6
If you have trouble focusing, rotate the focusing knob so the
drawtube is in as far as it will go. Now look through the eye-
piece while slowly rotating the focusing knob in the opposite
direction. You should soon see the point at which focus is
reached.
The metal thumb screw on the top of the body of the focuser
will lock the focuser drawtube in place once the telescope is
properly focused. Before focusing, remember to first loosen
this thumb screw.
Viewing with Eyeglasses
If you wear eyeglasses, you may able to keep them on while
you observe, if the eyepiece has enough “eye relief” to allow
you to see the whole field of view. 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 por-
tion of the full field. If they do, you can easily observe with your
glasses off by just re-focusing the telescope the needed
amount. If you suffer from severe astigmatism, however, you
may find images noticeably sharper with your glasses on.
Aligning the Finder Scope
The SkyView Pro 6 EQ Deluxe comes with a 6x30 achromatic
finder scope (Figure 3a). The number 6 means six-times mag-
nification and the 30 indicates a 30mm diameter front lens.
The finder scope makes it easier to locate the subject you
want to observe in the telescope, because the finder scope
has a much wider field-of-view.
The SkyView Pro 6 EQ’s finder scope uses a spring-loaded
bracket that makes alignment of the finderscope very easy. As
you turn either of the thumbscrews, the spring in the bracket’s
tensioner moves in and out to keep the finder scope secure in
the bracket.
The finder scope must be aligned accurately with the tele-
scope for proper use. To align it, first aim the main telescope
at an object at least a 1/4 mile away—the top of a telephone
pole, a chimney, etc.First, loosen the R.A. and Dec. lock levers
and move it until the telescope is pointing towards the desired
object. Then sight along the tube to aim the telescope. Turn
the focus knob until the object is properly focused. Make sure
to position the object in the center of the telescope’s eyepiece
by turning the R.A. and declination slow-motion control knobs
(the R.A. and Dec. lock levers must be tightened to use the
slow-motion control knobs).
Now look in the finder scope. Is the object visible? Ideally it will
be somewhere in the field of view. If not, some coarse adjust-
ment to the finder scope bracket’s alignment thumbscrews will
be needed until the object comes into the finder scope’s field
of view.
With the image in the finder scope’s field of view, you now
need to fine-adjust the alignment thumbscrews to center the
object on the intersection of the crosshairs. Adjust the aim of
the finder scope by turning the thumbscrews, one at a time,
until the object is centered.
The finder scope alignment needs to be checked before every
observing session. This can easily be done at night, before
viewing through the telescope. Choose any bright star or plan-
et, center the object in telescope eyepiece, and then adjust
the finder scope bracket’s alignment thumbscrews until the
star or planet is centered on the finder’s crosshairs.
Focusing the finder scope
If, when you look through the finder scope, the images appear
somewhat out of focus, you will need to refocus the finder
scope for your eyes. Loosen the lock ring located behind the
objective lens cell on the body of the finder scope (see Figure
3a). Back the lock ring off by a few turns, for now. Refocus the
finder scope on a distant object by threading the objective
lens cell in or out of the finderscope body. Precise focusing will
be achieved by focusing the finder scope on a bright star.
Once the image appears sharp, retighten the locking ring
behind the objective lens cell. The finder scope’s focus should
not need to be adjusted again.
Magnification & Eyepieces
Magnification, or power, is determined by the focal length of
the telescope and the focal length of the eyepiece. Therefore,
by using eyepieces of different focal lengths, the resultant
magnification can be varied.
Magnification is calculated as follows:
Telescope Focal Length (mm)
Magnification =
Eyepiece Focal Length (mm)
The SkyView Pro 6 EQ has a focal length of 750mm, which
when used with the supplied 25mm eyepiece yields:
750mm÷25mm= 30x
The magnification provided by the 10mm eyepiece is:
750mm÷10mm=75x
The maximum attainable magnification for a telescope is
directly related to how much light it can gather. The larger the
aperture, the more magnification is possible. In general a fig-
ure of 50x per inch of aperture is the maximum attainable for
most telescopes. Your SkyView Pro 6 EQ has an aperture of 6
inches, so the maximum magnification would be about 300x.
This level of magnification assumes you have ideal conditions
for viewing.
Naked-eye view
View through finder scope and telescope
Figure 5.
The view through a standard finder scope and reflector
telescope is rotated 180°. This is true for the SkyView Pro 8 EQ and
its finder scope as well.
