Celestron Ultima 2000 Scope 48
Warnings - Requires 8 AA batteries. Carry spares
The Ultima 2000 telescope is an 8
inch Schmidt-Cassegrain
Catadioptric telescope. It has
a very stable fork design. The optics are excellent, and
the scope is very transportable, weighing only 39
lbs. The Tripod adds another 12 lbs, for a total weight of 51 lbs.
The Celestron Ultima2000 is a GOTO scope, meaning that it can
automatically slew to tens of thousands of objects.
Quick Start
click for full resolution. The telrad shown in this picture was
replaced with an Orion Red Dot.
Quick Start
Important Points to Avoid Damaging the Scope
- The Alt and Az are clutched. You should never move the
scope manually unless you release the clutches. The Az clutch is
a brass rod that fits into the base. See page 23 in the manual.
- Bring 8 spare AA batteries with you when you observe.
- Always balance the scope as described on page 20.
- Turn off the red dot and finder reticles when you are not using
them. These use batteries that may be hard to find away from
Radio Shack.
Slewing the Scope
This is a GOTO scope so the only time you will have to manually slew
large distances is during alignment. Make sure the slew mode is
set to FINDER when you first turn on the handset. Press the RIGHT
diamond. While holding the right diamond press UP. This
sets the slew rate to FINDER. FINDER is a 2º per second
rate. That is too slow to move large distances. Fortunately
if you start the scope moving (say by pressing UP) and then press the
opposite button (DOWN in this case) the scope will move at the SLEW
rate.
Once you complete the alignment you should change the slew rate to
CENTER as described on page 39.
During alignment FINDER is very fast. I did not find a good way to
change the slew speed during the alignment process except as noted
above. If you find one let me know and I will update this page.
Alignment
The alignment procedure is described on page 10. Again be
sure not to manually move the tube or base without releasing the
clutch. It is safe to move it using the handset. Once the
scope is in its initial position you must lock both clutches and only
use the handset.
With two stars crudely aligned all the objects I selected were in the
field of the 32mm eyepiece.
Additional Information
rjh 6/3/08
