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Orion EQ-G manual

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Table of contents for the manual

  • Page 1

    INSTRUCTION MANUAL IN 279 Rev . C 01/09 Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975 Customer Support (800)-676-1343 E-mail: support@telescope.com Corporate Offices (831)‑763‑7000 89 Hangar W ay , W atsonville, CA 95076 Orion ® Atlas ™ EQ-G Equatorial Mount #9996[...]

  • Page 2

    2 Figure 1. The Atlas EQ-G mount. P ower switch P ower indicator light 12V DC power jack Auto guider jack Right Ascension setting circle Right Ascension lock le ver Hand controller jack Latitude scale Latitude adjustment L-bolts Center suppor t shaft T ripod center suppor t tray GoT o hand controller T ube r ing mounting plate Mounting plate lock k[...]

  • Page 3

    3 T able of Contents 1. Unpacking ............................ 3 2. Parts List ............................. 3 3. Assembly ............................ 3 4. Attaching a T elescope ................... 4 5. Balancing a T elescope .................. 4 6. Setting Up and Using the Equator ial Mount . . 5 7. The Atlas EQ-G Dual Axis Hand Controller . . 8[...]

  • Page 4

    4 3. Thread the center suppor t shaft up through the tr ipod head and into the bottom of the equatorial mount until tight. Use the upper knob on the center suppor t shaft to do this. The equatorial mount should no w be fir mly connected to the tripod. 4. Remo ve the knob and w asher from the bottom of the center suppor t shaft. Slide the tripod sup[...]

  • Page 5

    5 2. Now loosen both counterweight loc k knobs and slide the weights along the shaft until they exactly counterbalance the telescope (Figure 4a). That’ s the point at which the shaft remains horizontal e ven when you let go with both hands (Figure 4b). If the telescope refuses to balance than y ou ha ve either too much or too little counterweight[...]

  • Page 6

    6 Polar Alignment F or Norther n Hemisphere obser v ers, approximate polar align- ment is achie ved by pointing the mount’ s r ight ascension axis at the Nor th Star , or P olaris. It lies within 1° of the nor th celes- tial pole (NCP), which is an extension of the Ear th’ s rotational axis out into space. Stars in the Nor thern Hemisphere app[...]

  • Page 7

    7 The polar axis finder scope is now ready to be used. When not in use, replace the plastic protective co ver to pre vent the polar finder from getting bumped. Using the P olar Axis Finder Scope The reticle of the polar axis finder scope for the Atlas EQ-G has a tiny star map printed on it that makes precise polar align- ment quic k and easy . T o [...]

  • Page 8

    8 What if you need to aim the telescope directly nor th, but at an object that is nearer to the horizon than P olar is? Y ou can’t do it with the counterweights do wn as pictured in Figure 1. Again, you h ave to ro tat e the sco pe in rig ht a sce nsi on so that the counterweight shaft is positioned horizontally . Then rotate the scope in declina[...]

  • Page 9

    9 consult section 6 of this manual and attempt to polar align the mount more accurately . T racking can be deactivated or activ ated at any time the Atlas EQ-G mount is receiving pow er . In order to deactivate trac king, simply press and hold the Guide b utton then press the Slow button on the controller. Pressing the same button combination will [...]

  • Page 10

    10 Changing the Guiding Speed The dual-axis hand controller provides 4 diff erent guiding speed settings: 2x, 1.75x, 1.5x (def ault), and 1.25x sidereal rate. If you change the guiding speed from the default setting of 1.5x sidereal rate, the controller will guide at the chosen speed until another guiding speed is selected. In order to set the guid[...]

  • Page 11

    11 Attaching the GoT o Hand Controller The Atlas EQ-G GoT o hand controller comes with two cab les; one for usage wit h the Atlas EQ- G mount, whil e the other is f or use with the Sirius EQ-G mount. Feel free to discard the cable f or the Sirius EQ-G, as it will not be needed. The cab le f or the Atlas EQ-G mount has a large, serial con - nector ([...]

  • Page 12

    12 Functions of the GoT o Hand Controller There are f our main categories of control b uttons on the GoT o hand controller (Figure 13): 1. Mode buttons 2. Directional buttons 3. Scroll buttons 4. Dual Pur pose b uttons Mode Buttons The three mode buttons are located at the top of the con - troller , directly below the LCD screen. They include the E[...]

  • Page 13

    13 5. The hand controller’ s LCD screen will show a safe solar viewing warning message. Press the ESC button to con - tinue. Note: The GoT o hand controller’ s LCD backlighting will become dim and the illuminated buttons will tur n off if left idle f or 30 seconds. Pressing any b utton will re-illuminate the hand controller . 6. Enter your obse[...]

