INSTRUCTION MANUAL Orion StarMaxTM 90 EQ ® #9821 Equatorial Maksutov-Cassegrain 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 162 Rev. B 03/02 Finder scope bracket Finder scope Mounting block Eyepiece Counterweight shaft Right Ascension slow-motion control Counterweight Counterweight lock knob Star diagonal Declination slow motion control Tripod leg Accessory tray Accessory tray bracket Leg lock knob Figure 1. Orion StarMax 90mm EQ 2 Welcome to a new world of adventure. Your new StarMax 90mm EQ is designed for high-resolution observing of astronomical objects, and can also be used for terrestrial exploration. With its precision optics and equatorial mount, you'll be able to locate and enjoy hundreds of fascinating celestial objects, including the planets, Moon, and a variety of deep-sky galaxies, nebulas, and star clusters. If you have never owned a telescope before, we would like to welcome you to amateur astronomy. Take some time to familiarize yourself with the night sky. Learn to recognize the patterns of stars in the major constellations. With a little practice, a little patience, and a reasonably dark sky away from city lights, you'll find your telescope to be a never-ending source of wonder, exploration, and relaxation. These instructions will help you set up, properly use and care for your telescope. Please read them over thoroughly before getting started. Table of Contents 1. Unpacking................................................................................................................................3 2. Parts List..................................................................................................................................3 3. Assembly .................................................................................................................................4 4. Getting Started ........................................................................................................................5 5. Setting Up and Using the Equatorial Mount ............................................................................6 6. Using Your Telescope--Astronomical Observing .....................................................................9 7. Terrestrial Viewing..................................................................................................................12 8. Photography...........................................................................................................................12 9. Care and Maintenance ..........................................................................................................12 10. Specifications.........................................................................................................................13 1. Unpacking The entire telescope system will arrive in one box. Be careful unpacking the box. We recommend keeping the original shipping container. In the event that the telescope needs to be shipped to another location, or returned to Orion for warranty repair, having the proper shipping container will help ensure that your telescope 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 Qty. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 Description Optical tube assembly Optical tube dust cover 25mm (50x) Sirius Plössl eyepiece (1.25") Mirror star diagonal 6x20 correct-image finder scope Dovetail finder scope bracket Equatorial mount Tripod legs Counterweight shaft Counterweight Tripod accessory tray Accessory tray bracket Slow-motion control cables 1/4"-20 adapter 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. 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 3 3 3 Soft carry case Assembly tools (small wrench, Phillips head screwdriver, triangular assembly tool) Leg attachment screws Leg lock knobs enough to connect each end of the accessory tray bracket to the attachment point on each leg. Use the screw and lock nut that come installed in each attachment point to do this. First, remove the screw using the supplied screwdriver and triangular assembly tool; hold the lock nut with the triangular assembly tool while turning the screw with the screwdriver. Then, line up one of the ends of the bracket with the attachment point and reinstall the screw. 4. Now, with the accessory tray bracket attached, spread the tripod legs apart as far as they will go, until the bracket is taut. Connect the accessory tray to the accessory tray bracket with the three wing screws already installed in the tray. This is done by pushing the wing screws up through the holes in the accessory tray bracket and threading them into the holes in the accessory tray. 5. Tighten the screws at the tops of the tripod legs, so the legs are securely fastened to the mount. Use the provided screwdriver and your fingers to do this. 6. Orient the equatorial mount as it appears in Figure 2, at a latitude of about 40°, i.e., so the pointer next to the latitude scale (located directly above the latitude lock t-bolt) is pointing to the hash mark at "40." To do this, loosen the latitude lock t-bolt, and turn the latitude adjustment t-bolt until the pointer and the "40" line up. Then retighten the 3. Assembly 1. Lay the equatorial mount on its side. Attach the tripod legs, one at a time, to the base of the mount by sliding a tripod leg attachment screw 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. Note that the accessory tray bracket attachment point on each leg should face inward. 2. Install and tighten the leg lock knobs on the bottom braces of the tripod legs. For now, keep the legs at their shortest (fully retracted) length; you can extend them to a more desirable length later, after the tripod is completely assembled. 