Orion Sky Wizard Model 2 Instruction Manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

Orion®

™

Sky Wizard

#7802 Electronic Finder & Sky Catalog

Model 2

Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975

Customer Support [phone]
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IN 035 1298

Congratulations! Your Orion Sky Wizard Model 2 will put the fun back in your telescope observing. It pro-

vides a digital readout of celestial coordinates, a database of more than 2,000 of the most interesting deep
sky subjects and the ability to guide the observer to astronomical objects. It’s designed to work with both
Altazimuth (including Dobsonian) and Equatorial type telescope mounts. The catalog information is stored
in permanent internal memory. The celestial subjects are organized by catalog: Messier (M), NGC and IC.
Many interesting stars are in the ST (Star) list. You can add up to 27 objects in your own NEW catalog.

Sky Wizard is designed for ease of use. Simply turn
it on, sight two stars, and let it guide you to celestial
objects. No need to polar align the telescope, no
need to input latitude, longitude, date or time (date
needed for planets). It provides virtually any tele­scope with a continuous digital display of celestial
coordinates. The unique method of alignment by two
star sightings provides good pointing accuracy over
the entire sky.

Finding an object is easy. Just select any subject
from one of the catalogs and tell the instrument to
find it by using the FIND function. The display will
then give pointing instructions on how to move your
telescope.

At the beginning of each observing session, you
align Sky Wizard with the current sky by selecting
a star from the SETUP section (a list of the bright­est navigational stars), pointing the telescope at
that star, and then signaling that the star is cen­tered in the eyepiece. The procedure requires
sighting on only one star for a polar aligned equa­torial mount, but sighting a second star will improve
accuracy. An Altazimuth telescope requires two
star sightings for alignment. Additional sightings
made during the observing session reduce cumu­lative errors. Sky Wizard weighs only 5 ounces,

including the internal battery, and may be conve­niently mounted near the eyepiece. Sky Wizard
connects to the optical encoders with a plug-in
connecting cable. The red LED display is easy to
read and does not interfere with night adapted
vision. A dimming button adjusts the brightness of
the display. Sky Wizard is especially useful under
light polluted skies where few visible stars are
available to guide you to deep sky objects.

Sky Wizard is connected to your telescope with
optical encoders. The encoders sense the rotation
of the telescope within 0.09° (precise enough to
bring any object into a low power field of view), and
can track telescope motion at rates as high as 100°
per second. The encoders are attached by various
methods depending on your telescope model.
Installation kits and encoders are sold separately
from Sky Wizard to allow for this variation in attach­ment method. Encoder mechanical installation

instructions and encoder ratios are provided
with the installation kits.

Powered by a single 9-volt alkaline battery, Sky
Wizard provides over 24 hours of operation with the
display fully dimmed. It can also operate from an
external 12-volt DC power supply connected to the
battery snap.

Table of Contents

1. Installation ............................................................................................................................. 4

2. Operation .............................................................................................................................. 6

3. Sample Observing Session .................................................................................................. 9

4. Specifications ...................................................................................................................... 10

5. Catalog Listings .................................................................................................................. 11

6. Setup Star List .................................................................................................................... 14

7. Troubleshooting your Sky Wizard ......................................................................................... 14

8. Quick Reference ................................................................................................................... 15

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1. Installation

The INSTALL mode is used when Sky Wizard is first installed
on your telescope. INSTALL tells Sky Wizard what kind of
telescope you are using, the desired scroll rate for the subject
description display, and the resolution or gear ratio of the
encoders. This information is on the Installation Instructions.
When inputting the gear ratios, you must go all the way
through the INSTALL sequence until the word INSTALL
appears again to update any changes.

To start: Press MODE. Scroll UP or DOWN until the display
reads INSTALL and press ENTER.

Telescope Mount Type

The display first prompts you to select the type of telescope mount
used. The current telescope mounting type will be displayed.
Press UP or DOWN to select the desired telescope type.

Mount type choices:

For telescopes such as Celestron and Meade Schmidt­Cassegrains with fork mounts (not counterweighted
German-type mounts):

Equatorial fork mount: SCOPE EQ

Equatorial fork mount, perfectly aligned: SCOPE EP

For all telescopes on German-type equatorial mounts (mounts
with a counterweight on a shaft balancing the weight of the
optical tube) including Celestron Super Polaris telescopes:

German-type equatorial mount: SCOPE GQ

German-type equatorial, perfectly aligned: SCOPE EP

For altazimuth telescopes, including Dobsonian and other
telescopes which move in vertical & horizontal planes:
(Choice of vertical or horizontal index is based on your prefer­ence, not on the telescope itself. See SETUP).

