9
fingers (
Figure 9a). Then place the insertion tube on the
bolt (
Figure 9b) and use it to push the washer farther
up on the bolt, into the counterbored hole in the wood
(
Figure 9c). The washer will keep the bolt captive when
it is fully disengaged from the mating part of the base.
Repeat this procedure for the other five connecting bolts
to be installed in the front panel, and for the six addition-
al connecting bolts that attach the side panels and side
braces to the top groundplate.
4. Now attach the front brace to the two side panels with the
four appropriate captive connecting bolts. Use the hand
knob to screw each bolt into the threaded metal recep-
tacle recessed in the side panel. The side panels should
be oriented so the side braces are facing outward. The
front panel should be oriented so that the two pilot holes
for the eyepiece rack face outward. Do not completely
tighten the connecting bolts yet. The completed assem-
bly should look like
Figure 10.
5. Place the assembled side panel/front panel structure on
the top groundplate, aligning the protruding connecting
bolts with the threaded inserts in the groundplate. Turn
the connecting bolt hand knobs to fasten the side panel/
front panel structure to the groundplate. Firmly tighten all
12 connecting bolts installed in steps 3 and 4. To avoid
stripping the threads, do not overtighten.
6. Attach a handle on each of the two side panels. Insert
a large socket head cap screw through the holes in the
handle and into the predrilled hole in the side panel. The
hole has a flanged threaded metal insert in it. Use the
6mm hex key to thread the screw into the insert until tight.
Refer to
Figure 1 for handle placement.
7. The aluminum eyepiece rack holds three 1.25" eyepieces
and one 2" eyepiece in a convenient place on the base,
within easy reach while you are observing. To attach the
eyepiece rack, locate the two small pilot holes on the
front panel. Thread the small Phillips-head screws into
the holes until the screw head is about 1/8" from the
panel’s surface. Now place the wide part of the “keyhole”
on the eyepiece rack over the screw heads and slide it
downward until it stops (
Figure 11). Tighten the screws
to secure the rack in place.
8. The XXg base includes a bracket that holds the hand
controller when it’s not in use. The bracket mounts on
the left side panel adjacent to the altitude motor housing
(
Figure 12). Locate the two small pilot holes and attach
the bracket using the small screws included with the
bracket until just barely tight. Do not over-tighten these
screws or you will strip the holes!
9. Now install the azimuth motor connection cable. It is a
flat cable that has an 8-pin RJ-45 plug on both ends.
Plug one end into the jack on the azimuth motor hous-
ing on the top groundplate; plug the other end into the
jack labeled AZ MOTOR on the altitude motor housing
(
Figure 13).
10. Finally, connect the GoTo hand controller. Plug the wide
RJ-45 connector on the coiled hand controller cable into
the corresponding port on the hand controller. Plug the
smaller RJ-12 connector into the port labeled HC on the
altitude motor housing. Refer to the SynScan GoTo Hand
Controller manual.
initial assembly of the optical tube
The primary mirror is shipped in its metal support cell sepa-
rately from the optical tube, to prevent possible damage to
both the mirror and the optical tube. Once the primary mirror
is installed, there will be no need to remove it except if clean-
ing is necessary (see “Care & Maintenance”). First, the mirror
will be installed in the lower tube section, then the truss poles
and upper tube section will be attached.
The primary mirror of the XX12g has the typical flat back side,
whereas the thinner primaries of the XX14g and XX16g have
a “conical,” or convex back with raised “ribs” radiating from the
center for added strength. The reduced-mass design of these
larger mirrors allows more-efficient equilibration to outdoor
ambient temperature. All the primary mirrors have a small
adhesive ring placed in the exact center (
Figure 3a); it aids
in achieving a precise collimation, which will be covered later.
The ring, which has no effect on the image rendered by the
telescope, should NOT be removed.
Figure 13.
The altitude motor housing has jacks for the hand
controller (HC) cable, azimuth motor connection cable, and power
cable as well as an ON/OFF switch.
