Orion STARBLAST 6 9964 User Manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

Orion® StarBlast 6

Astro Telescope

#9964

Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975

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

Corporate Offices [phone]

89 Hangar Way, Watsonville, CA 95076

IN 330 Rev. A 02/08

Congratulations on your purchase of an Orion StarBlast 6 Astro Telescope. Our new StarBlast 6 is easy to use and requires
very little assembly. The StarBlast 6 will give you breathtaking views of the Moon, planets, and even deep-sky objects like the
Orion Nebula. These instructions will help you set up and use your StarBlast 6 telescope, please read them thoroughly.

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EZ Finder II reflex sight

12

10mm Sirius Plössl eyepiece

4

Navigation knob

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66

Altitude tension adjustment knob

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Focuser

Focus wheels

Optical tube

3

Tube rings

Carrying handle

Altazimuth base

5

10

9

Figure 1. The StarBlast 6 Altazimuth Reflector

WARNING: Never look at the sun with your telescope

(or even with just your eyes) without a professionally
made solar filter. Permanent eye damage or blindness
could result. Young children should use this telescope
only with adult supervision.

Avoid using the type of solar filter that screws into an
eyepiece. They are susceptible to cracking under the
intense heat that builds up near the focus point, and
could cause severe retinal damage. Use only the type of
solar filter that covers the front of the telescope. Also, be
sure to leave the cover caps on the finder scope when
solar observing. Better yet, remove the finder scope alto­gether when viewing the sun.

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25mm Sirius Plössl eyepiece

Eyepiece rack

11

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Mirror cell

Feet

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Unpacking

Carefully unpack the StarBlast 6 from its shipping box. We
recommend keeping the original shipping boxes. 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 below 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.

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25mm Sirius Plössl eyepiece: The eyepiece is the
part of the telescope that you actually look through to
see things. The focal length of the eyepiece and

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the telescope determines the magnifying power.
Magnification is discussed in more detail in the Using
Your Telescope section.

EZ Finder II reflex sight: This is a special “finder” that

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helps you aim the telescope and locate objects in the
sky for viewing. The EZ Finder II generates a red LED
“dot” that shows where your telescope is aimed. The
use of the EZ Finder II is discussed in the Getting
Started section.

Optical tube: This is the main component of the tele-

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scope.

Focuser: This is where the eyepiece is placed, and it

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is where you focus. Details of the focuser are shown in
Figure 2.

15

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Figure 2. Details of the StarBlast 6 focuser.

Tube rings (qty 2): These tube rings connect the optical

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tube (3) to the base bracket (18) which connects to
the altazimuth base (9).

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Altitude tension adjustment knob: By tightening and
loosening this knob, you can change the amount ten­ sion in the altitude (up/down) motion of the telescope.

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Navigation knob: Grasping this knob allows you to
aim the telescope without touching the optical tube
(3) itself. This allows you to point the telescope without
heat from your hands affecting the quality of view.

Mirror cell: This contains the primary mirror (16) as

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well as the collimation thumbscrews that are used to
optically align the primary mirror. This is explained in
the Collimating appendix.

Altazimuth base: This wooden base provides a stable

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base for the telescope. It allows you to move the tele­ scope in altitude (up/down) and azimuth (left/right).

Carrying handles: These convenient handles are built

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into the base, allowing you to easily carry the StarBlast
6 to your viewing location. The carrying handles are
also handy places to put your hand when aim­ ing the telescope. See Using Your Telescope for more
details.

11

Eyepiece rack: A handy metal rack in which to store
your extra eyepieces.

10mm Sirius Plössl eyepiece: The higher-power

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eyepiece that comes with the StarBlast 6. Eyepieces
are discussed in the Magnification section.

Feet: Th r e e fe e t pr o v i d e s u p p o r t for th e

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StarBlast 6 and are skid free. This allows you to place
the StarBlast 6 on smooth surfaces.

Figure 2 shows detail of the focuser:

Focus wheels: The focus wheels are used to bring

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objects into focus. By turning them you move the rack­ and-pinion focuser (4) in and out.

Eyepiece securing thumbscrews: These thumbscrews

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are used to keep the eyepiece (1) secure in the focuser (4)

Items not shown:

Primary mirror: The parabolic mirror at the rear of the

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optical tube (3) gathers incoming light and focuses it
with its parabolic shape. The primary mirror has a
small center-mark that is explained in the Collimating
appendix. This center-mark should not be removed.

Secondary mirror: The secondary mirror is located

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near the opening of the optical tube (3) and reflects
the focused light from the primary mirror (15) into the
eyepiece (1).

Base bracket: This bracket connects the tube rings

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(5) to the altazimuth base (9).

3/16" Hex key: This tool is used to connect the tube

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rings (5) to the base bracket (18).

Collimation cap: This small cap fits in the focuser and

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is used to aid in aligning of the optics. This process is
explained in the Collimating appendix.

