Bushnell Reflector Equatorial Mount Instruction Manual
The World’s Easiest Equatorial Mount
Instruction Manual for Reflector Telescopes
Before you get started, you’ll need to know that your telescope is a Reflector telescope.
That means that everything you see will be upside down and backwards. No exceptions.
If you are looking for a telescope to use on land based objects then you should use a
Refractor telescope as it can erect an image and in many cases correct the right to left
viewing.
Without getting fancy or technical, equatorial mounts are basically star finders. Most all
of the visible stars in the sky have an address in a book called a Star Atlas (roadmap of
stars) that is expressed in terms of its Right Ascension and then its Declination.
Basically it’s outer space longitude and then latitude. It will look something like this:
23hr 42min 03sec, 78.3deg N
When using an equatorial mount, you can move your telescope to these settings and find
the star that corresponds to that address.
You will need to have a Star Atlas to use the equatorial mount. You can purchase one at
just about any bookstore on earth.
As well, you will need to be able to identify 2 stars in the sky. The first star will be the
North Star. Coincidentally this star is perfectly north EVERY night you go out. It is
generally around 25 to 45 degrees up from the horizon in North America.
The second star you will need to be able to identify in the sky is a little bit harder. The
second star can really be any star in the sky other than our sun and the North Star. You
can pick a star from a constellation that is in the sky and use a particular star in it. You
will not only have to be able to identify it, but in Step 5 you will need to be able to center
it in the telescope. Unfortunately, there is no other alternative. If you want to use your
equatorial mount, you’ll need to be able to do this.
In most Star Atlas books there is a section that gives suggestions on which stars to use for
the second star, I recommend using it. Also, there is a section that has the latitude setting
for the North Star in certain areas. You will need this when going through Step 4.
Finally, you will need to set your telescope up to be able to use a Star Atlas. The
following instructions in steps 1-7 will show you how to do this. Good Luck and Have
Fun!!!!!
1
Table of Contents
Page 1 ….... Introduction
Page 2 ….... Table of Contents
Page 3 ….... Listing of all the Telescope Sections
Page 4 ….... Fine Adjustment Cables
Page 5 ….... The Telescope’s Axis’s
Page 6 ….... The Barlow Lens and Eyepieces
Page 7 ….... Figuring the Magnification
Page 8 ….... Aligning the Finderscope
Page 9 ….... Aligning the Finderscope cont.
Page 10 ….. Aligning the Finderscope cont.
Page 11 ….. Step 1 – Getting the Mount at Right Angles
Page 12 ….. Step 2 – Facing the Telescope North
Page 13 ….. Step 3 – Putting in the Eyepiece
Page 14 ….. Step 4 – Finding the North Star
Page 15 ….. Step 5 – Setting the Declination Dial to 90 degrees
Page 16 ….. Step 6 – Finding the Second Star – Its Declination Address
Page 17 ..… Step 7 – Finding the Second Star – Its Right Ascension Address
Page 18 ….. Keeping the Telescope Aligned
NEVER Adjust
These Screws as
they are preset
from the factory.
Open End That Faces
What You Are
Looking At.
Generally there are 2
lens caps on this side.
They normally
should be both taken
off. They look like
this. Never look at
Declination
Lock Knob
Declination
Setting
Right
Ascension
Lock
Knob
Right
Ascension
Setting
Latitude
Adjustment
Lock Knob
Latitude
Adjustment
Knob
Finderscope
Focusing Tube That you put
the eyepieces into and bring
the image into focus by
turning either of the two
Focusing Knobs on the sides.
Counter Weight
Makes Sure the
Telescope Doesn’t
Fall Because Of
Uneven Weight
Counterweight Shaft
23
22
21
20
19
18
Horizontal Axis
Setting – If there are
numbers on this just
ignore them. Only
in step 2 will you
ever turn the
telescope here.
Telescope Tube
Horizontal
Axis Lock
Knob
Cap #1 Cap #2
Fine Adjustment Cables
The fine adjustment cables move the declination and right ascension settings in very
small increments. When you are aligning the finderscope or centering a star or planet in
the telescope there will be a time when only small adjustments will be necessary. That is
when you’ll use these knobs. They look like the diagram below. Notice one is long and
the other is short. It really doesn’t matter which one goes on the declination and which
one goes on the right ascension. Generally though, they go on just like the below
diagram. They connect to the telescope mount only one way so I won’t cover their
attachment procedure.
23
22
21
20
19
18
If your equatorial mount is set up correctly,
you can move just the Right Ascension Fine
Adjustment Knob ONLY to follow any star
across the sky!
4
Declination
Fine
Adjustment
Right
Ascension
Fine
Adjustment
Telescope Axis’s
This instruction manual refers to 3
axis’s in which the telescope will
turn. This diagram illustrates these
axis’s where the telescope can move.
When using your fine
adjustment cables, you’ll
be moving these two
axis’s.
The Barlow Lens and Eyepieces
Here are a few things you’ll need to know and know how to do before getting started.
You should receive several different lenses for your telescope. Some you’ll use a lot and
some you’ll hardly ever use. The following explains what the pieces are and in what
order they should go into the telescope.
This the Barlow lens. It multiplies the magnification of the image. Generally it will say
something like 2X or 3X on the side of it, meaning that it multiplies the magnification by
that much. Sometimes it’ll just say “Barlow Lens”. Regardless it still does the same
thing.
Next will be the eyepieces. There are generally 2 different ones with a new telescope.
The eyepiece along with the focal length of the telescope determines the magnification.
Most the time they are 20mm and 4mm.
The eyepieces can fit directly into the focusing tube as well as into the Barlow Lens.
Regardless, you must have an eyepiece in to see anything through the telescope.
3X
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