Paramount MX User Guide
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P a g e
Bubble Level
The Paramount MX bubble level can be used to find horizontal that is suitable for the most demanding
astronomy work, and can make polar alignment easier when no polar alignment scope is available.
Figure 31: Center the bubble in the black ring for best results.
One-tenth of one inch motion in the level bubble’s level equates to 45 arcminutes of angular “tilt”.
Positioning the bubble in the center of the black ring means the mount is level to within 5 arcminutes.
Remember, the base of a German equatorial mount does not have to be perfectly level to achieve
precision tracking. As an extreme example, provided the equatorial axis is pointed to the refracted
celestial pole, the base of a GEM can be vertical and still track at the sidereal rate.
Using the quick polar alignment method (page 65), when the base of the mount is close to horizontal,
adjustments in the height of the altitude axis do not have a significant horizontal component. Likewise,
adjustments to the azimuth axis do not have a significant vertical component, so the accuracy of the
initial polar alignment is improved. The polar alignment advice offered by TPoint’s Polar Alignment
Report can be used with greater confidence as well.
If the mount’s base is not close to horizontal, adjusting one axis pollutes the position of the other axis
and makes the process of polar alignment more difficult.
Hand Controller
The Paramount MX includes a hand controller that can be used to slew and home the mount without
the need of
TheSkyX Professional
Edition, as well as turn on mount lighting and an integrated LED
flashlight.
To use the joystick, plug the RJ12 phone-type connector on the end of the hand controller’s 15-foot
coiled cable into the Joystick port on the Electronics box (page 48). The hand controller includes an
