Orion SKYVIEW 9884 User Manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

SkyView

Equatorial Apochromatic Refractor Telescope

Orion®

™

Pro 80mm ED EQ

#9884

Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975

Customer Support (800)-676-1343 E-mail: support@telescope.com Corporate Offices (831)-763-7000 89 Hangar Way, Watsonville, CA 95076

OrionTelescopes.com

IN 223 Rev. C 04/09

Finder scope Finder scope bracket 1/4"-20 Mounting block Tube ring

Tube ring

Tube ring mounting plate

Eyepiece

1.25" Adapter

2" Star diagonal Focus knob

Latitude adjustment L-bolts

Declination slow-motion

control knob

Declination lock knob

Right ascension

lock knob

Right ascension slow-

motion control knob

Counterweight shaft

Counterweight

lock knob

“Toe saver”

Tripod support tray

Figure 1. The SkyPro 80mm ED EQ.

Congratulations on your purchase of a quality Orion telescope. Your new SkyView Pro 80mm ED EQ is an exceptional instrument for observing and imaging astronomical objects. The ED glass of the objective lens ensures you’ll enjoy star, Moon, and planetary images with far less color distortion than seen in standard refractors. Other features, such as the smooth Crayford focuser, precision machined lens cell, and deluxe aluminum focusing wheels also attest to the overall high quality of the telescope. With the sturdy SkyView Pro equatorial mount, you’ll be able to enjoy steady viewing of thousands of the night sky’s fascinating celestial targets.

These instructions will help you set up, properly use, and care for your telescope. Please read them over thoroughly before getting started.

Table of Contents

1. Unpacking........................3

2. Parts List.........................3

3. Assembly ........................ 3

4. Balancing the Telescope............. 5

5. Using Your Telescope ...............6

6. Setting Up and Using the

Equatorial Mount................... 8

7. Astronomical Observing ............ 12

8. Terrestrial Observing ..............15

9. Astrophotography.................15

10. Care and Maintenance .............17

11. Specifications .................... 17

WARNING: Never look directly at the Sun through your telescope or its finder scope—even for an instant—without a professionally made solar filter that completely covers the front of the instrument, or permanent eye damage could result. Young children should use this telescope only with adult supervision.

1. Unpacking

2. Parts List

Box #1: Optical Tube Assembly and Accessories

Qty. Description

1 Tripod

1 Equatorial mount

1 Tripod support tray

1 Central support shaft (attached to tripod)

1 Tube ring mounting plate

2 Tube rings with mounting screws

1 Counterweight shaft

1 Counterweight

2 Slow-motion control knobs

1 R.A. axis rear cover

2 Latitude adjustment L-bolts

1 Optical tube assembly

1 25mm Sirius Plössl eyepiece, 1.25" barrel diameter

1 10mm Sirius Plössl eyepiece, 1.25" barrel diameter

1 2" Star diagonal with 1.25" adapter

1 Finder scope

1 Finder scope bracket with O-ring

1 Dust cover (attached to optical tube)

1 Camera adapter (attached to optical tube)

1 Small crescent wrench

The SkyView Pro 80mm ED EQ will arrive in one box; be careful unpacking the box. We recommend keeping the box and all original packaging. In the event that the telescope needs to be shipped to another location, or returned to Orion for warranty repair, having the proper box and packaging will help ensure that your telescope will survive the journey intact.

Make sure all the parts in the Parts List are present. Be sure to check each box carefully, as some parts are small. If anything appears to be missing or broken, immediately call Orion Customer Suppor t (800-676-1343) or email support@telescope.com for assistance.

3. Assembly

Assembling the telescope for the first time should take about 30 minutes. No tools are needed other than the provided crescent wrench. All screws should be tightened securely, but be careful not to over-tighten or the threads may strip. Refer to Figure 1 during the assembly process.

During assembly (and anytime, for that matter), do not touch the surfaces of the lenses of the telescope, finder scope, or eyepieces with your fingers. The optical surfaces have delicate coatings on them that can easily be damaged if touched inappropriately. Never remove any lens assembly from its housing for any reason, or the product warranty and return policy will be voided.

1. Stand the tripod legs upright and spread the legs out as far as they will go. Keep the tripod legs at their shortest (fully retracted) length, for now; you can extend them to a more desirable length later, after the scope is fully assembled.

2. Place the base of the equatorial mount into the tripod head. Orient the equatorial mount so that the post on the tripod head lines up with the azimuth adjustment knobs on the equatorial mount (Figure 2). You may need to loosen the azimuth adjustment knobs on the equatorial mount in order to fit the mount onto the tripod head.

