iOptron® CEM70 Center-Balanced Equatorial Mount Instruction Manual Product CEM70(#C70A), CEM70G(#C70AG) and CEM70EC(#C704A0)
Please read the included CEM70 Quick Setup Guide (QSG) BEFORE taking the mount out of the case! This product is a precision instrument. Please read the included QSG before assembling the mount. Please read the entire Instruction Manual before operating the mount. You must hold the mount firmly when disengaging the gear switches. Otherwise personal injury and/or equipment damage may occur. Any worm system damage due to improper operation will not be covered by iOptron’s limited warranty.
Table of Contents Table of Contents .........................................................................................................................................3 1. CEM70 Introduction ................................................................................................................................5 2. CEM70 Terms ..........................................................................................................................................6 2.1. Parts List ..............
5.4.9. Enable CW Up Position ...........................................................................................................28 5.4.10. HC Heating Switch ................................................................................................................28 5.4.11. Set RA Guiding ......................................................................................................................28 5.4.12. Wi-Fi Options ..................................................................
1. CEM70 Introduction Welcome to a new type of equatorial mount – the iOptron® Center-Balanced Equatorial Mount, or CEM! CEM70 mount offers the benefits of our revolutionary “center balance” design: stability, accuracy, and smooth mechanical operation, while capable of carrying a payload up to 70 lbs (31.8 kg). The “center balance” design’s natural stability is due to its focusing the mount along with payloads weight directly over the center of the pier or tripod.
2. CEM70 Terms 2.1. Parts List1 SHIPPING CONTENTS Your new CEM70 mount comes in two shipping boxes. One box contains a CEM70 (#C70A), CEM70G (#C70AG) or CEM70EC(#C704A0) mount head, counterweight shaft, hand controller, and accessories. The other box contains one 21lb (9.5kg) counterweight (#7226).
2.2. Identification of Parts Dovetail Saddle RA Axis Dovetail Locking Knob DEC Gear Switch CW Shaft Mounting House Base Mounting Screw AZI Adjustment Knob Counterweight ALT Locking Clamp Mount Base ALT Adjustment Knob CW Shaft CW Shaft Safety Lock Figure 1.CEM70 mount assembly 2.3. CEM70 Mount Ports CEM70G On Mount Base Main Panel: The main cable connection ports of a CEM70G are shown in Figure 2: Figure 2. Ports on a CEM70G mount base Figure 3.
On Dovetail Saddle Front Panel (Figure 4a) Shown in Figure 4 are the ports on dovetail saddle of a CEM70G. (a) Front (b) Back Figure 4. Ports on CEM70G dovetail saddle iPORT: Auxiliary port for connecting to other iOptron accessories, such as an electronic focuser or for observatory dome control. DO NOT plug ST-4 guiding camera cable into this port. It will damage the guide camera electronics. 1X5525 (2.5mmx5.5mm) and 1X5521 (2.1mmX5.5mm) DC output sockets for your accessories.
DC 12V 5A: DC power socket to power the mount (2.5mmX5.5mm, 5525) ON/OFF: Power Switch ST-4: Autoguide port USB: USB port for mount firmware upgrade and computer control HBX (Hand Box): For connecting to an 8407+ Hand Controller On Dovetail Saddle: Shown in Figure 4 are the ports on dovetail saddle of a CEM70. Powered Figure 7. Ports on CEM70 dovetail saddle iPORT: Auxiliary port for connecting to other iOptron accessories, such as an electronic focuser or for observatory dome control.
2.4. Go2Nova® 8407+ Hand Controller DEC+ R.A.+ R.A.DEC- HBX Port Serial Port Figure 9. Go2Nova® 8407+ hand controller The Go2Nova® 8407+ hand controller (HC) shown in Figure 9 is the standard controller used on the CEM70 mount. It has an integrated heater that ensures the LCD display will work at the temperature as low as -20ºC (-4ºF).
Serial port: connect the HC to a computer via a RS232 to 4P4C RJ9 cable. The pin-out of the serial port is shown in Figure 10. Figure 10. Serial port pin-out on an 8407+ hand controller 2.4.2. The LCD Screen The 8407+ HC has a large 8-line, 21-character per line, LCD screen which displays information on the status of the mount as shown in Figure 11.The user interface is simple and easy to operate. Figure 11. 8407+ HC LCD Information Screen 1.
