Telescopes with HEQ5 & EQ6 Mount 110203V1
A B C REFRACTOR D E F G H I J 17 K 16 L 15 14 13 1 N M 2 3 4 12 11 A B 5 10 C 6 D E F 9 G 8 7 H I J 17 HEQ5 A. Dust Cap/Mask EQ6 16 15 A. Dust Cap/Mask (Remove before Viewing) (Remove before Viewing) B. Sun Shade C. Objective Lens Location D. Adjustable Lens Cell E. Telescope Main Body F. Piggyback Bracket G. Tube Ring H. Finderscope I. Finderscope Bracket J. Alignment Screw K. Eyepiece L. Diagonal M. Focus Tube N. Focus Knob B. Sun Shade C. Objective Lens Location D.
E REFLECTOR F G H I D HEQ5 J K C L B A 17 EQ6 16 E F 15 G 1 14 2 13 12 3 D 4 C H I J 5 11 K L B 10 A 6 9 17 7 HEQ5 A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. K. L. Eyepiece Focus Tube Focus Knob Dust Cap/Maks (Remove before viewing) Finderscope Finderscope Bracket Alignment Screw Tension Adjustment Screw Piggyback Bracket Tube Rings Telescope Main Body Primary Mirror Location 1. R.A. Lock Lever 2. Polarscope Holder (not shown) 3. Latitude Scale 4. Altitude Adjustment T-bolts 5.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Assembling Your Telescope 5 Tripod set up Mount assembly Telescope assembly Finderscope assembly Eyepiece assembly Hand control installation 5 5 6 6 7 7 Operating Your Telescope 8 8 8 9 9 10 10 10 15 15 16 20 Aligning the finderscope Balancing the telescope Operating the HEQ5/EQ6 mount Using the hand control Using the optional Barlow lens Focusing The polarscope Tracking celestial objects Setting circles Pointing your telescope Choosing the appropriate eyepiece Observing the Sky 21
ASSEMBLING YOUR TELESCOPE TRIPOD SET UP Fig. 1 ASSEMBLING THE TRIPOD LEGS (Fig.1) 1) Slowly loosen the height adjustment clamp Fig. 2. 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) Place a carpenter's level or bubble level on the top of the tripod legs. Adjust the height of each tripod leg until the tripod head is properly leveled.
TELESCOPE ASSEMBLY Fig. 7 ATTACHING THE MOUNTING PLATE (Fig.6) Fig. 6 1) Position the mounting plate on the mounting bracket. 2) Secure by tightening the two locking screws. ATTACHING THE TUBE RINGS (Fig.7) EQ-6 (diagram applicable to both mounts) 1) Remove the telescope tube assembly from its plastic packaging. 2) Remove the tube rings from the telescope by releasing their thumb nuts and opening their hinges.
EYEPIECE ASSEMBLY (for reflectors) Fig.15 Fig.16 INSERTING THE EYEPIECE (Fig.15, 16) 1) Unscrew the thumbscrews on the end of the focus tube to remove the black plastic end-cap. 2) Insert the desired eyepiece and secure it by retightening the thumbscrews. EYEPIECE ASSEMBLY (for refractors) INSERTING THE EYEPIECE (Fig.17) Fig.17 1) Loosen the thumbscrew on the end of the focus tube. 2) Insert the diagonal into the focus tube and re-tighten the thumbscrew to hold the diagonal in place.
OPERATING YOUR TELESCOPE Aligning the finderscope Fig.a Fig.a-1 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.
Fig.c Operating the HEQ5/EQ6 mount The EQ6 mount has controls for both conventional altitude (up-down) and azimuthal (left-right) directions of motion. Use the altitude adjustment T-bolts for altitude adjustments. The two T-bolts work against each other to move the mount in altitude or azimuth. It is important to loosen one T-bolt before tightening the other. Overtigtening can cause the bolts to bend or break. The azimuthal axis is changed by the two azimuth adjustment knobs located near the tripod head.
