ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS 8993, Instruction Manual

Page 1: ...1343 E mail support telescope com Corporate Offices 831 763 7000 89 Hangar Way Watsonville CA 95076 Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975 Orion StarSeeker 130 II 130mm GoTo Reflector 8993 IN 473 Rev A 10 12 instruction Manual ...

Page 2: ...3 Parts List 5 Assembly 5 The Hand Controller 8 Telescope Basics 18 Celestial Observing 19 Telescope Maintenance 20 Specifications 23 Appendix A GLOSSARY OF TERMS 23 Appendix B RS 232 Connection 26 Appendix C Time Zones 27 Sky Maps 28 ...

Page 3: ...rs one of the most sophisticated and easy to use telescopes available on the market today Take time to read through this manual before embarking on your journey through the heavens It may take a few observing ses sions to become familiar with all of the StarSeeker s features so you should keep this manual handy until you have fully mastered your telescope s operation The StarSeeker hand controller...

Page 4: ...eflector EZ Finder II reflex sight Focuser Tripod Hand controller Accessory tray Primary mirror collimation knob Optical tube Fork arm coupling knob Fork arm Leg lock knobs x3 Eyepiece b a Tube lock bolt Dovetail bar on optical tube Fork arm ...

Page 5: ...he scope under the 30 day return policy Especially in the latter case the original packaging is required If anything is missing call Orion Customer Service at 800 676 1343 or support telescope com Assembly Your StarSeeker comes in three major sections the optical tube fork arm and the tripod The assembly process entails first installing the fork arm on the tripod then attaching the telescope tube ...

Page 6: ...elease coupling knob located under the tripod mounting platform 1 Place the fork arm base inside the tripod mounting platform See Figure 4 2 Thread the coupling screw into the hole at the bottom of the fork arm base and tighten with the large coupling knob Attaching the Telescope Tube to the Fork Arm 1 Unthread the tube lock bolt until the bolt tip is not protruding into the saddle slot 2 Slide th...

Page 7: ...ting Magnification Focusing To focus your telescope simply turn either of the focus wheels on the focuser see Figure 6 until the image is sharp Installing the EZ Finder II Slide the base of the EZ Finder II bracket into the dovetail holder that is pre installed on the optical tube Figure 7 The EZ Finder II should be oriented so that the sight tube is facing the front of the telescope as shown Tigh...

Page 8: ... EZ Finder II Replacing the EZ Finder II Battery Should the battery ever die replacement 3 volt lithium batter ies are available from many retail outlets Remove the old bat tery by inserting a small flat head screwdriver into the slot on the battery casing Figure 9 and gently prying open the case Then carefully pull back on the retaining clip and remove the old battery Do not overbend the retainin...

Page 9: ... the buttons makes them literally stand out from the other buttons on the keypad A double arrow symbol on the right side of the LCD indicates that the scroll buttons can be used to view additional information 10 Menu Displays the many setup and utilities functions such as tracking rate user defined objects and many others See below for detailed review of Menu options 11 Help Will be used in future...

Page 10: ...will then ask for the following time site information Location The StarSeeker will display a list of cities to choose from Choose the city from the database that is closest to your current observing site The city you choose will be remembered in the hand controller s memory so that it will be automatically displayed the next time an alignment is done Alternatively if you know the exact longitude a...

Page 11: ...ns the computer was unable to identify the three objects chosen and you will need to re do the align ment procedure One common cause is inaccurate time site information input into the hand controller Confirm that you have all the correct information before proceed ing It could also be that the objects chosen were not accurately centered in the eyepiece before pressing the ALIGN button It can be he...

Page 12: ...tar you wish to use for the first alignment star Press ENTER 4 StarSeeker then asks you to center in the eyepiece the alignment star you selected Use the directional arrow buttons to slew the telescope to the alignment star and carefully center it in the finder scope Press ENTER when centered 5 Then center the star in the eyepiece and press ALIGN HELPFUL HINT In order to accurately center the alig...

Page 13: ...stars have drifted towards the west considerably Remember that the stars are moving at a rate of 15 every hour Aligning on a new star that is in the eastern part of the sky will improve your pointing accuracy especially on objects in that part of the sky If you have aligned your telescope using the One star align method you can use re align to align to an additional object in the sky This will imp...

Page 14: ...o an object that is below the horizon StarSeeker will notify you by displaying a message reminding you that you have selected an object outside of your slew limits see Slew Limits in the Scope Setup section of the manual Press BACK to go back and select a new object Press ENTER to ignore the message and continue the slew The StarSeeker hand control ler will only display objects that are below the ...

Page 15: ...one and daylight savings Anti backlash All mechanical gears have a certain amount of backlash or play between the gears This play is evident by how long it takes for a star to move in the eyepiece when the hand controller arrow but tons are pressed especially when changing direc tions The StarSeeker s anti backlash feature allows the user to compensate for backlash by inputting a value that quickl...

Page 16: ...ay not take the shortest route to it in an effort to minimize cord wrap By default the cord wrap feature is turned off when the telescope is aligned in altazimuth mode We highly recommend turning it on Utilities Factory Setting Returns the StarSeeker hand con troller to its original factory settings Parameters such as backlash compensation values initial date and time longitude latitude along with...

Page 17: ...of the telescope they are only valid for that exact location To save land objects once again center the desired object in the eyepiece Scroll down to the Save Land Obj command and press ENTER The display will ask you to enter a number between 1 25 to identify the object Press ENTER again to save this object to the database Save Database Db Object This feature allows you to create your own custom t...

