6
3. Retighten the counterweight lock knob. The telescope is
now balanced on the right ascension axis.
4. To balance the telescope on the declination axis, first
tighten the R.A. lock lever, with the counterweight shaft
still in the horizontal position.
5. With one hand on the telescope optical tube, loosen the
Dec. lock lever. The telescope should now be able to rotate
freely about the Dec. axis. Loosen the tube ring clamps a
few turns, until you can slide the telescope tube forward
and back inside the rings. (This can be aided by using a
slight twisting motion on the optical tube while you push or
pull on it) (Figure 6c).
6. Position the telescope in the mounting rings so it remains
horizontal when you carefully let go with both hands. This
is the balance point for the optical tube with respect to the
Dec. axis (Figure 6d).
7. Retighten the tube ring clamps.
The telescope is now balanced on both axes. When you loos-
en the lock lever on one or both axes and manually point the
telescope, it should move without resistance and should not
drift from where you point it.
5. using Your telescope
This section will get you used to the functions and features of
your new telescope.
Focusing the telescope
With the 25mm eyepiece inserted in the diagonal, move the
telescope so the front (open) end is pointing in the general
direction of an object at least 1/4-mile away. Now, with your
fingers, slowly rotate one of the focus knobs until the object
comes into sharp focus. Go a little bit beyond sharp focus until
the image just starts to blur again, then reverse the rotation of
the knob, just to make sure you’ve hit the exact focus point.
Note: The image in the telescope will appear reversed
left-to-right. This is normal for astronomical telescopes
that utilize a star diagonal. The finder scope view will be
rotated 180°. (Figure 7)
If you have trouble focusing, rotate the focus knob so the draw-
tube is in as far as it will go. Now look through the eyepiece
while slowly rotating the focus knob in the opposite direction.
You should soon see the point at which focus is reached.
note about the Crayford Focuser
The SkyView Pro 100mm ED EQ comes equipped with a
Crayford focuser. The Crayford design allows for smooth,
precise focusing without any image shift that typical rack-and-
pinion designs experience. If you find that the focus knobs are
too tight or too loose, you can make adjustments to the focuser
tension by using the focuser tension thumb screw located on
the bottom of the focuser. Make adjustments to this thumb
screw until the focuser motion feels comfortable, but you must
have at least some tension applied to the focuser drawtube,
or else it will not move when you turn the focus knobs.
Viewing with Eyeglasses
If you wear eyeglasses, you may able to keep them on while
you observe, if the eyepiece has enough "eye relief" to allow
you to see the entire field of view. You can try this by look-
Figure 6a - 6d.
Proper operation of the equatorial mount requires that the telescope tube be balanced on both the R.A. and Dec. axes.
(a) With the R.A. lock lever released, slide the counterweight along the counterweight shaft until it just counterbalances the tube. (b) When
you let go with both hands, the tube should not drift up or down. (c) With the Dec. lock lever released, loosen the tube ring lock clamps a few
turns and slide the telescope forward or back in the tube rings. (d) When the tube is balanced about the Dec. axis, it will not move when you
let go.
Naked-eye view
Figure 7.
Images through the SkyView Pro 100mm ED EQ
with its diagonal in place will be reversed from left-to-right. Images
through the finder scope will appear upside-down and backwards
(rotated 180°).
View through finder scope
a
b
c
d
View through the SkyView Pro 100mm ED EQ
