4
1
Soft carry case
3
Assembly tools (large and small wrench, Phillips
head screwdriver)
2
Optical tube attachment bolts
1
Polar axis finder scope cover
3. Assembly
Assembling the telescope for the first time should take about
30 minutes. No tools are needed other than the ones provid-
ed. All bolts should be tightened securely to eliminate flexing
and wobbling, but be careful not to over-tighten or the threads
may strip. Refer to Figure 1 during the assembly process.
During assembly (and anytime, for that matter), DO NOT
touch the surface of the telescope’s meniscus lens or the
lenses of the finder scopes or eyepiece with your fingers. The
optical surfaces have delicate coatings on them that can eas-
ily be damaged if touched inappropriately. NEVER remove
any lens assembly from its housing for any reason, or the
product warranty and return policy will be voided.
1. Lay the equatorial mount on its side. Attach the tripod legs
one at a time to the mount using the bolts installed in the
tops of the tripod legs. Remove the bolt from the leg, line
up the holes in the top of the leg with the holes in the base
of the mount, and reinstall the bolt so it passes through the
leg and the mount. Tighten the wingnuts only finger-tight,
for now. Note that the accessory tray bracket attachment
point on each leg should face inward.
2. Tighten the leg lock knobs at the base 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 scope is completely assembled.
3. With the tripod legs now attached to the equatorial mount,
stand the tripod upright (be careful!) and spread the legs
apart enough to connect each end of the accessory tray
bracket to the attachment point on each leg. Use the
screw that comes installed in each attachment point to do
this. First remove the screw using the supplied screwdriver,
then line up one of the ends of the bracket with the attach-
ment point and reinstall the screw. Make sure the
accessory tray bracket is oriented so that the ribs in its
plastic molding face downward.
4. Now, with the accessory tray bracket attached, spread the
tripod legs apart as far as they will go, until the bracket is
taut. Attach the accessory tray to the brackets with the
three wingnut-head screws already installed in the tray.
Push the screws up through the holes in the bracket, then
thread them into the holes in the tray.
5. Next, tighten the wingnuts at the top of the tripod legs, so
the legs are securely fastened to the equatorial mount.
Use the larger wrench and your fingers to do this.
6. Orient the equatorial mount as it appears in Figure 1, at a
latitude of about 40°, i.e., so the pointer next to the latitude
scale is pointing to the line at “40”. To do this, loosen one
of the latitude adjusting T-bolts and then tighten the other
latitude adjusting T-bolt until the pointer and the “40” line
up (Figure 2). The declination (Dec.) and right ascension
(R.A.) axes many need re-positioning (rotation) as well. Be
sure to loosen the RA and Dec. lock levers before doing
this. Retighten them once the equatorial mount is properly
oriented.
7. Thread the counterweight shaft into the equatorial mount at
the base of the declination axis until tight. Make sure the
casting at the top of the bar is threaded clockwise as far as
it will go before attaching the shaft.
8. Remove the knurled “toe saver” retaining screw on the bot-
tom of the counterweight shaft and slide both
counterweights onto the shaft. Make sure the counter-
weight lock knobs are adequately loosened to allow the
counterweight shaft to pass through the hole. Position the
counterweights about halfway up the shaft and tighten the
lock knobs. Replace the toe saver on the end of the bar. It
prevents the counterweights from falling on your foot if the
lock knobs happen to come loose.
9. Connect the optical tube on top of the mount with the opti-
cal tube attachment bolts. These bolts will be in a small
plastic bag in the main compartment of the soft case that
comes with your StarMax 127. Align the holes on the top
of the mount with the holes on the mounting plate. Push
the bolts, with the washers still attached, up through the
holes on the plate and tighten the bolts with the supplied
wrench.
10. Attach the two slow-motion cables to the R.A. and Dec.
worm gear shafts of the equatorial mount by positioning
the small screw on the end of the cable over the indented
slot on the worm gear shaft. Then tighten the screw.
11. To place the finder scope in the finder scope bracket
(Figure 3b), first unthread the two black nylon thumb-
screws until the screw ends are flush with the inside
diameter of the bracket. Place the O-ring that comes on
Figure 2: To adjust the latitude angle of the
equatorial mount, loosen one of the two latitude
adjustment T-bolts, then tighten the other.
