ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS Observer II 70mm Altazimuth Refractor Instruction Manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL
Orion® Observer™ II 70mm
Altazimuth Refractor
Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975
All Rights Reserved. No part of this product instruction or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied,
modied or adapted, without the prior written consent of Orion Telescopes & Binoculars.
®
Copyright © 2017 Orion Telescopes & Binoculars
Customer Support:
www.OrionTelescopes.com/contactus
Corporate Offices:
89 Hangar Way, Watsonville CA 95076 – USA
IN 580 06/17
Congratulations on your purchase of an Orion telescope. Your new Observer II 70mm Altazimuth Refractor is a terric starter instrument for exploring the exotic wonders of the night sky. Designed to be compact and easy to use, it will provide many hours of enjoyment for the whole family.
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 nd 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. Parts List .................................2
2. Assembly .................................4
3. Preparing the Telescope for Operation ...........5
4. Astronomical Observing ......................6
5. Worthwhile Optional Accessories ..............9
6. Telescope Care and Maintenance ..............9
7. Specications .............................10
1. Parts List
Part Qty
A – Tripod leg 3
B – Yoke mount 1
C – Hex head tripod mounting bolt (3"),
with 5/8" washer and wing nut 3
D – Leg lock thumbscrews 3
E – Accessory tray 1
F – Screw with 3/8" washer and wingnut 3
G – Optical tube 1
H – Yoke knob 2
I – Altitude micro-motion rod 1
J – Micro-motion rod anchor screw 1
K – Red dot nder scope 1
L – Mirror star diagonal 1
M – 25mm Kellner eyepiece 1
N – 10mm Kellner eyepiece 1
O – Screwdriver tool 1
P – Dust cover 1
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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G
B
P
A
E
N
L
K
Figure 1. The parts of the Observer II 70 Altaz telescope.
M
C
H
F
O
D
I
J
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2. Assembly
1. Attach the three aluminum tripod legs (A) to the yoke mount (B) (Figure 3a) with the three hinged leg braces fac­ing inward. Three hex-head bolts (C) each about 3" long, with 5/8" washers (C) and wing nuts (shown in Figure 1 attached to the bolts), are provided for this purpose. Note that the bolts should be inserted from the side of the leg that has the hex-shaped hole, so that the bolt head seats in the hex-shaped hole (Figure 3b). The washer then the wing nut are placed on the opposite side on the exposed end of the bolt.
2. Attach a leg lock thumbscrew (D) to each leg as shown (Figure 4). Extend the sliding inner portion of the adjust­able-height tripod leg to the desired length for all three legs. Lock in place by tightening the leg lock thumbscrews.
Do not over-tighten the leg lock thumbscrews or you may damage the collar they are attached to.
3. Now stand the tripod upright, spreading the legs evenly apart so the accessory tray can be positioned to attach to the three leg braces.
4. Attach the accessory tray (E) to the leg brace supports (Figure 5) with the three short screws (F), small (3/8”) washers, and small wing nuts provided (washers and wing hunts shown attached to the screws in gure 1). Place a washer on the screw. Then place the accessory tray on top of one of the leg braces so that the mounting screw passes through the hole at one of the corners of the accessory tray, and through the slot in the leg brace. Then place another small washer on the screw and thread on and tighten the wing nut. You may nd it helpful to use the supplied screwdriver tool (O) to hold the screw heads while tightening the wingnuts. Repeat this procedure until the tray is attached to all three leg braces.
The tripod and yoke mount are now fully assembled (Figure
6). Next you will install the telescope tube on the altazimuth
yoke mount.
5. With the optical tube (G) oriented relative to the yoke mount (B) as shown in Figure 7, line up the holes in the attachment plates on the side of the optical tube with the holes in the ends of the yoke mount (7a). Then secure the optical tube to the mount by inserting a yoke knob (H) through the hole on each side of the yoke and thread them into the attachment plates on the optical tube (7b). They should be reasonably tight but still allow movement of the telescope up and down with gentle force.
