INSTRUCTION MANUAL Orion Atlas EQ Mount TM ® #9830 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 177 Rev. A 11/02 Tube ring mounting plate Tube ring mounting plate lock knobs (2) Dec. lock lever Dec. setting circle Front opening Power indicator light Power cord jack Hand controller jack R.A. setting circle R.A. lock lever Counterweight shaft lock lever Counterweight shaft Counterweights Latitude adjustment L-bolts Latitude scale Counterweight lock knobs "Toe Saver" Center support shaft (not shown) Hand controller Tripod leg Tripod support tray Leg lock levers Figure 1. The Atlas EQ Mount. 2 ® Congratulations on your purchase of a quality Orion mount. Your new Atlas Equatorial Mount works with many different telescope optical tubes. Designed for astronomical use, this precision mount allows convenient "tracking" of celestial objects with its built-in motor drives. The setting circles built into the mount will assist you in locating hundreds of fascinating celestial denizens, including galaxies, nebulas, and star clusters, from their catalogued coordinates. With a little practice, you'll find that the Atlas Equatorial Mount is an invaluable tool for getting the most out of your astronomical observing sessions. 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. Unpacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2. Parts List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3. Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 4. Attaching a Telescope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5. Balancing a Telescope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6. Setting Up and Using the Equatorial Mount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 7. Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 3. Assembly 1. Stand the tripod legs upright and spread the legs out as far as they will go. Make certain that the leg lock levers are tightened. Keep the tripod legs at their shortest (fully retracted) length, for now; you can extend them to a more desirable length later, after the scope is fully assembled. 2. Place the base of the equatorial mount onto the tripod head. Orient the equatorial mount so that the post on the tripod head lines up with the azimuth adjustment knobs on the equatorial mount (Figure 2). You may need to loosen the azimuth adjustment knobs on the equatorial mount in order to fit the mount onto the tripod head. 3. Remove the knob and washer from the bottom of the center support shaft. Slide the tripod support tray up the bottom of the central support shaft until the three tray arms are touching the legs of the tripod. The flat side of the support tray should be facing up. Make sure the "V" of each tray arm is against a tripod leg. Place the knob washer on the center support shaft against the tray, and follow it by threading the securing knob all the way up the center support shaft until it is tight against the tray. The tripod support tray provides additional stability for the tripod, and holds up to five 1.25" eyepieces and two 2" eyepieces. 4. Loosen the counterweight shaft lock lever and fully extend the counterweight shaft. Retighten the lock lever. 5. Remove the knurled "toe saver" retaining screw on the bottom of the counterweight shaft and slide both counterweights onto the shaft. Make sure the counterweight lock knobs are adequately loosened to allow the counterweight shaft to pass through the hole. Position the counterweights about halfway up the shaft and tighten the lock knobs. Replace the toe saver at the end of the bar. The toe saver 1. Unpacking The entire mount will arrive in two boxes, one containing the tripod, the other containing the equatorial mount. Be careful unpacking the boxes. We recommend keeping the boxes and original packaging. In the event that the mount needs to be shipped to another location, or returned to Orion for warranty repair, having the proper packaging will ensure that your mount will survive the journey intact. Make sure all the parts in the Parts List are present. Be sure to check box carefully, as some parts are small. If anything appears to be missing or broken, immediately call Orion Customer Support (800-676-1343) or email support@telescope.com for assistance. 2. Parts List 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 Tripod Equatorial mount Tube ring mounting plate Counterweights Tripod support tray Hand controller (with control cable) Battery pack (with power cord) Warning: Never look at the sun with your telescope or its finderscope--even for an instant--without a professionally made solar filter that completely covers the front of the instrument, or permanent eye damage could result. 3 Azimuth adjustment knobs a. Post b. Figure 2. Orient the equatorial head so that the post on the tripod lines up with the azimuth adjustment knobs on the equatorial mount. prevents the counterweights from falling on your foot if the lock knobs happen to come loose. 6. Insert the plug on the end of the hand controller's cable into the jack on the side of the EQ mount. 7. Insert eight D-cell batteries into the battery pack. Insert the plug on the end of the the battery pack's cord into its jack on the mount. Your Atlas EQ mount is now fully assembled and should resemble Figure 1. Note about the Atlas EQ mount Weight: The Atlas EQ mount is very heavy. Alone it weighs 54 lbs. With a large optical tube and counterweights it can easily weigh over 100 lbs. Keep this in mind when moving the telescope even small distances, and use assistance when needed. It is best to remove the optical tube and counterweights when moving the mount. c. d. Figure 3a-d. Proper operation of the equatorial mount requires that the telescope tube be balanced on the R.A. and Dec. axes. (a) With the R.A. lock lever released, slide the counterweights down the counterweight shaft until they just counterbalance the telescope tube. (b) When you let go with both hands, the tube should not drift up or down. (c) With the Dec. lock lever released, loosen the tube ring lock clamps a few turns and slide the telescope forward or back in the tube rings. (d) When the tube is balanced about the Dec. axis, it will not move when you let go. 3. Open the tube rings and lay the telescope optical tube in the rings at about the midpoint of the tube's length. Rotate the tube so that the focuser is at a convenient height for viewing. Close the tube rings and tighten them. 4. Attaching a Telescope The Atlas equatorial mount is designed to hold telescope tubes weighing up to approximately 40 lbs. For heavier telescopes, the mount may not provide sufficient stability for steady imaging. Any type of telescope can be mounted on the Atlas, including refractors, Newtonian reflectors, and catadiotropics, provided a set of tube rings is available to couple the tube to the mount. Orion sells a variety of telescope tube rings. Please visit our website at telescope.com for details. 