INSTRUCTION MANUAL Orion SkyView Pro 8 EQ TM ® #9868 Equatorial Reflecting 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 175 Rev. A 08/02 Finder scope Finder scope bracket Eyepiece Declination lock lever (not shown) Right ascension lock lever (not shown) Declination slow-motion control knob Safety thumbscrew Mounting plate securing knob Counterweight shaft Counterweights Counterweight lock knobs Latitude adjustment L-bolts Center support shaft Tripod support tray Right ascension slow-motion control knob Latitude scale Tube rings Optical tube Mirror cell Tripod leg Leg lock knobs Figure 1. The SkyView Pro 8 EQ. 2 Welcome to the exciting world of amateur astronomy! Your new SkyView Pro 8 EQ is designed for highresolution viewing of astronomical objects. With its precision optics and equatorial mount, you'll be able to locate and enjoy hundreds of fascinating celestial denizens, including the planets, Moon, and a variety of deep-sky galaxies, nebulas, and star clusters. These instructions will help you set up, properly use, and care for your telescope. Please read them thoroughly before getting started. Table of Contents 1. Unpacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 2. Parts list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 3. Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 4. Balancing the Telescope . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 5. Using Your Telescope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 6. Setting Up and Using the Equatorial Mount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 7. Collimation (Aligning the Mirrors) . . . . .11 8. Astronomical Observing . . . . . . . . . . . .14 9. Astrophotography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 10. Care and maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 11. Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 2. Parts List The box containing the mount will have the following parts: 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 Tripod Equatorial mount Tripod support tray Tube ring mounting plate Counterweight shaft Latitude adjustment L-bolt Counterweights Slow-motion control knobs R.A. axis rear cover The box containing the optical tube will have the following parts: 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Optical tube assembly Tube rings with mounting screws 25mm Sirius Plössl eyepiece 10mm Sirius Plössl eyepiece Finder scope Finder scope bracket with O-ring Collimation cap Camera adapter Dust cover 1. Unpacking The entire mount will arrive in two boxes, one containing the mount and tripod, the other containing the optical tube Be careful unpacking the boxes. We recommend keeping the boxes and all original packaging. In the event that the telescope needs to be shipped to another location, or returned to Orion for warranty repair, having the proper boxes and packaging will help ensure that your mount will survive the journey intact. Make sure all the parts in the Parts List are present. Be sure to check each 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. 3. Assembly 1. Stand the tripod legs upright and spread the legs out as far as they will go. 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 into 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 into the tripod head. 3. Thread the central support shaft into the equatorial mount until tight. This will secure the equatorial mount to the tripod head. 4. Remove the knob and washer from the bottom of the center support shaft. Slide the tripod support tray up the 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 bottom of the central support shaft until the three tray arms are touching the legs of the tripod. The flat side of the accessory tray should be facing up. Make sure the "V" of each tray arm is against a tripod leg. Place the washer back on the center support shaft against the tray, and thread 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 five 1.25" eyepieces and two 2" eyepieces. 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 the small wrench to secure the tube rings to the mounting plate. 10.Loosen the black mounting plate securing knob as well as the metal safety thumbscrew. Place the mounting plate in the dovetail slot on top of the equatorial mount. Position the mounting plate so that it is centered on the dovetail slot. Re-tighten the mounting plate securing knob until the mounting plate is secure. Then, tighten the safety thumbscrew. The safety thumbscrew will ensure that the mounting plate (and telescope tube) will not fall off the EQ mount if the mounting plate securing knob should come loose. 11.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. Azimuth adjustment knobs Post Figure 2. Orient the equatorial mount so that the post on the tripod head lines up with the azimuth adjustment knobs on the equatorial mount. 