INSTRUCTION MANUAL Telescopes with EQ1 & EQ2 Mount 060103V1
REFRACTOR B C EQ1 A D E F G H 12 11 I J K L EQ2 10 9 8 7 6 C D 5 M 1 2 G F 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 H I a b EQ1 A. Dust Cap/Mask (Remove before Viewing) B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. K. L. M. Dew Cap/Sun Shade Objective Lens Telescope Main Tube Piggyback Bracket Finderscope Finderscope Bracket Finderscope Alignment Screws Focus Locking Screw Eyepiece Diagonal Focus Tube Focus Knob 1. Dec. Flexible Control Cable 2. R.A. Flexible Control Cable 3. Altitude Adjustable T-Bolt 4.
REFLECTOR/MAKSUTOV E F D G H C E EQ1 B D C EQ2 F G I B J H I K A J A 11 10 9 8 7 K 12 11 6 10 5 9 4 3 2 1 8 1 7 2 6 3 4 5 a b EQ1 A. B. ? C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. K. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Secondary Mirror Position Dust Cap / Mask (Remove before Viewing) Focus Tube Finderscope Bracket Finderscope Finderscope Alignment Screws Eyepiece Focus Knob Piggyback Bracket Telescope Main Tube Primary Mirror Position Dec. Flexible Control Cable R.A.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Assembling Your Telescope 5 For EQ1 Tripod set up Preparing the mount for assembly Telescope assembly Finderscope/Red dot finder assembly Eyepiece assembly 5 5 6 7 7 For EQ2 Tripod set up Telescope assembly Finderscope/Red dot finder assembly Eyepiece assembly 8 8 9/10 10 Operating Your Telescope 11 Aligning the finderscope/Using the red dot finder Balancing the telescope Operating the EQ1 Mount Operating the EQ2 Mount Using the Barlow Lens Focusing Polar Alignment Tracking celesti
FOR EQ1 MOUNT TRIPOD SET UP Fig. 1 ADJUSTING TRIPOD LEGS (Fig.1) 1) Slowly loosen the height adjustment clamp and gently pull out the lower section of each tripod leg. Tighten the clamps to hold the legs in place. 2) Spread the tripod legs apart to stand the tripod upright. 3) Adjust the height of each tripod leg until the tripod head is properly leveled. Note that the tripod legs may not be at same length when the equatorial mount is level. Fig. 3 ATTACHING THE ACCESSORY TRAY (Fig. 2) Fig. 2.
TELESCOPE ASSEMBLY INSTALLING COUNTERWEIGHT (Fig.5) Fig.6 Fig.5 1) Slide counterweight halfway onto rod. Hold the counterweight with one hand and insert counterweight rod into threaded hole on mount with the other hand. Tighten counterweight rod onto mount. 2) Tighten thumbscrew to lock counterweight in place. (long) INSTALLING CONTROL CABLES (Fig.6) (short) 1) Slide the sleeve end of the cable over the nipple on the end of the worm gear.
FINDERSCOPE ASSEMBLY ATTACHING THE FINDERSCOPE (Fig.10, 11) Fig.10 1) Locate the finderscope optical assembly. 2) Remove the two knurled thumbscrews near the end of the telescope main body. (near the front of the telescope main body for the reflector) 3) Position the finderscope bracket over the screws in the telescope main body. 4) Secure the finderscope bracket with the two knurled thumbscrews. RED DOT FINDER ASSEMBLY ATTACHING THE RED DOT FINDER (Fig.12) Fig.
FOR EQ2 MOUNT TRIPOD SET UP Fig. 15 ADJUSTING TRIPOD LEGS (Fig.15) 1) Slowly loosen the height adjustment clamp and gently pull out the lower section of each tripod leg. Tighten the clamps to hold the legs in place. 2) Spread the tripod legs apart to stand the tripod upright. 3) Adjust the height of each tripod leg until the tripod head is properly leveled. Note that the tripod legs may not be at same length when the equatorial mount is level. Fig. 16 Fig.17 ATTACHING THE ACCESSORY TRAY (Fig.
TELESCOPE ASSEMBLY Fig.20 ATTACHING THE TUBE RINGS TO MOUNT (Fig.20) 1) Remove the tube rings from telescope by releasing their thumb nuts and opening their hinges. 2) Place the tube rings on top of the tube ring mounting plate and bolt the tube rings to the mount using the wench provided. Fig.21 ATTACHING THE TELESCOPE MAIN TUBE TO TUBE RINGS (Fig.21) 1) Remove the telescope tube from the paper covering. 2) Find the center of balance of the telescope tube. Place this point between the two tube rings.
RED DOT FINDER ASSEMBLY Fig.25 ATTACHING THE RED DOT FINDER (Fig.25) Slide the red dot finder bracket into the rectangular slot and tighten the screw to hold the red dot finder in place. EYEPIECE ASSEMBLY (reflector) (refractor and Maksutov) INSERTING EYEPIECE (Fig.26) INSERTING EYEPIECE (Fig.27) 1) Unscrew the thumbscrews on the end of the focus tube to remove the black plastic end-cap. 2) Insert the desired eyepiece then re-tighten thumb screws to hold the eyepiece in place.
OPERATING YOUR TELESCOPE Aligning the finderscope Fig.a1 Fig.a Fig.a2 Fig.a3 These fixed magnification scopes mounted on the optical tube are very useful accessories. When they are correctly aligned with the telescope, objects can be quickly located and brought to the centre of the field. Alignment is best done outdoors in day light when it's easier to locate objects. If it is necessary to refocus your finderscope, sight on an object that is at least 500 yards (metres) away.
