ASTRO-PHYSICS Mach1GTO GERMAN EQUATORIAL WITH GTOCP3 SERVO MOTOR DRIVE ABOUT THIS MANUAL 3 MACH1GTO PARTS LIST 3 FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS 4 INTRODUCTION 5 Why Polar Alignment is Important 5 ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS 6 Before You Leave Home Assembling and Disassembling the Two Axes Gross Latitude Adjustment Assemble Pier or Tripod (purchased separately) Portable Pier Adjustable Wood Tripod (AWT000) Adjustable Aluminum Tripod (SDS400) 6” Eagle Adjustable Folding Pier Tripod Adapter Attach the Mount
Lead-Free Electronics R.A. and Dec.
ASTRO-PHYSICS Mach1GTO GERMAN EQUATORIAL WITH GTOCP3 SERVO MOTOR DRIVE ABOUT THIS MANUAL This version of the Mach1GTO Manual was prepared for the production run of mounts that began shipping in April of 2009. Most of the information in this manual is applicable to all Mach1GTO’s that have been produced. Some of the information in this manual was simply not available when the first Mach1GTO’s left our factory back in 2006.
• Pier accessory trays: A flat accessory tray with raised sides, a tray with eyepiece holes, and two support bar options are now available to fit the 6” Eagle Adjustable Folding Pier, some sizes of the 6” Portable Pier and both tripods. They are handy and attractive places to keep your eyepieces and other astro-gadgets close at hand! • Autoguiding Accessories: Various imaging and CCD based guiding configurations can take advantage of the Mach1GTO’s autoguider port.
INTRODUCTION The Astro-Physics Mach1GTO - Observatory Performance in a Small Package! This is the first, compact, light-weight mounting that was designed for utmost portability while maintaining extreme rigidity and excellent tracking accuracy. No shortcuts were taken to achieve these goals. From the highly accurate fine-pitch gearbox to the precision machine tool bearings, to the innovative worm wheel and clutch design, this mount represents a new approach to this vital part of the overall imaging train.
ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS Please read all instructions before attempting to set up your Mach1GTO mount. The Mach1GTO is very rugged, however like any precision instrument, it can be damaged by improper use and handling. Please refer to the following illustrations. The parts are labeled so that we can establish common terminology. Throughout the text, SMALLCAPS are used to refer to parts that are illustrated on this diagram.
Before You Leave Home Since most of us must set up our instruments in the dark, in the cold or while battling mosquitoes, a bit of preplanning and organization is important. There are few simple things that can be accomplished in the comfort of your home before heading outside. We would advise anyone to do a complete practice run from start to finish before venturing out into the field. This is especially important for those of you who may be new to German Equatorial Mounts.
Adjustable Wood Tripod (AWT000) Open the legs of the tripod at the desired observing location. Note which direction is north (south if you are below the equator). 1. Position the tripod with one of the legs pointing roughly toward or away from your pole. 2. Attach the shelf to each of the three legs with the knobs provided. 3. Adjust legs to the desired height and spread them fully. 4. Lock in position with the hand knobs and make sure that leg clamps are tight.
your 6” Eagle Adjustable Folding Pier, your Astro-Physics Portable Pier, or the adapter of your Adjustable Wood Tripod. Fasten with the three PIER ADAPTER KNOBS. If you are attaching the Control Box Adapter or a Tray Support Bar at the top of your pier or tripod, do that now. (Note: photo on next page is of an earlier vintage with three pier attachment holes.
3. Azimuth adjustments: To begin, move or turn the entire pier or tripod east or west until the mount is oriented approximately towards the pole (an imaginary line drawn through the hollow shaft). If you are using the 6” Eagle Adjustable Folding Pier, you can take advantage of the Azimuth Adjustment Slots for your rough polar alignment. The compass on the east side of the POLAR FORK BASE will help you. Also, if you want the mount to be level, check the bubble level again after moving everything.
5. Continue your azimuth and altitude adjustments until you can sight Polaris in the polar alignment sight hole. Try to center it roughly in the sight hole. A very dim red light may help you see enough of the hollow shaft to help you with centering without obscuring Polaris. At this point, you have achieved a rough polar alignment, which may be sufficient for casual visual observations, if you are not planning to slew to target objects with the keypad. When the R.A.