Slew: mount is moving with an arrow key is pressed or a GOTO command, such as “Select and Slew” or “Goto Zero Position”; Tracking: mount is at a tracking status. 10. GPS status: “GPS ON” indicates the mount is connected to its GPS receiver and is seeking a satellite signal. “GPS OFF” indicates either the mount does not have a GPS installed/connected or the GPS is malfunction. When the GPS receiver finds the satellites and receives the GPS signal the status will change to “GPS OK”. 11.
3. CEM70 Mount Assembly STEP 1. Remove mount head from package Remove mount head from package: The RA axle is locked by an Allen wrench. Make sure it is inserted all the way in. Check the R.A. Gear Switch and turn it to unlocking position before removing it from the box. Gear Switch Allen wrench Figure 12. Remove the mount STEP 2.
STEP 3. Adjust Altitude This step requires you to know the latitude of your current location. This can be found from your 8407+ hand controller after the embedded GPS receives the signal from the satellites. It can also be easily found on the Internet, using a GPS satellite-navigation system, or a GPS capable cell phone. You will have to change this latitude setting every time you significantly change your night sky viewing location. Note that this setting directly affects the mount’s GOTO accuracy.
Shaft locking screw Low latitude set screw Shaft position screw Figure 20. Tilt the counterweight shaft for low altitude Figure 19. Screws for CW shaft tilting DO NOT rock the counterweight shaft rigorously. It may damage the worm system. STEP 5. Install the Counterweight(s) and Telescope Before putting on CW, make sure the mount is at its zero position, i.e., CW shaft points to the ground. Disengage the R.A. Gear Switch to set the R.A. axis free before loading the CW.
STEP 6. Balance the Payload After attaching the scope and accessories, the mount head assembly must be balanced in both R.A. and DEC axes to ensure minimum stresses on the mount driving mechanism. CAUTION: The telescope may swing freely when the R.A. or DEC Gear Switch is disengaged. Always hold on to the mount and/or telescope assembly before releasing the Gear Switches to prevent it from swinging, which can cause personal injuries and/or equipment damages. Set the mount at Zero Position.
STEP 8. Setup Hand Controller The CEM70 mount is equipped with a GPS receiver which will receive the UTC time, longitude and latitude information for your current location from satellites after a link is established. However, there are still some parameters need to be entered to reflect your location, such as time zone information and whether daylight saving time is currently in effect. This information will be stored in the mount until they need be updated.
Sydney is “UTC +600 minutes” All the time zones in North America are “UTC –“, as shown in the following table, so ensure the display shows “UTC -” instead of “UTC +” if in North or South America. Time Zone Hawaii Hour behind UT Enter UTC Alaska Pacific Mountain Central Eastern -10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -600 -540 -480 -420 -360 -300 To adjust minutes, move the cursor to each digit and use the number keys to input the number directly. Use ▲ or ▼ key to toggle between “+” and “-”.
For CEM70G, plug a USB cable into the USB3.0 port on the mount base panel to connect the iPolar to a computer. Figure 24. Connect CEM70G iPolar to a computer For CEM70/CEM70EC, plug a USB cable into the iPolar port on the rear end of mount RA axisto connect the iPolar to a computer. Figure 25. Connect CEM70/EC iPolar to a computer To perform polar alignment, please refer to Appendix C. It is simple and fast, even the pole star or part of the sky is blocked.
NOTE: The movement of the alignment star in your eyepiece may not be perpendicular but crossed, depends on its location in the sky. STEP 9. Put the mount back into the package/carrying case It is recommended to return the mount to Zero Position at the end of the observing session. Lay the mount into the carrying case. Disengage the gear system for transportation and insert the Allen wrench into RA yoke to lock the RA axis.
4. Getting Started In order to experience the full GOTO capability of GOTONOVA® technology it is very important to set up the mount correctly before observation. 4.1. Setting the Mount and Performing Polar Alignment Assemble your CEM70 mount. Make sure the mount is leveled. Mount an OTA and accessories, and carefully balance the mount on both R.A. and DEC axes. Turn the mount power switch on.
GOTO function. Press the Help(?) key to identify the star that the telescope is pointing to, as well as nearby bright stars if there is any. 4.6. Power-Down Memorization The CEM70 mount can memorize its R.A. and DEC positions if the mount loses its power by accident, even during high speed slewing. After the power is back, just do a Select and Slew to the same star when the power is lost. The mount will continue to track the star. 4.7.
