ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS SkyView Deluxe 6 EQ 9403 Instruction Manual

IN 092 Rev. C 0500

Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975

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

Corporate Offices [phone]
P.O. Box 1815, Santa Cruz, CA 95061

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

Orion

®

SkyView

™

Deluxe 6" EQ

Equatorial Reflecting Telescope

#9403

2

Figure 1. SkyView Deluxe 6" parts diagram

Eyepiece

Focuser

Focus knob

Tube ring clamps

Tube ring

Tube ring mount bolt

Primary mirror cell

Right Ascension lock lever

Right ascension setting circle

Polar axis finder scope

Right ascension slow-motion control

Latitude adjustment knob

Tripod leg attachment bolt

Latitude scale

Tripod leg

Leg lock knob

Rubber foot

Finder scope
alignment screws (6)

Finder scope
Finder scope bracket

Secondary mirror holder
Declination slow-

motion control

Declination
setting circle

Declination lock lever
(not pictured)

Latitude lock lever
(not pictured)

Counterweight shaft
Counterweights
Counterweight

lock knobs
Retaining washer

and knob
Azimuth adjustment

knobs (2)

Accessory tray bracket
Accessory tray

3

1. Unpacking

The entire telescope system, including tripod, equatorial
mount, and all accessories, are packaged 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 [phone] for assistance.

2. Parts List

Box 1: Optical Tube Assembly

Qty. Description
1 Optical Tube Assembly
1 Optical tube dust cap
2 Optical tube mounting rings
1 25mm (30x) Plössl eyepiece (1.25”)
1 9mm (83x) Plössl eyepiece (1.25”)
1 6x30 crosshair finder scope
1 Dual-ring finder scope bracket
6 Finder scope alignment screws and round, knurled nuts
1 Moon Filter

Box 2: SkyView Deluxe EQ Mount

Qty. Description
1 Equatorial mount
3 Tripod legs
1 Counterweight shaft
1 Large counterweight
1 Small counterweight
1 Tripod accessory tray
3 Accessory tray screws and wing nuts
2 Slow-motion control cables
1 Polar axis finder scope

Congratulations on your purchase of a quality Orion telescope.Your new SkyView Deluxe 6" 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............................................................................................................................. 4

4. Getting Started.................................................................................................................... 5

5. Setting Up and Using the Equatorial Mount........................................................................ 7

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

7. Using Y our T elescope–Astronomical Observing................................................................ 12

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

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

10. Suggested Accessories....................................................................................................... 16

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.

4

3. Assembly

Assembling the telescope for the first time should take about 30
minutes. No tools are needed. All bolts should be tightened
securely to eliminate flexing and wobbling, b ut only tighten them
“finger tight.” Be careful not to ov er-tighten so as not to strip the
threads.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
surfaces have delicate coatings on them that can easily be
damaged if touched inappropriately. NEVER remove any lens
assembly from its housing for any reason, or the product w ar­ranty and return policy will be voided.

1. Lay the equatorial mount on its side.Attach the tripod legs,
one at a time, to the base of the mount by sliding the tripod
leg attachment bolt into the slot in the mount and lightly
tightening it finger-tight. Note that the hinged accessor y
tray bracket on each leg should face inward.

2. Tighten the leg lock knobs at the base of the legs .For now,
keep the legs at their shortest (fully retracted) length; you
can extend them to a more desirable length later, after the
scope is completely assembled.

3. With the tripod legs now attached to the equatorial mount,
stand the tripod upright (be careful!) and spread the legs
apart enough to attach the accessory tray to the three
hinged tray brackets on the legs. Position the brackets
underneath the tray and use the three small accessory tray
screws and wing nuts to attach the tray to the br ackets.Do
not tighten the wing nuts yet.

4. Now, with the accessory tray attached loosely, spread the
tripod legs apart as far as they will go, until the accessory
tray brackets are taut.Then tighten the wing nuts.

5. Ne xt, tighten the tripod leg attachment bolts at the base of
the equatorial mount, so the legs are securely fastened.The
assembled tripod should now be stable and solid.If it is
not, a bolt or screw may need further tightening.

6. Remov e the retaining nut from the bottom end of the coun­terweight shaft.Slide both counterweights onto the shaft,
then replace the retaining nut.The retaining nut will pre­vent the counterweights from slipping off the shaft and
possibly onto your foot if the counterweight lock knobs
should come loose

7. At the top end of the counterweight shaft, note the cast
metal shaft collar. Rotate the collar so as much of the
threaded end of the shaft as possible is visible.Now, with
the counterweight lock knobs loose, grip the counterweights
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, twist the
shaft collar clockwise to secure the shaft.Position the coun­terweights about halfway up the shaft and tighten the
counterweight lock knobs.