Attach Mounting Plate (purchased separately) Several mounting plates (also called cradle plates) are available for the Mach1GTO mount. If you own more than one instrument, you may need more than one plate, or you may wish to use one of the dovetail mounting plate options with more than one male dovetail sliding bar. Attach your mounting plate with the screws provided with the plate. It is important to use the proper screws, please refer to the instruction sheet entitled “Mounting Plate Fastener Chart.
15” ASTRO-PHYSICS DOVETAIL (DOVE15) FOR 15” SLIDING BAR (SB1500) The 15" version of our dovetail plate is suited for the 130 f8 StarFire EDT, 155 f7 StarFire EDFS, Takahashi scopes and other instruments of similar size. The two knob assemblies each feature a brass pin with a tapered end to hold your sliding bar firmly without marring the aluminum. Use with the 15" Sliding Bar (SB1500), which is sold separately (NOT for use with Losmandy “D” plates).
While there is no required orientation of the mounting plate, we have found the two orientations in the photo on the previous page to work very well. The advantage to the pictured orientations is primarily in the ease of working the clutch knobs, and in providing the easiest routing for cables. Note that your DECLINATION HUB PLATE may not be oriented properly for this arrangement. If not, simply remove and rotate it into this position with respect to the clutch knobs and cable channels.
into an overhead luggage compartment, but you still have to be able to lift it up that high! You must also be aware of all rules and regulations regarding weight limits and allowable case sizes, not to mention potential security problems. Please do your homework before trying to take a trip with your valuable astronomical equipment. We have designed the mount to be portable, but we cannot guarantee that you will be allowed to carry it with you.
It is possible to use an older model polar scope (PASILL or PASILL2), but they may be a bit less accurate. To use one of these earlier polar scopes, screw the unit into the adapter, and then back it off to align Polaris’ relative position to the pole. Proceed normally turning the polar scope wherever the instructions say to turn the RA axis. Since the scope won’t be screwed in tight, you may have a bit of sag that will slightly reduce your accuracy.
Altitude and Azimuth Adjustments 1. For fine alignment, slightly loosen the ALTITUDE LOCKING LEVER and barely loosen the two AZIMUTH LOCK KNOBS. You should feel considerable resistance from these locking devices when making final precise adjustments. If the locking devices are loose, the alignment may shift when you finally do lock them down undoing all your efforts to obtain a precise alignment. When adjusting azimuth, remember that you must back off with one AZIMUTH ADJUSTER KNOB to move the other. 2.
CLUTCH KNOBS AND BALANCING R.A. and Dec. Clutch Knobs 1. What do they do? The three R.A. and three Dec. CLUTCH KNOBS have the function of connecting the R.A. and Dec. axes to their respective drive worm wheel gears. Their function is progressive, from no tension (axes free to move - as required during correct balancing of the telescope) to a completely "locked up" state. 2. How can you find out what they really do? As shipped, all Mach1GTO mounts have all three R.A. and Dec.
Balancing Your Telescope For proper operation, the telescope must be adequately balanced along both axes. Note that we say: “adequately balanced.” The mount is quite robust. You do not need to obsess with getting things “precisely balanced!” Start by balancing the tube assembly. First, Balance the Declination Axis. 1. Position the mount for balancing. Move the R.A. axis so that the COUNTERWEIGHT SHAFT is pointing down.
CABLE MANAGEMENT Introduction to one of the Mach1GTO’s most Innovative Features In years past, there was no such problem as cable management on astronomical equipment. The only wires or cables would have been for the clock drive motor of the RA axis, and maybe one for a drive motor attached to the dec’s tangent arm. Today, we have added the cables that accompany film cameras, CCD cameras, autoguiders, multiple dew heaters, motorized focusers, and numerous other electronic accessories.
Cable Installation – the First Time Cables can be inserted either from the top (through the DECLINATION AXIS HUB) or bottom (through the polar scope end of the RA axis), but the simplest way will usually be to insert the cables through the SIGHT HOLE / CABLE ACCESS COVER on the declination axis.
need further elaboration. The main point is that you will want to avoid complete removal of the cables that involves taking off the DECLINATION HUB PLATE if that is possible for your situation. The real question is: how can subsequent setups be done easily, and how can a person polar align with all those cables in there? Fortunately there are two easy solutions.
