Software Bisque Paramount MX, User Manual

Page 1: ...2011 Software Bisque Inc All rights reserved Paramount MX Robotic Telescope System User Guide Revision 1 25...

Page 2: ...of the software for backup purposes No part of this manual and or databases may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical including but not limited to photocop...

Page 3: ...mospheric Refraction 16 Homing 17 Labeling the Home Position 18 Synchronization 19 The Local Celestial Meridian 20 Best Synchronization Practices 21 Step by Step Synchronization 21 Session to Session...

Page 4: ...Plate Knobs 41 Instrument Panel 43 RA Worm Block Cover 45 RA Cable Conduit 46 Dec Cable Conduit 46 Right Ascension Carrying Handle 46 RA Worm Block Three Position Switch 46 RA Assembly 48 Electronics...

Page 5: ...olar Alignment Method 65 Step By Step Quick Polar Alignment Procedure 65 Precise Polar Alignment 68 Using TPoint for Precise Polar Alignment 68 Using the Polar Alignment Scope 69 The Paramount and The...

Page 6: ...Getting Started with ProTrack 115 Appendix A Installing the MKS 5000 USB Windows Driver 117 Windows 7 Driver Installation 117 Accessing Windows Device Manager 121 Windows XP Driver Installation 122 Ap...

Page 7: ...run into its mechanical limits through accident carelessness or component failure Software Bisque cannot be responsible for any damage to your telescope that occurs when using TheSkyX Professional Ed...

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Page 9: ...ack provides the same telescope pointing correction software that is used on most professional telescopes The Multi OS and Six License Add On lets you install TheSkyX Professional Edition and the Add...

Page 10: ...tension Bar Paramount ME MX Counterweights Software Bisque Paramount MX Permanent Piers Paramount MX ScopeGuard Transport Case Accessories Coming Soon Software Bisque portable tripod Latitude Adjustme...

Page 11: ...nization What is homing and what does it actually do What is mount parking How does atmospheric refraction affect mount performance In addition to these basics if you have never controlled a robotic G...

Page 12: ...nt Report indicates exactly how much the altitude adjuster page 54 and azimuth adjuster knobs page 54 need to be rotated so that both axis are aligned to the refracted pole See How To on page 65 for t...

Page 13: ...o degrees Azimuth The azimuth az of an object is generally reckoned from North increasing in the clockwise direction and ranges from 0 to 360 degrees North is 0 degrees east is 90 degrees south is 180...

Page 14: ...s from the Earth Equatorial coordinates change over long periods of time due to precession wobbling of the Earth TheSkyX computes this change in stars position for the current date Precession however...

Page 15: ...ur angle is 6h Hour angle can be used to describe a telescope s mechanical orientation with respect to a horizon based hemisphere For the Paramount MX the home position in the northern hemisphere is a...

Page 16: ...isance and other system errors like tube flexure means the sidereal tracking rate is simply not good enough to precisely track objects Refraction also displaces the position of the celestial pole and...

Page 17: ...e the same pointing accuracy as the previous imaging session The home position is located at hour angle 2 and 0 degrees declination The absolute home position is a fixed mechanical orientation and can...

Page 18: ...ce on the Sky Chart and the mount will apparently not slew to the correct coordinates when commanded to do so If the coordinates of the telescope cross hairs do not match the actual physical orientati...

Page 19: ...hart Element window turn on the Horizon radio button then enter the azimuth Azm and altitude Alt of the telescope cross hair In the Label text box enter the text Absolute Home Position and then click...

Page 20: ...lew from TheSkyX Professional Edition the telescope will end up pointing at the wrong place in the sky The Local Celestial Meridian The local celestial meridian is a great circle on the celestial sphe...

Page 21: ...cedure ensures that your first time synchronization will be correct See Starting Synchronization Over on page 24 to restore the default settings if necessary 1 Accurately set the computer s clock Accu...

Page 22: ...bility of the Paramount MX pointing before proceeding 1 Turn the mount off 2 Turn the mount on 3 Home the mount this terminates communication between TheSkyX Professional Edition and the Paramount MX...

Page 23: ...ramount MX is located in the northern hemisphere and the Versa Plate is mounted in the standard orientation page 42 When the Versa Plate is mounted in the wide orientation then reported home position...

