Paramount User Guide
37
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P a g e
1.
Make sure the additional cable is long enough to go from the Instrument Panel (or from a device
mounted on the OTA), through the mount and to its destination, then add an additional eight to
10 inches to accommodate a loop in the declination axis (described below).
2.
Remove the cable conduit access cover (page 88).
3.
Place the declination axis’ Three Position Switch in the balance position.
4.
Looking down the polar axis through the declination cable conduit access hole, rotate the
declination axis from hard stop to hard stop. Doing so reveals two sets of access holes machined
into the internal shaft. When aligned with the polar axis, the two larger holes allow light to pass
through the mount for polar scope alignment. The two smaller holes (slightly further “up” the
shaft) provide a separate passage for the through the mount cabling. Your goal is to snake the
cable through one of the two smaller holes (see green arrow in Figure 7).
5.
Rotate the declination axis until the unoccupied hole in the internal declination shaft is aligned
with the right ascension axis.
6.
Loop a 15-inch cable tie the “wrong way” (so the cable tie can be easily removed later) around
the end of the cable.
Figure 8: A 15-inch cable tie looped around the cable.
7.
Insert the cable tie into the RA Cable Conduit until the end is visible through the cable conduit
access cover. The cable tie (and cable)
must be threaded through the outside of the internal shaft
and cannot pass directly through the lower access holes. Rotate the cable tie so that its natural
bend forces the tie toward the outside of the shaft. Use a pair of needle-nose pliers to grab the
end of the tie then pull the cable all the way through the right ascension axis.
8.
Remove the cable tie and feed the end of the cable up the declination shaft, through the upper
access hole until it appears at the top of the declination axis.
9.
Run the top end of the cable through the access shaft that is machined into the top of the
declination axis and the Versa-Plate, out to the left side of the Instrument Panel (page 67).
10.
Once the cable has been passed all the way through the mount, make an 8-inch loop in the cable
and carefully tuck this loop inside the outer shaft of the declination assembly to allow the
declination axis to rotate completely without any interference from the cable itself (see Figure 9).
Rotating the declination axis from hard stop to hard stop more or less does the work for you, but
allowing additional slack in the cable is recommended.
