INSTRUCTION MANUAL Orion Observer 70 EQ TM ® #9882 Equatorial Refractor Telescope 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 211 Rev. A 10/02 2 ® Welcome to the exciting world of amateur astronomy. Your new Observer 70 EQ Refractor is a quality optical instrument that will deliver countless hours of exciting stargazing, from magnified views of the Moon, star clusters, and nebulas to glimpses of Jupiter's moons and Saturn's rings. The Observer 70 includes everything you need to go from box to backyard in less than half an hour. These instructions will help you set up, use, and care for your new telescope. Table of Contents 1. Unpacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2. Parts List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3. Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 4. Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 5. Using Your Telescope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 6. Care and Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 7. Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Make sure all the parts in the parts list are present. Familiarize yourself with their features and compare them to the callouts on Figures 1, 2, and 3 when possible. If anything appears to be missing or broken, immediately call Orion Customer Support (1-800-676-1343) for assistance. 2. Parts List 1 2 1 2 3 1 1 1 1 1 3 Optical tube assembly (1) Tube Rings (6) (located on optical tube) Equatorial mount (5) Slow motion control cables (8,9) Tripod legs (10) with attached accessory tray bracket (11) Accessory tray (11) with attachment screws Counterweight shaft (26) Counterweight (7) EZ Finder II reflex sight (4) EZ Finder II mounting bracket (17) Tripod attachment screws with wingnuts and washers (32) Leg lock knobs (13) Latitude adjustment T-bolt (30) 25mm Explorer II eyepiece (3) 10mm Explorer II eyepiece Dust cover 90° Mirror star diagonal 1. Unpacking The entire telescope system will arrive in one box. Be careful unpacking the box since some of the contents are small and easy to overlook. We recommend keeping the box and all original packaging. In the event you need to ship the telescope to another location, or return it to Orion for warranty repair, having the proper packaging will help ensure that your telescope will survive the journey intact. Warning: Never look directly at the Sun through your telescope or its finder scope--even for an instant--without a professionally made solar filter that completely covers the front of the instrument, or permanent eye damage could result. Young children should use this telescope only with adult supervision. 3 1 1 1 1 1 3 Observer 70 Refractor 1 6 4 3 5 2 9 8 7 10 11 12 13 Figure 1. Observer 70 EQ Components 4 ® The Basic Components of Your Telescope Figure 1 shows the fully assembled Observer 70 EQ. All the major components of the telescope are described and numbered to help you identify each part and understand its use. Refer back to this figure when assembling the telescope. 1 Optical tube This is the main optical component of the telescope. The glass lens at the front of the tube gathers incoming light and focuses it by bending (or refracting) the light rays. The tube assembly has several parts built into it, which are shown and discussed in detail in the next section. 90° mirror star diagonal The diagonal contains a mirror that reflects the light gathered through the optical tube to the eyepiece. The diagonal is angled to allow for viewing objects that are high in the sky from a comfortable position. 25mm Explorer II eyepiece The eyepiece is the part of the telescope that you actually look through to see things. The focal length of the eyepiece and the telescope determines the magnifying power of the telescope. Magnification is discussed in more detail in the Using Your Telescope section. EZ Finder II reflex sight This is a special "finder" that helps you aim the telescope and locate objects in the sky for viewing. The EZ Finder II generates a red LED "dot" that shows where your telescope is aimed. The use of the EZ Finder II is discussed in the Getting Started section. Equatorial mount This mount couples the optical tube (1) to the tripod. It also serves to allow tracking of celestial objects with the telescope when properly polar aligned. See the Aligning the Equatorial Mount section for more details. Tube Rings These rings attach to the equatorial mount (5) and hold the optical tube (1). 7 Counterweight This counterweight will balance the optical tube (1) when it is being aimed at celestial objects. Right ascension slow-motion control cable This cable, along with the declination slow-motion control cable (9) is used to make small movements in right ascension when aiming the telescope. Right ascension is explained in the Aligning the Equatorial Mount section. This cable is also used to "track" stellar objects and keep them in the field of view Declination slow-motion cable This cable, along with the right ascension slow-motion control cable (8) is used to make small movements in declination when aiming the telescope. Declination is explained in the Aligning the Equatorial Mount section. 8 2 9 3 10 Tripod legs These aluminum tripod legs support the telescope and can extend from 27" to 50" long. 11 Accessory Tray This tray is a convenient place for holding extra eyepieces and other small pieces of equipment. 12 Accessory tray bracket This bracket holds the accessory tray (11) to the tripod. 13 Leg lock knobs These knobs lock the tripod legs into place. Loosen them to lengthen or shorten the tripod legs. Tighten them once you have the leg at the desired length. Be certain that all three tripod legs are equally extended to assure your telescope is level. 4 5 6 5 Observer 70 Telescope Tube 15 6 4 17 1 14 3 16 2 18 19 Figure 2a. Optical tube components 3 20 21 18 2 Figure 2b. Observer 70 focuser detail 6 ® Details of the Optical Tube and Components Figure 2a shows the details of the Optical Tube (1) and its various parts. The optical tube is shown attached to the mount for clarity. Figure 2b is a close up of the focuser with even more detail. 