Azimuth adjustment knobs

Post

Figure 2. Orient the equatorial mount so that the post on the

tripod head lines up with the azimuth adjustment knobs on the equatorial mount.

3. Thread the central support shaft into the equatorial mount until tight. This will secure the equatorial mount to the tripod head.

4. Remove the knob and washer from the bottom of the center support shaft. Slide the tripod support tray up the bottom of the central support shaft until the three tray arms are touching the legs of the tripod. The flat side of the accessory tray should be facing up. Make sure the “V” of each tray arm is against a tripod leg. Place the washer back on the center support shaft against the tray, and thread the securing knob all the way up the center support shaft until it is tight against the tray. The tripod support tray provides additional stability for the tripod, and holds five 1.25" eyepieces and two 2" eyepieces.

5. Thread the latitude adjustment L-bolts into the equatorial mount where shown in Figure 1. Thread one L-bolt in about halfway, then thread the other L-bolt in until tight.

6. Thread the counterweight shaft into the equatorial mount at the base of the declination axis until tight. Make sure the casting at the top of the shaft is threaded clockwise as far as it will go before attaching the shaft. Once the shaft is installed, turn the casting counter-clockwise until the top of the casting is flush with the mount.

7. Remove the knurled “toe saver” retaining screw on the bottom of the counterweight shaft and slide the counterweight onto the shaft. Make sure the counterweight lock knob is adequately loosened to allow the counterweight shaft to

pass through the hole. Position the counterweight about halfway up the shaft and tighten the lock knob. Replace the toe saver at the end of the bar. The toe saver prevents the counterweight from falling on your foot if the lock knob happens to come loose.

8. Attach the slow-motion control knobs to the right ascension and declination worm gear shafts of the equatorial mount by sliding them onto the shafts. Line up the flat on the end of the shaft with the corresponding feature on the interior of the knob to connect them properly. The knobs can be attached to either end of the shafts; use whichever end is most convenient.

9. Attach the tube mounting rings to the tube ring mounting plate using the attachment screws that are on the tube rings. The screws should go through the holes on the outer ends of the mounting plate and rethread into the tube rings. Note that the side of the mounting plate with the central “groove” will be facing up. Use the small crescent wrench to secure the tube rings to the mounting plate.

10. Loosen the black mounting plate securing knob as well as the metal safety screw on the top of the equatorial mount. Place the tube ring mounting plate, with the tube rings attached, in the dovetail slot on top of the equatorial mount. Position the mounting plate so that it is centered on the dovetail slot. Re-tighten the mounting plate securing knob until the mounting plate is secure. Then, tighten the safety screw. The safety screw will ensure that the mounting plate (and telescope tube) will not fall off the EQ mount if the mounting plate securing knob should come loose.

11. Lay the telescope optical tube in the tube rings at about the midpoint of the tube’s length. Center the 1/4"-20 mounting block on the optical tube relative to the tube rings. Positioning the optical tube this way will automatically balance the telescope in declination (see section 4). Rotate the optical tube so that the focus wheels are pointed down. Close the rings over the tube and tighten the knurled ring clamps finger-tight to secure the telescope in position.

Installing the Finder Scope

To place the finder scope (Figure 3a) in the finder scope bracket, unthread the two black nylon screws until the screw ends are flush with the inside diameter of the bracket. Place the O-ring that comes on the base of the bracket over the body of the finder scope until it seats into the slot on the middle of the finder scope. Slide the eyepiece end (narrow end) of the finder scope into the end of the bracket’s cylinder opposite the adjustment screws while pulling the chrome, spring-loaded tensioner on the bracket with your fingers (Figure 3b). Push the finder scope through the bracket until the O-ring seats just inside the front opening of the bracket cylinder. Release the tensioner and tighten the two black nylon screws a couple of turns each to secure the finder scope in place. Insert the base of the finder scope bracket into the dovetail holder on top of the focuser. Lock the bracket into position by tightening the knurled thumb screw on the dovetail holder.

Finder scope bracket

Finder scope

Focus lock ring

Nylon alignment thumbscrews

Tensioner

Focuser drawtube Thumb screws

Camera adapter

Figure 4. Before installing the 2" star diagonal, you must remove

the camera adapter that comes attached to the telescope.

Figure 3a. The 8x40 finder scope.

Figure 3b. Pull-back on the tensioner and slide the finder scope

into its bracket until the O-ring is seated in the bracket ring.