Page 24: ...lect Synchronization History on the left side of the window 5 Click the Delete button to delete the synchronization history Maintaining Accurate Time The Paramount MX can provide very accurate all sky...

Page 25: ...tion is reached the Paramount MX s tracking is immediately turned off 3 Communication between TheSkyX Professional Edition and the mount is terminated Note that the park position is not used to initia...

Page 26: ...rth 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 p...

Page 27: ...he mount Moving the joystick from its center position before the servomotors are initialized Attempting to slew or home the mount from TheSkyX Professional Edition before servomotor initialization For...

Page 28: ...ble feedback cannot be disabled Visual Control System Feedback The three LEDs on the Electronics Box are illuminated based on the status of the control system See Electronics Box Components on page 49...

Page 29: ...uting cables through the mount has many advantages particularly during remote operation Most imaging systems have numerous cables draped from somewhere near the telescope to the observatory floor Thes...

Page 30: ...re 7 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 thread...

Page 31: ...Paramount MX User Guide 31 P a g e Figure 8 A flexible wire grabber...

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Page 33: ...Important Packing Material Notes The Paramount MX is shipped encased in two ultra dense white Styrofoam inserts inside two double walled cardboard shipping boxes Software Bisque strongly recommends t...

Page 34: ...de 34 P a g e Quantity Photo Description 1 Mini USB cable 4 Base Plate Attachment Knobs 1 Hex key wrench set 1 Power supply cable 1 Power Supply Unit or PSU page 63 1 Hand Controller page 61 1 Counter...

Page 35: ...ROM 1 Serial number for TheSkyX Professional Edition for Windows 1 Serial number for the TPoint Add On Mac or Windows to TheSkyX Professional Edition 1 Serial number for the Camera Add On Mac or Windo...

Page 36: ...ist the urge to simply remove everything from all the boxes try to use the mount and then consult the documentation only after something goes wrong Taking a few moments now to review and understand th...

Page 37: ...so that the counterweight shaft is down 3 Rotate the right ascension axis Three Position Switch to the Lock position 4 Carefully remove the payload from the Versa Plate 5 Carefully remove the counterw...

Page 38: ...fully review the individual Paramount MX components before attempting to operate the mount A detailed description of each component listed in the diagram follows Front View Figure 11 The front side of...

Page 39: ...able mounting platform to carry a variety of astronomical equipment using a dovetail scope cradle or mounting rings The Instrument Panel page 43 mounted to the bottom rear of the Versa Plate convenien...

Page 40: ...rom several different manufacturers including ADM Accessories Celestron International and Losmandy Astronomical Products Meade Instruments and Officina Stellare Dovetails are not always rigidly mounte...

Page 41: ...ush slightly on the OTA in the same direction as the advancing brass plungers to make sure the dovetail plate is securely compressed against opposite side of the dovetail wedge Figure 14 Also ensure t...

Page 42: ...so that the Versa Plate cannot wiggle or shift when carrying the payload but not too tight Figure 15 The four Versa Plate mounting positions The Instrument Panel end is to the right Standard versus W...

Page 43: ...e Versa Plate relative to the top of the declination axis The green arrows show the direction of incoming light for the optical tube assembly mounted on the Versa Plate Mounting the Versa Plate in the...

Page 44: ...mber 806 KPPX 4P are rated to carry a maximum of 20 Volts at 7 5 Amps The External Power connectors on the Instrument Panel and on the Electronics Box do not supply power nor do they have anything to...

Page 45: ...a in the industry See the Guide Port section of the SG 4 Autoguider Operating Manual for the SBIG ST 4 autoguider cable specifications Focuser Port Focus Use this port to connect your pulse focuser to...

Page 46: ...he three position switch in the Lock position before lifting the mount RA Worm Block Three Position Switch The RA and Dec Axis have an arrow shaped knob as part of a rotatable mechanical Three Positio...

Page 47: ...bout where to grasp each axis before placing the Three Position Switch in the Balance Position This position is for balancing the payload and is the recommended position to place the switch after the...

