Orion SKYVIEW PRO 9829 User Manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

IN 195 Rev. A 10/02

Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975

Customer Support (800)676-1343 E-mail: support@telescope.com

Corporate Offices (831)763-7000 P.O. Box 1815, Santa Cruz, CA 95061

Orion

SkyView Pro™EQ Mount

#9829

Figure 1. The SkyView Pro EQ Mount.

Declination lock lever (opposite side)

Right ascension lock lever (opposite side)

Declination slow-motion control knob

Safety thumbscrew Mounting plate securing knob

Counterweight shaft Counterweights

Counterweight lock knobs

Tripod leg

Leg lock knobs

Right ascension slow-motion control knob

Latitude scale Latitude adjustment L-bolts

Center support shaft

Tripod support tray

Tube ring mounting plate

Table of Contents

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

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

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

4. Attaching a telescope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

5. Balancing the telescope . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

6. Setting up and using

the equatorial mount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

7. Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

1. Unpacking

The entire mount will arrive in one box.Be careful unpacking the box.We recommend keeping the box and original pac kaging.In the event that the mount needs to be shipped to another location, or returned to Orion for warranty repair, ha ving the proper packaging will help ensure that your mount will survive the journey intact.

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

2. Parts List

1 Tripod 1 Tripod support tray 1 Equatorial mount 1 Latitude adjustment L-bolt 1 Tube ring mounting plate 1 Counterweight shaft 1 Large counterweight 1 Small counterweight 2 Slow-motion control knobs 1 Polar axis finder scope cover

3. Assembly

1. Stand the tr ipod 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 onto the tr ipod head. Orient the equator ial 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.

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

4. Thread the latitude adjustment L-bolt into the rear of the equatorial mount as show in Figure 1

5. 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 knob wash-

Congratulations on your purchase of a quality Orion mount. Your new SkyView Pro Equatorial Mount

was developed to work with many different telescope optical tubes.Designed for astronomical use, this precision mount allows convenient “tracking” of celestial objects as they move slowly across the sky, so they remain within your eyepiece’s field of view.The setting circles built into the mount will assist you in locating hundreds of fascinating celestial denizens, including galaxies, nebulas, and star clusters, from their catalogued coordinates.With a little practice, you’ll find that the SkyView Pro Equatorial Mount is an invaluable tool for getting the most out of your astronomical observing sessions.

These instructions will help you set up and properly use your equatorial mount. Please read them over thoroughly before getting started.

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.

Post

Azimuth adjustment knobs

er on the center support shaft against the tray, and follow it by threading 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 up to five 1.25" eyepieces and two 2" eyepieces.

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 is threaded clockwise as far as it will go before attaching the shaft.Then tur n the casting counterclockwise one the shaft is installed 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 both counterweights onto the shaft. Make sure the counterweight lock knobs are adequately loosened to allow the counterweight shaft to pass through the hole.Position the counterweights about halfway up the shaft and tighten the lock knobs. Replace the toe saver at the end of the bar.The toe saver prevents the counterweights from falling on your foot if the lock knobs happen to come loose.

8. Attach the slow-motion control knobs to the right ascension and declination gear shafts of the equatorial mount by sliding them onto the shafts.Line up the flat end of the gear shaft with the interior of the knob.The knobs can be attached to either end of the shafts, whichever is more convenient for you.

Your SkyView Pro EQ mount is now fully assembled and should resemble Figure 1.

4. Attaching a Telescope

The SkyView Pro equatorial mount is designed to hold telescope tubes weighing up to approximately 20 lbs.For heavier telescopes, the mount may not provide sufficient stability for steady imaging.Any type of telescope can be mounted on the SkyView Pro, including refractors, Newtonian reflectors, and catadiotropics, provided a set of tube rings is availab le to couple the tube to the mount. Or ion sells a variety of telescope tube rings. Please visit our website at telescope.com for details.

1. Attach the tube mounting r ings to the tube mounting plate using the attachment screws that came with 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.

2. Loosen the black mounting plate securing knob as well as the metal safety screw on the top of the equatorial mount. Place the 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.

3. Open the tube rings and lay the telescope optical tube in the rings at about the midpoint of the tube’s length.Rotate the tube so that the focuser is at a convenient height for viewing.Close the tube rings and tighten them.

5. Balancing a Telescope

To ensure smooth movement of the telescope on both ax es of the equatorial mount, it is imperative that the optical tube is properly balanced. We will first balance the telescope with respect to the right ascension axis, then the declination axis.

1. Keeping one hand on the telescope optical tube, loosen the R.A.lock lev er .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. Now loosen both counterweight lock knobs and slide the weights along the shaft until they exactly counterbalance the telescope (Figure 3a). That’s the point at which the shaft remains horizontal even when you let go with both hands (Figure 3b). If the telescope refuses to balance, then you have either too much or too little counterweight. Remove a counterweight if it is too much, or add optional counterweights if it is too little.

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

Figure 3. Proper operation of the equatorial mount requires that

the telescope tube be balanced on both the R.A. and Dec. axes. (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.(c) With the Dec. lock knob released, loosen the tube ring lock clamps a few turns ands slide the telescope forward or back in the tube rings. (d) When the tube is balanced about the Dec. axis, it will not move when you let go.

a. b.

c. d.

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