Orion Sirius EQ?G Manual Download Page 10

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In order to set the guiding speed of your Sirius EQ-G, use the  
following button combinations:   

  • 2x sidereal rate:  

Hold the 

Fast

 button, then press  

   

 

 

the 

Up

 directional button.

  • 1.75x sidereal rate: 

Hold the 

Fast

 button, then press  

   

 

 

the 

Left

 directional button.

  • 1.5x sidereal rate: 

Hold the 

Fast

 button, then press  

   

 

 

the 

Right

 directional button.

  • 1.25x sidereal rate:  

Hold the 

Fast

 button, then press  

   

 

 

the 

Down

 directional button. 

reversing the Directional Buttons

Celestial objects appear to move through the sky differently 
when viewed through telescopes and/or accessories of dif-
ferent designs. For example, if an object viewed through a 

refractor

 appears to migrate towards the left-hand side of an 

eyepiece’s field of view, it will appear to migrate towards the 
right-hand side of an eyepiece’s field of view in a 

reflector

 

telescope. 
In order to make viewing and tracking objects convenient, 
regardless of telescope design, the dual-axis controller fea-
tures a “reverse” function which reverses the direction of the 
hand controller’s directional buttons. This way you can match 
the directional button to the way the object actually moves in 
the telescope eyepiece. 
To reverse the direction of the 

Left

 and 

Right

 directional but-

tons, press and hold the 

Slow

 speed button then press the 

Left

 directional button. To reverse the direction of the 

Up

 and 

Down

 directional buttons, press and hold the 

Slow

 button 

then press the 

Up

 directional button. 

Once you have reversed the directional buttons, the dual-axis 
controller will save the reversed settings until it they are man-
ually changed again. Turning the power off will not affect the 
directional button setting last entered.   

northern or southern Hemisphere operation

The dual-axis hand controller is capable of operating in either 
Northern or Southern Hemisphere viewing locations. The sys-
tem is set up for Northern Hemisphere locations by default, so 
if you are viewing from a Northern Hemisphere location, it is 
not necessary to make any setting changes. 
For the dual-axis controller to properly track celestial objects 
in the Southern Hemisphere, press and hold the 

Down

 direc-

tional  button and then press the 

Set

 button while powering 

on the mount. Release the 

Set

 button after the mount has 

successfully powered on and the 

Guide

 button begins flash-

ing. The controller will now operate properly in the Southern 
Hemisphere. You can switch back to Northern Hemisphere 
mode by using the same button combination. As long as the 
controller is operating in Southern Hemisphere mode, the 

Set

 

button will illuminate.

Power conservation

In the interest of conserving the amount of power drawn by the 

Sirius EQ-G mount, the Dec. motor will enter a “sleep” mode 
if left idle for a period of 15 seconds. In “sleep” mode, the Dec. 
motor stops completely and the amount of used power drops 
by about 40%. To reactivate the Dec. motor, press the 

Up

 or 

Down

 directional button.  

upgrading your sirius EQ‑G 

While  the  dual-axis  hand  controller  provides  many  useful 
functions  such  as  celestial  object  tracking  and  motorized 
motion control, there is a GoTo hand controller for the Sirius 
EQ-G available from Orion. The features and functions of the 
GoTo hand controller are explained in the following section. If 
you are interested in upgrading your Sirius EQ-G to a GoTo 
system, call our Customer Service department at 800-676-
1343 or visit our website at www.OrionTelescopes.com for 
more information. 

8. the sirius EQ‑G Goto 

Hand controller 

The Sirius EQ-G mount equipped with the GoTo hand control-
ler provide easy, computerized location of thousands of night 
sky objects such as planets, nebulae, star clusters, galaxies, 
and more for viewing through your telescope. The GoTo hand 
controller and internal dual-axis motors allow you to automati-
cally point your telescope at a specific object, or tour the skies 
with  pushbutton  simplicity. The  user-friendly  menu  allows 
automatic slewing to over 13,400 objects. Even inexperienced 
astronomers will find themselves quickly mastering the vari-
ety of features the GoTo hand controller offers in just a few 
observing sessions.

attaching the Goto Hand controller

The Sirius EQ-G GoTo hand controller comes with two cables; 
one for usage with the Sirius EQ-G mount, while the other is 
for use with the Atlas EQ-G mount. After installation, you will 
have one of these cables left over. Feel free to discard this 
cable, as it will not be needed. 
The hand controller cable for the Sirius EQ-G has modular 
connectors (RJ-45) on both ends. Plug the modular connector 
on one end of the cable into the hand controller jack (Figure 
10), and plug the modular connector on the other end of the 
cable into the mount’s controller jack (Figure 11). Push the 
connectors into the jacks until they click into place.

