INSTRUCTION MANUAL Orion SkyQuest XT12 IntelliScope ® ™ ® #9988 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 227 Rev.
Finder scope Secondary mirror holder with 4-vane spider (not visible) Finder scope bracket Eyepiece Focuser Navigation knob Optical tube Tensioning knob Right side panel Front brace Eyepiece rack Primary mirror cell Handle IntelliScope Controller Port modular jack Top baseplate Computerized Object Locator (optional) Left side panel Figure 1.
Congratulations on your purchase of an Orion SkyQuest XT12 IntelliScope Dobsonian. It is a highperformance astronomical instrument designed to provide dazzling views of celestial objects and unprecedented ease of use. With the addition of the optional IntelliScope Computerized Object Locator (controller), you gain the ability to locate and view thousands of celestial objects with the push of a button.
1 Hex key (size 4mm) 3 Plastic feet 3 Feet attachment wood screws (length 1") 5 Encoder board mounting wood screws 1 Brass bushing 1 Azimuth axis hex-head screw (length 2.25") 2 Fender washers (diameter 1") 1 Hex lock nut 4 Altitude bearing cylinders 4 Altitude bearing cylinder screws (length 1.5", black) 1 Vertical stop knob 3 Flat washers (2x1/16" thick, 1x1/32" thick) Warning: Once the rear end ring is removed from the tube, the raw edge of the tube itself will be exposed.
Figure 5. Thread the collimation thumbnuts, with nylon washers attached, through the rear end ring and onto the threaded shafts. Make sure the thumbnuts have at least three full turns of engagement on the shafts. Figure 7. Locate the area of tube that is bulging out and preventing the mirror cell from fully seating. Assembling the SkyQuest XT12 IntelliScope mirror cell to the tube can be a bit tricky.
C B K L M Encoder board mounting screw D Azimuth encoder board Figure 10. To install the azimuth encoder board, line up the large hole in the encoder board with the central hole in the top baseplate. E F J A H I Figure 9. Exploded view of the Dobsonian base. 1. With a Phillips screwdriver, screw the plastic feet into the underside of the ground baseplate (A) using the self-tapping wood screws provided. Insert the screws through the feet and thread them into the predrilled starter holes. 2.
Encoder connector board Screws a. Figure 13. Attach the encoder connector board with four of the encoder board mounting screws. Installing the Vertical Stop Place the three flat washers onto the shaft of the vertical stop screw. Thread the vertical stop into the threaded insert on the inside of the front panel until tight (Figure 14). The position of the vertical stop is adjusted by adding or removing washers.
Installing the CorrecTension Friction Optimization System An exciting feature of the SkyQuest IntelliScope Dobsonian is the redesigned CorrecTension (XT) system. Because of their relatively light weight, smaller Dobsonians (under 16") have always been plagued by insufficient friction on the altitude bearing surfaces. As a result, such telescopes move up and down much too freely. This causes problems when the observer tries to accurately center and track an object for viewing, especially at higher powers.
now be known as the retaining knob. Push the shaft of the retaining knob through the hole in the side panel opposite the one the retaining knob is in (Figure 18). Thread the knob into the altitude bearing as far as it will go. There will be a gap of about 1/2" between the side panel and the altitude bearing; this is where the altitude encoder of the IntelliScope object locator will go. loaded tensioner on the bracket with your fingers (Figure 19b).
1.25" eyepiece adapter. The other eyepiece can be placed in the eyepiece rack until it is needed. The basic assembly of your SkyQuest IntelliScope Dobsonian is now complete. It should appear as shown in Figure 1. The dust cap on the front of the telescope tube should always remain in place when the telescope is not in use. It is also a good idea to store eyepieces in an eyepiece case and to replace the cover caps on the focuser and finder scope when the telescope is idle. 3.
Preparing the Telescope for Collimating Once you get the hang of collimating, you will be able to do it quickly even in the dark. For now, it is best to collimate in daylight, preferably in a brightly lit room and aimed at a white wall. It is recommended that the telescope tube be oriented horizontally. This will prevent any parts from the secondary mirror from falling down onto the primary mirror and causing damage, should something come loose when you are making adjustments.
Aligning the Primary Mirror The final adjustment is made to the primary mirror. It will need adjustment if, as in Figure 21d, the secondary mirror is centered under the focuser and the reflection of the primary mirror is centered in the secondary mirror, but the small reflection of the secondary mirror (with the “dot” of the collimation cap) is off-center.
4. Using Your Telescope One of the great benefits of the SkyQuest XT IntelliScope Dobsonian is its ability to point to more than 14,000 celestial objects, when used with the optional IntelliScope Computerized Object Locator (controller). Use of the controller is completely optional, and your telescope will function perfectly well without it. However, the controller will greatly enhance your observing experience by enabling you to quickly and precisely locate even very faint objects.
If you have trouble focusing, rotate the focusing knob so the drawtube is in as far as it will go. Now look through the eyepiece while slowly rotating the focusing knob in the opposite direction. You should soon see the point at which focus is reached. The thumb screw on the top of the body of the focuser (Figure 20) will lock the focuser drawtube in place once the telescope is properly focused. Before focusing, remember to first loosen this thumb screw.
Aiming/Pointing the Telescope With the finder scope aligned, the telescope can be quickly and accurately pointed at anything you wish to observe. The finder scope has a much wider field of view than the telescope’s eyepiece, and therefore it is much easier to find and center an object in the finder scope. Then, if the finder scope is accurately aligned, the object will also be centered in the telescope’s field of view.
the retaining and tensioning knobs until they are free of the base and tube (make certain the spacer does not fall off the retaining knob). Then, using both hands, carefully lift the tube off the base. The tube is somewhat heavy, so don’t hesitate to have a friend help lift the tube, if necessary. Do not use the navigation knob as a carry handle! It is not designed to support the weight of the telescope tube and could break off or damage the tube.
your eyes become dark-adapted, more stars will glimmer into view and you will be able to see fainter details in objects you view in your telescope. Exposing your eyes to very bright daylight for extended periods of time can adversely affect your night vision for days. So give yourself at least a little while to get used to the dark before you begin observing. To see what you are doing in the darkness, use a red-filtered flashlight rather than a white light.
the sky, excluding the Sun and the Moon. It is so bright that sometimes it is visible to the naked eye during full daylight! Ironically, Venus appears as a thin crescent, not a full disk, when at its peak brightness. Because it is so close to the Sun, it never wanders too far from the morning or evening horizon. No surface markings can be seen on Venus, which is always shrouded in dense clouds. MARS The Red Planet makes a close approach to Earth every two years.
the ID button. You can even add up to 99 objects of your own choosing to the IntelliScope controller’s database. The backlit, two-line liquid crystal display on the controller shows you the object’s catalog number, its common name if it has one, the constellation in which it resides, its right ascension and declination coordinates, the object type, magnitude, angular size, as well as a brief description in scrolling text.
8. Specifications Primary mirror: 305mm diameter, Pyrex, parabolic, center- marked Focal length: 1500mm Focal ratio: f/4.9 Focuser: Rack-and-pinion. accepts 2" and 1.25" eyepieces Altitude bearing diameter: 5.75" Optical tube material: Rolled steel Azimuth pad material: Teflon Altitude bearing material: Ultra-high molecular weight (UHMW) polyethylene Eyepieces: 25mm & 10mm Sirius Plössl, multi-coated, 1.
