SKY-WATCHER SolarQuest Instruction Manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

SolarQuest

Copyright © Sky-Watcher

CONTENT

SolarQuest Diagram .......................................................................................3

PART I : Setting up the SolarQuest

1.1 Setting up on a Skywatcher Tripod ..........................................................................4

1.2 Attaching SolarQuest to a Camera Tripod ...............................................................5

1.3 Installing Batteries ..................................................................................................5

1.4 Test Run .................................................................................................................5

PART II : Observing the Sun

2.1 Pointing to the Sun Automatically ............................................................................6

2.2 Correcting Auto-Pointing O󰀨set ................................................................................6

2.3 Envioremental Inuence ..........................................................................................6

2.4 Factory Reset ..........................................................................................................6

APPENDIX I : SPECIFICATIONS

Dimensions .................................................................................................................. 7

Specications ............................................................................................................... 7

WARNING: THE SOLARQUEST MOUNT IS DESIGNED TO
WORK WITH THE ATTACHED SOLAR TELESCOPES ONLY.
DO NOT POINT OTHER TYPES OF OPTICAL DEVICE AT
THE SUN. LOOKING DIRECTLY AT THE SUN WITHOUT A
CERTIFIED FILTER WILL CAUSE IMMEDIATE AND IRRE­VERSIBLE DAMAGE TO THE EYES OR INSTRUMENT.

2

Eyepiece

Drawtube

SolarQuest Diagram

Eyepiece Holder

Bubble Level

Diagonal Mirror

Solar Sensor

Battery
Compartment

Solar Telescope

Solar Filter

Focus Knob

8-Way

Slide Switch

3/8” socket

Green LED

Red LED

Power Button

3

PART I : Setting up the SolarQuest

1.1 Setting Up on a Skywatcher Tripod

1. Fully expand the three legs of the tripod on level ground.

2. Install the accessory tray on the tripod as shown in Fig. 1.1a.

3. Attach the pier extension onto the tripod tightly with the locking bolt on the tripod head.

4. Remove the mounting head on the pier extension by loosen the 3 small locking screws.

5. Attach the SolarQuest mount to the mounting head tightly with the locking knob.

6. Place the mounting head onto the pier extension and x it with the 3 locking screws.

7. Adjust the lengths of the tripod legs. Extend the legs to the desired height and center the

bubble level on top of the SolarQuest mount.

1

3/8” Bolt

Locking Knob

Locking screws

Locking Bolt

2

2

Mounting Head

3

Fig. 1.1a

Align the accessory tray and push

1

Pier Extension

1

down on it while holding onto the
bottom supports
Rotate the tray to lock it into place.

2

WARNING: The accessory tray
of a Skywatcher tripod ensures

that the tripod legs are rmly

expanded, which prevents the
tripod from accidentally tipping
over. When using the SolarQuest
mount on a Skywatcher tripod,
an accessory tray should always
be used to ensure stability.

Loose

Lock

Fig. 1.1b

4

PART I: Setting up the SolarQuest Mount

1.2 Attaching the SolarQuest to a Camera Tripod

1. Fully expand the three legs of the tripod on leveled ground. Make sure that the tripod is

stable.

2. Raise the camera tripod’s central pole to the height which prevents the solar telescope

from hitting the tripod legs when the telesocpe points to zenith.

3. Screw the SolarQuest mount to the 3/8” bolt on the tripod head’s mounting plate, tighten

SLIGHTLY.

Caution: Over-tightening the mount may cause damage to the internal mechanical parts.

4. Most camera tripods’ mounting plate comes with 1 to 3 locking screws, rmly tighten the

locking screws from underneath the plate to x the SolarQuest mount onto the mounting

plate.

5. Adjust the lengths of the legs to center the bubble level on the mount.

1.3 Installing Batteries

1. Open the battery compartment cover and pull out the battery holder.

2. Make sure the battery cable connects to the holder before inserting batteries to the slots.

3. Insert 8 “AA“ size batteries to the battery holder. Refer to the battery marks of each slot

while inserting the batteries.

