User manual ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS AV6EQ

[. . . ] INSTRUCTION MANUAL Orion AstroViewTM 6 EQ ® #9827 Equatorial Reflecting 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 03/02 Finder scope Finder scope bracket Eyepiece Focus knob Tube rings Optical tube Declination slow motion control Declination lock lever Counterweight shaft Large counterweight Small counterweight "Toe Saver" Right ascension lock lever Counterweight lock knobs Polar axis finder (covered) Latitude scale Tripod leg Latitude adjustment T-bolts Right ascension slow-motion control Accessory tray bracket Accessory tray Leg lock knob Figure 1. The AstroView 6 EQ 2 Welcome to the exciting world of amateur astronomy!Your new AstroView 6 EQ Reflector is designed for high-resolution viewing of astronomical objects. [. . . ] Depending on the altitude of the object you want to observe, the counterweight shaft will be oriented somewhere between vertical and horizontal. Figure 9 illustrates how the telescope will look when pointed at the four cardinal directions: north, south, east and west. The key things to remember when pointing the telescope are that a) you only move it in R. A. and Dec. , not in azimuth or latitude (altitude), and b) the counterweight and shaft will not always appear as it does in Figure 1. In fact it almost never will! Note that the tripod and mount have not been moved; only the telescope tube has move on the R. A. If anything is off-center, as in Figure 10b, proceed with the following collimation procedure. The Collimation Cap and Mirror Center Mark Your AstroView 6 EQ comes with a collimation cap. This is a simple cap that fits on the focuser drawtube like a dust cap, but has a hole in the center and a silver bottom. 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 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. 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 Allen wrench, loosen the three small alignment set screws in the center hub of the 4-vaned spider several turns. Collimation (Aligning the Mirrors) Collimation is the process of adjusting the mirrors so they are perfectly aligned with one another. Your telescope's optics were aligned at the factory, and should not need much adjustment unless the telescope is handled roughly. Accurate mirror alignment is important to ensure the peak performance of your telescope, so it should be checked regularly. [. . . ] The large primary mirror and the elliptical secondary mirror of your telescope are front-surface aluminized and over-coated with hard silicon dioxide, which prevents the aluminum from oxidizing. 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 phillips head screw. [. . . ]