Orion SPACEPROBE 130ST EQ User Manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

Orion®

SpaceProbe™ 130ST EQ

#9007 Equatorial Newtonian Reflector Telescope

Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975

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

Corporate Offices [phone]

89 Hangar Way, Watsonville, CA 95076

IN 153 Rev. C 02/09

Finder scope

Dovetail slot

Alignment thumb screws(2)

Eyepiece

Focuser

Dec. slow-motion
control cable

Dec. setting circle

R.A. lock knob

Counterweight
lock knob

Counterweight

Spring-loaded tensioner

Finder scope bracket

Piggyback adapter

Tube mounting rings

Tube ring clamps

Primary mirror cell

R.A. setting circle

Latitude adjustment T-bolt

Azimuth lock knob

Counterweight shaft

R.A. slow motion
control cable

Accessory tray bracket
attachment point

Accessory tray bracket

Accessory tray

2

Leg lock knob

Figure 1. SpaceProbe 130ST parts diagram

Congratulations on your purchase of a quality Orion telescope. Your new SpaceProbe 130ST EQ is designed

for high-resolution viewing of astronomical objects. With its precision optics and equatorial mount, you’ll be able to locate and
enjoy hundreds of fascinating celestial denizens, including the planets, Moon, and a variety of deep-sky galaxies, nebulas, and
star clusters.

If you have never owned a telescope before, we would like to welcome you to amateur astronomy. Take some time to familiar­ize yourself with the night sky. Learn to recognize the patterns of stars in the major constellations. With a little practice, a little
patience, and a reasonably dark sky away from city lights, you’ll find your telescope to be a never-ending source of wonder,
exploration, and relaxation.

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. Getting Started ...................... 5

5. Setting Up and Using the

Equatorial Mount .................... 7

6. Collimating the Optics................. 9

7. Using Your Telescope—

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

8. Care and Maintenance ............... 14

9. Specifications ...................... 15

1. Unpacking

The entire telescope system will arrive in one box. Be careful
unpacking the box. We recommend keeping the original ship­ping container. In the event that the telescope needs to be
shipped to another location, or returned to Orion for warranty
repair, having the proper shipping container 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 boxes carefully, as some parts are small. If anything
appears to be missing or broken, immediately call Orion
Customer Support (800-676-1343) for assistance.

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. Be sure to also cover the front of the finder
scope with aluminum foil or another opaque
material to prevent physical damage to the internal
components of the scope itself as well as to your
eye. Young children should use this telescope only
with adult supervision.

2. Parts List

Qty. Description

1 Optical tube assembly

1 Optical tube dust cap

2 Optical tube mounting rings

1 25mm (26x) Srius Plössl eyepiece (1.25")

1 10mm (65x) Sirius Plössl eyepiece (1.25")

1 6x30 crosshair finder scope

1 Dovetail finder scope bracket with O-ring

1 Equatorial mount

3 Tripod legs with attachment screws

3 Leg lock knobs (may already be on tripod legs)

1 Counterweight shaft

1 Counterweight

1 Tripod accessory tray

1 Accessory tray bracket

3 Accessory tray wing screws
(may be attached to accessory tray)

2 Slow-motion control cables

1 Collimation cap

3. Assembly

Assembling the telescope for the first time should take about
30 minutes. No tools are needed other than the ones pro­vided. All screws should be tightened securely to eliminate
flexing and wobbling, 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 telescope mirrors or the lenses of
the finder scopes 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.

3

1. Lay the equatorial mount on its side. Attach the tripod
legs one at a time to the mount by sliding the screws
installed in the tops of the tripod legs into the slots at the
base of the mount and tightening the wing nuts finger­tight. Note that the accessory tray bracket attachment
point on each leg should face inward.

2. Tighten the leg lock knobs on the bottom braces of the
tripod legs. For now, keep the legs at their shortest (fully
retracted) length; you can extend them to a more desir­able length later, after the telescope is completely assem­bled.

3. With the tripod legs now attached to the equatorial
mount, stand the tripod upright (be careful!) and spread
the legs apart enough to connect each end of the acces­sory tray bracket to the attachment point on each leg.
Use the screw that comes installed in each attachment
point to do this. First remove the screw using the supplied
screwdriver, then line up one of the ends of the bracket
with the attachment point and reinstall the screw. Make
sure that the ribs in the plastic molding of the accessory
tray bracket face downward.

4. Now, with the accessory tray bracket attached, spread
the tripod legs apart as far as they will go, until the brack­et is taut. Attach the accessory tray to the accessory tray
bracket with the three wing screws already installed in the
tray. This is done by pushing the wing screws up through
the holes in the accessory tray bracket, and threading
them into the holes in the accessory tray.

5. Next, tighten the screws at the tops of the tripod legs, so
the legs are securely fastened to the equatorial mount.
Use the larger wrench and your fingers to do this.