6. Insert the altitude micro-motion rod (I) through the hole in the metal receptacle on the yoke mount (Figure 8a). You may have to unthread the altitude lock knob a few turns to provide clearance for the rod). Then attach the other end of the rod to the metal anchor cylinder using the anchor screw (J) provided (Figure 8b). Use the supplied screw­driver tool (O) to tighten the screw.
Finally, you will install a few accessories, then you’ll be ready to observe!
7. To attach the red dot nder scope (K) to the optical tube, orient the nder scope as shown in Figure 9 and slide the bracket foot into the nder scope base until it clicks. (To remove the nder scope, press the small tab at the back of the base and slide the bracket out.)
8. Insert the star diagonal (L) into the focuser drawtube and tighten the thumbscrew on the drawtube collar (Figure
10). Then insert the 25mm eyepiece (M) into the diagonal
Altitude
G
K
J
M
H
B
I
L
E
N
D
Figure 2. The Observer II 70 Altazimuth Refractor telescope fully
assembled, with key parts identied.
Wingnut
Washer
Figure 3. a)
Attach the three tripod legs to the mount platform,
b) making sure the bolt’s hex-shaped head seats in the hex-shaped
recess of the tripod leg.
Azimuth
A
4
Accessory tray
Screw head
Washer
Washer
Wing nut
Leg
Figure 4.
shown, being careful not to overtighten.
The telescope is now completely assembled! Before it can be effectively used, however, there are a couple of things to do to prepare the telescope for operation.
Thread a leg lock thumbscrew onto each tripod leg as
and secure it by lightly tightening the thumbscrew on the diagonal.
3. Preparing the Telescope for Operation
Aligning and Using the Red Dot Finder Scope
The included red dot nder scope (Figure 11) makes pointing your telescope almost as easy as pointing your nger! It’s a non­magnifying aiming device that superimposes a tiny LED red dot on the sky, showing exactly where the telescope is pointed. It permits easy object targeting prior to observation in the higher­power main telescope.
Before you can use the red dot nder scope, you must remove the small plastic tab sticking out from the battery compartment (Figure 11). Doing so will allow the pre-installed 3V CR-2032 button cell battery to make contact with the nder scope’s elec­tronic circuitry to power the nder’s red LED illuminator. The tab can then be discarded.
To use the red dot nder scope properly, it must be aligned with the main telescope. This is easiest to do during daylight hours, before observing at night. Follow this procedure:
1. First, remove the dust cap (P) from the front of the tele­scope.
2. Then, with the 25mm eyepiece already in the focuser from step 8 above, point the telescope at a well-dened land target (e.g., the top of a telephone pole) that’s at least a quarter mile away. When pointing the telescope, be sure to loosen the azimuth lock knob and micro-motion lock knob (for coarse movement in altitude) to allow the telescope to rotate freely about both axes.
3. Center the target in the eyepiece
Figure 5. Attach the accessory tray to each of the tripod three
leg brace supports using the provided hardware.
Note: The image in the telescope will appear mirror reversed, i.e., reversed left to right. This is normal for refractor tele­scopes used for astronomical observing with a standard star diagonal. (For terrestrial observing we recommend using an optional “correct image” diagonal, which will serve up a cor­rectly oriented view.)
Figure 6. The assembled altazimuth mount and tripod.
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Attachment plate
a
b
Figure 7. a) Place the optical tube in the yoke mount, lining up
the holes in the tube’s attachment plates with those in the yoke mount. b) Thread the yoke knob into the threaded hole in the attachment plates.
4. Now that a distant target is centered in the main tele­scope’s eyepiece, turn on the red dot nder scope by slid­ing the power switch to ON (refer to Figure 11). The “1” position provides dim illumination while the “2” position provides brighter illumination. Typically the dimmer setting is used under dark skies and the brighter setting is used under light-polluted skies or in daylight. Position your eye at a comfortable distance from the rear of the unit. Look through the rear of the nder scope with both eyes open to see the illuminated red dot. The target object should appear in the eld of view somewhere near the red dot.
5. You’ll want to center the target object on the red dot. To do so, without moving the telescope, use the nder scope’s vertical and horizontal adjustment knobs (shown in Figure
11) to position the red dot on the object.