  • Page 14

    14 Three-Star Alignment 1. F rom the alignment screen, select “3-Star Align” using the scroll buttons . Press ENTER to confir m y our choice. 2. The hand controller will provide a list of stars av ailable in your current sky for you to choose as the first alignment star . Choose a star you are f amiliar with using the scroll buttons . Press ENT[...]

  • Page 15

    15 Pointing Accuracy Enhancement (P AE) The three-star alignment should provide e xcellent point - ing accuracy f or visual obser v ation. F or other applications, such as CCD imaging, ev en better pointing accuracy can be obtained in a specific region of the sky by use of the P ointing Accuracy Enhancement (P AE) function. P erf or m the f ollowin[...]

  • Page 16

    16 the scroll buttons and choose the catalog of objects y ou wish to view . Press ENTER to confirm your choice. Use the scroll buttons to choose an individual object within the catalog and press ENTER a second time to displa y the object’ s coordinate. Press ENTER again, and the hand controller will ask “Vie w Object?” Press ENTER once more t[...]

  • Page 17

    17 3. Y ou can ENTER the object’ s location b y its R.A. and Dec. coordinates, or its azimuth and altitude coordinates. Press 1 (RA-Dec) or 2 (AzAlt) to make y our selection. 4. The def ault setting will display the R.A./Dec. or Az/Alt coor- dinates the telescope is currently pointed to . Therefore , if the telescope is pointing at the object y o[...]

  • Page 18

    18 - An av ailable RS-232 COM por t on the PC - Computer interface cab le (supplied) - DC pow er supply (7.5V to 15V @ 100mA or greater output with 2.1mm tip positive plug) Preparing the Computer for the Update 1. Create a f older where you will store the files necessar y for the update. 2. Go to the website www .OrionT elescopes.com, and access th[...]

  • Page 19

    19 9. T echnical Specifications Mount: Ger man equatorial T ripod: Steel W eight: 54lbs. Counterweights: Quantity 2, 11 lbs. each P olar axis latitude adjustment: 10° to 65° P olar axis finder scope: Included, illuminator b uilt into mount Motor drives: Dual-axis, GoT o comput- erized, internally housed Operation: Nor thern or Souther n hemispher[...]

  • Page 20

    20 Atlas EQ-G GoT o Hand Contr oller Menu T r ee[...]

  • Page 21

    21 Note: The f ollowing appendices apply to the Atlas EQ-G with GoT o hand controller only . Appendix A: Enhancing the Pointing Accuracy The Atlas EQ-G produces pointing accuracy and tracking accuracy adequate for most applications. If higher precision is required, “cone” error calibration ma y be necessary . Cone Error Calibration “Cone” e[...]

  • Page 22

    22 piece field of view . Adjustment in Dec. a xis using the hand controller ma y be necessar y . 9. Loosen the R.A. loc k knob and carefully rotate the tele- scope 180° about the R.A. axis (Figure 18a &18b) This should be done as accurately as possible referencing the R.A. mechanical setting circle. 10.Adjust the position of the telescope in t[...]

  • Page 23

    23 view (Figure 19). This will deter mine which direction (left or right) moves P olar is closer to the center of the e yepiece field of view . 12.Carefully and gently loosen both the tube ring attachment screws (Figure 3) b y a couple of tur ns. 13.Make adjustments to the optical axis offset adjustment screws (the sock et head cap screws located a[...]

  • Page 24

    24 errors. Pressing ESC will immediately stop the recording and e xit from the PEC T raining function. Note: Guiding actions are recorded ev en when the PEC train- ing is stopped midway . The PEC + sidereal tracking will not be accurate until a full cycle of the PEC T raining is perf or med. The Atlas EQ-G will emit a “beep” sound and displa y [...]

  • Page 25

    25 Appendix C: RS-232 Connection The Atlas EQ-G mounts equipped with the GoT o hand control - ler are designed to receiv e co mmands sent from a comp uter’ s RS- 232 COM port (via t he com puter inter fac e cab le). The h and con trolle r will com muni cate wit h the com puter at 96 00 bits /sec , no parit y , no stop bit. A ll angles are com mun[...]

  • Page 26

    26 Appendix D: Standar d Time Zones of the World[...]

  • Page 27

    27 Orion T elescopes & Binoculars 89 Hangar W ay , Watsonville, CA 95076 Customer Support Help Line (800)‑676‑1343 • Day or Evening One-Y ear Limited W arranty This Orion Atlas EQ-G Equatorial Mount is w arranted against def ects in materials or workmanship for a period of one year from the date of purchase . This warranty is f or the ben[...]