Page 48: ...bly houses an internal shaft that can be used to snake additional cables through the mount and allows light to pass through the mount for the polar alignment telescope Electronics Box The Electronics...

Page 49: ...oystick button is not pressed before repowering the mount Hardware Parking Park Port Reserved for future use This port will offer the ability to hardware park the Paramount MX using an external voltag...

Page 50: ...positive Expansion Slot Cover The removable cover on the front of the Electronics Box provides access to a plug in expansion slot on the MKS 5000 electronics board This expansion slot may be used to...

Page 51: ...ided the opposite knob is sufficiently loose the azimuth axis can be rotated without applying excessive force Note that a fully loaded mount may make tightening the knobs by hand more difficult If nec...

Page 52: ...ther mounting surface Do not forget to always secure the Paramount MX to the top of your pier or tripod before attaching the counterweight shaft or adding any counterweights or optical equipment Base...

Page 53: ...hole While the declination axis rotates during mount slews an internal shaft in the declination assembly is also being rotated by a very high torque servomotor When the declination axis Three Positio...

Page 54: ...ltitude Scale is 10 degrees the highest position is 65 degrees The polar axis can actually be adjusted to exceed the maximum scale by about one degree so that the highest reachable latitude is closer...

Page 55: ...ws the mount s elevation to be adjusted to an accuracy of plus or minus 15 arcseconds Figure 27 So for example when the TPoint Add On s Polar Alignment Report states raise the mount s polar axis 62 ar...

Page 56: ...ounterweight shaft to the Paramount MX insert the threaded end into the bottom of the declination assembly Figure 24 and rotate the shaft clockwise until it is hand tight The counterweight shaft chang...

Page 57: ...to being balanced Each counterweight weighs 20 lb 9 kg Please use extreme caution so that you do not accidentally drop one and injure yourself or others After the counterweights are added firmly tigh...

Page 58: ...from the gear The right ascension axis will then freely rotate to a balance position and you will hear a chattering noise caused by the teeth of the precision gear bouncing past the teeth of the prec...

Page 59: ...meras or other components the difference in weight might be enough to cause slewing problems In this situation you can quickly rebalance a system by marking the positions of counterweights on the coun...

Page 60: ...mercial mounts can be a frustrating trial and error process when trying to clamp down on one axis actually moves the position of the other Make sure to completely loosen both knobs before attempting t...

Page 61: ...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 azi...

Page 62: ...that are located in the Electronics Box and in the Instrument Panel The landing lights are handy to illuminate your working area when setting up during polar alignment or shutting down for the night...

Page 63: ...other words the default slew rates are configurable only via the MKS 5000 control system Other Paramount MX Accessories Mini USB Cable This cable connects the Paramount MX mini USB port to a USB port...

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Page 65: ...ount to computed position of an object usually a star or other bright object on the celestial sphere Once the telescope has been slewed to the object the mount s polar axis not the telescope can be ad...

Page 66: ...determine the latitude of your observing site Step 3 Adjust the azimuth axis as close to the celestial pole as possible Finding true north or south any at observing site can be tricky If you do not h...

Page 67: ...ly because the motion of the star will be insensitive to adjustments in the mount s polar axis Take for example a star near the zenith Although the elevation adjuster will work fine the one in azimuth...

Page 68: ...ation axis play a key factor in the accuracy of the quick polar alignment procedure If these misalignments are large in the order of 30 arcminutes or greater the initial polar alignment will necessari...

Page 69: ...n window 5 Once the calibration targets have been collected click the Super Model button on the Model tab of the TPoint Add On window This lets TPoint analyze the pointing data to determine among othe...

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Page 71: ...e Paramount MX requires the following minimum hardware and software to operate A Mac or Windows computer with TheSkyX Professional Edition installed See TheSkyX Professional and Serious Astronomer Edi...

Page 72: ...nated and a short whistle is emitted to indicate the control system has been successfully initialized Two successive beeps are emitted shortly afterward indicating the servomotors have been initialize...

Page 73: ...he Settings command from the Mount Setup pop up menu On the Mac the Paramount MX control system name is usbmodem with a numerical identifier see Figure 35 The numerical identifier in the name varies d...

