2
Operation
Quick Polar Alignment
For best results, the telescope’s equatorial mount must be
aligned parallel to the Earth’s rotational (right ascension, or
“R.A.”) axis. The motor drive will not track objects accurately
(objects will not stay in the field of view) if the mount’s R.A.
axis is pointing to the wrong part of the sky. An approximate
polar alignment is sufficient for most observing situations and
is all that will be covered here. For a more accurate alignment,
consult your telescope manual or detailed instructions in an
observing guide.
For observers in the Northern Hemisphere (north of the
Earth’s equator), alignment is achieved by aiming the mount’s
R.A. axis at Polaris, the North Star (
see Figure 10). An eye-
balled approximation is all that’s necessary. Do this by sight-
ing along the R.A. axis from behind it while adjusting the
latitude adjustment on the tripod and repositioning the tripod
itself, until the R.A. axis is pointed toward Polaris.
Powering Up
To begin tracking, slide the power switch on the battery hold-
er to ON. The green LED power light on the motor housing
should begin to blink slowly, and you should be able to hear
the motor drive operating. If these things don’t happen then
check that the battery pack cable is plugged properly into the
motor drive. If it is, then you may have dead batteries in the
pack that need to be replaced with fresh ones.
Using the Manual Slow-Motion Control
You can still use the R.A. slow-motion cable for slewing the
telescope even when the motor drive is attached. (The cable
and the motor drive are attached to opposite sides of the R.A.
axis.) But before rotating the R.A. slow-motion cable, you must
first disengage the motor drive from the EQ mount. Do this by
pushing down on the motor housing with one hand until the
spur gear is free of the gear wheel (
Figure 11A). Alternatively,
you can pull down on the clutch cord, if you attached it in step
Figure 3.
Remove the
acorn nut on
the side of
the mount
with the
latitude scale.
Figure 6. A)
Insert the gear wheel onto the right ascension axle,
then
B)
secure it by tightening the gear wheel screw.
Figure 5.
Attach one end of the spring to the right ascension
axle as shown.
Figure 4.
Thread on the anchor post where the acorn nut was.
Latitude
scale
Latitude
scale
Right
ascension
axle
Right ascension axle
Gear wheel
Gear wheel
screw
Spring
Acorn
nut
Anchor
post
A
B
