Telescope Instructions
User Manual:
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Mt. Stony Brook Meade 14-inch Set Up and Operations Manual
Anja von der Linden
Updated: September 17, 2018
This document includes instructions on how to set up and operate the Meade 14-inch
telescope atop Mt. Stony Brook.
1. Checklist
Make sure that you have all of the equipment you need to perform observations:
•laptop running CCDSoft, Cartes du Ciel and SiTechExe
•power supply for laptop
•USB cable to connect laptop to telescope mount
•manuals for the telescope, the mount, and the software
•eyepieces (if conducting eyepiece observations)
If conducting CCD observations, then bring:
•large briefcase with SBIG STL-1001e CCD camera and accessories
If conducting spectroscopy, then bring:
•briefcase with SBIG ST402ME CCD camera and accessories
•spectrograph
•Orion StarShoot guider camera (with USB cable)
2. Dome Start-Up
1. DO NOT OPEN THE DOME IF IT IS RAINING, SNOWING, OR IF THERE ARE
STRONG WINDS.
2. Open both doors, use rope to keep them open in order to cool down the dome.
– 2 –
Fig. 1.— The mount
has two of these “hooks”
that are used to lock the
axes when not in use.
Figure from Mesu 200
Mount Quick Guide.
3. Switch on the power to the dome drives: big ON / OFF handle on northern inside wall
of the dome.
4. Use the dome remote to open the top shutter: press ”start”, then ”open” top shutter.
5. Use the dome remote to open the lower shutter: press ”start”, then ”open” lower
shutter. Press “stop” before the lower shutter is all the way open to avoid tangling its
cable.
3. Telescope Start-Up
1. Remove the dust cover from the telescope.
2. After the top dome shutter has opened completely, remove the cap from the front of
the telescope, as well as caps from the finder scope, eyepiece holder etc.
3. Attach your observing equipment. To do so:
(a) Make sure both the R.A. and Dec. axes are locked with the two “hooks”, see
Fig. 1.
(b) Attach the observing equipment (eyepiece holder or SLT-1001e or spectrograph
+ ST402ME camera).
(c) Move the counterweights to the indicated positions. (see Fig. ??).
(d) Unlock the two hooks.
– 3 –
Fig. 2.— The handpad used for manual mount con-
trol. There are 3 speed settings; the one currently in
use is indicated by an LED on the mount controller
(not shown). Figure from Mesu 200 Mount Quick
Guide.
4. Plug in the power supply for the mount and turn it on (red switch on the mount
controller).
4. Controlling the Telescope with the Handpad
The telescope can be slewed with the handpad (Fig. 2), which you’ll find velcro-ed to
the pier. To do so, press the direction keys. The central “SPD” button can be used to change
the slew speed. LEDs on the mount control indicate the currently selected speed: red is the
fastest, yellow the intermediate, and green the slowest setting.
5. Controlling the Telescope with the Laptop
1. Attach the USB cable from the mount controller to the laptop.
2. Open Cartes du Ciel (CdC).
3. In the Telescope menu, select Connect Telescope. In the GUI that opens up, click
Connect.
4. This should prompt the box next to the Connect button to turn green, and the SiTech
GUI to open up.
– 4 –
Fig. 3.— Screenshot of using CdC and SiTechExe to control the mount. Left panel: GUI that
opens up after you select “Telescope” →“Connect Telescope” in CdC. Note the “Connect”
button and indicator, as well as the “Tracking” indicatio. Middle panel: main CdC screen.
The menu shown is after right-clicking Altair. Note the “Slew Alp Aql” and “Sync Alp Aql”
buttons. Right panel: the main SiTech GUI. This will open up automatically after you click
“Connect” in the panel shown on the left here. Note the “Park” and “Unpark” buttons, the
“STOP” and “Start” tracking buttons.
5. Un-park the telescope (click the UnPrk button in the SiTech GUI).
6. If the Tracking box is still red, press Start in the SiTech GUI.
7. Select a bright, currently well visible star in CdC, right-click it and select Slew (star
name).
