the equatorial mount (Figure 2). You may need to loosen
the azimuth adjustment knobs on the equatorial mount in
order to fit the mount onto the tripod head.
3. Thread the central support shaft into the equatorial mount
until tight. This will secure the equatorial mount to the tri-
pod head.
4. Remove the knob and washer from the bottom of the cen-
ter support shaft. Slide the tripod support tray up the bot-
tom of the central support shaft until the three tray arms
are touching the legs of the tripod. The flat side of the sup-
port tray should be facing up. Make sure the “V” of each
tray arm is against a tripod leg. Place the knob washer on
the center support shaft against the tray, and follow it by
threading the securing knob all the way up the center sup-
port shaft until it is tight against the tray. The tripod support
tray provides additional stability for the tripod, and holds
up to five 1.25" eyepieces and two 2" eyepieces.
5. Loosen the counterweight shaft lock lever and let the
counterweight shaft extend into its downward position.
Retighten the lock lever.
6. Remove the knurled “toe saver” retaining screw on the
bottom of the counterweight shaft and slide all three coun-
terweights onto the shaft. Make sure the counterweight
lock knobs are adequately loosened to allow the counter-
weight shaft to pass through the hole. Position the coun-
terweights about halfway up the shaft and tighten the lock
knobs. Replace the toe saver at the end of the bar. The toe
saver prevents the counterweights from falling on your foot
if the lock knobs happen to come loose.
7. Loosen and open the tube rings on the optical tube and
remove the optical tube from the tube rings. Attach the
tube rings to the mounting plate with the provided screws.
Loosen the two mounting plate securing knobs. Place the
mounting plate, with the tube rings attached, in the dove-
tail slot on top of the equatorial mount. Position the mount-
ing plate so that it is centered on the dovetail slot. Re-tight-
en the mounting plate securing knobs until the mounting
plate is secure.
8. Open the tube rings and lay the telescope optical tube in
the rings at about the midpoint of the tube’s length. Rotate
the tube so that the focuser is at a convenient height for
viewing. Close the tube rings and tighten them.
9. Insert the plug on the end of the control cable from the
hand controller into its jack on the side of the equatorial
mount.
10. Insert eight D-cell batteries into the battery pack. Orient
the batteries as indicated on the white plastic battery hold-
er. Plug the battery cord into its jack on the mount.
11. Two strips of nylon adhesive (one strip of “hooks” and one
strip of “loops”) have been provided so you can create a
place to keep the hand controller out of the way when not in
use. Place the “hooks” strip of nylon adhesive on the back
of the hand controller and the “loops” strip on a tripod leg or
on the mount where it will be in a conveniently reached
spot. Simply hang the hand controller by the nylon adhesive
when it is not in use. Make certain when you attach the
nylon adhesive to the mount that the hand controller’s posi-
tion will not interfere with the motion of the mount.
Installing the Finder Scope
To place the finder scope (Figure 3a) in the finder scope
bracket, unthread the two black nylon thumbscrews until the
screw ends are flush with the inside diameter of the bracket.
Figure 3b.
Pull back on the tensioner and slide the finder scope
into its bracket until the O-ring is seated in the bracket ring.
Figure 3a.
The 9x50 finder scope and bracket.
4
Tensioner
Eyepiece
Nylon
alignment
thumbscrew (2)
Focusing lock ring
Finder
scope
Finder scope
bracket
Figure 2.
Orient the equatorial head so that the post on the tripod
lines up with the azimuth adjustment knobs on the equatorial mount.
Azimuth
adjustment
knobs
Post