6. Orient the equatorial mount as it appears in Figure 2,
at a latitude of about 40°, i.e., so the pointer next to the
latitude scale (located directly above the latitude lock
T-bolt) is pointing to the mark at “40.” To do this, loosen
the latitude lock T-bolt, and turn the latitude adjustment
T-bolt until the pointer and the “40” line up. Then retighten
the latitude lock T-bolt. The declination (Dec.) and right
ascension (R.A.) axes may need re-positioning (rotation)
as well. Be sure to loosen the RA and Dec. lock knobs
before doing this. Retighten the R.A. and Dec. lock knobs
once the equatorial mount is properly oriented.

7. Slide the counterweight onto the counterweight shaft.
Make sure the counterweight lock knob is adequately
loosened to allow the counterweight shaft to pass through
the hole in the counterweight.

8. Now, with the counterweight lock knob still loose, grip the
counterweight with one hand and thread the shaft into
the equatorial mount (at the base of the declination axis)
with the other hand. When it is threaded as far in as it will
go, position the counterweight about halfway up the shaft
and tighten the counterweight lock knob. The retaining
screw and washer on the bottom of the shaft prevent the
counterweight from falling off (and onto your foot!) if the
counterweight lock knob becomes loose.

Dec. slow-motion

R.A. setting
circle

Latitude
scale

Latitude lock
T-bolt

RIGHT

ASCENSION AXIS

Latitude
adjustment
T-bolt

Azimuth lock knob

DECLINATION

AXIS

control cable

Dec. lock knob

Dec. setting circle

R.A. setting circle

lock thumbscrew

R.A. slow-motion

control cable

Figure 2. The SpaceProbe 130 ST’s equatorial mount.

9. Attach the two tube rings to the equatorial head using
the hex head screws that come installed in the bottom of
the rings. First remove the screws, then push the screws,
with the washers still attached, up through the holes in
the tube ring mounting plate (on the top of the equato­rial mount) and rethread them into the bottom of the
tube rings. Tighten the screws securely with the smaller
wrench. Open the tube rings by first loosening the knurled
ring clamps. One of the tube rings has a piggyback cam­era adapter on top (the knurled black ring); it can be used
to mount a camera for “piggyback” astrophotography.

10. Lay the telescope optical tube in the tube rings at about
the midpoint of the tube’s length. Rotate the tube in the
rings so the focuser is angled somewhere between hori­zontal and straight up. Close the rings over the tube and
tighten the knurled ring clamps finger-tight to secure the
telescope in position.

11. Now attach the two slow-motion cables to the R.A. and
Dec. worm gear shafts of the equatorial mount by posi­tioning the thumbscrew on the end of the cable over the
indented slot on the worm gear shaft and then tightening
the thumbscrew. We recommend that the shorter cable
be used on the R.A. worm gear shaft and the longer
cable on the Dec. worm gear shaft. The Dec. worm gear
shaft and cable should extend toward the front (open)
end of the telescope optical tube. If it does not, you will
need to remove the tube from the mounting rings, rotate
the mount 180° about the Dec. axis (first loosen the Dec.
lock knob), and then replace the tube.

12. To place the finder scope in the finder scope bracket, first
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 groove
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 alignment screws while pulling
the chrome, spring-loaded tensioner on the bracket with

4

Alignment thumbscrews

Focus
lock ring

a.

Objective
lense

Finder Scope Bracket

Figure 3a. The 6x30

finder-scope.

your fingers (Figure 3b). Push the finder scope through
the bracket until the O-ring seats just inside the front
opening of the bracket’s cylinder. Now, release the ten­sioner and tighten the two black nylon screws a couple of
turns each to secure the finder scope in place.

13. Insert the base of the finder scope bracket into the dove­tail slot near the focuser. Lock the bracket into position by
tightening the knurled thumb screw on the dovetail slot.

14. Remove the cap from the focuser and insert the chrome
barrel of one of the eyepieces into the drawtube. Secure
the eyepiece with the thumb screws on the drawtube.
Remember to always loosen the thumb screws before
rotating or removing the eyepiece.

The telescope system is now fully assembled. Keep the dust
cap over the front end of the telescope when it is not in use.

Tensioner

Figure 3b. Inserting the

finder scope into the finder scope
bracket

b.

c.

4. Getting Started

Balancing the Telescope

To insure smooth movement of the telescope on both axes
of the equatorial mount, it is imperative that the optical tube
be properly balanced. We will first balance the telescope with
respect to the R.A. axis, then the Dec. axis.

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

2. Now loosen the counterweight lock knob and slide the
weight along the shaft until it exactly counterbalances the
telescope (Figure 4a). That’s the point at which the shaft
remains horizontal even when you let go of the telescope
with both hands (Figure 4b).

3. Retighten the counterweight lock knob. The telescope is
now balanced on the R.A. axis.

4. To balance the telescope on the Dec. axis, first tighten
the R.A. lock knob, with the counterweight shaft still in the

d.

Figure 4. 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 knob released, slide the counterweight 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 and 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.

5