5. Complete Functions of Go2Nova® 8407+ Hand Controller 5.1. Select and Slew Press MENU => “Select and Slew.” Select an object that you would like to observe and press the ENTER key. The Go2Nova® 8407+ hand controller has a database of over 212,000 objects. Use the ► or ◄ buttons to move the cursor. Use the number buttons to enter a number, or the ▼ or ▲ buttons to change a number. Hold a button to fast scroll through the list.
5.1.8. Customer R.A. and DEC Here you can go to a target by entering its R.A. and DEC coordinates. 5.2. Sync to Target This operation will match the telescope's current coordinates to the Target Right Ascension and Declination. It can be used to correct GOTO pointing error. After slewing to an object, press MENU then scroll to “Sync to Target” and press ENTER. Follow the screen to perform the sync. Using this function will re-align the telescope to the selected object.
After the two-star alignment, the altitude and azimuth errors will be displayed. This number can be used to fine tune the polar alignment. For example, if the screen shows 7.5" low and 4.3" east, it means that THE MOUNT axis is pointing low and to the east of the Celestial Pole. 5.3.4. Three Star Alignment The three-star alignment will further determine the cone error between the OTA and mount axis. The system will use these data to calculate the goto model.
5.4. Settings 5.4.1. Set Time and Site Refer to STEP 8 in Section 3. 5.4.2. Beep Settings The Hand Controller allows a user to turn off the beep partially, or even go to a silent mode.
guiding speed can be set between ±0.10X to ±0.99X sidereal rate. Follow the instructions of your autoguiding software for detailed guiding operation. CEM70G has an integrated guiding camera iGuider for ASCOM pulse guiding. Both CEM70G and CEM70 have an ST-4 guiding port on mount base panel. The ST-4 guide port wiring is shown in Error! Reference source not found., which has the ame pin-out as that from a Celestron / Starlight Xpress / Orion Mount / Orion Autoguider/ QHY5 autoguider.
89° to +89°. The default limit is 00°. Be careful when setting this limit. It may cause mount goto problems. 5.4.9. Enable CW Up Position This setting will allow the CW moving to an up position. The upward angle limit is same as the meridian flipping setting, or 14 degree at maximum. When this set is enabled, the mount will goto pass the meridian if an object is close to the meridian, within the angle limit. There will be no meridian flip when pass the meridian. 5.4.10.
5.5. Electric Focuser This function controls an iOptron electric focuser. 5.6. PEC Option This function only works for a standard CEM70 and CEM70G mount. 5.6.1. PEC Playback You can turn “PEC Playback On” to improve tracking accuracy which is especially useful for long exposure astrophotography. The default status is “PEC Playback Off” when the mount is turned on. 5.6.2.
5.8.1. Enter a New Comet Press “MENU =>Edit User Objects” to set user objects. User Defined Comet Other Objects Select “User Defined Comet” to add/browse/delete the user-defined comet list. Find the orbit parameters of a comet in the SkyMap format. For example, the C/2012 ISON has an orbit parameter: No. Name Year M Day q e C/2012 S1 ISON 2013 11 28.7960 0.0125050 1.0000030 ω 345.5088 Ω I H G 295.7379 61.8570 6.0 4.
You may enter the R.A. and DEC coordinates of the object you want to store, and press ENTER to confirm. A more useful application of this function is to store your favorite viewing objects before heading to the field. When the “Enter R.A. and DEC” screen appears, press the MENU button. It brings up the catalogs that you can select the object from. Follow the screen instructions to add your favorite objects. Press BACK button to go back one level. Press the BACK button to go back to the object entry submenu.
6. Maintenance and Servicing 6.1. Maintenance Do not overload the mount. Do not drop the mount as this will damage the mount and / or permanently degrade GoTo performance and tracking accuracy. Use a wet cloth to clean the mount and hand controller. Do not use solvent. The mount worm/gear meshing can be adjusted to accommodate payload or temperature changed. An instruction is listed in Appendix E.
Appendix A.
Appendix B. Go2Nova® 8407+ HC MENU STRUCTURE MENU Select and Slew Solar System Mercury Venus Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Sun Moon Deep Sky Objects Named Object Messier Catalog NGC IC PGC Caldwell Catalog Abell Catalog Herschel Catalog Stars Named Stars Double/Multi Stars SAO Catalog Constellations Comets Asteroids Custom Objects Objects Except Comet User Def ined Comet Custom R.A. and DEC Sync.
