INSTRUCTION MANUAL Orion SkyView Deluxe Equatorial Mount ® TM #9400 Customer Support (800) 676-1343 E-mail: support@telescope.com Corporate Offices (831) 763-7000 Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975 P.O. Box 1815, Santa Cruz, CA 95061 IN 097 Rev. A 0898 Tube ring mounting bolt Declination setting circle Declination lock lever Right ascension slowmotion control Counterweight shaft Counterweight Counterweight lock knob Retaining washer and knob Tripod leg attachment bolt Declination slowmotion control Right ascension lock lever Right ascension setting circle Polar axis finder scope Latitude adjustment knob Latitude lock lever Azimuth adjustment knob Accessory tray bracket Tripod leg Leg lock bolt Accessory tray Rubber foot Figure 1. SkyView Deluxe EQ Mount Parts Diagram 2 Congratulations on your purchase of a quality Orion product. Your new SkyView Deluxe Equatorial Mount offers solid stability, mechanical precision, and the versatility to accommodate a variety of different small to medium-sized telescope tubes. It features a heavy-duty equatorial head with fully enclosed 360° worm gears and a built-in polar axis finder scope to allow quick alignment of the mount for effortless star-tracking. The setting circles will enable you to locate objects by their cataloged celestial coordinates. We're sure that the SkyView Deluxe Equatorial Mount will make your observing sessions easier and more productive. These instructions will help you set up and properly use your equatorial mount. Please read them over thoroughly before getting started. Table of Contents 1. Parts List................................................................................................................................. 3 2. Assembly ................................................................................................................................ 3 3. Attaching a Telescope ............................................................................................................ 4 4. Balancing the Telescope......................................................................................................... 4 5. Using the Equatorial Mount .................................................................................................... 5 6. Suggested Accessories .......................................................................................................... 7 1. PARTS LIST Qty. 1 1 2 1 1 3 1 3 Description German-type equatorial mount Polar axis finder scope Slow-motion control cables Counterweight Counterweight shaft Tripod legs Tripod accessory tray Accessory tray screws and wing nuts 2. ASSEMBLY Carefully open all of the boxes in the shipping container. Make sure all the parts listed in section 1 are present. Save the boxes and packaging material. In the unlikely event that you need to return the equatorial mount, you must use the original packaging. Assembling the mount for the first time should take about 10 minutes. No tools are needed. All bolts should be tightened securely to eliminate flexing and wobbling, but only tighten them "finger tight." Be careful not to over-tighten so as not to strip the threads. Refer to Figure 1 during the assembly process. WARNING: Never look at the Sun through the polar axis finder scope, or permanent eye damage or blindness could result. For your safety, keep the polar axis finder scope capped during daylight hours. Children should use this mount only under adult supervision. 3 1. Lay the equatorial mount on its side. Attach the tripod legs one at a time to the base of the mount by sliding the tripod leg attachment bolt into the slot in the mount and lightly tightening the knob finger-tight. Note that the hinged accessory tray bracket on each leg should face inward. 2. Tighten the leg lock bolts at the base of the legs. For now, keep the legs at their shortest (fully retracted) length; you can extend them to a more desirable length later, after the scope is completely assembled. 3. With the tripod legs now attached to the equatorial mount, stand the tripod upright (be careful!) and spread the legs apart enough to attach the accessory tray to the three hinged tray brackets on the legs. The brackets should be positioned underneath the tray. Use the three small accessory tray screws and wing nuts provided. Do not tighten the wing nuts yet. 4. Now, with the accessory tray attached loosely, spread the tripod legs apart as far as they will go, until the accessory tray brackets are taut. Then tighten the wing nuts. 5. Next, tighten the tripod leg attachment bolts at the base of the equatorial mount, so that the legs are securely fastened. 6. Remove the retaining knob and washers from the bottom end of the counterweight shaft. Slide the counterweight onto the shaft, then replace the washers and the retaining knob. The washers and knob will prevent the counterweights from slipping off the shaft and possibly onto your foot if the counterweight lock knobs should come loose! 7. At the top end of the counterweight shaft, note the knurled shaft collar. Rotate it so as much of the threaded end of the shaft as possible is visible. Now, with the counterweight lock knob loose, grip the counterweight with one hand and thread the shaft into the equatorial mount (at the base of declination axis) with the other hand. When it is threaded as far in as it will go, twist the shaft collar clockwise to secure the shaft. Position the counterweight about halfway up the shaft and tighten the counterweight lock knob. 8. Orient the equatorial mount as it appears in Figure 1, at a latitude of about 40°, i.e., so the pointer next to the goldcolored latitude scale is pointing to the hash mark at 40. To do this, loosen the latitude lock lever (on the side of the mount opposite the gold latitude scale), and turn the latitude adjustment knob until the pointer and the 40 line up. Then tighten the latitude lock lever. Also tighten the declination (Dec.) and right ascension (R.A.) lock levers. 9. Remove the caps from the narrow end of the polar scope and the polar scope port in the equatorial mount. Insert the narrow end of the polar scope into the open port. While gripping the wide end of the polar scope (but not the eyepiece at the very end), thread it clockwise into the port until it is secure. 