3. With the tripod legs now attached to the mount, stand the tripod upright (be careful!) and spread the legs apart Declination lock knob (not shown) Declination setting circle n sio en c as s ht axi g Ri .A.) (R Right ascension lock knob Right ascension setting circle Declination slow motion control n tio na xis cli .) a De ec (D Latitude scale Latitude adjusting T-Bolt Latitude locking T-Bolt Figure 2 Right Ascension slow motion control 4 latitude lock t-bolt. The declination (Dec.) and right ascension (R.A.) axes may need re-positioning (rotation) as well. Be sure to loosen the R.A. and Dec. lock knobs before doing this. Retighten the R.A. and Dec. lock knobs once the equatorial mount is properly oriented. 7. Thread the counterweight shaft into the equatorial mount at the base of the declination axis until tight. 8. Remove the screw and washer on the bottom of the counterweight shaft and slide the counterweight onto the shaft. Make sure the counterweight lock knobs are adequately loosened to allow the counterweight shaft to pass through the hole. Position the counterweight about halfway up the shaft and tighten the lock knobs. Replace the screw and washer on the counterweight shaft. 9. Attach the 1/4"-20 adapter to the top of the equatorial mount using the bolts and washers that come with the adapter. Push the bolts, with washers attached, up through the holes in the top of the mount and thread them into the bottom of the adapter. Tighten the bolts securely with the supplied wrench. 10. Connect the optical tube assembly to the 1/4"-20 adapter on the mount by threading the adapter's shaft into the hole in the optical tube's mounting block. Orient the optical tube so that it is parallel to the length of the adapter, as it is in Figure 1. Tighten this connection firmly by rotating the knurled thumb wheel on the adapter counter-clockwise. 11. Now attach the two slow-motion cables to the R.A. and Dec. slow-motion shafts of the equatorial mount by positioning the thumbscrew on the end of the cable over the indented slot on the shaft, then tightening the thumb screw. A cable can be attached to either end of the R.A. shaft, whichever is most convenient for you. Use the shorter cable for the R.A. shaft. 12. To place the finder scope in its bracket, first remove the O-ring from the finder scope bracket. Loosen the three nylon thumbscrews on the bracket until the tips of the screws are flush with the inside of the bracket. Insert the objective end (the end without the rubber eyeguard) of the finder scope into the bracket ring with the three nylon thumbscrews. When the finder scope is through the second ring of the bracket and as far as it will go, push the O-Ring on the objective end of the finder scope and set it about 1" down the finder scope tube. Then pull the finder scope back gently until the O-Ring seats itself on the ridge inside the second ring of the finder scope bracket. Tighten the three nylon screws equally until they are touching the sides of the finder scope. 13. Insert the base of the finder scope bracket into the dovetail holder on the optical tube. Lock the bracket into position by tightening the knurled thumbscrew on the dovetail holder. 14. Remove the cap from the eyepiece adapter on the rear of the optical tube and insert the chrome barrel of the mirror star diagonal. Secure the diagonal with the thumbscrews on the eyepiece adapter. 15. Now, insert the chrome barrel of the 25mm eyepiece into the star diagonal. Secure the eyepiece with the thumbscrews on the star diagonal. The telescope system is now fully assembled. Keep the dust cover over the front end of the telescope when it is not in use. It is also a good idea to cover the eyepiece; use the cover cap that came with it. 4. Getting Started Balancing the Telescope To insure smooth movement of the telescope on both axes of motion (R.A. and Dec.) of the equatorial mount, it is imperative that the optical tube be properly balanced. 1. Keeping one hand on the telescope optical tube, loosen the R.A. lock knob. Make sure the Dec. lock knob is locked. 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 (Figure 3a). That's the point at which the shaft a. b. Figure 3: Proper operation of the equatorial mount requires balancing the telescope tube on the R.A. axis. (a) With the R.A. lock knob released, slide the counterweight 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. 5 remains horizontal even when you let go of the telescope with both hands (Figure 3b). 3. Retighten the counterweight lock knob. The telescope is now balanced on the R.A. axis. It is not necessary to balance the telescope on the Dec. axis, since the optical tube's mounting block is positioned so that the telescope will automatically be balanced on that axis. Now when you loosen the lock knob on one or both axes of motion and manually point the telescope, it should move without resistance and should not drift from where you point it. Focusing the Telescope Point the telescope so the front end is aimed in the general direction of an object at least 1/4-mile away. Now, with your fingers, slowly rotate the focusing knob 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. If you have trouble focusing, rotate the focus knob counterclockwise as far as it will go. Now look through the eyepiece while slowly rotating the focus knob clockwise. You should soon see the point at which focus is reached. Do You Wear Eyeglasses? If you wear eyeglasses, you may be able to keep them on while you observe. In order to do this, your eyepiece must have enough "eye relief" to allow you to see the entire field of view with glasses on. You can try this by looking through the eyepiece first with your glasses on and then with them off, and see if the glasses restrict the view to only a portion of the full field. If the glasses do restrict the field of view, you may be able to observe with your glasses off by just refocusing the telescope the needed amount. If your eyes are astigmatic, images will probably appear the best with glasses on. ...