Orion SPACEPROBE 9851 User Manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

Orion SpaceProbe™

130mm EQ

#9851 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 186 Rev. B 02/09

Finder scope

Alignment thumb screws(2)

Dovetail slot

Eyepiece

Focuser

Dec. slow-motion
control cable

Dec. setting circle

R.A. lock knob

Counterweight
shaft

Counterweight
lock knob

Counterweight

Spring-loaded

tensioner

Finder scope

bracket

Piggyback adapter

Tube mounting rings

Tube ring clamps

Primary mirror cell

Collimation

screws(6)

R.A. setting

circle

R.A. slow motion
control cable

Accessory tray

Accessory tray
bracket

Latitude

adjustment T-bolt

Azimuth lock knob

Leg lock knob

Figure 1. The SpaceProbe 130 EQ parts diagram

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Congratulations on your purchase of a quality Orion telescope. Your new SpaceProbe 130mm 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 .................... 6

5. Setting Up and Using the

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

6. Collimating the Optics.............. 10

7. Using Your Telescope–

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

8. Care and Maintenance ............. 15

9. Specifications .................... 16

1. Unpacking

The entire telescope system will arrive in one box. Be careful
unpacking the box. We recommend keeping the original ship­ping containers. In the event that the telescope needs to be
shipped to another location, or returned to Orion for warranty
repair, having the proper shipping containers 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.

2. Parts List

Qty. Description

1 Optical Tube Assembly

1 Optical tube dust cap

2 Optical tube mounting rings

1 25mm (36x) Explorer II eyepiece (1.25”)

1 10mm (90x) Explorer II eyepiece (1.25”)

1 6x30 crosshair finder scope

1 Dovetail finder scope bracket with O-ring

1 Equatorial mount

3 Tripod legs with attached accessory tray bracket

1 Counterweight shaft

1 Counterweight

1 Tripod accessory tray

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

2 Slow-motion control cables

4 Assembly tools (2 wrenches, Phillips head
screwdriver, flat head screwdriver key)

1 Collimation cap

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.

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 sur-

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R.A.
setting
circle

Dec.

slow-motion

control cable

Dec.

lock knob

Dec.

setting-circle

R.A.

setting-circle

lock thumbscrew

DECLINATION AXIS

Latitude

RIGHT ASCENSION AXIS

scale

Latitude lock
T-bolt

Latitude
adjustment
T-bolt

Figure 2.

faces have delicate coatings on them that can 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. Lay the equatorial mount on its side. Attach the tripod
legs one at a time to the mount using the screws installed
in the tops of the tripod legs. Remove the screw from the
leg, line up the holes in the top of the leg with the holes
in the base of the mount, and reinstall the screw so it
passes through the leg and the mount with one washer
on both sides of the tripod leg. Tighten the wingnuts only
finger-tight, for now.

2. With the tripod legs now attached to the equatorial mount,
stand the tripod upright (be careful!) and spread the legs
apart until the accessory tray bracket is fully extended.

3. Attach the accessory tray to the accessory tray bracket
with the accessory tray wing screws. Push the screws up
through the bottom of the bracket and thread them into
the accesory tray.

4. Orient the equatorial mount as it appears in Figure 2,
at a latitude of about 40°, i.e., so the pointer next to the

The SpaceProbe 130’s equatorial mount.

R.A.

slow-motion

control cable

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.

5. 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.

6. 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

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Finder scope
bracket

Finder scope

Focusing
lock ring

Nylon
thumbscrews

Tensioner

Figure 3a. The 6x26 Correct-Image finder scope

counterweight from falling off (and onto your foot!) if the
counterweight lock knob becomes loose.

7. 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); ignore it for
now, it’s purpose will be discussed later in detail.

8. 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.

9. Now attach the two slow-motion cables to the R.A. and
Dec. worm gear shafts of the equatorial mount by posi­tioning the thumb screw on the end of the cable over the
indented slot on the worm gear shaft and then tightening
the thumb screw. 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.

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

10. 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 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 alignment 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’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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

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.

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