Page 74: ...inding Home Find Home command from the Start Up pop up menu on the Telescope window or double tap the joystick Mount Status Shown on Telescope window Moving or Jogging the Mount Move Jog controls on t...

Page 75: ...rate application to view and configure advanced settings The Bisque TCS window also allows saving and restoring the mount s current firmware settings provides advanced periodic error correction curve...

Page 76: ...t want to lower the maximum slew rate because I don t want my expensive equipment slewing around so fast Advanced settings are mount specific control system configuration options that are used for cus...

Page 77: ...mount The default 90 percent The Paramount ME s maximum slew rate in right ascension is 3 5 degrees per second and 5 degrees per second in declination so the maximum default slew rate is approximatel...

Page 78: ...are divided into the following categories Axis Homing Initialization Motor Parameters Periodic Error Correction System User Defined Most advanced parameters should not need to be changed unless you a...

Page 79: ...d using both the mount s fixed homing sensor location and the equatorial coordinates supplied to TheSkyX Professional Edition when the mount was synchronized on a star For a perfect mount that has no...

Page 80: ...direction and searches at this rate Home Velocity Low After the second pass of the interruptor the motor searches at this rate Home from Joystick When set to 0 double tapping the joystick button will...

Page 81: ...be logged and displayed on the Logging window Focus Pulse Slow The number of milliseconds the built in focuser is pulsed when the Slow focus button is clicked Focus Pulse Fast The number of millisecon...

Page 82: ...e PEC Ratio 1 The first gear ratio between the motor and worm PEC Ratio 2 The second gear ratio between the motor and worm PEC Ratio 3 The third gear ratio between the motor and worm PEC Scale The sca...

Page 83: ...ingle beep if the joystick is not centered when power is turned on Startup Test Joystick Button If set to 1 then Bisque TCS will abort startup and the control system s speaker will emit a single beep...

Page 84: ...n arcseconds second Guide Rate Sidereal See page 78 for a description of this parameter Tics Revolution The total number of encoder tics per one complete revolution of the RA axis computed by multiply...

Page 85: ...rameters to default settings When prompted click Yes to save the settings to the control system s flash memory Read All Parameters From Mount Choose this command to read the mount s parameters from th...

Page 86: ...stem Example Bisque TCS parameters text file for the Paramount MX Bisque TCS Parameter RA Value Dec Value MKS_INDEX_ANGLE 3978 375 MKS_UNIT_ID_ 5 5 MKS_ACCELERATION 800 800 MKS_HOME_VEL_HI 1600000000...

Page 87: ...CUSPULSEFAST 200 MKS_INI_HOMEAFTERCONNECT 0 MKS_INI_SHOW_LIMITS 0 MKS_INI_LOG_SLEWS 0 MKS_INI_PPEC_HARMONICS 2 MKS_INI_PPEC_RATIO1 1 0000000 MKS_INI_PPEC_RATIO2 8 0000000 MKS_INI_PPEC_RATIO3 1 0000000...

Page 88: ...tracking rate above or below the sidereal rate When the mount is tracking at the sidereal rate values for both RA and Dec are zero If either rate is non zero the mount is tracking at a non sidereal ra...

Page 89: ...r otherwise improperly wired autoguider cable is causing unwanted guider corrections in one or more directions Try unplugging the guider cable from both the Electronics Box on the Paramount MX or the...

Page 90: ...Apply PEC Corrections checkbox to apply periodic error corrections The importance of applying periodic error correction to tracking depends on several factors The magnitude of the mount s periodic err...

Page 91: ...t moving objects such as spacecraft Bisque TCS PEC Table Tab The Bisque TCS PEC Table tab on the Periodic Error Correction tab shows a graph of the mount s periodic error correction table Note that yo...

Page 92: ...based table index 0 999 for the Paramount MX 0 1249 for the Paramount ME the relative mount specific periodic error correction Column values must be separated by a minimum of one space character no ta...

Page 93: ...s introduced by local seeing conditions Figure 41 The Compute PEC Curve tab on the Periodic Error Correction tab Bisque TCS window PEC Table Graph The yellow shaded region can be used to show a graph...

Page 94: ...iodic error curve to the Bisque TCS Collecting and Using Periodic Error Tracking Data Follow the steps below to obtain and apply the optimal periodic error correct curve for your mount Step 1 Collect...