8. Orient the equatorial mount as it appears in Figure 1, at a
latitude of about 40°, i.e., so the pointer next to the gold-

colored latitude scale is pointing to the hash mark at “40.”
To do this, loosen the latitude lock lever (on the side of the
mount opposite the gold latitude scale), and turn the lati­tude adjustment knob until the pointer and the “40”line up.
Then tighten the latitude lock leve r. Also tighten the decli­nation (Dec.) and right ascension (R.A.) lock levers.

9. Remove the caps from the narrow end of the polar scope and
the polar scope port in the equatorial mount (behind the R.A.
setting circle).Insert the narrow end of the polar scope into
the open port.While gripping the wide end of the polar scope
(but not the eyepiece at the v ery end), thread it clockwise into
the port until it is secure.

10.Attach the two tube rings to the equatorial head, using the
captive tube ring bolts preinstalled in the equatorial head.
Open the tube rings.

11.Lay the telescope optical tube in the felt-lined 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.

12.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 ov er the indented slot
on the worm gear shaft, then tightening the thumb screw.
The cables can be attached to either end of the shafts,
whichever is most convenient for you. But we recommend
that the Dec.cable extend toward the front end of the tele­scope (as in Figure 1), since that’s where you’ll be standing.

13.To install the finder scope bracket on the optical tube
(adjacent to the focuser), first remove the round nuts on
the two mounting screws.Do not loosen the small hex nuts
on the mounting screws.Place the finder scope bracket
over the two screws. Replace the round nuts and tighten
finger-tight.

14.Thread each of the six round, knurled nuts onto each of
the six finder scope alignment screws, then thread each
alignment screw into a hole in the finder scope bracket’s
rings.There are three holes on each of the bracket’s rings.

15.Place the finder scope in the finder scope bracket by first
backing off all six alignment screws until the screw tips are
flush with the inside diameter of the bracket.Slide the find­er scope through the bracket’s rings with the larger
(objective) end pointing in the same direction as the open
end of the main telescope.Line up the groove on the eye­piece end of the finder scope with the rear ring of the
bracket.Tighten the six alignment screws equally to secure
the finder scope in place; you may need to loosen the
round, knurled nuts on the alignment screws to do this.

16.Remove the cap on the focuser drawtube and insert the
25mm Plössl eyepiece;secure it in place with the thumb
screw on the drawtube.

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.

1. Keeping one hand on the telescope optical tube, loosen
the R.A.lock lev er .Make sure the Dec.lock lev er is lock ed,
for now. The telescope should now be able to rotate freely
about the R.A. axis. Rotate it until the counterweight shaft
is parallel to the ground (i.e., horizontal).

2. Now loosen both counterweight lock knobs and slide the
weights along the shaft until they exactly counterbalance the
telescope (Figure 2a). That’s the point at which the shaft
remains horizontal even when you let go of the telescope with
both hands (Figure 2b).

3. Retighten the counterweight lock knobs.The telescope is
now balanced on the R.A.axis.

4. To balance the telescope on the Dec.axis, first tighten the
R.A.lock lever, with the counterweight shaft still in the hor­izontal position.

5. With one hand on the telescope optical tube, loosen the
Dec. lock lever. The telescope should now be able to
rotate freely about the Dec. axis. Loosen the tube r ing
clamps a few turns, until you can slide the telescope tube
forward and back inside the rings (this can be aided by
using a slight twisting motion on the optical tube while you
push or pull on it) (Figure 2c).

6. Position the telescope so it remains horizontal when you
carefully let go with both hands.This is the balance point
(Figure 2d). Before clamping the rings tight again, rotate
the telescope so the eyepiece is at a convenient angle for
viewing.When you are actually observing with the tele­scope, you can adjust the eyepiece position by loosening
the tube rings and rotating the optical tube.

7. Retighten the tube ring clamps.

The telescope is now balanced on both axes.Now when you
loosen the lock lever on one or both axes and manually point
the telescope, it should move without resistance and should
not drift from where you point it.

5

b.

d.

c.a.

Figure 2. Proper operation of the equatorial mount requires that the telescope tube be balanced on both the R.A. and Dec. axes. (a) With the

R.A. lock lever released, slide the counterweights along the counterweight shaft until they just counterbalance the tube. (b) When you let go
with both hands, the tube should not drift up or down. (c) With the Dec. lock lever released, loosen the tube ring clamps a few turns and slide
the telescope forward or back in the tube rings.(d) When the tube is balanced about the Dec. axis, it will not move when you let go.
(Model shown is SkyView Deluxe 8".)