© Opticstar Ltd 2013-2016
9
Setting the Telescope to Polar Home Position
Please follow the list of steps below to set your mount and telescope in Home Position. Ensure that:
1.
the tripod is level.
2.
the mount’s latitude is correctly set for your observing location.
3.
the counter-weight shaft points downwards.
4.
the mount/telescope has been balanced.
5.
both the mount and the telescope point towards Polaris if you are in the
Northern Hemisphere. Check that the two DEC and R.A. arrows are
opposite each other to confirm.
6.
that the R.A. and DEC Locking levers have been tightened.
7.
all fixings have been secured.
8.
there is power to the mount.
Once you have assembled positioned and set the balanced telescope in
Home Position you will be ready to proceed with Star Alignment. Setting to
Home Position is necessary for the telescope to operate correctly.
Powering the EQ1300 GT Mount
The mount can be powered by a good quality regulated/switch-mode 12VDC power supply (pin positive) delivering a
minimum 3A of power. Alternatively insert eight D cell batteries (not supplied) in the battery pouch that came with the
mount. Observe the polarity when inserting the batteries, inserting batteries in the wrong way will cause complications
and the mount will not operate.
GOTO Telescope Star Alignment & Control
Once the telescope has been assembled, balanced and set to Home Position as described earlier in this document
you will be ready to Star-align.
Insert a diagonal to the telescope’s drawtube if it is not a Newtonian reflector. Now
insert a medium power eyepiece (20mm-25mm) to the eyepiece drawtube and remove all dust covers. Secure all
accessories in place by tightening all holding locking-
screws found on the focuser’s drawtube and other parts.
The following text describes the procedure of setting up the handset and Star-aligning your telescope. The diagram on
page 12 outlines the same but in a concise graphical form.
Handset Setup
With the power switch in the OFF position insert eight D cell batteries into the battery holder or connect the telescope
to a regulated mains PSU (12VDC ~3A, pin positive).
Plug one end of the coiled RJ-45 cable in either Handset port on the mount (page 4) and the other one into the RJ-45
port of the handset. Switch ON the telescope. The handset will light up accompanied by a short beep.
Please note that that the
+
and
–
keys on the handset keypad can be used to navigate the menus. Pressing the
–
key
for example a few times will get you back to the main menu from where you can issue GOTO commands once the
telescope has been Star-aligned.
Time & Date
You will be prompted to enter the date and time (yyyy:mm:dd & hh:mm:ss). Do so by navigating the entry fields using
the Arrow keys and typing in the values using the numeric pad on the handset. Once finished, press the oval Confirm
key to proceed.
Daylight Saving
Use the Up/Down Arrow keys to select Daylight Saving time by selecting the status (ON/OFF). Press the Confirm key
to proceed.
TIP
Inputting an illegal value like the year may cause the handset to fail Initialisation. In such cases switch OFF
and then switch ON power before starting again.
HOME
POSITION