Altazimuth, horizontal index: SCOPE AZ

Altazimuth, vertical index: SCOPE AV

For a motor-driven “Poncet” type equatorial table such as
those sometimes used with a Dobsonian telescope:

Equatorial table, vertical index: SCOPE ET

When you have selected the correct type of mount, press
ENTER to advance to the next step.

Perfectly Aligned Option (EP or GP). For equatorial tele­scopes, you can choose a “perfectly aligned” telescope type
if your telescope is on a permanent mount known to be in
good polar alignment, or if your portable telescope can be
easily polar aligned accurately. If you choose a “perfectly
aligned” type, Sky Wizard does not ask for or require an initial
mount index, and uses only a single star to get oriented with
the sky. The “Sync” function has no effect. This mode will
result in improved accuracy, especially near the poles, if your
telescope is indeed perfectly aligned (due to elimination of
rounding errors in the complex mathematical transformation
normally needed to adjust for polar alignment error).

Display Scroll Rate

The rate of scrolling messages is displayed: SCROLL 5. Set the
flashing digit using the UP and DOWN buttons. 0 is very slow, 5 is
about right and 9 is very fast. Press ENTER to go to the next step.

Encoder Settings

(See Instructions w/ your install kit for correct settings).

The proper encoder settings (ratios) for your specific tele­scope mount are located on a chart in the Installation
Instructions that came with the installation kit for your specific
telescope. Simply input these ratios in the Install mode by
scrolling up and down and pressing ENTER after each correct
number that is blinking. Be sure to go all the way through the
install sequence (pressing ENTER each time) until the word
Install reappears to update any changes.

Custom installation

(Skip this section if you have purchased an Installation Kit
for a specific telescope or you already know the encoder
ratios.) The Sky Wizard needs to be told how many turns of

an encoder indicate one turn of the telescope. The ratio is

1.000 for a 2048-step encoder. If you have an altazimuth tele­scope, or any mount where gears or pulleys are NOT used,
divide 2048 into the encoder resolution. The encoder resolu­tion (steps per revolution) is printed on the side of the
encoders you received with your installation kit. You will prob­ably have the larger high resolution encoders (4000 steps/
revolution) or the smaller standard resolution encoders (2160
steps/revolution). The 4000 encoder direct drive ratio would be

0.5120. The 2160 encoder direct drive ratio would be 0.9481.
In INSTALL mode, after inputting telescope type and scroll
rate, input first the RA encoder ratio (1) then the Dec. encoder
ratio (2). Adjust the blinking digit using the UP and DOWN but­tons. When the digit is correctly set, press ENTER to advance
to the next digit. After all the digits are set for the first RA
encoder (AZ on altaz scopes), ( Example 1-5120) the display
switches to the second, DEC (Altitude on altazimuth scopes):
(Example 2 +5120). Set it to the required numbers in the same
way as the first. It is common to determine the encoder polar­ity (+/-) by trial and error using Encoder Direction Test. (See
Chp 2, ENC Test section, page 7)

If you are installing Sky Wizard on an equatorial mount or with
any kits that uses gears or pulleys, you will need to figure the
encoder ratio for your install kit. If you purchased an Orion
install kit for your telescope, the instructions for that kit will list
the required encoder settings to enter in your Sky Wizard.
Simply enter those settings as listed here. Read the
discussion in the next section if you need to determine your
own encoder settings.

Determining Encoder Ratios

You don’t need to worry about this if you know the encoder
ratios from your Install Kit Instructions. If you are custom­installing a Sky Wizard and need to determine the proper
encoder ratios, read on. Many custom mountings use gears to
drive the optical encoders. This can increase the resolution
and/or make the installation more convenient. It is necessary
to set the ratio of each encoder that is driven by gears. To

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determine the correct ratios if using gears, divide 2048 into the
encoder resolution (4000 for the larger high resolution, 2160
for the smaller standard resolution). Then multiply that number
by the number of teeth on the encoder gear and divide by the
number of teeth on the telescope axis gear. For example, if
using a High Resolution (4000 step) encoder with a 84 tooth
gear connected to it and the telescope axis has a 96 tooth
gear attached to it, the ratio would be 2048/4000 X 84/96 =

0.4480. It is common to determine the encoder polarity (+/-) by
trial and error using Encoder Direction Test.

Encoder Direction Test

The purpose of the encoder direction test is to make sure the
encoders are set to the correct polarity, correct ratios, and that
nothing is slipping. You must do this test at home before trying
the Sky Wizard at night. It is the last step in the installation
procedure before going out into the field. If you find that your
Sky Wizard is way off, you must do this test before calling for
assistance.

Equatorial Telescopes: Point the telescope up and slightly
toward the South so that the Dec. is at 0 deg. on the original
(mechanical) setting circles. Rotate the original RA (mechanical)
setting circles so that RA = 00. Turn the Wizard off, then back on
to clear the Wizard and press ENTER after the Wizard reads
DEC=0. Press MODE and scroll to ENC TEST mode. Press
ENTER and it should read 000 +000.

