ASSEMBLE YOUR TRIPOD
The tripod is the basic support for
your telescope. Its height may be
adjusted so that you can view
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1. Make sure that as you attach the legs (9)
to the mount that the leg braces (10)
are facing inward.
2. Line up the holes at the top of one of
the legs with the holes in the mount.
3. Thread one of the 2-inch bolts
through the holes.
4. Thread a wingnut with washer over
the bolt and hand-tighten to a firm
feel (Fig. 3).
5. Attach the remaining
two legs to the mount in
the same manner.
6. Spread the legs out
evenly apart.
7. Set the height of
your tripod:
a. Rotate and loosen the
leg lock thumbscrew
(2, Inset B) to unlock
the leg lock.
b. Slide the inner portion of the leg in or
out to the desired length. Repeat for
the other two legs.
c. Rotate and tighten the leg lock
thumbscrew to relock the leg lock.
d. Repeat for the other two legs.
ATTACH THE ACCESSORY TRAY
The tray helps stabilize the tripod and is
also a convenient holder of eyepieces and
other Meade
accessories, such as the
Barlow lens.
1. Remove the plastic
covers on the leg brace
supports (11, Inset B).
2. Attach the triangular
accessory tray to the leg
brace supports using the
supplied one-half inch bolts
and screwdriver tool
(See Fig. 4).
3. Thread the supplied nut over
the end of the bolt.
4. Finger tighten the bolt and
nut using the screwdriver tool.
5. Repeat with the other two
leg braces.
ATTACH THE RED DOT VIEWFINDER
An eyepiece (19) has a
narrow field of view.
A viewfinder (24) has a
wider field of view,
which makes it easier
to locate objects. The
red dot viewfinder
has a red dot to make it
easier to line up more
precisely with a target.
1. Note the two thumbscrews (16, Fig. 4)
thread onto two bolts on the optical tube.
Remove the thumbscrews from the tube.
2. Line up the two holes on the red dot
viewfinder bracket over the two bolts.
Slide the bracket over the bolts.
4
Inset A
Inset B
Fig. 4
Fig. 3
attachment
point
wingnut
Meade80EQ-AR 4/28/06 9:55 AM Page 6
