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7. troubleshooting your
sky Wizard
readouts do not change when you move the
scope.
1. Check to see if the encoders setscrews are tight. On Alt.-AZ tele-
scope, especially Dobsonians, make sure the bottom Azimuth
bolt does NOT rotate.
2. The cables are probably plugged in upside down. Unplug the
cable from the encoder, turn it 180° and plug it back in. The correct
orientation will have the wires coming out of the plug going away
from (opposite of) the encoder shaft.
“Encoder Error” readout on the sky Wizard dis-
play.
1. Check the battery; is it a new ALKALINE battery? If not, this can
be a big problem during colder winter weather. If you are observ-
ing in sub-zero weather, you might have to use two batteries,
keeping one warm inside a coat pocket. Never use regular “Heavy
Duty” or rechargeable batteries.
2. Check to see if the cables are properly attached. Loose or broken
wires will cause this error message.
3. Are you moving too fast? The Sky Wizard can only move 100° per
second. Turning the encoders with your fingers when they are not on
the telescope can easily exceed this maximum rate.
4. Switch the cables from RA and DEC and from DEC to RA; does
the “Encoder Error” change sides? If the error changes from RA
to Dec. (or Alt. to Az.) then it is possible that one of the encoders
is bad. If it does not change sides, then it is possible the cable
itself is bad. Contact Orion Technical Support for help.
the sky Wizard cannot find anything!
(there are two possible scenarios)
A. The Sky Wizard is way off; the telescope points at the ground or
is more than 20° off of known targets. Warp values are 20.0 or
greater.
1.
Do the ENCODER DIRECTION TEST. The encoder direction test
is the only way to sort out this problem. The problem is almost
always encoder polarity or encoder ratios.
2. Look at the encoder ratios on the installation instructions. Go
into INSTALL mode and check to see the encoder ratios are input
correctly.
3. The encoder direction test also tells you if the encoders are
hooked up backwards. It is very common for the encoder polarity
(+ -) to be backwards. If the encoder test goes the wrong way, simply
go to INSTALL mode and change the polarity of the axis in question.
Be sure to turn the unit off, then back on before doing the encoder
test again.
4. If you have a German Equatorial mount, is the first star you
chose in SETUP mode in the Eastern half of the sky? (It must be.)
5. Are you sure you entered the correct names of sighting stars in
Setup? Consult a star chart if there is ANY doubt!
B. The Sky Wizard is close, but the objects are not quite in the field
of view. Warp values are less than 5.0.
1. This is almost always the startup index mark. If your telescope
is not precisely polar aligned, or you have an Alt.-Az telescope,
you must take care to get this index mark exact. If you are one
degree off, this could mean pointing errors of up to two degrees.
Go over the section on Startup Index Mark (page 5) and double
check your work. If the Sky Wizard is still off, it is possible that
your mount is not square or is imprecise.
2. Double check the encoder setscrew for slight slippage. On Alt.-
Az. telescopes, especially Dobsonians, make sure the bottom
Azimuth bolt does NOT rotate.
8. Quick reference
Basic setup & use
Important: Before using your Orion Sky Wizard for the first
time you need to run the INSTALL program and enter the
characteristics of your telescope and encoder installation.
The Encoder Ratios are on the Installation Instructions that
came with the Install Kit for your specific telescope. See
Installation on page 4 for detailed instructions.
setup
1. Turn on Sky Wizard. After displaying the startup message, it will show
one of the following messages depending on the type of mount:
Equatorial Mounts: DEC=0: Loosen the Dec. clamp, set telescope
declination to exactly 0°, aim the telescope at the celestial equator,
90° from the pole. Press ENTER. (German Equatorial mountings
have two 0° indexes. Use the one that results in the telescope looking
in the Eastern sky.)
Altazimuth Mounts: (Display depends on INSTALL choices made.)
LEVEL ME: Aim the telescope tube horizontally to your index mark
(telescope aimed at the horizon if the telescope base is level). Press
ENTER.
VERTICAL: Aim the telescope tube vertical to your index mark (tele-
scope aimed directly up if the telescope base is level). Press ENTER.
2. Choose the SETUP function. Point the telescope at a known
bright star that you know the name of, other than Polaris.
3. Scroll UP or DOWN to display the correct name of the star the
scope is pointed at.
4. Press ENTER to confirm the star sighting.
5. Point the telescope to a second bright star over 60° away (may be
Polaris.)
6. Scroll UP or DOWN to display the correct name of the star the
scope is pointed at.
7. Press ENTER to confirm the second star sighting.
8. The “warp” error is displayed. (Example: WARP=0.6). The factor
should be 0.8 or less. Verify star identification and start over if the
factor is higher.
Displaying celestial coordinates
1. Press MODE.
2. Scroll UP or DOWN until RA DEC is displayed. Press ENTE
R.