SERVO MOTOR DRIVE The Servo Motor Drive system on the Mach1GTO uses the same motors, the same GTOCP3 control box and the same keypad as its bigger siblings, the 900GTO and 1200GTO. The gear train is just as heavy-duty, and the worm gears are massive and incredibly precise. This is an extremely robust system for a mount of this size, but since the focus of the Mach1GTO’s design was on the serious observer and imager, we felt that it was well worth it.
to 16. Suggested power sources include: portable rechargeable battery pack, auto or marine battery, or power supply (filtered and regulated) for 110 volts AC input with a minimum output of 5 amps at 12V DC. We highly recommend our 13.8 volt, 5 amp power supply (PS138V5A) for the Mach1GTO. There is no on-off switch on the servo. We recommend that you plug the power cable into the servo box after the keypad controller. To turn the unit off, simply disconnect the power cable.
RETICLE Connector If you wish to use the illuminator cable for our polar alignment scope or plug-in-type guiding eyepiece with an illuminated reticle (available from several manufacturers), insert the 3.5mm phono plug into this connector for power. Reticle brightness can be adjusted with the hand control. Refer to the section pertaining to reticle illuminator adjustment in the GTO Keypad manual for further information.
GTO KEYPAD CONTROLLER OPERATION Please refer to the separate manual for the GTO Keypad for complete instructions. SLEWING YOUR MOUNT IN BELOW FREEZING TEMPERATURES Notes from Roland during a very cold spell in January 2005: “There are several potential problems when slewing your mount in below freezing temperatures.
any fine instrument. We suggest that you transport and store the mount in a case or in a well-padded box. ALWAYS remove the mount from your pier or tripod before moving it or transporting it. More damage can be done in a few careless seconds in transit than in many hours of normal operation. Try to keep your mount protected from dust and moisture when not in use.
Additional explanation: The GTO drive circuit includes logic for overload protection to prevent burning out the expensive servomotors in case of severe overload on the two axes. The primary cause is a severely unbalanced load in R.A. If the extra load opposes the motor rotation, the motor must work harder to track at the sidereal rate and the current will rise to high levels. If the current exceeds the trip point for more than a minute, the logic will shut the motor off and tracking stops.
My RA motor has failed, and I need to restore tracking immediately! Another innovative feature of the Mach1GTO is that the declination and right ascension servo motor/gearboxes are interchangeable. In the extremely rare chance that your RA drive would fail in the field (at a star party in the middle of nowhere under perfect skies according to Murphy’s Law), you can simply swap the two motor/gearboxes and still have the mount’s tracking ability.
CHARACTERIZING THE DEC AXIS MOTIONS 30
Astro-Physics Mach1GTO Re-Meshing the Worm Gear and Wheel The revolutionary design of the Mach1GTO motor / gearbox makes re-meshing the worm gear into the worm wheel a simple process. The instructions apply equally to either axis. 1. On the face of the motor / gearbox that has the cable connection are two 1/4-20x5/16 Button Head Cap Screws. These are by far the two largest screw heads on that surface, and will be located on either side at the bottom of the box. (See the photo at right.
32 (3) 5/16-18x5/8" SHCS (4) 1/4-20x5/8" SHCS (4) 1/4-20x1" SHCS (3) 3/8-16x3/4 SHCS (1) 1/4-20X3/4" FHSCS (1) 1/4-20X1" FHSCS (1) 5/16-18X1" BHSCS (2) 5/16-18X3/4" BHSCS (6) 3/8-16x1" SHCS 22" Dovetail Saddle Plate for 3600GTO DOVE3622 (4) 3/8-16x1-1/2" SHCS (2) 3/8-16x1/2" low profile SHCS Dovetail Sliding Bar for DOVE3622 SB3622 (4) 1/4-20x1" SHCS ** DOVELM2 may also be attached to 900 mount with (1) 1/4-20x5/8" FHSCS and (1) 1/4-20x3/4 SHCS Control Box Adapter, Bi-Level Support Bar & Single Level Suppo