Socket-head cap screws (qty. 2) with flat washers

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and lock washers: These screws and washers are
used to connect the tube rings (5) to the base brack-
et (18).

Assembly

The StarBlast 6 arrives partially assembled, which makes
assembly very easy. To get started, place the pre-assembled
wooden altazimuth base (9) on a table or other flat surface
and locate the following accessories:

2 Tube rings (5)

1 Base bracket (18)

1 EZ Finder II reflex sight (2)

1 25mm Sirius Plössl eyepiece (1)

1 10mm Sirius Plössl eyepiece (12)

1 Eyepiece rack (11)

2 Socket-head cap screws w/washers (21)

Attaching the optical tube to the Altazimuth
base

To attach the optical tube (3) to the altazimuth base (9)
you will first need to equip the base bracket (18) with the
two tube rings (5). Rotate the base bracket so one of the
two attachment holes is accessible. Place a lock washer and

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then a flat washer onto each of the socket-head cap screws.
Attach one of the two tube rings (5) to the base bracket

(18) with a washer-equipped screw using the included hex
key (19) (Figure 3). Rotate the base bracket 180° so the

remaining attachment hole is accessible. Attach the remain­ing tube ring to the base bracket with the remaining washer­equipped screw using the hex key. Be sure to orient the
tube rings so the knurled ring clamps on the rings are on
the same side.

Tube ring

Base bracket

Flat washer

Lock washer

Socket head cap screw

Hex key

Figure 3. Attaching a tube ring to the base bracket.

Open the tube rings (5) by loosening the knurled ring
clamps. Place the optical tube (3) in the open rings so the
objective (front) end of the telescope points upward. While
grasping the optical tube (3) firmly, close the rings around
the tube and loosely tighten the knurled ring clamps. Adjust
the position of the optical tube in the tube rings so the bot­tom of the mirror cell just clears the hardware of the altaz­imuth base when pointed straight up.

In order to view through the StarBlast 6 comfortably, you can
adjust the orientation of the focuser (4) by rotating the opti-
cal tube (3) within the tube rings (5). Loosen the knurled
ring clamps on the tube rings (5) by a few turns. Now,
gently rotate the optical tube (3) within the tube rings (5)
until the focuser (4) is properly oriented (Figure 1). Once
you have positioned the focuser appropriately, tighten the
knurled ring clamps to secure the telescope.

Attaching the EZ Finder II

Slide the base of the EZ Finder II (2) bracket into the dove­tail holder (Figure 4) that is pre-installed on the optical tube
(3). The EZ Finder II should be oriented so that it appears
as in Figure 1. Tighten the thumbscrew on the dovetail hold­er to secure the EZ Finder II in place.

Attaching the eyepiece rack

The eyepiece rack (11) can be installed so that it can be
removed, or so it is permanently attached. Place the eye-
piece rack (11) onto the two Phillips head screws on the
side of the altazimuth base using the “keyhole” features on
the rack. If you want to be able to remove the rack during
transport or while in storage, be sure the screws are loose
enough so you can lift the rack and remove it from the base

Dovetail holder

Thumbscrew

Figure 4. The EZ Finder II dovetail holder.

through the larger portions of the “keyhole” features. If you
wish to permanently attach the rack to the base, tighten the
two Phillips head screws with a screwdriver.

Inserting the Eyepiece

Loosen the eyepiece securing thumbscrews (15) (Figure

2). Insert the chrome barrel of the 25mm Sirius Plössl eye-
piece (1) into the focuser (4) and secure it with the thumb­screws. You can place the 10mm Sirius Plössl eyepiece
(12) in the eyepiece rack (11) for use later.

Your telescope is now fully assembled. Remove the dust cap
from the front of the telescope when it is in use. Replace it
when you are finished observing.

Getting Started

It’s best to get a feel for the basic functions of the StarBlast
6 during the day, before observing astronomical objects at
night. This way you won’t have to orient yourself in the dark!
Find a spot outdoors where you’ll have plenty of room to
move the telescope, and where you’ll have a clear view of
some object or vista that is at least 1/4 mile away. It is not
critical that the telescope be exactly level, but it should be
somewhat level to ensure smooth movement.

The StarBlast 6 was designed specifically for visual obser­vation of astronomical objects in the night sky. Like all
Newtonian reflector telescopes, it is not suited for daytime
terrestrial usage because the image in the eyepiece is
inverted (rotated 180°). The eyepiece will also be too low to
the ground for comfortable viewing when pointed near the
horizon.

Placing the StarBlast 6

One of the great assets of the StarBlast 6 is its extremely
portable size. Due to its overall short length, you will find
that viewing while sitting next to the telescope is the most
comfortable. If you wish to raise the telescope off the ground
so that it can be used while standing or sitting in a chair,
then a platform, such as a milk crate, sturdy table, or the
hood of a car can be used.

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