1. Attach the tube mounting rings to the tube mounting plate using the attachment screws that come with the tube rings. The screws should go through the holes in the outer ends of the mounting plate and rethread into the tube rings. Note that the side of the mounting plate with the central "groove" will be facing up. Use a small wrench to secure the tube rings to the mounting plate. 2. Loosen the black mounting plate securing knobs on the top of the equatorial mount. Place the mounting plate, with the tube rings attached, in the slot on top of the equatorial mount. Position the mounting plate so that it is centered on the slot. Re-tighten the mounting plate securing knobs until the plate is secure. 5. Balancing a Telescope To ensure smooth movement of a telescope on both axes of the equatorial mount, it is imperative that the optical tube is properly balanced. We will first balance the telescope with respect to the right ascension (R.A.) axis, then the declination (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 right ascension axis. Rotate it until the counterweight shaft is parallel to the ground (i.e., horizontal). 2. Now loosen both counterweight lock knobs and slide the weights along the shaft until they exactly counterbalance the telescope (Figure 3a). That's the point at which the shaft remains horizontal even when you let go with both hands (Figure 3b). If the telescope refuses to balance than you have either too much or too little counterweight. Remove a counterweight, or add optional counterweights if needed. 3. Retighten the counterweight lock knobs. The telescope is now balanced on the right ascension axis. 4 ® Dec. lock lever R.A. setting circle Dec. setting circle Front opening A Ri (R scenght .A si .) on ax is R.A. lock lever Polar axis finder scope Latitude scale De c li na tio n (D ec .) ax is Azimuth adjustment knobs (2) Figure 4. The Atlas EQ Mount. 4. To balance the telescope on the declination axis, first tighten the R.A. lock lever, with the counterweight shaft still in the horizontal position. 5. With one hand on the telescope optical tube, loosen the Dec. lock lever. The telescope should now be able to rotate freely about the declination axis. 6. Loosen the knurled ring clamps on the tube rings 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) (Figure 3c). 7. Position the telescope in the tube rings so it remains horizontal when you carefully let go with both hands. This is the balance point for the optical tube with respect to the Dec. axis (Figure 3d). 8. Retighten the knurled rings clamps. The telescope is now balanced on both axes. 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. Latitude adjustment L-bolts Little Dipper (in Ursa Minor) Big Dipper (in Ursa Major) N.C.P. Polaris ter Poin tars S Cassiopeia Figure 5. To find Polaris in the night sky, look north and find the Big Dipper. Extend an imaginary line from the two "Pointer Stars" in the bowl of the Big Dipper. Go about five times the distance between those stars and you'll reach Polaris, which lies within 1° of the north celestial pole (NCP). first the R.A. axis of the mount must be aligned with the Earth's rotational (polar) axis--a process called polar alignment. Polar Alignment For Northern Hemisphere observers, approximate polar alignment is achieved by pointing the mount's right ascension axis at the North Star, or Polaris. It lies within 1° of the north celestial pole (NCP), which is an extension of the Earth's rotational axis out into space. Stars in the Northern Hemisphere appear to revolve around the NCP. To find Polaris in the sky, look north and locate the pattern of the Big Dipper (Figure 5). The two stars at the end of the "bowl" of the Big Dipper point right to Polaris. Observers in the Southern Hemisphere aren't so fortunate to have a bright star so near the south celestial pole (SCP). The star Sigma Octantis lies about 1° from the SCP, but it is barely visible with the naked eye (magnitude 5.5). 6. Setting Up and Using the Equatorial Mount When you look at the night sky, you no doubt have noticed that the stars appear to move slowly from east to west over time. That apparent motion is caused by the Earth's rotation (from west to east). An equatorial mount (Figure 4) is designed to compensate for that motion, allowing you to easily "track" the movement of astronomical objects, thereby keeping them from drifting out of your telescope's field of view while you're observing. This is accomplished by slowly rotating the telescope on its right ascension (R.A.) axis, using the built in motor drive. But 5 Eyepiece focus ring Alignment setscrew (3) Focus lock ring Objective lens Figure 6. The optional polar axis finder scope. Figure 7. The optical tube must be at a 90° angle to the R.A. axis in order to view through the polar axis finder. For general visual observation, an approximate polar alignment is sufficient. 1. Level the equatorial mount by adjusting the length of the three tripod legs. 2. There are two latitude adjustment L-bolts (see Figure 4); loosen one while tightening the other. By doing this you will adjust the latitude of the mount. Continue adjusting the mount until the pointer on the latitude scale is set at the latitude of your observing site. If you don't know your latitude, consult a geographical atlas to find it. For example, if your latitude is 35° North, set the pointer to 35. The latitude setting should not have to ...