through the holes in the base of the mount. The washers
should be on the outside of the tripod legs. Secure the
wing nuts finger-tight.
2. Install and tighten the leg lock knobs on the bottom braces
of the tripod legs. For now, keep the legs at their shortest
(fully retracted) length; you can extend them to a more
desirable length later, after the tripod is completely assem-
bled.
3. Stand the tripod and mount upright and spread the tripod
legs apart as far as they will go, until the bracket is taut.
Connect the accessory tray to the accessory tray bracket
with the three wing screws already installed in the tray. Do
this by pushing the wing screws up through the holes in
the accessory tray bracket and threading them into the
holes in the accessory tray.
4. Tighten the screws at the tops of the tripod legs, so the
legs are securely fastened to the mount. Use the Phillips
head screwdriver and your fingers to do this.
5. Attach the altitude micro-motion rod to the optical tube
assembly by first removing the flat head screw from the
micro-motion rod attachment post on the side of the opti-
cal tube. Slide the screw through the hole at the end of the
micro-motion rod and rethread the screw into the attach-
ment post. Make sure the screw is securely tightened.
6. To install the optical tube in the yoke of the altazimuth
mount, slide the altitude micro-motion rod into its recepta-
cle on the side of the yoke first. Make sure the altitude lock
knob is adequetely loosened. Then, with the rod in place in
the receptacle, place the optical tube assembly into the
yoke so that the metal altitude castings on the side of the
optical tube slide into the grooves (Figure 2.) To secure the
optical tube to the mount, slide the yoke knobs through the
holes in the of the mount and thread them into the altitude
castings on the optical tube. Tighten the altitude lock
knob.
7. Remove the two metal thumbnuts from the optical tube.
Place the bracket of the EZ Finder II on the tube so that
the holes in the bracket slide over the two threaded posts.
The EZ Finder should be oriented so that it appears as in
Figure 1. Thread the thumbnuts back onto the posts to
secure the EZ Finder II in place.
8. Insert the 25mm Explorer II eyepiece into the focuser
drawtube and secure it in place with the thumbscrew.
Your telescope is now fully assembled and should appear as
it does in Figure 1. Keep the dust cover on until you are ready
to observe.
4. Getting started
altitude and azimuth
The SpaceProbe 3 Altaz permits motion along two axis: alti-
tude (up/down) and azimuth (left/right) (see Figure 3). This is
very convenient, since up/down and left/right are the most
“natural” ways that people aim. As a result, pointing the tele-
scope is easy.
To move the telescope in the azimuth direction, loosen the
azimuth lock knob, take hold of the telescope by the end of
the optical tube, and gently rotate the telescope to the desired
position. Then re-tighten the azimuth lock knob. To move the
telescope in the altitude direction, loosen the altitude lock
knob, take hold of the end of the optical tube and move the
tube up or down to the desired position. Then re-tighten the
altitude lock knob. If the telescope moves too freely in the in
the altitude direction, then tighten the yoke knobs.
Note about the Altitude Micro-Motion Rod and Thumb-
wheel:
Since making fine-adjustments to the altitude of the
telescope can be difficult, the SpaceProbe 3 Altaz comes with
an altitude micro-motion rod and thumbwheel. By turning the
thumbwheel, the telescope will move a very small amount
either up or down, depending on which direction you turn the
thumbwheel. You do not loosen the altitude lock knob to make
Figure 2.
Installing the optical tube into the yoke of the altazimuth
mount.
Figure 3.
The SpaceProbe 3 has two axes of motion: Altitude and
Azimuth.
4
Micro-motion
rod attachment
post
Yoke
Altitude
casting
Altitude
micro-motion rod
Altitude lock knob
Altitude
Azimuth
