5
(To remove the finder scope, press the small tab at the
back of the base and slide the bracket out.)
14. Insert the 25mm eyepiece (W) into the focuser and secure
it by lightly tightening the thumbscrew (
Figure 17).
The telescope is now completely assembled! Before it can be
effectively used, however, there are a couple of things to do to
prepare the telescope for operation.
3. Preparing the Telescope
for Operation
Aligning and Using the Red Dot Finder Scope
The included red dot finder scope (
Figure 18) makes pointing
your telescope almost as easy as pointing your finger! It’s a
non-magnifying aiming device that superimposes a tiny LED
red dot on the sky, showing exactly where the telescope is
pointed. It permits easy object targeting prior to observation in
the higher-power main telescope.
Before you can use the red dot finder scope, you must remove
the small plastic tab sticking out from the battery compart-
ment (
Figure 18). Doing so will allow the pre-installed 3V
CR-2032 button cell battery to make contact with the finder
scope’s electronic circuitry to power the finder’s red LED illu-
minator. The tab can then be discarded.
To use the red dot finder scope properly, it must be aligned
with the main telescope. This is easiest to do during daylight
hours, before observing at night. Follow this procedure:
1. First, remove the dust cap (Y) from the front of the tele-
scope.
2. With the 25mm eyepiece already in place from step 14
above, point the telescope at a well-defined land target
(e.g., the top of a telephone pole) that’s at least a quarter
mile away. Center the target in the eyepiece by turning the
slow-motion cables as needed to point the telescope. For
larger telescope movement, release the RA and Dec axis
lock knobs (
Figure 19) and move the telescope tube by
hand to the approximate location, then retighten the lock
knobs and make finer pointing adjustments with the slow
motion cables.
Note:
The image in the telescope will appear rotated, often
upside down. This is normal for reflector telescopes and is
why reflectors are not recommended for daytime terrestrial
viewing.
3. Now that a distant target is centered in the main tele-
scope’s eyepiece, turn on the red dot finder scope by slid-
Figure 6.
The fully assembled tripod.
Figure 7.
a)
Install the equatorial mount onto the tripod mount
platform, then
b)
secure it from the underside with azimuth lock knob.
Azimuth
lock knob
Washer
Figure 8
.
Screw in the latitude adjustment bolt.
Latitude adjustment
bolt
b.
a.
