Orion VersaGo E Instruction Manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL
Orion® VersaGo E-Series Altazimuth Mount
#52587
Congratulations on your purchase of a quality Orion product. The VersaGo E-Series Altazimuth Mount
is a sturdy and versatile single-arm mount designed for use with spotting scopes, small telescopes and binoculars. Its simple, lightweight design makes set­ting up and using the mount quick and easy. Whether you’re exploring scenic daytime vistas or scanning the night skies, you will nd yourself observing more and fussing with equipment less when using the VersaGo E-Series mount.
These instructions will help you set-up, properly use, and care for your mount. Please read them over carefully before getting started.
Included Parts
Unpack all of the parts and lay them out in your workspace. Make sure all the parts list below and shown in Figure 2 are present. Save the shipping box and packaging material. In the unlikely event that you need to return the mount, you must use the original packaging. Initial assembly of the mount is easy and should take only about 15 minutes.
Parts List
Open the backpack (A) and remove and identify all parts, using the list below and Figure 1 for reference.
Included Parts
A – Tripod
B – Altazimuth arm
C –Accessory tray and leg brace
D – Micro-motion cables (short and long)
Assembly
1. Stand the tripod (A) upright and spread the legs apart a little. Keep the tripod legs at their shortest (fully retracted) length for now; you can extend them to a more desirable length later, after the mount is fully assembled.
2. To attach the accessory tray (C), place a hooked tab on one of the three corners of the tray over the screw in the leg collar, as shown in Figure 3A. Connect the tray to the other two legs in the same manner (3B), then tighten all three of the tray lock knobs (3C) to secure the tray in place.
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Figure 1. The fully assembled VersaGo E-Series Altazimuth Mount
3. Now you’ll install the altazimuth arm (B) onto the tripod. Remove the azimuth tension knob and washer from the center shaft on the bottom of the arm. Then place the base of the arm on the tri­pod’s mounting platform, inserting the center shaft into the hole
WARNING: Never look directly at the Sun through your telescope—even for an instant—without a professionally made solar lter that completely covers the front of the instrument, or permanent eye damage could result. Young children should use this telescope only with adult supervision.
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A
B
C
D
Figure 2. Included parts of the VersaGo E-Series Mount.
in the tripod’s mounting platform. Then replace the wash­er and azimuth tension knob to secure the arm in place (Figure 4).
4. Attach the two micro-motion cables (D). The shorter of the two is usually preferred for the altitude axis and the longer one for the azimuth axis. Loosen the thumbscrew at the end of the cable, then line up the cable end so that the thumbscrew is over the at side of the axle on each axis (Figure 5). Press the cable end over the axle, then tighten the thumbscrew to secure the cable in place. The thumb­screw should protrude down into the dimple in the axle, to insure that the cable will not slip off the axle.
The mount is now fully assembled and should look like Figure 1.
Attaching an Instrument to the VersaGo E-Series Mount
The E-Series Altazimuth Mount features a dovetail mounting saddle (Figure 6) that accommodates Vixen-style mounting bars. Slide the dovetail bar attached to your instrument into the saddle, then secure it in place by tightening the saddle lock knob. Since the saddle is perpendicular to the ground, some instruments may require that you purchase an option­al L-bracket such as the Orion #5052 Dovetail L-Bracket for
VersaGo Telescope Mount to allow a more convenient upright orientation of the instrument.
Using the VersaGo E-Series Mount
The VersaGo E-Series mount allows motion in two axes: altitude (up and down) and azimuth (left and right). Hence, the VersaGo E-Series is an “altazimuth” mount. To make coarse movements of your instrument, loosen the azimuth tension knob and/or the altitude tension knob (Figure 7) to slew the instrument to your target. Then lightly retighten the knob(s). When set to the proper tension – not too tight and not too loose -- you should be able to move the instrument without having to adjust the tension knobs each time. The friction will be sufficient to allow the instrument to move but also to stay put when you let go of it to observe. To make ner directional adjustments to the instrument, turn the hand knobs on the micro-motion cables.
The azimuth axis is rotatable 360 degrees and the altitude axis has 180 degrees of motion.
Tripod Height Adjustment
There is a leg extension segment on each tripod leg to allow quick height adjustment. Simply loosen the winged leg lock knobs half a turn or so, extend the leg to the desired length, then retighten the winged knobs.
Tripod Feet
Note that at the bottom of each tripod leg is a rubber foot. If desired, the foot can be retracted by rotating it clockwise to expose a metal spike, when needed for extra grip on slippery surfaces (Figure 8). If the spikes are not needed, rotate the rubber foot counterclockwise until the spike is recessed in the foot and no longer protruding.
Accessory Tray
The triangular accessory tray acts as a tripod leg brace as well as a storage rack for 1.25" telescope eyepieces or acces­sories. The four holes in the tray accommodate the barrels of
1.25" accessories.
Care and Maintenance
If you give your VersaGo E-Series mount reasonable care, it will last a lifetime. Store it in a clean, dry, dust-free place. Do
Hooked tab
Accessory tray
Lock knob
Screw
Leg collar
A
B C
Figure 3. A) Hook the tray corner over the screw in the leg collar, B) Repeat for the other two legs, then C) Tighten all three tray lock knobs
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