User manual ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS 09849

[. . . ] INSTRUCTION MANUAL Orion ShortTube 4. 5" EQ ® TM #9849 Equatorial Reflecting Telescope Customer Support (800) 676-1343 E-mail: support@telescope. com Corporate Offices (831) 763-7000 Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975 P. O. Box 1815, Santa Cruz, CA 95061 IN 187 Rev. A 05/02 EZ Finder II bracket Bracket securing thumbnuts EZ Finder II Focuser Eyepiece Tube rings Declination slow-motion control cable Declination lock knob Declination setting circle Counterweight shaft Counterweight Counterweight lock knob Latitude lock T-bolt (not shown) Azimuth lock knob Right ascension setting circle Right ascension slow motion control cable Latitude adjustment T-bolt Accessory tray bracket Accessory tray Tripod leg Tripod leg Leg lock knob Figure 1. 2 Congratulations on your purchase of a quality Orion telescope. [. . . ] You can't do it with the counterweight down as pictured in Figure 1. Again, you have to rotate the scope in R. A. so the counterweight shaft is positioned horizontally. so it points to where you want it near the horizon. To point the telescope to the east or west, or in other directions, you rotate the telescope on its R. A. Depending on the altitude of the object you want to observe, the counterweight shaft will be oriented somewhere between vertical and horizontal. Figure 7 illustrates how the telescope will look pointed at the four cardinal directions--north, south, east, and west The key things to remember when pointing the telescope is that a) you only move it in R. A. and Dec. , not in azimuth or latitude (altitude), and b) the counterweight and shaft will not always appear as it does in Figure 1. Collimating the Optics Collimating is the process of adjusting the mirrors so they are aligned with one another. Your telescope's optics were aligned at the factory, and should not need much adjustment unless the telescope is handled roughly. Accurate mirror alignment is important to ensure the peak performance of your telescope, so it should be checked regularly. Collimating is relatively easy to do and can be done in daylight. To check collimation, remove the eyepiece and look down the focuser drawtube. You should see the secondary mirror centered in the drawtube, as well as the reflection of the pri- 9 mary mirror centered in the secondary mirror, and the reflection of the secondary mirror (and your eye) centered in the reflection of the primary mirror, as in Figure 8a. If anything is off-center, proceed with the following collimating procedure. The Collimation Cap and Mirror Center Mark Your ShortTube 4. 5 EQ comes with a collimating cap. This is a simple cap that fits on the focuser drawtube like a dust cap, but has a hole in the center and a silver bottom. This helps center your eye so that collimating is easy to perfor m. Figures 8b through 8e assume you have the collimation cap in place. In addition to providing the collimation cap, you'll notice a tiny ring (sticker) in the exact center of the primary mirror. This "center mark" allows you to achieve a very precise collimation of the primary mirror; you don't have to guess where the center of the mirror is. You simply adjust the mirror position (described below) until the reflection of the hole in the collimation cap is centered inside the ring. [. . . ] The optical tube has a smooth painted finish 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 touch-up paint to the scratch. Smudges on the tube can be wiped off with a soft cloth and a household cleaner. [. . . ]