10.Now attach the two slow-motion cables to the R.A. and Dec. worm gear shafts of the equatorial mount by positioning the setscrew on the end of the cable over the indented slot on the worm gear shaft, then tightening the setscrew. The cables can be attached to either end of the shafts, whichever is most convenient for you. Your SkyView Deluxe Equatorial Mount is now set up and ready to use. 3. Attaching A Telescope The SkyView Deluxe Equatorial Mount is designed to hold small to mid-size telescopes weighing up to about 13 lbs. For heavier telescopes, the mount may not provide sufficient stability for steady imaging. Any type of telescope can be mounted on the SkyView Deluxe Equatorial Mount, including refractors, Newtonian reflectors, and catadioptrics, provided a proper adapter or set of tube rings is available to couple the tube to the mount. Orion carries a variety of differently sized tube rings and a 1/4"20 mounting adapter designed exclusively to fit the SkyView Deluxe mount. One of these items may fit the telescope tube you wish to mount. See the list of Suggested Accessories at the end of these instructions, or check the Orion print or online catalogs for currently available mounting accessories. 4. Balancing the Telescope Once the telescope is attached to the equatorial mount, the next step is to balance the telescope. Proper balance is required to insure smooth movement of the telescope on both axes of the equatorial mount. If you attach your telescope with a 1/4"-20 adapter, it may not be possible to balance the scope precisely with respect to the declination axis, because the telescope cannot be moved back and forth as it can when tube rings are used. Some 1/4"20 adapters have a slot or more than one hole through which the threaded post can be set, allowing some limited adjustment of the telescope's position for balancing. Assuming you will be using tube rings, we will first balance the telescope with respect to the R.A. axis, then the Dec. axis. 1. Keeping one hand on the telescope optical tube, loosen the R.A. lock lever. Make sure the Dec. lock lever is locked, for now. The telescope should now be able to rotate freely about the R.A. axis. Rotate it until the counterweight shaft is parallel to the ground (i.e., horizontal). 2. Now loosen the counterweight lock knob and slide the weight along the shaft until it exactly counterbalances the telescope. That's the point at which the shaft remains horizontal even when you let go of the telescope with both hands. If you position the counterweight all the way at the end of the shaft (near the retaining knob and washer) and it still does not counterbalance the telescope, you will need to purchase an additional counterweight (Orion part number #9413). Retighten the counterweight lock lever. The telescope is now balanced on the R.A. axis. 3. To balance the telescope on the Dec. axis, first tighten the R.A. lock lever, with the counterweight shaft still in the horizontal position. 4. With one hand on the telescope optical tube, loosen the Dec. lock lever. The telescope should now be able to rotate freely about the Dec. axis. Loosen the tube ring clamps a few turns until you can slide the telescope tube forward and back inside the rings (this can be aided by using a slight twisting motion on the optical tube while you push or pull on it). Position the telescope so that it remains 4 horizontal when you carefully let go with both hands. This is the balance point for the Dec. axis. Before clamping the rings tight again, rotate the telescope so the eyepiece is at a convenient angle for viewing (this is not possible if using a 1/4"-20 mounting adapter). The telescope is now balanced on both axes. Now when you loosen the lock lever on one or both axes and manually point the telescope, it should move without resistance and should not drift from where you point it. on the Dec. setting circle should read 90°. Retighten the Dec. lock lever. 4. Lift and rotate the tripod so that the telescope tube (and R.A. axis) points roughly at Polaris. If you cannot see Polaris directly from your observing site, consult a compass and rotate the tripod so that the telescope points North. The equatorial mount is now polar-aligned for casual observing. More precise polar alignment is required for astrophotography. Polar Aligning Using the Polar Axis Finder One of the unique features of your new SkyView Deluxe mount is the polar axis finder scope. It fits conveniently inside the equatorial mount, and contains a tiny star map that makes precise polar alignment quick and easy. To use the polar axis finder scope, follow these instructions: 1. Approximately polar-align the mount as outlined in the procedure above. 2. Remove the caps that cover the polar finder (one on the polar finder's eyepiece and one on the equatorial mount). Focus the polar finder by rotating its eyepiece. Now, sight Polaris in the polar axis finder scope. If you have followed the approximate polar alignment procedure accurately, Polaris will probably be within the field of view. If it is not, move the tripod left-to-right, and adjust the latitude up and down until Polaris is somewhere within the field of view of the polar axis finder scope. 3. Shine a red flashlight down the front end of the polar finder to illuminate the reticle within the field of view. Make sure the flashlight shines in at an angle, so as not to block the polar finder's field of view. It may be helpful to have a friend hold the flashlight while you look through the polar finder. Note the constellations Cassiopeia and Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) in the reticle (ignore the constellation Octans, as this is provided for Southern Hemisphere observers). They do not appear to scale, but they indicate the general positions of Cassiopeia and Ursa Major relative to Polaris and the north celestial pole (which is indicated by the cross at the center of the reticle). Next, the reticle must be rotated so the constellations depicted match their current orientation in the sky when viewed with the naked eye. To do this, release the R.A. lock lever and rotate the main telescope about the R.A. axis until the reticle is oriented with the sky. You may need to reposition the telescope about the declination axis so the telescope does not bump the mount. Once the reticle is correctly oriented, use the R.A. lock lever to secure the main telescope's position. 4. Now, use the azimuth and latitude adjustment knobs on the mount to position the star Polaris inside the tiny circle marked "Polaris" in the polar finder's reticle. You must first release the latitude lock lever and lo ...