User manual ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS ATLAS 10 EQ

[. . . ] INSTRUCTION MANUAL Orion Atlas 10 EQ ® TM #9874 Equatorial Reflector Telescope Customer Support (800) 676-1343 E-mail: support@telescope. com Corporate Offices (831) 763-7000 Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975 P. O. A 12/02 Finder scope Finder scope bracket Eyepiece Focus knob Tube rings Tube ring mounting plate Tube ring mounting plate lock knobs (2) Declination setting circle Declination lock lever Counterweight shaft lock lever Counterweight shaft Counterweights Right ascension setting circle Right ascension lock lever Counterweight lock knobs "Toe Saver" Mirror cell Latitude scale Latitude adjustment L-bolts Center support shaft (not shown) Hand controller Tripod leg Tripod support tray Leg lock lever Figure 1a. The Atlas 10 EQ. 2 Congratulations on your purchase of a quality Orion telescope. Your new Atlas 10 EQ is designed for high-resolution viewing of astronomical objects. [. . . ] In addition to the collimation cap, the primary mirror is marked with a circle at its exact center. This "center mark" allows you to achieve a precise collimation of the primary mirror; you don't have to guess where the center of the mirror is. You simply adjust the mirror position (described below) until the reflection of the hole in the collimation cap is centered in the ring. The center mark is also required for best results when using other collimating devices, such as Orion's LaserMate Laser Collimator, obviating the need to remove the primary mirror and mark it yourself. Note: The center ring sticker need not ever be removed from the primary mirror. Because it lies directly in the shadow of the secondary mirror, its presence in no way adversely affects the optical performance of the telescope or the image quality. Aligning the Secondary Mirror With the collimation cap in place, look through the hole in the cap at the secondary (diagonal) mirror. The secondary mirror itself should be centered in the focuser drawtube, in the direction parallel to the length of the telescope. This adjustment will rarely, if ever need to be done. a. b. c. d. e. Figure 14. (a) When the mirrors are properly aligned, the view down the focuser drawtube should look like this (b) With the collimation cap in place, if the optics are out of alignment, the view might look something like this. (c) Here, the secondary mirror is centered under the focuser, but it needs to be adjusted (tilted) so that the entire primary mirror is visible. (d) The secondary mirror is correctly aligned, but the primary mirror still needs adjustment. When the primary mirror is correctly aligned, the "dot" will be centered, as in (e). It helps to adjust the secondary mirror in a brightly lit room with the telescope pointed towards a bright surface, such as white paper or wall. Also placing a piece of white paper in the telescope tube opposite the focuser (in other words, on the other side of the secondary mirror) will also be helpful in collimating the secondary mirror. Using a 2mm hex wrench, loosen the three small alignment set screws in the center hub of the 4-vaned spider several turns. Now keep the mirror's holder stationary (be careful not to touch the surface of the mirrors), while turning the center screw with a Phillips head 12 15. 16. Figure 15. To center the secondary mirror under the focuser, hold the secondary mirror holder in place with your fingers while adjusting the center screw with a Phillips screwdriver. Adjust the tilt of the secondary mirror by loosening or tightening the three alignment screws with a 2mm Allen wrench. Figure 17. The three thumb screws that lock the primary mirror in place must first be loosened before any adjustments can be made. screwdriver (See Figure 15). Turning the screw clockwise will move the secondary mirror toward the front opening of the optical tube, while turning the screw counter-clockwise will move the secondary mirror toward the primary mirror. Note: When making these adjustments, be careful not to stress the spider vanes or they may bend. When the secondary mirror is centered in the focuser drawtube, rotate the secondary mirror holder until the reflection of the primary mirror is as centered in the secondary mirror as possible. [. . . ] These coatings normally last through many years of use before requiring re-coating (which is easily done). Do this by holding the secondary mirror holder stationary while turning the center Phillips-head screw. Be careful, there is a spring between the secondary mirror holder and the Philips-head screw; be sure that it will not fall into the optical tube and hit the primary mirror. Then follow the same procedure described below for cleaning the primary mirror. [. . . ]