Using the optional Barlow lens Fig.e A Barlow is a negative lens which increases the magnifying power of an eyepiece, while reducing the field of view. It expands the cone of the focussed light before it reaches the focal point, so that the telescope's focal length appears longer to the eyepiece. Eyepiece Barlow Diagonal The Barlow is inserted between the focuser and the eyepiece in a reflector, and usually between the diagonal and the eyepiece in a refractor or a maksutov (Fig.e).
Fig.g Pow er DC 12V Remove the caps from the upper and lower ends of the Right Ascension (R.A.) axis (Fig.g). Looking through the polar scope, lines should be seen super-imposed on the sky. If these lines are not visible, shine a red flashlight across the upper end of the RA axis to illuminate the top end of the pole finder. Figure b shows the view through the pole finder. Line drawings representing the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia are used for the Northern Hemisphere.
Fig.g-3 HEQ5 Accurate method for the Northern Hemisphere Rotate the Date Circle on the Pole Finder so the index mark is lined up with the 'zero' on the longitude indication (Fig.g-3). Now rotate the telescope in RA axis so the pointer at the lower end of the mount points to today's date on the Date Circle (March 4th in this case) (Fig.g-4). Tighten the RA lock knob to lock the RA axis in place.
Fig.g-7 Polarscope alignment NCP p er Place Polaris here Fig.g-8 To move the reticule, adjust the three small setscrews on the polarscope (Fig.g-8). Make small adjustments by moving only two of the screws at a time. Adjust the screws to move Polaris half the distance back to the center of the reticule (Fig.g-9). This is because Polaris started in the center of the reticule.
C assi o p eia Fig.g-10 Unlock the RA locking knob. Rotate the telescope around the RA axis so the reticule is as shown in Fig g-10. Retighten the RA locking knob to lock the RA axis in this position. In this position, Polaris is in transit - it is at its highest point in the sky. Unlock the RA setting circle by loosening the set screw. Rotate the RA Circle so the pointer indicates 'zero' and lock the RA Circle. This sets the first of two 'zeros' required for the slide rule.
Tracking celestial objects When observing through a telescope, astronomical objects appear to move slowly through the telescope's field of view. When the mount is correctly polar aligned, you only need to turn the R.A. buttons on the hand control to follow or track objects as they move through the field. The DEC. buttons are not needed for tracking.
Pointing Your Telescope A German Equatorial mount has an adjustment, sometimes called a wedge, which tilts the mount's polar axis so that it points at the appropriate Celestial Pole (NCP or SCP). Once the mount has been polar aligned, it needs to be rotated around only the polar axis to keep an object centred. Do not reposition the mount base or change the latitude setting. The mount has already been correctly aligned for your geographical location (ie.
Celestial Pole + Pointing to the NCP Fig.i-1 b. a. c. For the following examples, it is assumed that the observing site is in the Northern Hemisphere. In the first case (Fig.i-1b), 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.i-1a) or clockwise (Fig.i-1c).
Fig.i-3 Pointing to directions other than due North Examples of the telescope moved in R.A. and Dec Fig.i-4 b. a. Pointing in any direction other than due North requires a combination of R.A. and Dec positions (Fig.i-3). 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.
Fig.i-5 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.i-5a). To adapt for this, the optical tube can be very carefully slipped up inside the tube rings (Fig.i-5b). 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 reflector Fig.j 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.
alternately loosen one and then compensate for the slack by tightening the other two. Stop when you see all three mirror clips (Fig.j-4). Make sure that all three small alignment screws are tightened to secure the secondary mirror in place. Aligning the Primary Mirror Find the three locking screws at the back of your telescope and loosen them by a few turns.
Collimating a refractor with the adjustable objective-lens cell Collimation is the process of aligning the lenses of your telescope so that the light they collect will focus at the right spot at the back of your telescope for your eyepieces to work. Fig.k Collimation is a simple process and works like this: Pull off the dew cap at the front of your telescope and look into the scope. The pair of lenses are held in a cell by a threaded ring.