Alignment Position of Pole Star One Star Align Two Star Align Three Star Alin Polar Iterate Align Solar System Align View Model Error Clear Alignment Data Settings Set Time & Site Beep Settings Display Settings Set Guiding Rates Set Tracking Rate Set Parking Position Meridian Treatment Set Altitude Limit Enable CW Up Pos.
Edit User Objects Custom Comets Add a New Comet Browse Comets Delete One Comet Delete All Comets Other Objects Add a New Object Browse Objects Delete One Object Delete All Objects Firmware Inf ormation Zero Position Goto Zero Position Set Zero position Search Zero position 36
Appendix C. Polar Alignment using iPolar Electronic PolarScope Please refer to iPolar (#3399) product page for latest update. 1. Connect iPolar to a PC and Download iPolar Software (1) Connect the iPolar Electronic Polar Scope to your PC USB port; For CEM70G, plug a USB cable into the USB3.0 port on the mount base panel to connect the iPolar to a computer. For CEM70/CEM70EC, plug a USB cable into the iPolar port on the rear end of mount RA axis to connect the iPolar to a computer.
NOTE: If the software cannot connect to the camera, please check your computer camera settings. Make sure to change "camera privacy" settings to allow apps to use the camera. Step 3. Take Dark Frame Take the dark frame image of the camera. This will mark the bad pixels of the camera, if there is any, and take camera dark current under different ambient temperature. Click on Settings to bring up Settings window. Click on Take Dark Frame. Follow the instruction on the screen to complete the process.
Step 4. Set Location and Atmospheric Parameters If the observation site is near equators (lower latitude), or is at high elevation (3000 meter or higher above sea level), please enter the barometric pressure and temperature as precise as possible. Enter Manually (1) Click on Change button (2) Enter location info, i.e., latitude and longitude number (GPS coordinates). Northern hemisphere is “+”, southern “-“ for latitude; eastern “+”, western “-“ for longitude (3) Enter atmospheric parameters, i.e.
Otherwise you may choose default atmospheric settings, just click on Default Atmospheric Parameters. The default value is 10°C and 101325Pa. (4) Click Confirm to complete the location setting. Read from an ASCOM Supported iOptron Mount for Location Info NOTE: You’ll need latest firmware and iOptron Commander, as well as .NET 4.8 and beyond. Make sure the mount is connected to the computer via ASCOM. This ONLY work for an iOptron mount.
(3) An ASCOM Telescope Chooser window will occur, if the mount is ASCOM supported and connected to the computer. Select correct mount ASCOM driver from the pull-down menu and click OK. (4) Click OK to complete the location setting. Step 5. Calibration the Camera The calibration process will tell the software if the iPolar is aligned to the mount RA axle after installation.
位置 1 1 Position 位置 2 2 Position 位置 3 NOTE: If Confirm Position button not active, please click on Clear Center of Camera to erase the data stored. Input Rotation Center You may also manually enter the rotation center, X=480, Y=640, for rough alignment if you are sure the iPolar camera center is not far away from the mount RA axis. Step 6.
If there are some tree branches or part of the building partially block the iPolar camera FOV (click on Settings=>RAW image to check), you may use the Draw Mask function to exclude those part from plate solving (uncheck RAW image before masking): (1) Click on Draw Mask (2) Move the mouse cursor to the starting corner of the area that you want to be excluded, click the mouse button (3) Move to ending corner and click the mouse. A green rectangular will show on the screen. (4) Select another area as needed.
Appendix D. iGuider for CEM70G CEM70G has a built-in iOptron iGuiderTM guiding system. It includes a 30mm diameter and 120mm focal length guiding scope and a Windows based driverless guiding camera. 1. Focus adjuster locking screw (2mm hex), 2.Focus adjuster, 3.Lens cover The iGuider only support ASCOM guiding. Please follow mount computer control reference to make sure that a proper iOptron Commander/ASCOM Drive is installed based on your mount type.
Select “iOptron iGuider” camera. PHD2 will fill the pixel size (3.75um) automatically. Enter 120mm into guide scope focal length tab, and click Next. If the program displays the following error, please exit “iOptron iPolar” software. Select correct iOptron ASCOM driver from the dropdown menu. Here “iOptron ASCOM Driver for CEM120/70 Mount” was chosen for a CEM70G mount. Click Next.
