ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS Tabletop Equatorial Mount 9009, 9009 Instruction Manual

Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975

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INSTRUCTION MANUAL

Orion

®

Tabletop Equatorial Mount

#9009

2

Figure 1. The Tabletop Equatorial Mount

Counterweight

Counterweight
shaft

R.A. slow-motion
control cable

Counterweight lock
thumb screw

Tr ipod leg

Latitude

lock knob

Azimuth

lock lever

Dec. slow-motion

control cable

R.A. lock lever

Dec. lock lever

3

1. Parts List

Qty. Description
1 German-type equatorial mount
2 Slow-motion control cables
1 Counterweight
1 Counterweight shaft
3 Tripod legs

2. Assembly

Carefully remove all of the items from the shipping box.
Make sure all the parts listed in Section 1 are present.
Save the boxes and packaging material. In the unlikely
event that you need to return the mount, you must use
the original packaging.

Assembling the mount for the first time should take
about 5 minutes. No tools are needed. Refer to Figure
1 during the assembly process.

1.La y the equatorial mount on its side.Attach the tripod
legs, one at a time, by threading them into the holes
at the base of the mount.

2. With the tr ipod legs now attached to the equatorial
mount, stand the mount upright.

3. Orient the mount as it appears in Figure 2, at a lati­tude of about 40°, i.e., so that the pointer next to the
latitude scale is pointing to the hash mark at “40.”

To do this, loosen the latitude lock knob (below the lati-

tude scale), and adjust the latitude of the mount until the
pointer and the “40” line up.Then re-tighten the latitude
lock knob.You may also need to rotate the mount about
its right ascension (R.A.) and declination (Dec.) axes.
Do this by first loosening the R.A.and Dec.lock levers.

4.Slide the counterweight onto the counterweight shaft.
Make sure the counterweight lock thumb screw is
adequately loosened so the counterweight shaft can
pass through the hole in the counterweight. Position
the counterweight about halfway up the shaft and
tighten the counterweight lock thumb screw. The
washer and screw on the end of the counterweight

C

ongratulations on your purchase of a quality Orion product.

Your new Tabletop Equatorial Mount
is extremely portable and can be conveniently taken with you wherever you go to observe. A quick­release mounting system allows fast and easy attachment of a wide variety of different telescope optical
tubes. With its precision yet highly portable equatorial head, you’ll be able to easily track astronomical
objects over time so that they remain within your eyepiece’s field of view. The setting circles will help
locate hundreds of fascinating celestial denizens, including galaxies, nebulas, and star clusters.With a
little practice and a little patience, you’ll find that your Tabletop Equatorial Mount is an invaluable tool for
getting the most out of your astronomical observing sessions.

These instructions will help you set up and properly use your equatorial mount. Please read them over
thoroughly before getting started.

Table of Contents

1. Parts List ................................................................................................................................ 3

2. Assembly ............................................................................................................................... 3

3. Attaching A Telescope ........................................................................................................... 4

4. Balancing the Telescope........................................................................................................ 5

5. Adjusting Height .................................................................................................................... 5

6. Aligning and Using the Equator ial Mount.............................................................................. 5

7. Specifications....................................................................................................................... 10

R.A. axis

Dec. axis

Dec. lock
lever

Dec. setting
circle

R.A. slow­motion
control cable

R.A. worm
gear shaft

R.A. setting

circle

Dec. worm

gear shaft

Dec.

slow-motion

control cable

R.A. lock lever

Latitude

lock knob
Latitude
scale

Figure 2: Close up of the equatorial mount

4

shaft will prevent the counterweight from slipping off
the shaft and possibly onto your foot if the counter­weight lock thumb screw should come loose.

5. Thread the counterweight shaft with counterweight
attached into the equatorial mount at the base of the
declination axis. Before a telescope is attached to the
mount, make sure the counterweight is oriented direct­ly over a tripod leg, as shown in Figure 1. Otherwise,
the mount will tip over.To orient the counterweight rel­ative to the tripod legs, loosen the azimuth lock lever
and rotate the mount left-to-right on the tripod. When
properly oriented, retighten the azimuth lock lever.

6. Now attach the two slow-motion control cables to the
R.A. and Dec. worm gear shafts (see Figure 2) of the
equatorial mount by positioning the thumb screw on the
end of the cable over the indented slot on the shaft, then
tightening the thumb screw .For the Dec.axis, attach the
cable to the longer end of the Dec. worm gear shaft. A
cable can be attached to either end of the R.A. worm
gear shaft, whichever is most convenient for you.

3. Attaching a Telescope

The Tabletop Equatorial Mount is designed to hold
small to mid-size telescopes weighing up to about 7
lbs. For heavier telescopes, the mount may not provide
sufficient stability for steady imaging. Many types of
telescopes can be mounted on the Tabletop Equatorial
Mount, including refractors and catadioptrics, provided
the telescope has a 1/4"-20 mounting block. 35mm
cameras can also be attached to the mount.

To connect your telescope to the Tabletop Equatorial
Mount, you must remove the mount's quick-release
mounting plate. Disengage the quick-release lever,
and pull the plate off the top of the mount. Grip the
plate by its threaded stud to do this (see Figure 3).

Now, attach the plate to your telescope by threading
the stud into the telescope's 1/4"-20 mounting block.
You can use a flat-head screwdriver in the slotted
screw head on the underside of the mounting plate to
firmly secure the plate to the telescope. Orient the
plate so the telescope is perpendicular to the slots on
the edge of the mounting plate (see Figure 4).

Replace the mounting plate, with telescope
attached, to the top of the equatorial mount. Register
the slots in the edges of the plate with the mating
feature on the mount's top (see Figure 5). Once the
plate is seated in its proper position, re-engage the
quick-release lever.

For transporting and storing your telescope, it is an easy
matter to remove the telescope from the mount. Simply
disengage the quick-release lever, and pull the tele­scope (with mounting plate attached) from the mount.

quick-release
lever

quick-

release

mounting

plate

slot in edge of
mounting plate

Figure 3:To remove the quick-release mounting

plate, disengage the quick-release lever and

grip the threaded stud.

Figure 4: Or ient the mounting plate so thatthe edge

slots are perpendicular to the telescope tube.

Figure 5: The edge slots on the mounting plate

register with the mount's top.

edge slot

mating
feature on
mount’s top