Page 95: ...Adaptor Panel From TheSkyX Professional Edition 1 Launch TheSkyX Professional Edition 2 Choose the Connect command from the Telescope menu to connect to the Paramount 3 Turn off the Enable TPoint tele...

Page 96: ...E AUTOGUIDING CORRECTIONS IN BOTH AXES by turning off the Enabled Yes options for both the X Axis and Y Axis 7 Click Delete Imager log to delete the existing log file Click Yes to confirm deletion 8 M...

Page 97: ...ED IN BOTH AXES BEFORE ACQUIRING A TRACKING LOG WITH CCDSOFT The guide star must be a relative bright star on the west side of the meridian near 0 degrees declination and near the meridian within a fe...

Page 98: ...If you do not know the scale use TheSkyX Professional Edition s Image Link to determine this value 6 Turn on the PEC Data was Collected when Telescope was Pointing West checkbox if the tracking log d...

Page 99: ...eriodic error curve should be saved to the mount s PEC table The above PEC curve is not smooth by design The Final graph shows the minimum resolution for mount moves approximately 0 01 arcseconds when...

Page 100: ...75 3 Click the Periodic Error Correction tab 4 Turn on the Apply PEC Corrections checkbox Your Paramount will now use the optimal PEC curve for the errors in your worm gear Utilities Tab The Utilitie...

Page 101: ...ensor Position Declination Shows the mechanically fixed declination of the homing sensor This value cannot be changed for the Paramount ME and Paramount MX mounts See the Advanced Parameters on page 7...

Page 102: ...the mount has encountered a fixed object like the side of the pier so that the motors have stopped the control system should be restarted and then homed page 72 To restart the control system click the...

Page 103: ...power to the mount off then back on to complete the firmware update Update Motor Firmware When available MKS 5000 motor firmware updates are posted to the Paramount MX Downloads page on the Software...

Page 104: ...um slew rate of the mount will be reduced by this percentage Suppose the slew rate is set at 2 degrees per second for normal operating temperatures Then based on the values in Figure 50 when the tempe...

Page 105: ...been re lubricated or after installing through the mount cabling to make sure there are not stalling issues when the mount slews from slew limit to slew limit in both axes Exercising slews both mount...

Page 106: ...ing the number of units to slew the mount in the adjacent text box click the Slew button to perform the slew By design two Slew buttons and two unit input text boxes appear so that slews using differe...

Page 107: ...lick this button to measure the declination motor index angle Save Indices To Bisque TCS Click the button to save the RA Index and Dec Index motor index angles to the Bisque TCS firmware The motors an...

Page 108: ...his synchronization Delete Highlight a line in the Synchronization Report and then click this button to delete this synchronization Software Slew Limits Generally a German equatorial mount is oriented...

Page 109: ...t position Next use the hand controller or joystick to carefully slew the right ascension axis until the mount is in the abnormal position without running the equipment into the side of the pier You k...

Page 110: ...rmanently saved to the mount s internal memory and used each time the mount is turned on The software slew limits must be reconfigured if the Restore Defaults command page 84 is issued You may wish to...

Page 111: ...t box then click the Save Current Rates button Get Current Rates Click this button to retrieve the current slew rates from the control system Save Rates Click this button to permanently save the curre...

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Page 113: ...xes are properly balanced Balance becomes more critical with heavier loads While the control system has sufficient torque to lift heavy loads tracking performance and slewing may suffer when the paylo...

Page 114: ...or inexpensive USB hubs usually introduce communication problems For example we ve encountered a configuration where an innocent looking USB hub in the chain of computer Paramount MX Apogee Instrumen...

Page 115: ...can provide useful tracking corrections using a smaller number of pointing samples making it useful for semi portable or mission critical portable setups ProTrack Minimum Requirements ProTrack require...

Page 116: ...Turn on the Activate ProTrack checkbox on the ProTrack tab of the TPoint Add On window to view a table of ProTrack corrections that will be applied to tracking 3 Turn on the Enable Tracking Adjustment...

Page 117: ...the USB port on the Electronics Box and the USB 2 0 connector into a free USB port on the computer The Paramount MX must be turned on before the operating system will recognize the built in USB port...