In next Adaptive Optics Device setting window, select None and go to Next. Save the Profile Name. Do not check Build dark library. You may do it at a late time. Click Finish to complete the Profile setup. Connect all the devices.
To view the image via iGuider, check “Display Toolbar” and “Display Star Profile” in View menu. Select proper “Exposure Time” in Main tool bar and click on “Continues Exposure”, you should see star images in the main window. Make sure you remove the lens cover. 3. iGuiding Focus Adjustment If you are using the iGudier the first time, you may need to adjust the guiding camera focusing. Focus Adjuster Set up the mount. Connect the mount to a computer. Perform polar alignment. Set the Zero Position.
(5) Click on the star to look at the Star Profile. Further fine adjusting the Focus Adjuster to bring the Peak to maximum value. (6) Tighten the Locking Screw 1. 4. iGuiding Exposure Time Adjustment When PHD2 has difficult to pick the guiding star due to a star in the interested area is not bright enough or weather condition, one can adjust the camera exposure time. The camera exposure time change won’t be kept when power is off. The power on default exposure value is -13, or 0.01 seconds.
5. Specifications Guiding scope aperture Focal length Imaging sensor Pixel size Resolution Operation system 30mm 120mm 1/3 in CMOS 3.
Appendix E. Gear Meshing Adjustment CEM70 gear is designed adjustable by customer although in most cases not necessary. If you experienced DEC/RA motor stall occasionally, or there is free play between the worm and gear, follow this instruction to adjust the gear meshing. Do not over tighten the gear meshing adjustment screw. Tool needed: 2mm and 3mm hex keys. To Adjust DEC Gear: Disengage DEC gear switch Rotate DEC saddle to exposure the small hole (3mm in diameter) that is blocked by the dovetail saddle.
Adjust the gear adjustment screw on the side inside the large hole by using the 3mm hex key. Turn counterclockwise to loosen the meshing or turn clockwise to tighten the meshing. If the motor stalls or the mount does not tracking smoothly, most likely the meshing is too tight. You may loosen it by about 1/8 turn (or less for tracking). Tighten the set screw in the small hole to LOCK the gear screw (important) before test the mount. Adjust again if needed, but no more than ¼ turn in total.
Appendix F. Firmware Upgrade The firmware in the 8407+ Hand Controller and control boards can be upgraded by the customer. Please check iOptron’s website, www.iOptron.com, under Support Directory/CEM Mounts, select CEM70 for details.
Appendix G. Computer Control a CEM70 Mount A CEM70G mount can be connected to a SmartPhone, a Tablet, or a Computer via the USB and/or WIFI connection A CEM70/CEM70EC mount can be connected to a computer via the USB connection. Connect to a computer via USB port on the mount main board using a USB cable. You may need to install a FTDI USB to RS232 VCP driver (https://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm).
Appendix H.
Messier Catalog This table is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Named Stars 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 Acamar Achernar Achird Acrab Acrux A Acrux B Acubens Adhafera Adhara Adid Australis Ahadi Al Dhanab Al Dhibain Prior Al Kab Al Nair Al Nair al Baten Al Niyat(Sigma) Al Niyat(Tau) Albaldah Albali Albireo Alchiba Alcor Alcyone Aldebaran Alderamin Alfirk Algenib Algenubi Algieba Algiedi Secunda Algol Algorab Alhakim Alhena Alioth Alkaid Alkalurops Alkes Almaaz A
197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 Proxima Centauri Rasalas Rasalgethi Rasalhague Rastaban Regor Regulus Rigel Rigel Kentaurus A Rigel Kentaurus B Ruchbah Rukbat Rukh Rutilicus Sabik Sadachbia 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 Sadalbari Sadalmelik Sadalsuud Sadr Saiph Sargas Scheat Schedar Seginus Shaula Sheliak Sheratan Sirius Skat Spica Suhail 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 58 Sulafat Syrma Talitha Tania Aust
Modern Constellations No.
Double/Multi Stars No.
No.
No.
No.
IOPTRON TWO YEAR TELESCOPE, MOUNT, AND CONTROLLER WARRANTY A. iOptron warrants your telescope, mount, or controller to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for two years. iOptron will repair or replace such product or part which, upon inspection by iOptron, is found to be defective in materials or workmanship. As a condition to the obligation of iOptron to repair or replace such product, the product must be returned to iOptron together with proof-of-purchase satisfactory to iOptron. B.