Metal receptacle
6. When the red dot is centered on the distant object, check to make sure the object is still centered in the telescope’s eyepiece. If it isn’t, re-center it then adjust the finder scope’s alignment again. When the object is centered in the telescope eyepiece and on the nder scope’s red dot, the nder scope is properly aligned with the telescope. The red dot nder scope’s alignment should be checked before every observing session.
At the end of your observing session, be sure to slide the power switch on the red dot nder scope to OFF to preserve battery life.
Understanding the “Altazimuth” Mount
The Observer II 70mm Altazimuth refractor features an “altaz­imuth” mount, which permits motion along two perpendicular axes: altitude (up/down) and azimuth (left/right) (see Figure 2). This makes pointing the telescope easy and intuitive. To move the telescope in the azimuth direction, loosen the azimuth lock knob, take hold of the telescope and gently rotate it to the desired position. Then re-tighten the azimuth lock knob. To move the tele­scope in the altitude direction, loosen the altitude lock knob then move the tube up or down to the desired position. Then retighten the altitude lock knob. If the telescope moves too freely in the in the altitude direction, then tighten up the yoke knobs a bit. Of course, you can move the telescope in altitude and azimuth simultaneously by loosening both of the lock knobs.
Because making ne-adjustments in the altitude of the telescope can be difficult, the Observer II 70mm Altazimuth refractor comes equipped with an altitude micro-motion rod and thumbwheel (Figure 12). After making coarse altitude adjustments by moving the tube by hand, you can then move the telescope incremen­tally by turning the micro-motion rod’s thumbwheel (the altitude lock knob must be tightened for this). The telescope will move a very small amount either up or down, depending on which direc­tion you turn the thumbwheel. Fine motion can be helpful when centering an object in the eyepiece.
Altitude lock knob
a
Anchor cylinder
Screw
b
Figure 8. a) Insert the micro-motion rod through the hole in the
metal receptacle on the yoke mount. b) Attach the other end of the rod to the anchor cylinder on the optical tube.
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4. Astronomical Observing
For many, this will be your rst foray into the exciting world of amateur astronomy. The following information and observing tips will help get you started.
Finder Scope
Base
Bracket
foot
Figure 9. Insert the red dot nder scope’s bracket into the base near the focuser as shown.
Eyepiece
Yoke knob
Focuser drawtube
Thumbscrew
Star diagonal
Figure 10.
the thumbscrew on the drawtube collar, then install the eyepiece in the diagonal.
Secure the star diagonal in the focuser drawtube with
Thumbscrew
Focus wheel
Power switch
Plastic
tab
Opposite side
Vertical knob
Horizontal knob
Figure 11. The red dot nder scope has vertical and (inset)
horizontal adjustment knobs for aligning it with the telescope.
Choosing an Observing Site
When selecting a location for observing, get as far away as pos­sible from direct articial light such as street lights, porch lights, and automobile headlights. The glare from these lights will great­ly impair your dark-adapted night vision. Set up on a grass or dirt surface, not asphalt, because asphalt radiates more heat. Heat disturbs the surrounding air and degrades the images seen through the telescope. Avoid viewing over rooftops and chimneys, as they often have warm air currents rising from them. Similarly, avoid observing from indoors through an open (or closed) win­dow, because the temperature difference between the indoor and outdoor air will cause image blurring and distortion.
If at all possible, escape the light-polluted city sky and head for darker country skies. You’ll be amazed at how many more stars and deep-sky objects are visible in a dark sky!
“Seeing” and Transparency
Atmospheric conditions vary signicantly from night to night. “Seeing” refers to the steadiness of the Earth’s atmosphere at
Altitude lock
knob
Micro-motion rod
Thumbwheel
Figure 12. The micro-motion rod and thumbwheel allow ne altitude pointing control.
a given time. In conditions of poor seeing, atmospheric turbu­lence causes objects viewed through the telescope to “boil.” If you look up at the sky and stars are twinkling noticeably, the seeing is poor and you will be limited to viewing at lower magnications. At higher magnications, images will not focus clearly. Fine details on the planets and Moon will likely not be visible.