Page 18: ...ope Focal Length mm Magnification Eyepiece Focal Length mm Let s say for example you are using the 25mm eyepiece To determine the magnification you simply divide the focal length of the StarSeeker 130 which is 650mm by the focal length of the eyepiece 25mm Dividing 650 by 25 yields a magnification of 26 power For the included 10mm eyepiece the magnifica tion is 650 10 65x Although the power is var...

Page 19: ...ble at the time you are observing In addition you will also be able to see the moons of Jupiter as they orbit the giant planet Saturn with its beautiful rings is easily visible at moderate power Planetary Observing Hints Remember that atmospheric conditions are usually the limiting factor on how much planetary detail will be visible So avoid observing the planets when they are low on the horizon o...

Page 20: ...der good seeing conditions fine detail is visible on the brighter planets like Jupiter and Mars and stars are pinpoint images Under poor seeing conditions images are blurred and stars appear as blobs The conditions described here apply to both visual and photo graphic observations Telescope Maintenance While your StarSeeker telescope requires little maintenance there are a few things to remember t...

Page 21: ...ondary mirror cen tered in the drawtube as well as the reflection of the primary mirror centered in the secondary mirror and the reflection of the secondary mirror and your eye centered in the reflection of the primary mirror as in Figure 12a If anything is off center proceed with the following collimating procedure The Collimation Cap Your StarSeeker 130 II comes with a quick collimation cap Figu...

Page 22: ...ws by say one full turn and then tighten the other two to take up the slack Do not loosen the center screw during this process The goal is to center the primary mirror reflection in the secondary mirror as in Figure 12c When it is centered you re done adjusting the secondary mirror Don t worry that the reflection of the secondary mirror the dark circle with the four spider vanes adjoining it is of...

Page 23: ...s apparent motion A good star to point at for a star test is Polaris the north star because its position does not move significantly over time You can do a star test on Polaris without even turning on power to the scope Specifications Primary Mirror 130mm diameter parabolic center marked Focal Length 650mm Focal Ratio f 5 Focuser 1 25 Rack and Pinion Mirror Coatings Aluminum with SiO2 overcoat Eye...

Page 24: ...y similar to our Sun and one dim small red star orbiting around one another C Celestial Equator The projection of the Earth s equator on to the celestial sphere It divides the sky into two equal hemi spheres Celestial pole The imaginary projection of Earth s rotational axis north or south pole onto the celestial sphere Celestial Sphere An imaginary sphere surrounding the Earth concentric with the ...

Page 25: ...n a particular line of eye pieces will be in focus Parsec The distance at which a star would show parallax of one second of arc It is equal to 3 26 light years 206 265 astronomical units or 30 8000 000 000 000 km Apart from the Sun no star lies within one parsec of us Point Source An object which cannot be resolved into an image because it to too far away or too small is considered a point source ...

Page 26: ...The telescope can be controlled using popu lar astronomy software programs such as Starry Night The RS 232 port and cable are also used for updating the firmware of the hand controller when firmware updates are available See Oriontelescopes com for the firmware update procedure This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rule Opera tion is subject to the following two conditions 1 This device may...

Page 27: ...27 Appendix C Time Zones ...

Page 28: ...O B ig D ip p e r T A U R U S B e t e l g e u s e L i t t l e D i p p e r P o i n t e r s P o l a r i s U R S A M A J O R C a s t o r C a p e l l a P r o c y o n C Y G N U S L E O M I N O R H E R C U L E S O P H I U C H U S S C O R P I U S CENTAURUS C A N C E R SEXTANS CRATER Alphard CORVUS M i z a r O R I O N C O R O N A B O R E A L I S S E R P E N S C A P U T C A N E S V E N A T I C I K e y s to...

Page 29: ... D i p p e r P o l a r i s U R S A M A J O R C O M A B E R E N I C E S C Y G N U S P I S C E S P I S C E S P E G A S U S L E O M I N O R HERCULES OPHIUCHUS SCORPIUS TELESCOPIUM C O R O N A B O R E A L I S SERPENS CAPUT SERPENS CAUDA CORONA AUSTRALIS Rasalhague C A N E S V E N A T I C I S A G I T T A AQUILA SCUTUM A r c t u r u s E Q U U L E U S D E L P H I N U S C A P R I C O R N U S M ICROSCOPIUM...

Page 30: ...R I D A N U S PHOENIX PISCIS AUSTRINUS CAPRICORN U S MICROSCOPIUM AQUARIUS O P H I U C H U S V U L P E C U L A S A G I T T A H E R C U L E S U R S A M I N O R C E P H E U S C A S S I O P E I A C A M E L O P A R D A L I S G E M I N I D R A C O A lg o l Hyades Great Square of Pegasus B ig D ip pe r V e g a R o s a lh a g u e A l t a i r T A U R U S A l d e b a r a n B e t e l g e u s e A R I E S T R...

Page 31: ...ONOCEROS Alphard LEPUS COLUMBA CAELUM B O Ö T E S U R S A M I N O R C E P H E U S C A S S I O P E I A C A M E L O P A R D A L I S GEMINI M i r f a k H YDRA PYXIS ANTLIA M I N O R C A N I S MAJOR CANIS D R A C O A lg o l Rigel M ir a H y a d e s B i g D i p p e r T A U R U S Ald e b a r a n Betelgeuse A R I E S T R I A N G U L U M L i t t l e D i p p e r P o l a r i s U R S A M A J O R B E R E N I ...

Page 32: ...n Warranty Repair 89 Hangar Way Watsonville CA 95076 Proof of purchase such as a copy of the original receipt is required This warranty does not apply if in Orion s judgment the instrument has been abused mishandled or modified nor does it apply to normal wear and tear This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state For further warran...