8. Wait for the telescope to slew to the target. Move the dome accordingly.
9. IF the star is not at the center of the FOV in the eyepiece / the CCD camera, right-
click the star in CdC, select Sync (star name), and select Offset Init in the GUI that
then appears.
– 5 –
10. While you’re at it, use the bright star to focus the main mirror of the telescope. Unlock
the primary mirror, then use the focus knob to move the primary mirror up and down.
One focused, re-lock the mirror.
11. The scope is now ready for accurate GoTo pointing through CdC. To slew to an object,
right-click on it in CdC, and then select Slew (object).
6. Fine-tuning the focus (only for CCD / spectrograph observa-
tions)
The telescope has a micro-focuser that can be used to fine-tune the focus. It can be
controlled from the laptop through the “ShoeString” Focus Motor Controller. Plug the
controller into a USB port on the laptop, and the cable from the microfocuser into the
controller. Open the program “FocusPal”. In CCDSoft, make sure you have the FocusTool
running, reading out a small subset around a reasonably bright star, with a short exposure
time (<1s). While observing the image in CCDSoft, change the focus position using the
“Motor Reverse Click/Hold” and “Motor Forward Click/Hold” buttons. Figure out in which
direction the focus gets better. Move in that position until the focus becomes worse, then
go back to the position of best focus. When you’re happy with the focus, you can detach
the focus controller.
7. Meridian Flips
On a German Equatorial Mount, the telescope is on one side of the mount, and the
counterweights on the other. The telescope should be “up”. Tracking an object that crosses
the meridian will cause the telescope to move “down”. In that case, the pointing needs to
be “flipped”, i.e. the telescope will move to the western side of the mount.
The Mesu mount will do the meridian flip automatically for GoTo operations. It is
currently configured to track 1h past the meridian. However, when observing an object for
a long time, you need to tell the mount when to do the meridian flip. To do so, select the
“Features” tab in the SiTechExe GUI, and click on “GEM flip”. While the mount is flipping,
make sure that all cables attached to the telescope can freely move. If you need to stop the
flip because caples are becoming tangled, push any of the directions button on the handpad.
8. Shut-Down Procedure
1. Move the telescope to the park position by clicking Park in the SiTechExe GUI. This
should also turn off the tracking; if not, click Stop in the SiTechExe GUI.
– 6 –
2. Lock the two hooks. It may be necessary to tweak the telescope position with the
handpad.
3. Turn off the mount controller (red button). Un-plug it.
4. Detach the observing equipment. Return the counterweights to the “eyepiece” position.
5. Replace the telescope front cap, as well as finderscope and eyepiece caps.
6. Cover the telescope with the grey canvas cover.
7. Rotate the dome so that the dome slit is over the entrance door.
8. Close the lower dome shutter.
9. Close the top dome shutter.
10. Shut off the power to the dome.
11. Fill out the telescope logbook.
12. Collect the CCD, laptop, eyepieces, manuals, your personal belongings, and any trash
before leaving.
13. Turn off all lights and close both doors.
14. If any problems were encountered with the telescope or with the CCD during
the night, notify Prof. von der Linden.
9. Troubleshooting
In case the telescope stops tracking:
1. Check whether either of the hooks accidentally locked the respective axis. If so, unlock
it, and tighten the nut underneath the hook to prevent this from happening again.
2. Check whether the telescope is balanced. To do so, return it to the park position,
engage the hooks, and turn off the mount. Release the Declination hook, and move
the telescope up and down by hand. Adjust the small counterweights on the telescope
tube until it is balanced. Re-lock the declination axis, and un-lock the right ascension
axis. Move the telescope by hand, and adjust the large counterweights (opposite the
telescope) until it is balanced.
In either case, you will have to return the telescope to the park position by hand. Make
sure to then “unpark” it in SiTechExe.
– 7 –
References
- Richards, Steve: MESU 200 Mount: A Quick Guide to Installation v1.0 August
2014
- Wahl, Matthew and Metchev, Stan: Mt. Stony Brook Meade 14-inch Set Up and
Operations Manual March 2010