14 Objective lens This is the main optical component of the telescope. It is an achromatic, fully coated 70mm lens. 15 Glare/Dew shield This is a simple "hood" for the objective lens (14) that prevents dew formation and stray light from hitting the lens. 16 Equatorial mount head The top of the equatorial mount (5). This is where the optical tube (1) is attached to the mount. 17 EZ Finder II mounting bracket The EZ Finder II (4) is secured to this bracket, which will then be attached to the optical tube (1). 18 Focuser drawtube This is where the 90° mirror star diagonal (2), or other optional diagonal, is inserted. The drawtube is adjusted by the turning the focus wheel (19), which adjusts a rack-and-pinion system to bring objects into focus. 19 Focus wheels These wheels, when turned, move the focuser drawtube (18) in or out. Use it to bring things into focus when you are looking in the eyepiece (3). 20 Diagonal holder thumbscrews These two thumbscrews secure the 90° mirror star diagonal (2) into the focuser drawtube (18). These should only be loosened to remove or rotate the star diagonal. 21 Eyepiece holder thumbscrews These thumbscrews hold the eyepiece in position. Tighten them after inserting an eyepiece (3); loosen them before removing or changing eyepieces. 7 Observer 70 Tripod and Mount 25 22 Rig A ht 23 en sc nA sio xis 26 24 28 27 30 9 8 29 31 Figure 3a. Equatorial mount detail. is Ax on ati clin De 7 32 32 Figure 3b. Observer 70 EQ tripod leg and mount attachment detail. 8 Details of the Tripod and Mount Figure 3a shows a close up of the telescope's mount and tripod. Important features are pointed out for greater clarity and detail. Figure 3b shows close-up detail of the tripod legs (10) attached to the equatorial mount (5). 22 Declination setting circle This circle will indicate where the telescope is pointing in the declination axis. Declination is explained in the Aligning the Equatorial Mount section. 23 Right ascension lock knob This knob is loosened when you want to make large movements in the right ascension axis. Tighten it when the telescope is in the general area of what you want to view. 24 Right ascension setting circle This circle will indicate where the telescope is pointing in the right ascension axis. Right ascension is explained in the Aligning the Equatorial Mount section. 25 Declination lock knob (opposite side) This knob is loosened when you want to make large movements in the declination axis. Tighten it when the telescope is in the general area of what you want to view. 26 Counterweight shaft This metal shaft holds the counterweight (7). 27 Counterweight lock knob This knob should be tightened at all times to keep the counterweight (7) on the counterweight shaft (26). Loosen it only to adjust the balance of the telescope as described in the Balancing the Telescope section. 28 Latitude scale This scale gives a general indication of the latitude setting of the equatorial mount (5). 29 Latitude lock T-bolt This bolt must be loosened to make adjustments in the latitude of the telescope. 30 Latitude adjustment T-bolt This bolt use used to make adjustments in the latitude setting of the equatorial mount (5). 31 Azimuth lock knob Loosening this knob will allow the equatorial mount (5) to be adjusted in azimuth (left/right) without changing the position of the tripod. 32 Tripod leg attachment screws These screws attach the tripod legs (10) to the equatorial mount (5). Each screw has a wingnut and two washers. These items are included with your telescope, but are not shown in Figures 1, 2 or 3. 10mm Explorer II eyepiece This is a second, high-power eyepiece, providing 70x magnification. For more details, see the Using your Telescope section. Dust Cover Use this to cover the objective lens when the telescope is not in use. It will prevent dust from gathering on the objective lens. 9 a b c d Figure 4a-d. Proper operation of the equatorial mount requires that the telescope tube be balanced on both the R.A. and Dec. axes. (a) With the R.A. lock lever released, slide the counterweights along the counterweight shaft until it just counterbalances the tube. (b) When you let go with both hands, the tube should not drift up or down. (c) With the Dec. lock knob 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. Assembly Assembling the telescope for the first time should take about 30 minutes. You will need any tools other than the ones provided. As a general note, tighten all screws securely to eliminate flexing and wobbling, but be careful not to over-tighten and thereby strip the threads. Refer to Figures 1 through 3 during the assembly process. During assembly (and any other time, for that matter), do not touch the surfaces of the telescope objective lens or the lenses of the finder scope and eyepiece with your fingers. These optical surfaces have delicate coatings that can easily be damaged if touched. Never remove any lens assembly from its housing for any reason, or the product warranty will be voided. Begin set-up of the telescope by assembling the tripod and mount first: 1. Lay the equatorial mount (5) on its side. Attach the tripod legs (10), one at a time, to the base of the mount by sliding a tripod leg attachment screw (32) through the top of a leg and through the holes in the base of the mount. The washers should be on the outside of the tripod legs. Secure the wing nuts finger-tight. Figure 3b shows a close-up detail of the screws attaching the tripod legs to the mount. 2. Install and tighten the leg lock knobs (13) on the bottom braces of the tripod legs (10). For now, keep the legs at their shortest (fully retracted) length; you can extend them to a more desirable length later, once the tripod is completely assembled. 3. Stand the tripod and mount upright and spread the tripod legs (10) apart as far as they will go, until the accessory tray bracket (12) is taut. Connect the accessory tray (11) to the accessory tray bracket with the three wing screws installed in the tray. Push the wing screws up through the holes in the accessory tray bracket and thread them into the holes in the accessory tray. 4. Tighten the tripod leg attachment screws (32) at the tops of the tripod legs so the legs are securely fastened to the mount. Use the Phillips head screwdriver and/or your fingers to do this. 5. To install the latitude adjustment T-bolt (30), thread it into the hole in the back of the equatorial mount (5) until tight. 6. Orient the equatoria ...