In conditions of good seeing, star twinkling is minimal and images appear steady in the eyepiece. Seeing is best over­head, worst at the horizon. Also, seeing generally gets better after midnight, when much of the heat absorbed by the Earth during the day has radiated off into space.
Especially important for observing faint objects is good “trans­parency”—air free of moisture, smoke, and dust. All tend to scat­ter light, which reduces an object’s brightness. Transparency is judged by the magnitude of the faintest stars you can see with the unaided eye (5th or 6th magnitude is desirable).
Cooling the Telescope
All optical instruments need time to reach “thermal equilibri­um.” The bigger the instrument and the larger the temperature change, the more time is needed. Allow at least 30 minutes for your telescope to acclimate to the temperature outdoors before you start observing with it.
Let Your Eyes Dark-Adapt
Don’t expect to go from a lighted house into the darkness of the outdoors at night and immediately see faint nebulas, galaxies, and star clusters—or even very many stars, for that matter. Your eyes take about 30 minutes to reach perhaps 80% of their full dark-adapted sensitivity. As your eyes become dark-adapted, more stars will glimmer into view and you’ll be able to see fainter details in objects you view in your telescope.
To see what you’re doing in the darkness, use a red-ltered ash­light rather than a white light. Red light does not spoil your eyes’ dark adaptation like white light does. A ashlight with a red LED light is ideal. Beware, too, that nearby porch, streetlights, and car headlights will ruin your night vision.
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Eyepiece Selection
Magnication, or power, is determined by the focal length of the telescope and the focal length of the eyepiece being used. Therefore, by using eyepieces of different focal lengths, the resultant magnication can be varied. It is quite common for an observer to own ve or more eyepieces to access a wide range of magnications. This allows the observer to choose the best eyepiece to use depending on the object being viewed and viewing conditions. Your Observer II 70mm Altazimuth refractor comes with 25mm and 10mm Kellner eyepieces, which will suf­ce nicely to begin with. You can purchase additional eyepieces later if you wish to have more magnication options.
Magnication is calculated as follows:
Telescope Focal Length (mm)
= Magnication
Eyepiece Focal Length (mm)
For example, the Observer II 70mm Altazimuth has a focal length of 700mm, which when used with the supplied 25mm eyepiece yields:
700 mm
= 28x
25 mm
The magnication provided by the 10mm eyepiece is:
700 mm
= 70x
10 mm
The maximum attainable magnication for a telescope is directly related to how much light it can gather. The larger the aperture, the more magnication is possible. In general, a gure of 50x per inch of aperture is the maximum attainable for most telescopes. Going beyond that will yield simply blurry, unsatisfactory views. Your Observer II 70mm Altazimuth has an aperture of 70mm, or 2.8 inches, so the maximum magnication would be about 140x (2.8 x 50). This level of magnication assumes you have ideal atmospheric conditions for observing (which is seldom the case).
Figure 13. The Kellner eyepieces have barrels threaded to accept optional Orion 1.25" lters. A Moon lter is useful for cutting glare and revealing more detail on the lunar surface.
Keep in mind that as you increase magnication, the brightness of the object viewed will decrease; this is an inherent principle of the laws of physics and cannot be avoided. If magnication is doubled, an image appears four times dimmer. If magnication is tripled, image brightness is reduced by a factor of nine!
So start by using the 25mm eyepiece, then try switching to the 10mm eyepiece later if you want to boost the magnication.
Focusing the Telescope
To focus the telescope, turn the focus wheels (Figure 10) forward or back until you see your target object (e.g., stars, the Moon, etc.) in the eyepiece. Then make ner adjustments until the image is sharp. If you’re having trouble achieving ini­tial focus, rack the focuser drawtube all the way in using the focus wheels, then while looking into the eyepiece slowly turn the focus wheels so that the drawtube extends outward. Keep going until you see your target object come into focus. Note that when you change eyepieces you may have to adjust the focus a bit to get a sharp image with the newly inserted eye­piece.
