Orion XX14I manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL IN 353 Rev . B 12/11 Customer Support (800 ) 676 -1   Corporate Offices (831) 763-7000 • 89 Hangar Wa y , W atsonville, CA 95076 © 2010-2011 Orion T elescopes & Binoculars  ™ [...]

2  The SkyQuest XX14i IntelliScope T russ T ube Dobsonian[...]

3 Congr atulations on your purchase of an Orion ® SkyQuest ™ XX14i IntelliScope ® T russ T ube Dobsonian. It’ s a deep-sky obser v er’ s dream telescope, off ering jumbo 14" parabolic optics; an Or ion-engineered collapsib le base outfitted with IntelliScope object locating technology; and a sturdy truss tube design that easily disasse[...]

4  The parts in the box containing the optical tube and accessories. 35mm DeepView ey epiece 10mm Sirius Plössl ey epiece IntelliScope Object Locator Kit Software 9x50 Finder scope Finder scope brack et with O-ring Collimation cap Hex k eys (x3) Upper tube section Lower tube section Counterweights (x6) Dust Cov er (x2[...]

5   Bo x #1: Optical T ube Assembl y and Accessories (ref er to Figure 2) Qty . Description 1 Lower optical tube section 1 Upper optical tube section 2 Dust cov ers 1 IntelliScope Object Locator kit (see Bo x #1A at r ight f or list of par ts) 1 35mm Deep View e yepiece, 2" barrel diameter 1 10mm Sirius Plössl ey[...]

6 Bo x #2: Primary Mirror and Cell (ref er to Figure 4) Qty . Description 1 Primar y mirror 1 Mirror cell 3 Collimation knobs 3 Nylon washers (3/4" outer dia.) 3 Springs Bo x #3: Dobsonian Base (ref er to Figure 5) Qty . Description 1 Left panel 1 Right panel 1 F ront panel 1 T op baseplate 1 Ground baseplate 2 Side braces 6 Base assembly w oo[...]

7  The parts in the box containing the Dobsonian base. Left panel Right panel F ront panel Metal inser t T op baseplate Ground baseplate Side braces (x2) Connecting bolts (x12) Hex key Crescent wrench Handle Eyepiece rack Altitude tensioning/ retaining knobs (x2) Eyepiece rac k wood screws V ertical stop knob Fender wa[...]

8 Bo x #4: T russ poles (ref er to Figure 6) Qty . Description 4 T russ pole assemblies (captiv e pairs)  Now that y ou have unpac ked the bo xes and f amiliarized yourself with all of the parts in front of you, it’ s time to begin assembly . In addition to the supplied tools, you’ll need a Phillips screwdriver [...]

9 N R R M B C D L N O H P J E F A H I Q Q G (x12) S (x12) T (x12)  Exploded vie w of the XX14i base.[...]

10 Push the washer up on the bolt as f ar as you can with y our fingers (Figure 8a). Then place the inser tion tube on the bolt (Figure 8b) and use it to push the washer f ar ther up on the bolt, into the counterbored hole in the wood (Fig - ure 8c). The washer will k eep the bolt captive when it is fully disengaged from the mating par t of the bas[...]

11 encoder disk so the registration f eature on the bushing goes into the hole in the encoder disk. 11. Carefully position the top baseplate (D) ov er the ground baseplate (A) and low er it so the brass azimuth bushing (F) goes through the center hole in the top baseplate (Figure 11) . When the top baseplate is resting on the ground baseplate, the [...]

12 to do , but by lightly pressing the scre w tips into the holes, they should “stick” enough so that you can scre w them in without one or more of them (and the washers) f alling out. Using a small Phillips screwdriv er, tighten all f our screws (Figure 14). 16. The altitude encoder assembly is installed onto the base’ s right side panel. Be[...]

13 from its jack on the altitude encoder board and from the clip at the bottom of the right side panel. Both cables could be left connected to the encoder connector board on the left side panel. 22. Inser t one end of the controller coil cable into the larger of the two jac ks on the top of the IntelliScope Object Locator. Inser t the other end int[...]

14 1 . T o install the mirror into the optical tube , the rear end r ing attached to the lower section of the optical tube m ust first be remov ed. This is done by unthreading and removing the eight Phillips-head screws that connect the end ring to the tube (Figure 18), and then pulling the end ring off of the tube. W ar ning: Once the rear end rin[...]

15 remov ed. T o assemb le the rear end r ing (with mirror and mirror cell now connected) to the tube , stand the lower section of the tube up vertically so the raw edge of the tube is up . Line up the threaded holes in the edge of the end ring with the holes in the end of the tube. Then, low er the entire assembly onto the tube . (Be careful to av[...]

16 Note: If desired, you can mount the lo wer tube section on the base bef ore connecting the tr uss pole assemblies and upper tube section (Figure 24). Y ou may find it easier to lift the low er tube section and guide it onto its resting place on the base’ s bearing cylinders than hoisting and mounting the fully assem- bled optical tube . 7 . C[...]

