Orion SHORTTUBE 80 User Manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

Orion® ShortTube™ 80

Optical Tube Assembly

#9948

Dovetail shoe
for finder

Finder scope
lock knob

Focus
lock knob

Dew shield

Figure 1. The ShortTube 80 Optical Tube Assembly

Congratulations on your purchase of the Orion ShortTube 80
Optical Tube Assembly! This fine-quality versatile instrument

can be used for a wide variety of applications. Compact,
portable, and easy to use, this telescope will provide many
hours of enjoyment for novice and experienced astronomers
alike.

The Short Tube 80 Optical Tube Assembly (OTA) arrives
from the factory fully assembled and collimated. No adjust­ments should need to be made to the optics. Please keep
the original shipping box in the unlikely event you should
need to ship the telescope back to Orion for warranty repair
service. The box also makes a very good container for stor­ing the telescope when it is not in use.

Thumbscrew

Visual
back

Focus knobs

The Orion ShortTube 80 can be outfitted for nighttime star­gazing, daytime terrestrial observation, as a guidescope for
astroimaging, or as a telephoto lens attached to an SLR/
DSLR camera body.

Attaching a Finder Scope

An Orion finder scope can be attached to the ShortTube 80
to provide a low power, wide field view helpful in aiming the
telescope. Your finder scope bracket can be mounted in the
dovetail shoe molded into the focuser assembly. Loosen the
finder scope lock knob and slide the dovetail foot of your
finder bracket in place. Secure it by re-tightening the lock
knob.

T-thread

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Customer Support [phone] • E-mail: [e-mail]

Corporate Offices [phone] • 89 Hangar Way, Watsonville, CA 95076

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Focusing the Telescope

The ShortTube 80 OTA is outfitted with a 1.25" rack and pin­ion focuser. Once you have installed your equipment use the
black plastic knobs to adjust the focus of your visual or pho­tographic accessories. This will rack the drawtube in and out,
changing the focal distance of the light path. To ensure the
sharpest focus go slightly past your perceived focus point and
then reverse directions until you have a sharp focus.

Visual Back

The ShortTube 80 OTA is equipped with a 1.25" visual back.
You can attach 1.25" accessories by loosening the thumb­screw and inserting the barrel until it stops, then secure it in
place by re-tightening the thumbscrew.

The male threads at the back of the tube are specified as
T-threads. Any camera accessory with a T-thread such as
many commercially available CCD and CMOS imagers and
T-rings for SLR/DSLR camera bodies can be coupled to the
Short Tube 80 by threading them on directly. This method is
often preferred because it provides added stability for your
accessories.

Care and Maintenance

If you give your ShortTube 80 reasonable care, it will last a
lifetime. Store it in a clean, dry, dust-free place, safe from rapid
changes in temperature and humidity. Keep the dust cover on
the front of the telescope when it is not in use. The ShortTube
80 OTA requires very little mechanical maintenance. The opti­cal tube is aluminum and has a smooth painted finish that is
fairly scratch-resistant. If a scratch does appear on the tube,
it will not harm the telescope. Smudges on the tube can be
wiped off with a soft cloth and a household cleaner such as
Formula 409.

Cleaning Lenses

Any quality optical lens cleaning tissue and optical lens clean­ing fluid specifically designed for multi-coated optics can be
used to clean the telescope’s objective lens. Never use regu­lar glass cleaner or cleaning fluid designed for eyeglasses.

Before cleaning with fluid and tissue, blow any loose particles
off the lens with a blower bulb or compressed air. Then apply
some cleaning fluid to a tissue, never directly on the optics.
Wipe the lens gently in a circular motion, then remove any
excess fluid with a fresh lens tissue. Oily fingerprints and
smudges may be removed using this method. Use caution;
rubbing too hard may scratch the lens. Clean only a small
area at a time, using a fresh lens tissue on each area. Never
reuse tissues.

Specifications
Objective lens: Achromatic doublet, air-spaced

Objective lens coatings: Fully multi-coated

Aperture: 80mm

Focal length: 400mm

Focal ratio: f/5

Focuser: Rack-and-pinion, 1.25", accepts

camera T-ring

Optical tube length: 15"

Weight of optical
tube assembly: 3 lbs., 7 oz.

One-Year Limited Warranty

The Orion ShortTube 80 OTA is warranted against defects in materials or workmanship for a period of
one year from the date of purchase. This warranty is for the benefit of the original retail purchaser only.
During this warranty period Orion Telescopes & Binoculars will repair or replace, at Orion’s option, any
warranted instrument that proves to be defective, provided it is returned postage paid to: Orion Warranty
Repair, 89 Hangar Way, Watsonville, CA 95076. Proof of purchase (such as a copy of the original receipt)
is required.

This warranty does not apply if, in Orion’s judgment, the instrument has been abused, mishandled, or
modified, nor does it apply to normal wear and tear. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you
may also have other rights, which vary from state to state. For further warranty service information, con­tact: Orion Customer Service [phone]; [e-mail].

Orion Telescopes & Binoculars

89 Hangar Way, Watsonville CA 95076

Customer Support Help Line [phone] • Day or Evening