What to Expect
So what will you see with your telescope? You should be able to see bands on Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, craters on the Moon, the waxing and waning of Venus, and many bright deep-sky objects. Do not expect to see color as you do in NASA photos, since those are taken with long-exposure cameras and have “false color” added. Our eyes are not sensitive enough to see color in deep-sky objects except in a few of the brightest ones.
Objects to Observe
Now that you are all set up and ready to go, one critical decision must be made: what to look at?
A. The Moon
With its rocky surface, the Moon is one of the easiest and most interesting objects to view with your telescope. Lunar craters, maria, and even mountain ranges can all be clearly seen from a distance of 238,000 miles away! With its ever-changing phas­es, you’ll get a new view of the Moon every night. The best time to observe our one and only natural satellite is during a partial phase, that is, when the Moon is not full. During partial phases, shadows are cast on the surface, which reveal more detail, espe­cially right along the border between the dark and light portions of the disk (called the “terminator”). A full Moon is too bright and devoid of surface shadows to yield a pleasing view. Make sure to observe the Moon when it is well above the horizon to get the sharpest images.
Use an optional Moon lter to dim the Moon when it is very bright. It simply threads onto the bottom of the eyepieces (you must rst remove the eyepiece from the focuser to attach a lter). You’ll nd that the Moon lter improves viewing comfort, and helps to bring out subtle features on the lunar surface.
B. The Planets
The planets don’t stay put like the stars, so to nd them you should refer to the monthly star charts at OrionTelescopes. com, or to charts published monthly in Astronomy, Sky & Telescope, or other astronomy magazines. Venus, Mars,
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Jupiter, and Saturn are the brightest objects in the sky after the Sun and the Moon. Other planets may be visible but will likely appear star-like. Because planets are quite small in apparent size, optional higher-power eyepieces or a Barlow lens are rec­ommended and often needed for detailed observations.
B. The Sun
You can change your nighttime telescope into a daytime Sun viewer by installing an optional full-aperture solar lter over the front opening of the telescope. The primary attraction is sun­spots, which change shape, appearance, and location daily. Sunspots are directly related to magnetic activity in the Sun. Many observers like to make drawings of sunspots to monitor how the Sun is changing from day to day.
Important Note: Do not look at the Sun with any optical instrument without a professionally made solar lter, or per­manent eye damage could result.
D. The Stars
Stars will appear like twinkling points of light. Even powerful telescopes cannot magnify stars to appear as more than a point of light. You can, however, enjoy the different colors of the stars and locate many pretty double and multiple stars. The famous “Double-Double” in the constellation Lyra and the gor­geous two-color double star Albireo in Cygnus are favorites. Defocusing a star slightly can help bring out its color.
E. Deep-Sky Objects
Under dark skies, you can observe a wealth of fascinating deep-sky objects, including gaseous nebulas, open and globu­lar star clusters, and different types of galaxies. Most deep-sky objects are very faint, so it is important you nd an observing site well away from light pollution.
To nd deep-sky objects with your telescope, you rst need to become reasonably familiar with the night sky. Unless you know how to recognize the constellation Orion, for instance, you won’t have much luck locating the Orion Nebula. A simple planisphere, or star wheel, can be a valuable tool for learning the constellations and seeing which ones are visible in the sky on a given night. Once you have identied a few constellations, a good star chart, atlas, or astronomy app will come in handy for helping locate interesting deep-sky objects to view within the constellations.
Do not expect these objects to appear like the photographs you see in books and on the internet; most will look like dim gray smudges. Our eyes are not sensitive enough to see color in deep-sky objects except in a few of the brightest ones. But as you become more experienced and your observing skills get sharper, you will be able to ferret out more and more subtle details and structure.
5. Worthwhile Optional Accessories
Moon Filter – A 1.25" Moon lter will cut down the strong glare of sunlight reected from the Moon, making Moon viewing more comfortable and revealing more surface
detail. The lter threads into the bottom of the Kellner eye­pieces that came with your telescope (Figure 13).
Barlow Lens – A 2x Barlow lens doubles the magnify- ing power of any eyepiece it’s used with, giving you a big power boost to get in closer to your target object. You just insert it between the diagonal and the eyepiece.