Balancing the telescope The telescope should be balanced before each observing session. Balancing reduces stress on the mount and allows precise micro-adjustment control. A balanced telescope is especially critical when using the optional clock drive for astrophotography. The telescope should be balanced after all accessories (eyepiece, camera, etc.) have been attached. Before balancing your telescope, make sure that your tripod is in a balanced level and on a stable surface.
Fig.d1 Operating the EQ2 mount Dec. lock knob Dec. scale R.A. scale The EQ2 mount has controls for both conventional altitude (up-down) and azimuth (left-right) directions of motion. These two adjustments are suggested for large direction changes and for terrestrial viewing. Use the large knurled knob located underneath for azimuth adjustments. Loosen the knob and rotate the mount head around the azimuth axis. Use the altitude adjustment T-bolts for altitude adjustments (Fig.e).
Focusing Fig.g Slowly turn the focus knobs under the focuser, one way or the other, until the image in the eyepiece is sharp (Fig.g). The image usually has to be finely refocused over time, due to small variations caused by temperature changes, flexures, etc. This often happens with short focal ratio telescopes, particularly when they haven't yet reached outside temperature. Refocusing is almost always necessary when you change an eyepiece or add or remove a Barlow lens. Polar Alignment Fig.
Southern Hemisphere alpha Centauri Fig.j Tracking Celestial Objects beta Crucis a e g is om tan Oc In the Southern Hemisphere you must align the mount to the SCP by locating it's position with star patterns, without the convenience of a nearby bright star. The closest star is the faint 5.5-mag. Sigma Octanis which is about one degree away.
Finding objects using the setting circles Example: Finding the faint planetary nebula M57; "The Ring" From a star chart, we know the coordinates of the Rings are Dec. 33º and R.A. 18h52m. Unlock the DEC lock knob and rotate your telescope in DEC until the pointer on the DEC setting circle reads 33º. Re-tighten the DEC lock knob. Loosen the R.A. lock knob and rotate the telescope in R.A. until the pointer on the R.A. setting circle reads 18h52m (do not move the R.A. circle). Re-tighten the R.A. lock knob.
Celestial Pole + Pointing to the NCP Fig.m 2. 1. 3. For the following examples, it is assumed that the observing site is in the Northern Hemisphere. In the first case (Fig.m2), the optical tube is pointing to the NCP. This is its probable position following the polar-alignment step. Since the telescope is pointing parallel to the polar axis, it still points to the NCP as it is rotated around that axis counter-clockwise, (Fig.m1) or clockwise (Fig.m3).
Fig.o Pointing to directions other than due North Pointing in any direction other than due North requires a combination of R.A. and Dec positions (Fig.o). This can be visualized as a series of Dec arcs, each resulting from the position of rotation of the R.A. axis. In practice however, the telescope is usually pointed, with the aid of a finderscope, by loosening both the R.A. and Dec locks and swivelling the mount around both axes until the object is centred in the eyepiece field.
Telescopes with long focal lengths often have a "blind spot" when pointing near the zenith, because the eyepiece-end of the optical tube bumps into the mount's legs (Fig. q1). To adapt for this, the optical tube can be very carefully slipped up inside the tube rings (Fig. q2). This can be done safely because the tube is pointing almost vertically, and therefore moving it does not cause a Dec-balance problem.
Choosing the Appropriate Eyepiece Calculating the magnification (power) The magnification produced by a telescope is determined by the focal length of the eyepiece that is used with it. To determine a magnification for your telescope, divide its focal length by the focal length of the eyepieces you are going to use. For example, a 10mm focal length eyepiece will give 80X magnification with an 800mm focal length telescope.
OBSERVING THE SKY Sky conditions Sky conditions are usually defined by two atmospheric characteristics, seeing, or the steadiness of the air, and transparency, light scattering due to the amount of water vapour and particulate material in the air. When you observe the Moon and the planets, and they appear as though water is running over them, you probably have bad "seeing" because you are observing through turbulent air.
PROPER CARE FOR YOUR TELESCOPE Collimating a Newtonian Fig.r Collimation is the process of aligning the mirrors of your telescope so that they work in concert with each other to deliver properly focused light to your eyepiece. By observing out-of-focus star images, you can test whether your telescope's optics are aligned. Place a star in the centre of the field of view and move the focuser so that the image is slightly out of focus.
Aligning the primary mirror Find the three locking screws at the back of your telescope and loosen them by a few turns. Adjusting screw Locking screw Locking screw Adjusting screw If you see 3 large nuts protruding from the back of your telescope and 3 small Phillip's-head screws besides them, the Phillip's-head screws are the locking screws and the large nuts are the adjusting screws.
CAUTION! NEVER USE YOUR TELESCOPE TO LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN. PERMANENT EYE DAMAGE WILL RESULT. USE A PROPER SOLAR FILTER FIRMLY MOUNTED ON THE FRONT OF THE TELESCOPE FOR VIEWING THE SUN. WHEN OBSERVING THE SUN, PLACE A DUST CAP OVER YOUR FINDERSCOPE OR REMOVE IT TO PROTECT YOU FROM ACCIDENTAL EXPOSURE. NEVER USE AN EYEPIECE-TYPE SOLAR FILTER AND NEVER USE YOUR TELESCOPE TO PROJECT SUNLIGHT ONTO ANOTHER SURFACE, THE INTERNAL HEAT BUILD-UP WILL DAMAGE THE TELESCOPE OPTICAL ELEMENTS.