Inserting the Diagonal and Eyepiece

The SkyView Pro 80mm ED EQ comes with a camera adapter attached to its focuser drawtube. Loosen the two thumb screws securing the camera adapter to the focuser drawtube and remove the camera adapter (see Figure 4). Insert the chrome barrel of the star diagonal into the focuser and secure it with the thumb screws on the drawtube. The star diagonal comes with a 1.25" adapter in it; this par t allows for use of

1.25" barrel diameter eyepieces in the 2" diameter diagonal (see Figure 5). Make sure the 1.25" adapter is secure in the diagonal by tightening the thumb screw on the diagonal. Loosen the thumb screw on the 1.25" adapter and insert the barrel of the 25mm eyepiece into it. Secure the eyepiece with the thumb screw on the 1.25" adapter.

1.25" Barrel diameter eyepiece

1.25" Adapter

5a. 5b.

Figure 5a. and 5b. To use 1.25" barrel diameter eyepieces,

the 1.25" adapter must be installed in the 2" star diagonal. 5b. To use 2" eyepieces, remove the 1.25" adapter.

Your telescope is now completely assembled and should appear as shown in Figure 1.

2" Star diagonal

2" Barrel diameter eyepiece (optional)

4. Balancing the Telescope

To ensure smooth movement of the telescope on both axes of the equatorial mount, it is imperative that the optical tube is properly balanced. You will only need to balance the telescope with respect to the right ascension (R.A.) axis; the telescope should be balanced on the declination (Dec.) axis already if you have properly centered the 1/4"-20 mounting block on the optical tube relative to the tube rings.

1. Keeping one hand on the telescope optical tube, loosenthe R.A. lock lever. Make sure the Dec. lock lever is locked, for now. The telescope should now be able to rotate freely about the right ascension axis. Rotate it until the counterweight shaft is parallel to the ground (i.e., horizontal).

2. Loosen the counterweight lock knob and slide the weight along the shaft until it exactly counterbalances the tele-

scope (Figure 6a). That’s the point at which the shaft remains horizontal even when you let go with both hands (Figure 6b).

3. Retighten the counterweight lock knob. The telescope is now balanced on the right ascension axis.

Now when you loosen the lock lever on one or both axes and manually point the telescope, it should move without resistance and should not drift from where you point it.

6a.

fingers, slowly rotate one of the focus knobs until the object comes into sharp focus. Go a little bit beyond sharp focus until the image just starts to blur again, then reverse the rotation of the knob, just to make sure you’ve hit the exact focus point.

Note: The image in the telescope will appear reversed left-to-right.. This is normal for astronomical telescopes that utilize a star diagonal. The finder scope view will be rotated 180°. (Figure 7)

If you have trouble focusing, rotate the focus knob so the drawtube is in as far as it will go. Now look through the eyepiece while slowly rotating the focus knob in the opposite direction.

Naked-eye view

View through finder scope and telescope

Figure 7. The view through a standard finder scope and reflector

telescope is rotated 180°. This is true for the SkyView Pro 80mm ED EQ and its finder scope as well.

6b.

Figure 6a, 6b. Proper operation of the equatorial mount

requires that the telescope tube be balanced on the R.A. axis. (a) With the R.A. lock lever released, slide the counterweights along the counterweight shaft until it just counterbalances the tube. (b) When you let go with both hands, the tube should not drift up or down. The-telescope tube should already be balanced in the Dec. axis if you have properly centered the 1/4" mounting block between the tube rings.

5. Using Your Telescope

This section will get you used to the functions and features of your new telescope.

Focusing the Telescope

With the 25mm eyepiece inserted in the diagonal, move the telescope so the front (open) end is pointing in the general direction of an object at least 1/4-mile away. Now, with your

You should soon see the point at which focus is reached.

Note About the Crayford Focuser

The SkyView Pro 80mm ED EQ comes equipped with a Crayford focuser. The Crayford design allows for smooth, precise focusing without any image shift that typical rack-andpinion designs experience. If you find that the focus knobs are too tight or too loose, you can make adjustments to the focuser tension by using the focuser tension thumb screw located on the bottom of the optical tube. Make adjustments to this thumb screw until the focuser motion feels comfortable, but you must have at least some tension applied to the focuser drawtube, or else it will not move when you turn the focus knobs.

Viewing with Eyeglasses

If you wear eyeglasses, you may able to keep them on while you observe, if the eyepiece has enough "eye relief" to allow you to see the whole field of view. You can try this by looking through the eyepiece first with your glasses on, and then with them off, and see if the glasses restrict the view to only a portion of the full field. If they do, you can easily observe with your glasses off by just re-focusing the telescope the needed amount. If you suffer from severe astigmatism, however, you may find images noticeably sharper with your glasses on.

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