| The Meade Astrofinder software allows you to remotely control your #497 Autostar-equipped ETX-90, 105, or 125 telescope from a serial port-equipped laptop or PC. It displays a real-time interactive star chart on your computer screen that constantly shows you where your scope is pointing, so you can locate targets of opportunity while scanning the skies. You can use it to remotely slew the scope to any object, both inside and outside the solar system, at a click of your mouse. You can also use the program indoors when the weather is bad to plan future observing sessions and to print star charts to help organize your observing sessions in advance. It will display realistic planetarium-style views of the sky and earth on your monitor to help you learn the skies when the skies are too cloudy to see the skies. The program comes on a CD-ROM and includes over 15,000 stars and objects in its database. It requires a PC running Windows 95 through Windows XP. It will not run under Windows 3.1 or earlier, and will not run with Windows Vista. System requirements include a Pentium or higher processor, a CD-ROM drive, 16 megabytes of RAM, an SVGA or better monitor that’s 256-color capable, and 15-60 megabytes of hard drive space (depending on how much of the database you want to keep on the drive to avoid having to use the CD-ROM in the field). A #505 connector cable set, which lets you connect ETX scope, Autostar, and PC, is included with the Astrofinder package and does not have to be purchased separately to use the software. The #505 consists of a 6’ cable, plus a DB-9 serial adapter, to connect your scope to your laptop or PC to control the scope and download updated Autostar programs and the orbital elements of satellites, comets, and asteroids from the Meade website. A second 3’ cable lets you connect two scopes to clone information from one scope to the other. For use with a DB-9 serial port-equipped PC only. If you have a laptop with a USB port instead of a DB-9 serial port you will have to purchase a USB to serial adapter from your local computer store.
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