Move the declination axis to 90° north. The display should
now show “000 +090” if the dec axis “sign” is correct. If not,
re-enter the INSTALL mode and change the sign to negative
for the DEC axis (2). If the second numerical value is not
+090, then the encoder ratio is incorrect. Check your
Installation Instructions to see if you have inputted the correct
encoder ratios in the INSTALL Mode.

To check the RA axis, again point the telescope up and slightly
toward the South so that the Dec. is at 0 deg. on the original
(mechanical) setting circles. Rotate the original RA (mechani­cal) setting circles so that RA = 00. Turn the Wizard off, then
back on, to clear the Wizard and press ENTER after the Wizard
reads DEC=0. Press MODE and scroll to ENC TEST mode.
Press ENTER and it should read 000 +000. Move the telescope
toward the Western Horizon so that the RA= 18 Hrs. and it
should read 090 +000. If it reads another value, such as 270
+000 then go back to the INSTALL and change the +/- sign and
repeat the test. If you get any other values, check the encoder
ratios in INSTALL mode. Also check that the encoder and hard-
ware are properly installed. Make sure all setscrews are tight.

Altazimuth telescopes: Turn on Sky Wizard and position the
telescope vertically as requested by the instrument in AV (tele­scope type) or horizontal in AZ. Press ENTER then the MODE
button. Scroll to the ENC TEST mode to display encoder angle.
In AV mode tilt the altitude axis down approximately 45° from
vertical. Move it up 45 deg. in AZ. Check that the display shows
“000 +045.” If the display is in agreement with the telescope
position, then the altitude encoder polarity is correct and no
change to the gear ratio is required. If not, press the MODE but­ton, scroll to INSTALL, press ENTER. Repeat the Install
procedure until you get to 2. Then change the + sign to a - sign.

Be sure to go all the way through the install mode until the word
INSTALL reappears to update the changes.

Press the MODE button and scroll to ENC TEST and press
ENTER. Move the telescope about the azimuth bearing from
North towards East. The azimuth should increase from 0° to
90° (first numbers) if you rotate the telescope 90° to the East.
The display should now read “090 -045,” where the 45° is from
the test of the altitude axis. If the values are off, check the
encoder ratios in the INSTALL mode. Make sure the encoders
and hardware are installed correctly. If the AZ is off, make sure
the bottom bolt is NOT rotating. A drop of “super glue” on the
very bottom bolt and washer will help (applied from the bottom,
NOT top). If the ALT is off, make sure the altitude bearing is
rigid. If the display is in agreement with the telescope position,
then the altitude encoder polarity is correct and no change to
the gear ratio is required. If not, press the MODE button, scroll
to INSTALL, press ENTER. Repeat the Install procedure until
you get to 1. Then change the + sign to a - sign (or vice versa).
Be sure to go all the way through the install mode until the word
INSTALL reappears to update the changes.

Startup Index Mark

Once you have finished running INSTALL to tell Sky Wizard
about your telescope, there is one final step which need only be
done one time. As mentioned in the SETUP command, you will
see that your telescope mount needs to be aimed to a particular
position once each time you set up to observe. The accuracy of
Sky Wizard is dependent upon your accurately setting the initial
index mark, so take your time just this once!

Equatorial Mounts. If your telescope has an Equatorial Mount
with mechanical setting-circle dials, these will do nicely. First,
verify that the declination setting circle is accurately set by aim­ing your telescope to 90° declination (telescope aimed up the
polar axis). Rotate the telescope in Right Ascension and look
for any tube “wobble.” You can verify this by looking through an
aligned finder to see that stars rotate around the middle of the
field of view. If necessary, adjust the tube so there is no wobble
and reset the setting-circle to 90°.

Another method for Fork Mounted Equatorial telescopes is to
check the Dec. setting circle using a bubble level. This should
be done inside using a carpenter’s level, before going out into
the field. Take the telescope off the wedge and put it on a level
surface. Make sure the drive base is level and the telescope
is pointed straight up with the corrector end away from the
drive base and the Dec. = 90. Place the level across the front
of the corrector cell, perpendicular to the fork arms. Adjust the
Dec. slow motion until it is level. Adjust the Dec. setting circle
to read exactly 90.

