on the dec axis and the C
ABLE
A
CCESS
C
OVER
on the RA axis at this time. They can’t be closed all the way with cables routed
through them but they can be closed enough to keep most dirt and dust out.
Disassembly and Subsequent Setups and Polar Alignments
Once you have gone to all this effort, you won’t want to undo everything for relatively simple tear-down and set-up situations.
And you won’t have to! The degree to which you must disassemble the cabling depends on the degree to which you must break
down the mount. If you need to disassemble the mount for airline travel, you will unfortunately need to undo everything. If you
simply move your entire assembly in and out of the garage on its pier or tripod, you will hardly need to take anything apart. Most
of us are somewhere in between. Disassembly steps are basically the reverse of the installation steps above and really don’t
need further elaboration. The main point is that you will want to avoid complete removal of the cables that involves taking off the
D
ECLINATION
H
UB
P
LATE
if that is possible for your situation.
The real question is: how can subsequent setups be done easily, and how can a person polar align with all those cables in
there? Fortunately there are two easy solutions. First, if you regularly need to use your polar scope and you are only running a
couple cables through the mount, just make sure that your cables were run out the RA’s C
ABLE
A
CCESS
H
OLE
. If you use this
feature, you can insert and use the polar scope without any problem. (You may need to tug lightly at a cable to get it out of the
line of sight when aligning.) The cables can simply be left in place and wrapped around the mount for most transport and storage
situations. You simply need to take care not to pinch the cables anywhere or to strike a connector on the exterior surfaces of the
mount, which could cause a scratch. Then, just set up the mount with the cables already in place.
But what about polar alignment if the cables have been run out the bottom of the RA axis or if there are very many cables?
Simple! Set your mount up on its tripod or pier, but don’t tie off or hook up any of the cables from the bottom of the RA axis yet.
Now, open the S
IGHT
H
OLE
/
C
ABLE
A
CCESS
C
OVER
on the declination axis. Push the cables up from the bottom of the RA axis
with one hand and hook them with a finger through the sight hole. Now pull the bottom part of the cabling out through the hole
and hang the cables out of the way. Insert your P
OLAR
S
COPE
A
DAPTER
to rough polar align (don’t over-tighten), and then put in a
polar scope to get a good polar alignment. When you are as close as you can get, pull off the polar scope and adapter, and
reinsert your cables through the S
IGHT
H
OLE
/
C
ABLE
A
CCESS
C
OVER
. You are now ready to tie them off, plug them in and go!
A Note on the Mount’s Servo “Y” Cable
The “Y” cable that connects your GTOCP3 control box to the servo motor gearboxes can be run either inside or outside the
mount. The
Mach1GTO
doesn’t really have
anything that will catch
the cables, but you still
may want to run them
inside. This is one
cable that will not be run
out through the
D
ECLINATION
A
XIS
H
UB
.
To insert the “Y” cable,
put the control box end
into the S
IGHT
H
OLE
/
C
ABLE
A
CCESS
C
OVER
on the declination axis.
Run it out through the
RA’s C
ABLE
A
CCESS
C
OVER
, and pull the
shorter RA leg of the
cable all the way
through. (Again, if the
P
OLAR
S
COPE
A
DAPTER
is removed, you can
easily guide the control
box plug out the C
ABLE
A
CCESS
C
OVER
of the RA axis.) Only the declination portion will be left inside the mount. Connect all
three plugs. When you remove this cable, don’t reverse the procedure; simply pull the declination leg on out through the RA’s
C
ABLE
A
CCESS
C
OVER
.
A Few More Hints and Tricks
•
If you need to remove a cable completely from the mount, mark the point where it emerges from the C
ABLE
C
HANNEL
in
the D
ECLINATION
A
CCESS
H
UB
. Wrapping the cable at that point with a small piece of colored electrical tape works well.
That way you won’t need to re-measure to position the cable properly.
19
Summary of Contents for Mach1GTO
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