Summary of Contents for Sirius EQ?G

Page 1: ...B 02 06 Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975 Customer Support 800 676 1343 E mail support telescope com Corporate Offices 831 763 7000 89 Hangar Way Watsonville CA 95076 Orion Sirius EQ G Equatorial Mount 9995 ...

Page 2: ...t shaft lock lever Counterweight lock knob Counterweight Counterweight shaft Toe saver Tripod center support tray Tripod leg Mounting plate lock knobs Control panel Right ascension lock lever Right ascension setting circle Latitude scale Latitude adjustment L bolts Hand controller cable Center support shaft GoTo hand controller Leg lock levers ...

Page 3: ...ntroller Box 3 GoTo Hand Controller Qty Item 1 GoTo hand controller 1 GoTo hand controller cable for Sirius EQ G 1 GoTo hand controller cable for Atlas EQ G 1 GoTo hand controller bracket 1 Computer interface cable RS 232 1 Wire clip 3 Assembly Refer to Figure 1 as needed during the assembly process 1 Stand the tripod legs upright and spread the legs out as far as they will go Make certain that th...

Page 4: ...e of the mounting plate with the central groove will be facing up Figure 3 Use a small wrench to secure the tube rings to the mounting plate Note The tube ring mounting plate included with the Sirius EQ G includes four optical axis offset adjustment screws these are the socket head cap screws located at each cor ner of the mounting plate These adjustment screws will be explained further in Appendi...

Page 5: ...sate for that motion allowing you to easily track the movement of astronomical objects thereby keeping them from drifting out of your telescope s field of view while you re observing This is accomplished by slowly rotating the telescope on its right ascension R A axis using the built in motor drive But first the R A axis of the mount must be aligned with the Earth s rotational polar axis a process...

Page 6: ...Dec axes The Polar Axis Finder Scope The Sirius EQ G mount comes with a polar axis finder scope Figure 7 housed inside the right ascension axis of the mount When properly aligned and used it makes accurate polar alignment quick and easy to do Unthread the cover at the rear of the mount s right ascension axis and remove the cap on the front opening of the equatorial mount Figure 5 to view through t...

Page 7: ...properly positioned within the reticle you are precisely polar aligned Retighten the knob underneath the equatorial mount From this point on in your observing session you should not make any further adjustments in the azimuth or the latitude of the mount nor should you move the tripod Doing so will undo the polar alignment The telescope should be moved only about its right ascension and declinatio...

Page 8: ... clicks into place The nylon hook and loop strips have been provided so the dual axis hand controller can be placed in a convenient posi tion on the mount when not in use Place the hooks strip on the back of the dual axis hand controller and the loops strip on the mount in a convenient location Make certain the loca tion of the strip on the mount will not cause the dual axis hand controller to int...

Page 9: ... Right directional button Warning Never look directly at the Sun through your tele scope or its finder scope even for an instant without a professionally made solar filter that completely covers the front aperture of the instrument or permanent eye dam age could result Young children should use this telescope only with adult supervision Lunar rate tracking is used to track the Moon at its rate of ...

Page 10: ...ide button begins flash ing The controller will now operate properly in the Southern Hemisphere You can switch back to Northern Hemisphere mode by using the same button combination As long as the controller is operating in Southern Hemisphere mode the Set button will illuminate Power Conservation In the interest of conserving the amount of power drawn by the Sirius EQ G mount the Dec motor will en...

Page 11: ...e using a portable battery like the Orion Dynamo use the 12V DC power cable supplied with your mount male ciga rette lighter plug on one end standard 12V DC power plug on other end to connect the battery to the 12V DC power jack on the mount Figure 11 Make sure the Dynamo s power switch is in the on position after connecting Then to turn the mount and GoTo hand controller on simply press the power...

Page 12: ... to 25 objects in the User Defined database ID button Identifies the object the mount is currently pointing to NGC IC M Planet and Object buttons Allow direct access to catalogs and databases of over 13 400 objects GoTo Hand Controller Operation This section provides a guide for initial setup and alignment of the Sirius EQ G mount with the GoTo hand controller Initial Setup 1 Perform the polar ali...

Page 13: ...it to the Main Menu You are now ready to begin the alignment procedure Alignment In order for the GoTo hand controller to accurately locate and point to objects in the sky it must first be aligned on known positions stars With the supplied information the controller can replicate a model of the sky and the movements of astro nomical objects There are three ways to align depending on your demand fo...