German-type Equatorial Mounts. These mounts have two
possible positions for the 0° declination setting required during
initialization. It is important to use the correct one, or the encod­er sensing will be backwards. The telescope should be aimed
generally EASTWARD when the declination is set to 0°.
Determine which of the two zero degree index marks corre­sponds to this direction, and place an indicating mark there for
future use. You can confirm the setting circles are accurate by
pointing the telescope exactly North. Rotate the telescope in RA

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only. Stars should rotate about the center of the field of view. For
Altazimuth or Dobsonian telescopes, put a simple index align­ment mark on your scope to save you time in the future. You can
choose to make the index mark with the telescope aiming either
vertically or horizontally, depending on your choice in the
INSTALL program. A precisely vertical orientation can be deter­mined by rotating the telescope around the base and looking for
any tube “wobble.” Better yet, use a carpenter’s level. Adjust the
angle until no wobble can be seen while rotating the telescope.
You can also install a “stop” in the rocker box so the telescope
stops at exactly the vertical position. Alternately, a horizontal
orientation can be made by placing the telescope base on a
very level surface, and then leveling the telescope tube with a
carpenter’s level. Mark a line on the telescope bearing and on
the body to use for an index mark.

2. Operation

Overview

Sky Wizard 2 has eight operating modes. Each mode or func­tion performs a different task. Pressing the MODE button
shows the current mode. Change to a different mode by
pressing either SELECT button (up or down arrow). The
SELECT buttons are always used for scrolling through the list
of available choices. The UP button advances through the list
in a forward direction, the DOWN button moves backwards.

The operating modes are:

CATALOG Display or choose an object in one of the

catalogs.

ENC TEST Test mode–verifies encoder rotation & correct

installation.

FIND Tell Sky Wizard to display direction/distance to

the last object chosen in one of the catalogs.

INSTALL Run when you first install Sky Wizard on your

telescope.

RA DEC Displays celestial coordinates.

SETUP Run at the beginning of each observing

session.

SYNC Tell Sky Wizard that the current object has

been exactly centered – “tweaks” the current
alignment.

TIMER Use the built-in utility timer.

Power On Initialization

When you first turn on Sky Wizard, you need to aim the telescope
to a particular position so the angle of one encoder to the telescope
is known. This step is critical to accuracy. Depending on the type of
mount you have, the display shows one of the following messages:
DEC=0, LEVEL ME, or VERTICAL. Only with a perfect polar align­ment (EP or GP) does the Sky wizard go directly to SETUP.

Turn on Sky Wizard. It will briefly display the startup message
ORION SKY WIZARD V 2.00. The numbers displayed are the
software version number. Sky Wizard will display one of the

following depending on the mount type choice you made when
you ran INSTALL. (See Installation for more information).

SET DEC=0–(Equatorial mount) Set telescope declination to
the 0° index mark on the mechanical setting circles. You must
verify that your mechanical setting circles are EXACT. Aim
telescope at celestial equator, 90° from the pole. (German
Equatorial mountings must have the encoder initialized with
the declination axis set at the east of the meridian zero decli­nation, the optical tube on the west side.) See Chp 6, page 14
Startup Index Mark for more information.

SET LEVEL ME–(Altazimuth mount type AZ) Aim telescope
tube horizontally to your index mark (telescope aimed at the
horizon if scope base is level). The telescope tube must be
exactly parallel with the bottom of the rocker box. You must
verify that this is exact with a bubble level your first time out.

SET VERTICAL–(Altazimuth mount type AV) Aim telescope
tube vertically to your index mark (telescope aimed directly
overhead if scope base is level). The telescope must be
exactly perpendicular to the bottom of the rocker box. You
must verify that this is exact with a bubble level your first time
out. After you have moved the telescope to the correct initial
position, press ENTER. Sky Wizard will then switch to SETUP
mode. (If you make a mistake in initializing the mount align­ment, turn Sky Wizard off and on again to restart. There is no
other way to repeat mount initialization.)

The initialization steps above are critical to the pointing accu­racy of the Sky Wizard. For example, an error of 1 deg. on the
initialization will result in errors up to 2 deg. Follow the steps
carefully in Chp 1, Startup Index Mark, page 5.

SETUP Star Alignment

Before Sky Wizard can tell you where to point your telescope,
it needs to get its bearings on the sky. You must do this at the
start of each observing session. SETUP mode automatically
accesses a short list of 30 named navigational stars (listed in
Chp 6, page 14). The brightest stars from both the Northern
and Southern hemispheres are included. These familiar bright
stars cover the sky so that at least two are visible at any time.
You’ll need to point your telescope to two known stars, tell Sky
Wizard which ones they are, and you’re ready to go.

To perform the setup star alignment:

1. Pick a bright known star from the list and center it in the eye­piece.

2. Press MODE. If SETUP is not displayed, use the arrow
keys to display SETUP. Press ENTER.

3. Scroll through the star list to find the name of the star that
is centered in the eyepiece, then press ENTER.

4. Choose another bright star for the second alignment star
and repeat step 3. For best results the two stars should be
at least 60° apart. Avoid stars near the pole.

Note: Only one star sighting is required for perfectly
polar-aligned equatorial telescopes; however a second
sighting is recommended.

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