUN, EVEN FOR THE SHORTEST FRACTION OF A SECOND, WILL CAUSE INSTANT AND IRREVERSIBLE EYE DAMAGE. WHEN OBSERVING DURING THE DAYTIME, DO NOT POINT THE TELESCOPE EVEN CLOSE TO THE SUN. Meade Limited Warranty Every Meade telescope, spotting scope, and binocular is warranted by Meade Instruments Corp.
–3– TABLE OF CONTENTS A. Introducing the Meade Model 4500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 1. This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 2. Standard Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 B. Unpacking and Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 1. Balancing the Telescope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 2.
–4– Key to Fig. 1 1. Tripod legs 23. Dec. lock 2. Equatorial mount 24. 6 x 30 viewfinder 3. R.A. flexible cable control 25. Telescope front dust cover 4. Dec. flexible cable control 26. Viewfinder bracket thumbscrews 5. Counterweight 27. R.A. setting circle 6. Counterweight shaft 28. Dec. setting circle 7. Counterweight lock 29. Latitude dial 8. Safety washer/thumbscrew 30. Azimuth lock 9. Latitude lock 31. Focus knobs 10. Polar axis 32. Polar shaft acorn cap nut 11.
–5– 21 13 23 28 36 10 22 27 32 18 17 19 9 7 35 31 11 33 5 26 25 6 30 24 8 M E A D E 12 20 34 14 16 15 37 2 30 90 90 60 0 30 60 4 29 3 42 39 38 40 1 41 43 Fig. 1: Meade Model 4500: 4.
–6– A. Introducing the Meade Model 4500 The Model 4500 is an easy-to-operate, high performance 4.5" (114mm) reflecting telescope, intended for astronomical observing. Equipped with a deluxe equatorial mount and aluminum tripod, the telescope’s motion is continuously adjustable for tracking celestial objects. Your telescope comes to you ready for adventure; it will be your companion in a universe of planets, galaxies, and stars.
–7– • Release the latitude lock (9) of the equatorial mount, and tilt the polar axis (10) of the telescope to roughly a 45° angle by turning the latitude adjustment knob (11). With the polar axis thus tilted, firmly re-tighten the latitude lock. • Loosen the lock knobs (15) of the cradle rings (14) and open the cradle rings to position them over the optical tube assembly (12).
–8– • With the front of the viewfinder already centered in the front bracket ring, look through the viewfinder and loosen or tighten, as appropriate, one or more of the rear viewfinder bracket ring thumbscrews (26) until the viewfinder’s crosshairs are likewise centered on the object previously centered in the main telescope. • Check this alignment on a celestial object, such as a bright star or the Moon, and make any refinements necessary, using the method outlined above.
–9– (which passes, for example, through the constellations Orion, Virgo and Aquarius) is specified as having 0°0'0" Declination. The Declination of the star Polaris, located very near the North Celestial Pole, is +89.2°. The celestial equivalent to Earth longitude is called “Right Ascension,” or “R.A.” and is measured in hours, minutes and seconds from an arbitrarily defined “zero” line of R.A. passing through the constellation Pegasus.
– 10 – • To center an object in the main telescope, loosen the telescope’s R.A. lock (22) and Dec. lock (23). The telescope can now turn freely on its axes. Use the aligned viewfinder to first sight-in on the object you wish to observe; with the object centered on the viewfinder’s crosshairs, re-tighten the R.A. and Dec. locks.
– 11 – • The Moon: A veritable treasury of craters, mountain ranges and fault lines. The best contrast for viewing the Moon is during its crescent phase. The contrast during the full Moon phase is low due to the angle of illumination. • Deep-Space: Nebulae, galaxies, multiple star systems, star clusters–hundreds of such objects are visible through the Model 4500. F.
– 12 – H. Maintenance 1. Cleaning As with any quality instrument, lens or mirror surfaces should be cleaned as infrequently as possible. Front surface aluminized mirrors, in particular, should be cleaned only when absolutely necessary. In all cases avoid touching any mirror surface. A little dust on the surface of a mirror or lens causes negligible loss of performance and should not be considered reason to clean the surface.
– 13 – 2 3 1 2 3 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. The edge of the focuser drawtube (1, Fig.
– 14 – b. Spider vane adjustments If the diagonal mirror (1, Fig. 8) is left or right of center within the drawtube (2, Fig. 8), loosen the spider vane adjustment/lock knobs (1, Fig. 5) located on the outside surface of the main tube and slide the entire diagonal assembly up or down the tube along the slotted holes, until the diagonal mirror is centered in the drawtube. If the diagonal mirror (1, Fig.
– 15 – spot dead center within the out-of-focus star disk (this is the shadow of the secondary mirror), as shown in Fig.11C. (An improperly aligned telescope will reveal elongated circles (Fig. 11A), with an off-center dark shadow.) • If the out-of-focus star disk appears elongated (Fig. 11A), you will need to adjust the primary mirror Phillips-head tilt screws of the primary mirror cell (3, Fig. 6). • To adjust the primary mirror tilt screws (3, Fig.
ADVANCED PRODUCTS DIVISION Meade Instruments Corporation World’s Leading Manufacturer of Astronomical Telescopes for the Serious Amateur 6001 Oak Canyon, Irvine, California 92618 ■ (949) 451-1450 FAX: (949) 451-1460 ■ www.meade.
