10
Assembly
Assembling the telescope for the first time should take about
30 minutes. The only tools you will need are a Phillips head
screwdriver and a flat head screwdriver. As a general note,
tighten all screws securely to eliminate flexing and wobbling,
but be careful not to over-tighten and thereby strip the
threads. Refer to Figures 1 through 4 during the assembly
process.
During assembly (and any other time, for that matter), do not
touch the surfaces of the telescope objective lens or the lens-
es of the finder scope and eyepiece with your fingers. These
optical surfaces have delicate coatings that can easily be
damaged if touched. Never remove any lens assembly from
its housing for any reason, or the product warranty will be
voided.
Begin set-up of the telescope by assembling the tripod and
mount first:
1. Lay the “Yoke” altazimuth mount (5) on its side. Attach the
tripod legs (6), one at a time, to the base of the mount by
sliding a tripod leg attachment screw (21) through the top of
a leg and through the holes in the base of the mount. The
washers should be on the outside of the tripod legs. Secure
the wing nuts finger-tight. Figure 3b shows a closeup detail
of the screws attaching the tripod legs to the altazimuth
mount.
2. Install and tighten the leg lock knobs (23) on the bottom
braces of the tripod legs (6). For now, keep the legs at their
shortest (fully retracted) length; you can extend them to a
more desirable length later, once the tripod is completely
assembled.
3. Stand the tripod and mount upright and spread the tripod
legs (6) apart as far as they will go, until the accessory tray
bracket (22) is taut. Connect the accessory tray (7) to the
accessory tray bracket (22) with the three wing screws
already installed in the tray. Push the wing screws up
through the holes in the accessory tray bracket and thread
them into the holes in the accessory tray.
4. Tighten the tripod leg attachment screws (21) at the tops of
the tripod legs so the legs are securely fastened to the
mount. Use the Phillips head screwdriver and/or your fin
gers to do this.
5. Attach the altitude micro-motion rod and thumbwheel (13)
to the optical tube (1) by first removing the flat-head screw
from the micro-motion rod attachment post (12) on the side
of the optical tube. Slide the screw through the hole at the
end of the micro-motion rod and rethread the screw into the
attachment post. Make sure the screw is tightened.
The tripod is now completely assembled and the yoke mount
is ready for the installation of the optical tube.
6. To install the optical tube (1) in the yoke mount (5), first
slide the altitude micro-motion control rod into its receptacle,
at the same location as the altitude lock knob (19) on the side
of the yoke (Figure 4). Then, with the rod in place in the recep-
tacle, gently drop the optical tube into the yoke so that the
holes on the altitude castings (10) on the side of the optical
tube line up with the holes on the top of the yoke altazimuth
mount (5). Slide the yoke knobs (18) through the holes on top
of the mount and thread them into the altitude castings on the
optical tube. Tighten the altitude lock knob (19) securely.
7. Remove the two metal 5x finder scope bracket (11) thumb-
screws from the optical tube. Place the bracket on the tube
so that the holes in the bracket slide over the two threaded
posts on the tube. The 5x finder scope (4) should be orient-
ed so that it appears as in Figure 1. Thread the thumb-
screws back onto the posts to secure the bracket in place.
8. Insert the chrome barrel of the 90˚ mirror star diagonal (2)
into the focuser drawtube (14). See Figure 3. Secure the
star diagonal with the diagonal holder thumbscrews (16).
9. Insert the chrome barrel of the 25mm Kellner eyepiece (3)
into the 90˚ mirror star diagonal (2). Secure the eyepiece in
the diagonal with the eyepiece holder thumbscrew (17). The
eyepiece and diagonal properly installed should resemble
Figure 2b.
Your telescope is now fully assembled and should resemble
Figures 1-3.
Figure 4.
Installing the optical tube in the “yoke” altazimuth mount