Correct-Image Diagonal – Also called an “erect-image” diagonal, this accessory will provide a correctly oriented view through the telescope, which is recommended for daytime terrestrial viewing.
Planisphere – A nifty “star wheel” that shows what stars and constellations are visible in the sky at any time of any night. Just set the date and time see a mini representation of your local night sky. Great for identifying what you see and planning an evening’s observing session.
Star Map – More detailed than a planisphere, a star map is essential for locating interesting celestial objects to observe with your telescope. Nowadays many mobile astronomy apps feature customizable star maps that you can access on your smartphone or tablet while you’re at the telescope.
6. Telescope Care and
Maintenance
If you give your telescope reasonable care, it will last a lifetime. Store it in a clean, dry, dust-free place, safe from rapid changes in temperature and humidity. Do not store the telescope outdoors, although storage in a garage or shed is OK. Small components like eyepieces and other accessories should be kept in a protec­tive box or storage case. Keep the dust cover on the front of the telescope when it is not in use.
Your refractor telescope requires very little mechanical mainte­nance. The optical tube has a smooth painted nish that is fairly scratch-resistant. If a scratch does appear on the tube, it will not harm the telescope. If you wish, you may apply some auto touch­up paint to the scratch. Smudges on the tube can be wiped off with a soft cloth and household cleaning uid.
Cleaning Optics
Any quality optical lens cleaning tissue and optical lens clean­ing uid specically designed for multi-coated optics can be used to clean the lenses of your telescope and eyepieces. Never use regular glass cleaner or cleaning uid designed for eyeglasses. Before cleaning, remove any loose particles or dust from the lens with a blower bulb or soft brush. Then apply some cleaning uid to a tissue, never directly on the optics. Wipe the lens gently in a circular motion, then remove any excess uid with a fresh lens tissue. Oily ngerprints and smudges may be removed using this method. Use caution; rubbing too hard may scratch the lens. On larger lenses, clean only a small area at a time, using a fresh lens tissue on each area. Never reuse tissues.
When bringing the telescope inside after an evening’s viewing it is normal for moisture to accumulate on the lenses due to the change in temperature. We suggest leaving the telescope and eyepieces uncovered overnight to allow the condensation to evaporate.
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7. Specifications
Objective lens: 70mm (2.8") diameter, achromatic
Effective focal length: 700mm
Focal ratio: f/10
Lens coatings: Antireection coated
Focuser: Rack-and-pinion, accepts 1.25" accessories
Eyepieces: 25mm and 10mm Kellner, antireflection coated,
1.25" barrel diameter, threaded for Orion lters
Eyepiece magnication: 28x (with 25mm eyepiece) and 70x (with 10mm eyepiece)
Finder scope: Red dot nder scope
Mount: Altazimuth yoke
Tripod: Aluminum
Total instrument weight: 5 lbs. 8oz.
One-Year Limited Warranty
This Orion product is warranted against defects in materials or workmanship for a period of one year from the date
of purchase. This warranty is for the benet of the original retail purchaser only. During this warranty period Orion Telescopes & Binoculars will repair or replace, at Orion’s option, any warranted instrument that proves to be defec­tive, provided it is returned postage paid. Proof of purchase (such as a copy of the original receipt) is required. This
This warranty does not apply if, in Orion’s judgment, the instrument has been abused, mishandled, or modied, nor
does it apply to normal wear and tear. This warranty gives you specic legal rights. It is not intended to remove or
restrict your other legal rights under applicable local consumer law; your state or national statutory consumer rights
For further warranty information, please visit www.OrionTelescopes.com/warranty.
Corporate Offices: 89 Hangar Way, Watsonville CA 95076 - USA
Customer Support: www.OrionTelescopes.com/contactus
All Rights Reserved. No part of this product instruction or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted, without the prior
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warranty is only valid in the country of purchase.
governing the sale of consumer goods remain fully applicable.
Orion® Telescopes & Binoculars
Copyright © 2017 Orion Telescopes & Binoculars
written consent of Orion Telescopes & Binoculars.
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