ASTRO-PHYSICS German Equatorial 1200GTO, Manual, Page: 21 / 38

4. Loosen the tube mounting rings and slide the tube back and forth for balancing. This is best done with the tube in
the horizontal position. If you are using an Astro-Physics or Losmandy dovetail mounting plate, loosen the hand
knobs on the female dovetail plate and slide the male plate and telescope to the desired position.
5. The scope is balanced when it stays put (does not move) with the clutches loose and movement back and forth
about the declination axis has the same feel in both directions. Be mindful of eyepieces, cameras and other
accessories that are yet to be added and compensate accordingly.
Second, Balance the Polar Axis
1. Now, tighten the declination axis clutch knobs and position the mount with the telescope horizontal and the
declination axis horizontal. The counterweight shaft is now horizontal with the center of the counterweights the
same height as the middle of the tube.
2. Loosen the R.A. clutch knobs. Again, be careful because if your scope is significantly un-balanced, it may swing
rapidly in the out-of-balance direction.
3. Move the counterweight(s) up or down to achieve the correct balance in R.A. Again, movement back and forth
about the R.A. axis should have the same feel in both directions.
4. Re-set the tightness of all 8 clutch knobs to the resistance you want making sure that each axis’ 4 clutch knobs are
evenly tightened. (See section on clutch knobs above.)
Try to anticipate any balance problems due to the extra weight of diagonals, heavy eyepieces, finders, solar filters, etc. If the
scope moves by itself, when the clutches are loose, then the scope is not balanced adequately. You may want to “tweak” by
carefully repeating steps 1 – 5 after everything has been attached to the telescope. Be especially careful loosening the Dec.
clutch knobs.
NOTE: A small amount of imbalance on the East side of the mount is permissible and even desirable for astrophotography and
imaging. Remember that if imaging several objects on different sides of the sky, you may need to re-adjust the balance to keep
the east side slightly heavy.
20