Paramount MX User Guide
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P a g e
Park Position Rules
•
The Paramount MX must be correctly synchronized
before
the mount is parked and before the
park position can be defined. Otherwise, the mount will not return to the correct park position.
•
When defining the park position near the meridian, make sure that the OTA is on the opposite
side of the meridian as the equatorial coordinate of the park position. In other words, never
define the park position when the counterweight shaft is “above” horizontal.
Here is an example of a situation that will cause unexpected parking behavior. Suppose you
want your telescope to always park in the same orientation “near” the meridian, with the OTA
on the east side (and the counterweights on the west side) of the mount. So, you slew the
mount to a location near the meridian that also happens to be on the east side of the meridian,
and then define the park position.
Since the Paramount MX allows the OTA to slew up to 2.5 hours
past
the meridian before
flipping sides, you have now defined a park position that will cause the mount to slew to a
different orientation than when the park position was defined. In this example, when you park
the mount, the control system will still park the telescope near the meridian, but with the OTA
on the west side (and the counterweights on the east side) of the mount.
•
For mounts in the northern hemisphere, do not define the park position from due west to due
east (through north), and below the
altitude
of the celestial pole. For mounts in the southern
hemisphere, do not define the park position from due east to due west (through south) and
below the
altitude
of the celestial pole.
Audible Control System Feedback
Each time the mount is turned on the control system performs both a control system and servomotor
initialization procedure, and emits different sounds based on the status of the initialization. A short
whistle immediately after flipping the power switch indicates successful control system initialization;
two successive beeps (a few seconds or so apart) indicate servomotor initialization success. Three LEDs
on the Electronics Box provide visual feedback during mount initialization.
The initialization procedure is aborted if the joystick button is pressed and held down when the mount is
turned on, or the joystick is moved from the center position before the servomotor initialization is
complete. In this situation, the mount emits a
single
beep. When initialization is interrupted for any
reason, the control system will not attempt to rotate the motors, meaning the mount will not slew or
track. Before attempting to slew or home the mount, make sure the joystick is in the center position,
power the mount off then on, and then wait for the two beeps that indicate the mount is ready for
normal operation.
The table below describes the different sounds that the mount can emit, when the sound occurs, and a
description of what the sound indicates. Visit thweb site to listen to recordings of these sounds. To get there, navigate to
