4
2. assembly
Carefully open all of the boxes in the shipping container. Make
sure all the parts listed in Section 1 are present. Save the
boxes and packaging material. In the unlikely event that you
need to return the telescope, you must use the original pack-
aging.
Assembling the telescope should take only about 15 minutes.
All bolts should be tightened securely to eliminate flexing and
wobbling, but be careful not to over-tighten or the threads may
strip.
During assembly (and anytime, for that matter), DO NOT
touch any of the lenses of the telescope, finder scope, eye-
pieces, or the prism of the diagonal, 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. Carefully remove the optical tube and set it aside.
2. Locate the tripod legs and thread one of the leg lock bolts
onto each of the legs. Secure the length of each leg by
tightening the leg lock bolt hand-tight. For now, keep the
legs at their shortest length (fully retracted); you can
extend them to a more desirable length later, after the
scope is completely assembled.
3. Lay the equatorial mount on its side. Attach the tripod legs
one at a time to the base of the equatorial mount by sliding
the tripod leg attachment bolt through the slot in the mount
and loosely tightening the nut. Note that the accessory
tray bracket attachment point on each leg should face
inward
4. Stand the tripod with the equatorial mount attached
upright (be careful!) and spread the legs apart enough to
attach the accessory tray bracket to the three attachment
points on the legs. Use the nut and bolt that is already
inserted in each of the three attachment points to fasten
the accessory tray bracket to the legs. Make sure the
accessory tray bracket is attached so the cap in the middle
of it faces upward.
5. Now, spread the tripod legs apart as far as they will go,
until the accessory tray bracket is at its fully extended
position. Attach the tripod tray by removing the cap in the
center of the accessory tray bracket. Place the accessory
tray on the accessory tray bracket so the hole in the tray
fits on the circular spacer in the center of the bracket.
Secure the tray by replacing the cap in the center of the
accessory tray bracket.
6. Next, tighten the nuts of the tripod leg attachment bolts at
the base of the equatorial mount.
7. Orient the equatorial mount as it appears in Figure 1, with
the latitude scale set at about a 40° angle. Tighten the
latitude adjustment knob, the declination (Dec.) and right
ascension (R.A.) lock knobs, and the azimuth lock knob all
finger-tight.
8. Slide the counterweight on to the counterweight shaft.
Make sure the knob that holds the retaining washer at the
bottom end of the shaft is tightened. This washer will pre-
vent the counterweight from slipping off the shaft and
possibly on to your foot if the counterweight lock knob
should come loose! Now, with the counterweight lock knob
loose, hold the counterweight in one hand and thread the
shaft into the equatorial mount (at the base of the declina-
tion axis) with the other hand. When it is threaded all the
way in, position the counterweight about halfway up the
shaft and tighten the counterweight lock knob.
9. Attach the tube mounting ring to the top of the equatorial
mount using the two hex-head bolts that are threaded into
the bottom of the tube mounting ring.
10. Lay the telescope optical tube in the open tube mounting
ring, with the tube ring about midway along the tubes
length, as in Figure 1. (Note: the Dec. worm gear shaft,
where the Dec. slow-motion control cable attaches, should
be pointing back toward the eyepiece end of the tele-
scope. If it isn’t, remove the telescope optical tube, loosen
the Dec. lock knob, and rotate the equatorial head 180° on
the Dec. axis.) Now close the top portion of the tube ring
over the optical tube and tighten the tube ring knob finger-
tight to secure the telescope.
11. Attach the two slow-motion cables to the R.A. and Dec.
worm gear shafts of the equatorial mount by positioning
the setscrew on the end of the cable over the indented slot
on the shaft, then tightening the setscrew.
12. Attach the finder scope bracket to the optical tube in the
sleeve above the focusing knobs. Secure it in place with
the thumbscrew.
13. Install the finder scope in the dual-ring bracket. To do this,
we recommend first removing the two spring-tensioned
alignment screws (the top screw on each ring) and loosen-
ing the other four screws so the finder scope can be
inserted through the rings unhindered. (Extend the rubber
eyeguard if it is retracted.) The larger objective lens of the
finder scope should face the same direction as the objec-
tive lens of the main telescope. Now reinsert the two
spring-tensioned alignment screws. Then screw in the
other four alignment screws until the finder scope tube is
roughly centered in each ring.
14. Insert the chrome barrel of the star diagonal into the end
of the focuser drawtube and secure with the thumbscrew
on the focuser drawtube.
15. Then insert an eyepiece into the star diagonal and secure
it in place with the thumbscrew on the diagonal. (Always
loosen the thumbscrews before rotating or removing the
diagonal or an eyepiece.)
3. Balancing the telescope
To insure smooth movement of the telescope on both axes of
the equatorial mount, it is imperative that the optical tube be
properly balanced. We will first balance the telescope on the
R.A. axis, then on the Dec. axis.