Page 14: ...piece and adjust the position of the telescope again using the directional buttons so the chosen star is centered in the field of view of the eyepiece Press ENTER to confirm the star is centered 3 Once the alignment star has been entered and alignment is complete the hand controller will display Alignment Successful Press ENTER to access the Main Menu Tips for Choosing Alignment Stars If possible ...

Page 15: ...w Object Press ENTER once more to have the telescope slew to the object PLANET This shortcut button takes you straight to the Planets submenu in the hand controller s database Use the scroll but tons to scroll through the list of planets and the Moon in our solar system Press ENTER to display the chosen planet s coordinates Press ENTER again and the hand controller will ask View Object Press ENTER...

Page 16: ...ly covers the front aperture of the instrument or permanent eye dam age could result Young children should use this telescope only with adult supervision Auto Guide Speed When using an autoguider this sets the guiding speed to 1 125x 1 25X 1 5X 1 75X or 2X sidereal rate Using the User Defined Database The GoTo hand controller allows you to save up to 25 objects in the User Defined database You can...

Page 17: ...e autogu ider Autoguiding speed can be adjusted using the Auto Guide Speed function in the Setup Menu Updating the GoTo Hand Controller s Firmware From version 3 0 and up the GoTo hand controller s firmware can be updated over the internet Users can download firm ware updates from Orion s website www OrionTelescopes com System Requirements GoTo hand controller version 3 0 or greater Windows95 or l...

Page 18: ...e firmware update procedure By default the data communication rate between the GoTo hand controller and the computer is 115kbps The RS 232 port on some PCs may not support this high data transfer rate If the firmware update procedure fails after a few tries try reducing the data transfer rate by pressing the SETUP but ton on the hand controller This will reduce the data transfer rate to 9 6kbps Th...

Page 19: ...19 Sirius EQ G GoTo Hand Controller Menu Tree ...

Page 20: ...t to the following two conditions 1 this device nay not cause harmful interference and 2 this device must accept any interference received including interference that may cause undesired operation Changes of modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user s authority to operate the equipment Note This equipment has been tested and found to comply wi...

Page 21: ...causing the pointing inac curacy To determine if the inaccuracy is caused by cone error simply move the telescope about the R A axis by pressing the Left or Right direction button If the star can be moved into the eyepiece field of view without adjusting the Dec axis it is likely that cone error exists in your telescope setup Cone Error Calibration Procedure 1 Insert an illuminated reticle eyepiec...

Page 22: ...ng to the results of step 11 If Polaris moves toward the center when the telescope is pushed as indicated in Figure 18 loosen the adjustment screws near the front of the tube and tight en the adjustment screws closer to the back of the tube Figure 19a If Polaris moves away from the center when the telescope is pushed as in Figure 18 loosen the adjust ment screws near the back of the tube and tight...

Page 23: ... Perform an accurate polar alignment using the polar axis finder scope 2 Manually point or electronically slew the telescope mount ed on the Sirius EQ G to a star with a small value Dec coordinate Dec between 10 and 10 This object will be used as the guide star 3 Activate Sidereal Tracking from the Setup menu see Setup Functions Once tracking has initiated press ESC to return to the Setup menu 4 R...

Page 24: ...Tracking then PEC Sidereal The Sirius EQ G will play back the corrections you made during the PEC training cycle and start tracking with periodic error compen sated for Note The Sirius EQ G will continue to track in the PEC sidereal mode until another tracking mode is selected If the power is turned off while the Sirius EQ G is in the PEC side real mode the hand controller loses synchronization wi...

Page 25: ...rackRateHighByte TrackRateLowByte 0 0 b Negative Azm tracking 80 3 16 7 TrackRateHighByte TrackRateLowByte 0 0 c Positive Alt tracking 80 3 17 6 TrackRateHighByte TrackRateLowByte 0 0 d Negative Alt tracking 80 3 17 7 TrackRateHighByte TrackRateLowByte 0 0 4 The number 35 is returned from the hand controller Sending a Slow GoTo Command 1 Convert the angle position to a 24 bit number Example if the...

Page 26: ...26 Appendix D Standard Time Zones of the World ...

Page 27: ...27 ...

Page 28: ... any warranted instrument that proves to be defective provided it is returned postage paid to Orion Warranty Repair 89 Hangar Way Watsonville CA 95076 If the product is not registered proof of purchase such as a copy of the original invoice is required This warranty does not apply if in Orion s judgment the instrument has been abused mishandled or modified nor does it apply to normal wear and tear...

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