5. Thread the Latitude adjustment L-bolt into the rear of the of the equatorial mount casing as shown in place in Figure 1. 6. Thread the counterweight shaft into the equatorial mount at the base of the declination axis until tight. Make sure the casting at the top is threaded clockwise as far as it will go before attaching the shaft. Once the shaft is installed, turn the casting counter-clockwise until the top of the casting is flush with the mount. 7. 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 prevents the counterweights from falling on your foot if the lock knobs happen to come loose. 8. Attach the slow-motion control knobs to the right ascension and declination gear shafts of the equatorial mount by sliding them onto the shaft. Line up the flat on the end of the gear shaft with thecorresponding feature in the interior of the knob to attach them properly. The knobs can be attached to either end of the shafts; use whichever end is most convenient. 9. Attach the tube mounting rings to the tube mounting plate using the attachment screws that are on the tube rings. The screws should go through the holes on the outer ends Installing the Finder Scope To place the finder scope (Figure 3a) in the finder scope bracket, unthread the two black nylon thumbscrews until the screw ends are flush with the inside diameter of the bracket. Place the O-ring that comes on the base of the bracket over the body of the finder scope until it seats into the slot on the middle of the finder scope. Slide the eyepiece end (narrow end) of the finder scope into the end of the bracket's cylinder opposite the alignment thumbscrews while pulling the chrome, spring-loaded tensioner on the bracket with your fingers (Figure 3b). Push the finder scope through the bracket until the O-ring seats just inside the front opening of the bracket cylinder. Release the tensioner and tighten the two alignment thumbscrews a couple of turns each to secure the finder scope in place. Insert the base of the finder scope bracket into the dovetail holder on the top of the focuser. Lock the bracket into position by tightening the knurled thumbscrew on the dovetail holder. Finder scope bracket Nylon alignment thumbscrews Finder scope Tensioner Focus lock ring Figure 3a. The 6x30 finder scope. 4 4. Balancing the Telescope To ensure smooth movement of the 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 5a). That's the point at which the shaft remains horizontal even when you let go with both hands (Figure 5b). 3. Retighten the counterweight lock knobs. The telescope is now balanced on the right ascension axis. 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 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). (Figure 5c). 6. Position the telescope in the mounting 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 5d) 7. Retighten the tube ring clamps. Focus lock thumbscrew Focus knobs Collimation screw pair (3) 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. Figure 3b. Pull back on the tensioner and slide the finder scope into its bracket until the O-ring is seated in the bracket ring. Inserting the Eyepiece Loosen the thumbscrew on the 1.25" adapter (Figure 4) and remove the small dust cap. Insert the 25mm eyepiece into the focuser and secure it with the thumbscrew. Your telescope is now completely assembled and should appear as shown in Figure 1. 1.25" eyepiece adapter 2" eyepiece adapter Figure 4. The 2" focuser of the SkyView Pro 8 EQ. a. b. c. d. Figure 5. 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 ands 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. 5 5. Using Your Telescope Focusing the Telescope With the 25mm eyepiece inserted in the focuser, move the telescope so the front (open) end is pointing in the general direction of an object at least 1/4-mile away. Now, with your fingers, slowly rotate one of the focusing knobs until the object comes into sharp focus. Go a little bit beyond sharp focus until the image just starts to blur again, then reverse the rotation of the knob, just to make sure you've hit the exact focus point. NOTE: The image in the telescope will appear rotated 180° (upside down and reversed left-to-right). This is normal for astronomical scopes .The finder scope view will also be rotated 180°. (see Figure 6) Aligning the Finder Scope The SkyView Pro 8 EQ Deluxe comes with a 6x30 achromatic finder scope (Figure 3a). The number 6 means six-times magnification and the 30 indicates a 30mm diameter front lens. The finder scope makes it easier to locate the subject you want to observe in the telescope, because the finder scope has a much wider field-of-view. The SkyView Pro 8 EQ's finder scope uses a spring-loaded bracket that makes alignment of the finderscope very easy. As you turn either of the thumbscrews, the spring in the bracket's tensioner moves in and out to keep the finder scope sec ...