Page 118: ...select the Properties command on the pop up menu 6 On the Hardware tab of the Generic USB Hub Properties window click the Properties button Figure 58 Figure 58 The Properties button on the Hardware ta...

Page 119: ...ndow Figure 60Figure 36 Figure 60 Browse for the computer driver software 9 On the Update Driver Software Unknown Device window click the Browse Step 1 in Figure 61 button and select the folder where...

Page 120: ...the Install This Driver Software Anyway option to proceed Figure 62 Figure 62 Windows Security warns that the publisher cannot be verified Click Install this driver anyway to proceed 11 IMPORTANT Fig...

Page 121: ...mount Settings window select the COM port on the Telescope Telescope Setup Mount Setup pop up Settings Serial Port list Figure 64 with the description Software Bisque MKS 5000 Figure 64 Selecting the...

Page 122: ...ommunications port number Windows XP Driver Installation 1 Install TheSkyX Professional Edition for Windows Version 10 1 11 or later from the Software Bisque Downloads page This version includes the n...

Page 123: ...which is expected since the MKS 5000 driver has not yet been installed Right Figure 66 The Windows XP Device Manager showing the Paramount MX USB port before driver has been installed 5 Choose the Ins...

Page 124: ...Update version 10 1 11 and later After navigating to and selecting the appropriate folder click the Next button Windows XP begins searching for the driver Figure 68 Windows XP searching for the MKS 50...

Page 125: ...dow select the COM port on the Telescope Telescope Setup Mount Setup pop up Settings Serial Port list Figure 64 with the description Software Bisque MKS 5000 Figure 70 Selecting the COM port from TheS...

Page 126: ...Paramount MX User Guide 126 P a g e Figure 71 The Device Manager window showing the COM port number assignment for the USB port...

Page 127: ...hese files Windows users must install a PDF reader to view them If the link below is not accessible visit www bisque com sign in then click the Downloads link then click the Documentation link on the...

Page 128: ...nector located Electronics Box to the External Power connector in the Instrument Panel External Power Cable Sets can be purchased from the Software Bisque Store for Apogee QSI cameras SBIG ST 7 series...

Page 129: ...ST 402 power connectors on the 36 inch 91 cm top cable SBIG ST 7 Series 5 Pin External Power Cable Specs Figure 74 shows the wiring specifications for the SBIG ST 7 series 5 pin bottom cable Figure 7...

Page 130: ...SBIG ST 7 type power connectors on the 36 inch 91 cm bottom cable Figure 75 5 pin SBIG ST 7 type power connectors on the 36 inch 91 cm top cable To External Power connector input To camera power suppl...

Page 131: ...er connectors on the 36 inch 91 cm top cable SBIG STL Series 6 Pin External Power Cable Specs Figure 76 shows the wiring specifications for the SBIG STL series 6 pin bottom cable Figure 77 shows the s...

Page 132: ...the FLI camera head This means the FLI camera power source can be plugged directly into the Paramount MX Electronics Box to route power up to the External Power connector on the Instrument Panel In or...

Page 133: ...from defects in mechanical parts for two years and all electrical parts for one year from the date of delivery Software Bisque s limited warranty covers only those defects which are the result of norm...

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Page 135: ...setting slew rate 77 settings 75 southern hemisphere setup 100 temperature 80 visual feedback 28 bubble level 61 C cable conduit 46 access hole 53 cables custom 29 mini USB 34 power supply 34 camera p...

Page 136: ...ent Panel 44 external power 128 J joystick status 87 L landing lights 10 62 Latitude adjustment wedge 10 LEDs 28 lighting turning on 62 limited warranty 133 limits software slew 108 local celestial me...

Page 137: ...mits 108 software media 35 sun warning 7 synchronization 19 best practices 21 checklist 24 from TheSkyX Professional Edition 74 history 108 purple region 23 red region 24 starting over 24 step by step...

Page 138: ...Guide 138 P a g e Versa Plate 39 W warning homing 17 observing sun 7 pinch point 28 53 three position switch 46 unpacking mount 36 wedge 60 Wedge to pier adaptor plate 10 Windows Device Manager 121 Z...