Orion XT12 manual

IN 227 Re v . B 03/05 Prov iding Ex ceptiona l Consum er Optic al Produ cts Sin ce 1975 Customer Support (800) 676-1343 E-mail: support@telescope.com Corporate Offices (831) 763-7000 P .O. Box 1815, Santa Cruz, CA 95061 INSTRUCTION MANUAL Orion ® S k y Q u e s t ™ X T 1 2 I n t e l l i S c o p e ® #9988[...]

2 Figure 1. The SkyQuest XT12 IntelliScope Secondar y mirror holder with 4-v ane spider (not visible) Finder scope Finder scope brac ket Eyepiece F ocuser Optical tube T ensioning knob Primar y mirror cell IntelliScope Controller P ort modular jack Navigation knob Right side panel F ront brace Eyepiece r ack Handle T op baseplate Computerized Objec[...]

3 Congratulations on your purchase of an Or ion SkyQuest XT12 IntelliScope Dobsonian . It is a high- perf or mance astronomical instrument designed to provide dazzling views of celestial objects and unprecedented ease of use. With the addition of the optional IntelliScope Computerized Object Locator (controller), you gain the ability to locate and [...]

4 1 He x ke y (size 4mm) 3 Plastic f eet 3 F eet attachment wood screws (length 1") 5 Encoder board mounting wood scre ws 1 Brass b ushing 1 Azimuth axis he x-head screw (length 2.25") 2 F ender washers (diameter 1") 1 He x lock nut 4 Altitude bearing cylinders 4 Altitude bearing cylinder screws (length 1.5", blac k) 1 V er tica[...]

5 Assembling the SkyQuest XT12 IntelliScope mirror cell to the tube can be a bit tricky . This is because the large diameter and thin aluminum of the tube will cause the tube to become somewhat out of round once the rear end ring is remov ed. T o assem ble the m irror cell t o the tube, s tand t he tub e up v erti - cally s o that t he raw edge of [...]

1. With a Phillips scre wdriver , screw the plastic feet into the underside of the ground baseplate (A) using the self-tap - ping wood screws pro vided. Insert the screws through the f eet and thread them into the predrilled star ter holes. 2. Loosely attach the front brace (B) to the two side panels (C) with six of the base assemb ly scre ws in th[...]

7 There are some predrilled holes on the right side panel (oppo- site the panel that holds the encoder connector board). These holes will be used to mount par ts that come with the optional IntelliScope controller . If you purchased the IntelliScope con - troller , y ou will want to f ollo w the installation instructions in the controller’ s manu[...]

8 Placing the Optical T ube on the Dobsonian Base Lift the optical tube and gently place it into the Dobsonian base so that the altitude bear ings on either side of the tube rest on the bearing cylinders. Be careful when doing this, as the optical tube is somewhat hea vy and unwieldy . Orient the optical tube as sho wn in Figure 16. Mak e cer tain [...]

9 now be known as the retaining knob . Push the shaft of the retaining knob through the hole in the side panel opposite the one the retaining knob is in (Figure 18). Thread the knob into the altitude bearing as far as it will go . There will be a gap of about 1/2" betw een the side panel and the altitude bearing; this is where the altitude enc[...]

10 1.25" e yepiece adapter . The other ey epiece can be placed in the ey epiece rac k until it is needed. The basic assemb ly of your SkyQuest IntelliScope Dobsonian is no w complete . It should appear as shown in Figure 1. The dust cap on the front of the telescope tube should always remain in place when the telescope is not in use. It is als[...]

Preparing the T elescope for Collimating Once you get the hang of collimating, you will be able to do it quickly e v en in the dark. F or now , it is best to collimate in da ylight, prefer ably in a brightly lit room and aimed at a white wall. It is recommended that the telescope tube be oriented horizontally . This will pre - vent an y par ts from[...]

12 Aligning the Primary Mirror The final adjustment is made to the primar y mirror . It will need adjustment if , as in Figure 21d, the secondar y mirror is cen - tered under the focuser and the reflection of the pr imary mirror is centered in the secondar y mirror , but the small reflection of the secondary mirror (with the “dot” of the collim[...]

13 4. Using Y our T elescope One of the great benefits of the SkyQuest XT IntelliScope Dobsonian is its ability to point to more than 14,000 celes - tial objects, when used with the optional IntelliScope Computerized Object Locator (controller). Use of the control - ler is completely optional, and your telescope will function perf ectly well withou[...]

14 If you hav e trouble f ocusing, rotate the focusing knob so the dr aw tub e is i n as f a r as i t will go . No w look t hrou gh the ey ep iec e whi le slo wly rota tin g the foc usi ng knob in the oppos ite dire cti on. Y ou sh oul d so on see the po int at whi ch f ocu s i s re ach ed. The thumb screw on the top of the body of the f ocuser (Fi[...]

15 Aiming/Pointing the T elescope With the finder scope aligned, the telescope can be quickly and accurately pointed at anything you wish to observe. The finder scope has a m uch wider field of vie w than the tele - scope’ s ey epiece, and theref ore it is much easier to find and center an object in the finder scope . Then, if the finder scope is[...]

the retaining and tensioning knobs until the y are free of the base and tube (make cer tain the spacer does not f all off the retaining knob). Then, using both hands, carefully lift the tube off the base. The tube is somewhat heavy , so don’t hesitate to hav e a friend help lift the tube, if necessary . Do not use the navigation knob as a carr y [...]

17 your e y es become dark-adapted, more stars will glimmer into view and y ou will be ab le to see f ainter details in objects you view in your telescope . Exposing y our e yes to very bright da y - light for e xtended periods of time can adversely aff ect your night vision for days . So giv e yourself at least a little while to get used to the da[...]

18 the sky , excluding the Sun and the Moon. It is so bright that sometimes it is visible to the naked eye during full daylight! Iro nica lly , V enus appe ars as a thi n cr esce nt, not a ful l d isk, when at its peak brightness. Because it is so close to the Sun, it nev er wanders too f ar from the mor ning or ev ening horizon. No surface mar kin[...]

19 the ID b utton. Y ou can ev en add up to 99 objects of your own choosing to the IntelliScope controller’ s database . The bac klit, two-line liquid cr ystal displa y on the controller shows you the object’ s catalog number , its common name if it has one , the constellation in which it resides , its r ight ascen - sion and declination coordi[...]

20 8. Specifications Primar y mirror : 305mm diameter, Pyre x, par abolic, center- marked F ocal length: 1500mm F ocal ratio: f/4.9 F ocuser : Rack-and-pinion. accepts 2" and 1.25" e yepieces Altitude bearing diameter : 5.75" Optical tube material: Rolled steel Azimuth pad material: T eflon Altitude bearing mater ial: Ultra-high mole[...]