17 to the truss connectors (see Figure 26 ). This should rare- ly need to be done. The telescope is now assemb led and ready to be placed into the Dobsonian base.    1 . Grasp two opposing truss poles as shown[...]

18 3 . On the other (retaining) knob , slide the altitude retain - ing knob spacer onto the threaded shaft. Then push the shaft through the altitude encoder’ s aluminum shaft (now protruding from the right side panel) and into the optical tube’ s other altitude bearing (Figure 30). Y ou can mo ve the altitude encoder up and down a bit with the [...]

19 fingers (Figure 31). Push the finder scope through the brac ket until the O-ring seats just inside the front opening of the brac ket. Release the tensioner and tighten the two blac k nylon screws a couple of turns each to secure the finder scope in place. The tips of the tensioner and n ylon screws should seat into the wide g roove on the finder[...]

20   Collimating is the process of adjusting the mirrors so the y are aligned with one another . Y our telescope’ s optics were aligned at the f actor y , and should not need much adjustment unless the telescope was [...]

21 and causing damage if something comes loose while you are making adjustments. Place a sheet of white paper inside the optical tube directly opposite the focuser . The paper will provide a bright “background” when viewing into the f ocuser . When properly set up for collimation, y our telescope should resemble Figure 37. [...]

22 completely unthread from the ends of the spider vanes . Also , when making this adjustment, be careful not to stress the spi- der vanes or the y could bend.    The secondar y mirror should f [...]

23 nor th star) is a good star to use f or star testing, because it will not mov e out of the field of view .  The 2" Cra yford f ocuser of the XX14i can be collimated using three pairs of push-pull screws located at the base of the f o - cuse[...]

24 be ideal – not too stiff , not too loose. Y ou will want to be able to “track” the motion of celestial objects while viewing them b y making small mov ements of the telescope without experienc- ing jerking (too much tension) or ov ershooting of the desired position (too little tension).  ?[...]

25 Now look through the finder scope . Ideally , the object should be within the field of view . If not, then coarse adjustments to the brac ket’ s alignment thumb screws will be needed. Once the image is in the finder scope’ s field of vie w , you will no w use the brac ket’ s alignment thumb screws to center the object on the intersection o[...]

26 ey epieces. A wider field can be desirab le for vie wing extended deep-sky objects that are too large to fit within a narrower field of view .   With the six 2.3-lb . counterweights installed on the back of the rear cell, the XX14i optical tube will achie ve proper bal - ance with its supplied accessories. F o[...]

27 2 . Loosen the eight captive connecting bolts that attach the side and front panels to the top baseplate (Figure 45). Y ou will hav e to tur n the hand knobs about sev en full turns or so to unthread the bolts completely from their receptacles in the top baseplate. Remember, the bolts are captive so the y will not come out when they are dis - en[...]

28 The Object Locator’ s database includes: • 7,840 objects from the Re vised New General Catalog (NGC) • 5,386 objects from the Inde x Catalog (IC) • 110 objects from the Messier Catalog (M) • 837 selected stars (mostly double , multiple, and v ar iab le stars) • 8 planets • 99 user-programmab le objects With the user-friendly Intell[...]

29 conditions of bad seeing, stars will twinkle and objects will appear unsteady and blurry in the telescope. “T r ansparency” is the clarity of the atmosphere, which can be adversely aff ected by the presence of moisture , smoke, and dust. All tend to scatter light, which reduces an object’ s brightness. Good transparency is desirab le for a[...]

30 Deep sky objects, ho wev er , typically look better at medium or low magnifications . This is because many of them are quite f aint, yet hav e some extent (apparent width). Deep sky objects will often disappear at higher magnifications, since greater magnification inherently yields dimmer images. This is not the case f or all deep sky objects, h[...]

31  The SkyQuest XX14i IntelliScope T russ T ube Dobsonian is designed f or visual, not imaging, use. The Dobsonian mount is not an equatorial-type mount, and is not motor dr iv en for long e xposure astro-imaging. The telescope has also been optically optimized f or visual use[...]

32 are pick ed up on the cotton balls and r ubbed across the mirror in the ne xt steps. 7 . Completely submerge a cotton ball in the solution. Star ting on one side of the mirror and using extremely light pressure, wipe the cotton ball across the aluminiz ed surf ace in a straight line. Wipe just once, then discard the cotton ball. Submerge another[...]

33  Optical T ube Assembly (O T A) Primar y mirror : 356mm (14.0") diameter reflective surf ace, lo w ther mal e xpansion optical glass, parabolic, center mark ed F ocal length: 1650mm F ocal ratio: f/4.6 Secondar y mirror: 80mm minor axis, lo w ther mal e xpansion optical glass Secondar y mir[...]

34    The Orion SkyQuest XX14i IntelliScope T russ T ube Dobsonian is warranted against def ects in materials or workmanship f or a per iod of one year from the date of purchase . This warr anty is for the benefit of the original retail purchaser only . During this warranty [...]