6
scope, you can adjust the eyepiece position by loosening
the tube rings and rotating the optical tube.
7. Retighten the knurled tube ring clamps.
The telescope is now balanced on both axes. Now when you
loosen the lock knob on one or both axes and manually point
the telescope, it should move without resistance and should
not drift from where you point it.
Focusing the Telescope
With the 25mm Explorer II eyepiece in the focuser, move the
telescope so the front (open) end is pointing in the general
direction of an object at least 1/4-mile away. Now with your
fingers, slowly rotate one of the focusing knobs until the
object comes into sharp focus. Go a little bit beyond sharp
focus until the image starts to blur again, then reverse the
rotation of the knob, just to make sure you’ve hit the exact
focus point.
Do You Wear Eyeglasses?
If you wear eyeglasses, you may be able to keep them on
while you observe. In order to do this, your eyepiece must
have enough “eye relief” to allow you to see the entire field of
view with glasses on. You can try this by looking through the
eyepiece first with your glasses on and then with them off,
and see if the glasses restrict the view to only a portion of
the full field. If the glasses do restrict the field of view, you
may be able to observe with your glasses off by just refocus-
ing the telescope the needed amount.
If your eyes are astigmatic, images will probably appear the
best with glasses on. This is because a telescope’s focuser
can accommodate for nearsightedness or farsightedness,
but not astigmatism. If you have to wear your glasses while
observing and cannot see the entire field of view, you may
want to purchase additional eyepieces that have longer eye
relief.
Operating the EZ Finder II Reflex Sight
The EZ Finder II reflex sight (Figure 4) makes pointing your
telescope almost as easy as pointing your finger! It’s a non-
magnifying aiming device that superimposes a tiny red dot
on the sky, showing exactly where the telescope is pointed.
The EZ Finder II works by projecting a tiny red dot (it’s not a
laser beam) onto a lens mounted in the front of the unit.
When you look through the EZ Finder II, the red dot will
appear to float in space, helping you locate even the faintest
of deep space objects. The red dot is produced by a light-
emitting diode (LED) near the rear of the sight. A 3-volt lithi-
um battery provides the power for the diode.
Turn the power knob clockwise until you hear the “click” indi-
cating that power has been turned on. Look through the back
of the reflex sight with both eyes open to see the red dot.
Position your eye at a comfortable distance from the back of
the sight. The intensity of the dot is adjusted by turning the
power knob. For best results when stargazing, use the
dimmest possible setting that allows you to see the dot with-
out difficulty. Typically a dimmer setting is used under dark
skies and a bright setting is used under light-polluted skies
or daylight.
At the end of your observing session, be sure to turn the
power knob counterclockwise until it clicks off. When the two
white dots on the EZ Finder II’s rail and power knob are lined
up, the EZ Finder II is turned off.
Aligning the EZ Finder II Reflex Sight
When the EZ Finder II is properly aligned with the telescope,
an object that is centered on the EZ Finder II’s red dot
should also appear in the center of the field of view of the
telescope’s eyepiece. Alignment of the EZ Finder II is easiest
during daylight, before observing at night. Aim the telescope
at a distant object such as a telephone pole or roof chimney
and center it in the telescope’s eyepiece. The object should
be at least 1/2 mile away. Now, with the EZ Finder turned on,
Figure 4.
The EZ Finder II reflex sight.
Naked-eye view
Figure 5.
The view through a reflector telescope is upside down.
Altitude
adjustment
knob
Mounting
bracket
Azimuth
adjustment
knob
Power
knob
View through telescope
Summary of Contents for ShortTube 4.5 EQ 9849
Page 15: ...15 ...
