5
2. operation
overview
Sky Wizard 1 has seven operating modes. Each mode or
function runs a computer program to perform a different
task. Pressing the MODE button shows the current mode.
Change to a different mode by pressing either SELECT
button (up or down arrow). The SELECT buttons are
always used for scrolling through the list of available
choices. The UP button advances through the list in a for-
ward direction, the DOWN button moves backwards.
The operating modes are:
SETUP
Run at the beginning of each observing session.
RA DEC
Displays celestial coordinates.
CATALOG Display or choose an object in one of the
catalogs.
FIND
Tell Sky Wizard to display direction/distance
to the last object chosen in one of the cata-
logs.
SYNC
Tell Sky Wizard the current object has been
exactly centered—“tweaks” the current
alignment.
INSTALL
Used when you first install Sky Wizard on your
telescope.
ENC TEST Test mode—verifies encoder rotation and
correct installation.
Power on initialization
When you first turn on Sky Wizard, you need to aim the tele-
scope to a particular position so the angle of one encoder to the
telescope is known. This step is critical to accuracy. Depending
on the type of mount you have, the display shows one of the
following messages:
DEC=0, LEVEL ME, or VERTICAL.
Turn on Sky Wizard. It will briefly display the startup message
ORION SKY WIZARD V 1.14. The numbers displayed are the
software version number. Sky Wizard will display one of the
following depending on the mount type choice you made when
you ran
INSTALL. (See Installation for more information).
DEC=0 (Equatorial mount) Set telescope declination to the 0°
index mark, on the mechanical setting circles. You must verify
that your mechanical setting circles are EXACT your first time
out. (German Equatorial mountings must have the encoder
initialized with the declination axis set at the east of the merid-
ian zero declination, the optical tube on the West side.) See
“Startup Index Mark” for more information.
LEVEL ME (Altazimuth mount type AZ) Aim telescope tube
horizontally to your index mark (telescope aimed at the hori-
zon if scope base is level). The telescope tube must be
exactly parallel with the bottom of the rocker box. You must
verify that this is exact with a bubble level your first time out.
VERTICAL (Altazimuth mount type AV) Aim telescope tube
vertically to your index mark (telescope aimed directly over-
head if scope base is level). The telescope must be exactly
perpendicular to the bottom of the rocker box. You must verify
this is exact with a bubble level your first time out.
After you have moved the telescope to the correct initial position,
press ENTER. Sky Wizard will then switch to
SETUP mode.
(If you make a mistake in initializing the mount alignment, turn
Sky Wizard off and back on again to restart. There is no other
way to repeat mount initialization.)
The initialization steps above are critical to the pointing accu-
racy of the Sky Wizard. For example, an error of 1° on the
initialization will result in errors of up to 2°. Follow the steps
carefully in Startup Index Mark (page 5).
sEtuP star alignment
Before Sky Wizard can tell you where to point your telescope,
it needs to get its bearings on the sky. You must do this at the
start of each observing session.
SETUP mode automatically
accesses a short list of 28 named navigational stars (listed in
The Setup Star List on page 13). The brightest stars from
both the Northern and Southern hemispheres are included.
These familiar bright stars cover the sky so at least two are
visible at any time. You’ll need to point your telescope to two
known stars, tell Sky Wizard which ones they are, and you’re
ready to go.
to perform the setup star alignment:
1. Pick a bright known star from the list and center it in the
telescope’s eyepiece.
2. Press MODE. If
SETUP is not displayed, use the arrow
keys to display
SETUP. Press ENTER.
3. Scroll through the star list to find the name of the star cen-
tered in the eyepiece, then press ENTER.
4. Choose another bright star for the second alignment star
and repeat step 3. For best results the two stars should be
at least 60° apart. Avoid stars near the pole.
After Sky Wizard determines the transformation resulting
from star alignment, it displays a measure of how well the
alignment agrees with its star data. This “warp factor” is 0.0 for
perfect alignment, but an acceptable range is ±0.8. The dis-
play will show the warp for about 2 seconds. This represents
the error in degrees and tenths. Example:
WARP=+0.5.
Only consider the warp factor after the second alignment star
is entered. If the warp factor is greater than 0.8, check to be
sure you have correctly identified the setup stars and repeat
the setup operation. Make sure that your Startup Index Mark
is exact. Never assume, for example that the mechanical set-
ting circles are exact for the
DEC=0 index mark. Always
double check the accuracy of the index mark, especially on
your first night out. If the warps are larger than 10, check the
encoder polarity and encoder ratios. Always do the
ENC
TEST (Encoder Direction Test) after installing the Sky wizard,
before you go out at night for the first time.
Note: if your telescope mount does not have the two axes
perfectly set at 90° apart, it may be impossible to reach
an acceptable warp factor. If this happens, correct the
telescope mount.
