MENU button. The built in LED display provides information about all of the Gemini 

System's features and menus. This simple arrangement gives you complete control with a 

minimum of effort. Because the Gemini has such a large number of features and options, 

navigating through the menus can be somewhat overwhelming at first, but after a little 

practice, you'll find this arrangement quite intuitive and very easy to operate. All of the 

settings in the Setup menu are stored in non volatile memory, so you won't have to set 

them each time. There are also shortcut keystrokes that will give you instant access to 

some features. 

2.3.1  Controls 

The Hand Controller

 has two main functions. It is used to move the telescope in RA 

and Dec., and to access the Menu. Pressing the MENU button on the Hand Controller 

toggles between 

Telescope Control Mode

 and 

Menu Mode

. Starting with Level 3 

version 1.01, the Gemini System always powers up in Menu Mode.  

Telescope Control Mode:

 The four diamond shaped buttons move 

the telescope in RA and Dec. The upper diamond button is DEC+, 

the lower one is DEC , the right one is RA+ and the left one is RA . 

At power up, the RA and DEC buttons default to these functions. 

The square RA REV and DEC REV buttons on the bottom can be 

used to reverse (toggle between) the + and   functions on the 

respective RA and DEC (diamond) buttons. The functions of the RA 

and DEC buttons are not marked for this reason. 

Unless reversed using RA REV or DEC REV, RA+ moves the 

mount west in RA while RA  moves the mount east.   

DEC+ moves the declination axis of the mount counterclockwise 

(when viewed from the top), while DEC  moves it clockwise.  When 

moving in declination, the direction does NOT change as the mount 

crosses the celestial pole. 

Menu Mode:

 Press the MENU button and "MENU" is displayed. The DEC+/  buttons 

scroll through the possible selections, the RA+ button selects items (like a computer 

s 

enter 

 key), and the RA  button usually goes back to the previous selection (like a 

computer 

s  

back arrow 

). Pressing the MENU button again returns Gemini to Telescope 

Control Mode for guiding, centering, and slewing the telescope.  

Note 1:

 There are some commands in the menu that will switch back to Telescope 

Control Mode without pressing the MENU button. 

Note 2:

 The RA REV and DEC REV buttons affect the Hand Controller in both 

Telescope Control Mode and Menu Mode.  For example, if you have pressed RA 

REV, the left hand RA button now selects items in the menu, and the right hand RA 

button is used as a back arrow key. 

Note 3:

 After about 10 seconds of inactivity at a top level menu item, the Hand 

Controller will automatically switch back to Telescope Control Mode.  

Display:

  When in Menu Mode, the display shows the menu items and data for each item.  

When you enter the Telescope Control Mode, the display will usually show a status 

Gemini Users Manual 

9