5
place to keep the hand controller out of the way when not in
use. Place the “hooks” strip of nylon adhesive on the back of
the hand controller and the “loops” strip on a tripod leg or on
the mount where it will be in a conveniently reached spot.
Simply hang the hand controller by the nylon adhesive
when it is not in use. Make certain when you attach the
nylon adhesive to the mount that the hand controller’s posi-
tion will not interfere with the motion of the mount.
Installing the Finder Scope
To place the finder scope (Figure 3a) in the finder scope brack-
et, unthread the two black nylon thumbscrews until the screw
ends are flush with the inside diameter of the bracket. Place
the O-ring that comes on the base of the bracket over the body
of the finder scope until it seats into the slot on the middle of
the finder scope. Slide the eyepiece end (narrow end) of the
finder scope into the end of the bracket’s cylinder opposite the
alignment screws while pulling the chrome, spring-loaded ten-
sioner on the bracket with your fingers (Figure 3b). Push the
finder scope through the bracket until the O-ring seats just
inside the front opening of the bracket cylinder. Release the
tensioner and tighten the two black nylon thumbscrews a cou-
ple of turns each to secure the finder scope in place. Insert the
base of the finder scope bracket into the dovetail holder on the
optical tube near the focuser. Lock the bracket into position by
tightening the knurled thumbscrew on the dovetail holder.
Inserting the Eyepiece
Loosen the thumbscrew on the 1.25" adapter (Figure 4) and
remove the small dust cap. Insert the 25mm eyepiece into the
focuser and secure it with the thumbscrew.
Your Atlas 8 EQ is now fully assembled and should resemble
Figure 1. Keep the dust cover on the front of the telescope
when it is not is use.
Note about the Atlas 8 EQ Mount Weight
The Atlas 8 EQ mount is very heavy. Alone it weighs 54 lbs.
With the optical tube and counterweights it weighs almost 100
lbs. Keep this in mind when moving the telescope even small
distances, and use assistance when needed. It is best to
remove the optical tube and counterweights when moving the
mount, or extending the tripod legs.
4. Balancing the Telescope
To ensure smooth movement of the telescope on both axes of
the equatorial mount, it is imperative that the optical tube is prop-
erly balanced. We will first balance the telescope with respect to
the right ascension (R.A.) axis, then the declination (Dec.) axis.
1. Keeping one hand on the telescope optical tube, loosen
the R.A. lock lever. Make sure the Dec. lock lever is locked,
for now. The telescope should now be able to rotate freely
about the right ascension axis. Rotate it until the counter-
weight shaft is parallel to the ground (i.e., horizontal).
2. Now loosen the counterweight lock knobs and slide the
weights along the shaft until they exactly counterbalance
the telescope (Figure 5a). That’s the point at which the
shaft remains horizontal even when you let go with both
hands (Figure 5b).
3. Retighten the counterweight lock knobs. The telescope is
now balanced on the right ascension axis.
4. To balance the telescope on the declination axis, first tight-
en the R.A. lock lever, with the counterweight shaft still in
the horizontal position.
Figure 5a-d.
Proper operation of the equatorial mount requires
that the telescope tube be balanced on the R.A. and Dec. axes. (a)
With the R.A. lock lever released, slide the counterweights down the
counterweight shaft until they just counterbalance the telescope
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.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Figure 4.
The 2" focuser of the Atlas 8 EQ.
Focus lock
thumbscrew
Focus
knobs
1.25" eyepiece
adapter
2" eyepiece adapter
Collimation
screw pair
(3)