4. Place the battery holder back to the compartment gently and closer the cover.

Note: For the safety of your equipment , remove the batteries from SolarQuest if it will not be used
for a long time.

1.4 Test Run

1. Press the power button until the red LED light is on.

2. The solar telescope will be moved to horizontal position automatically in several seconds.

3. Slide the 8-way switch to one direction and then press the power button, the SolarQuest

will slew quickly.

4. Slide the 8-way switch alone to one direction to move the SolarQuest slowly for ne cen-

tering the Sun in the eld of view of an eyepiece.

5. To turn o󰀨 the power, press and hold the power button for several seconds until the red

LED light is o󰀨.

Warning: Always adjust the SolarQuest mount with the internal motor drive and

the 8-way switch. Forcing the SolarQuest to rotate manually might cause dam­ages to the internal mechanical parts.

5

PART II : Observing the Sun

2.1 Pointing to the Sun Automatically

1. Setup the SolarQuest in an open eld under the Sun, as described in the previous chap-

ter.

2. Turn on power. The SolarQuest will level the solar telescope automatically and then takes

up to 2 minute to acquire GPS lock before the next movement.

3. The SolarQuest will bring the solar telescope to the elevation of the Sun and starts slewing

in clockwise in the azimuth direction to search for the Sun.

4. The red LED will blink slowly during the search and becomes solid after the SolarQuest

mount locates the Sun successfully.

5. Fully insert the diagonal mirror into the drawtube of the solar telescope, with the eyepiece

holder pointing up, and x it in place with the locking screws.

6. Insert the 20mm eyepiece to the eyepiece holder and x it in place with the locking screws.

7. Users can now look into the eyepiece. Adjust the focus knob on the solar telescope to ob-

tain a sharp image of the Sun.

8. Use the 8-way slide switch to center the Sun in the FOV of the eyepiece. It is normal to nd

lags in movement when switching to an opposite direction.

Tips:

• Before turning on power, point the solar telescope to the left side of the Sun can reduce the searching time.

• Use a long focal length eyepiece(20mm) to start the observing.

2.2 Correcting Auto-Pointing O󰀨set

The Sun might be o󰀨-center in the eyepiece after the SolarQuest nishes the auto-pointing

routine. After centering the Sun manually in the eyepiece, users can double click the power
button to save the corrections. It will be applied to the next auto-pointing routine.

2.3 Envioremental Inuence

1. Clouds, especially thick or low clouds might reduce the accuracy of auto-pointing. They

might also lead to visible drift of the Sun in the eyepiece while the SolarQuest is tracking
the Sun.

2. Strong reected light, which happens to appear within the SolarQuest’s searching path,

can terminate the auto-pointing routine unexpectedly.

2.4 Factory Reset

A SolarQuest mount and the attached Skywatcher solar telescope have been pre-calibrated
in the factory. As a result, the auto-pointing will be fully functional straight out of the box. To
restore the original calibration data of the package:

1. Push the 8-way slide switch to lower-right position and then turn on power.

2. Continue to observer the Sun as described in section 2.1 and 2.2.

6

Dimensions:

450

112 235

149.5

1316

APPENDIX I : SPECIFICATIONS

216

1074

Mount

Specications:

Product Name SolarQuest

Weight 2.5 kg

Tripod’s Weight 1.9 kg + 0.5kg

Power Requirement 8 “AA“ Size Batteries

Note: The above specications may be changed without prior notice. For more information on up-

dates please visit our website.

Tripod

7

SolarQuest

WARNING: THE SOLARQUEST MOUNT IS DESIGNED TO
WORK WITH THE ATTACHED SOLAR TELESCOPES ONLY.
DO NOT POINT OTHER TYPES OF OPTICAL DEVICE AT
THE SUN, LOOKING DIRECTLY AT THE SUN WITHOUT A
CERTIFIED FILTER WILL CAUSE IMMEDIATE AND IRRE­VERSIBLE DAMAGE TO THE EYES OR INSTRUMENT.

SolarQuest-F-V1.00-EN © 2017, Sky-Watcher, All Rights Reserved