Get your telescope ready for use!

Aligning the finderscope

1. Choose an object 500+ yards away

2. Point the main telescope at the object and adjust so that the object is in the centre of the view

3. Check the finderscope to see if the object is centred in the cross-hairs and if not adjust using the small screw

Balancing the telescope

A. RA balancing

1. Adjust the altitude of the mount to be between 15° and 30° by using the adjustment T-bolt

2. Unlock the RA and DEC lock knobs and rotate the telescope until both the optical tube and counterweight rod are horizontal to the ground and the telescope is to the side of the mount

3. Tighten the DEC lock knob

4. Move the counterweights along the rod until the telescope is balanced and tighten the counter-weight thumbscrews to hold the counter-weights in their new position

B. DEC balancing

1. Adjust the altitude to between 60° and 75°

2. Release the RA lock knob and rotate around the RA axis so the counterweight rod is in a horizontal position

3. Tighten the RA lock

4. Unlock the DEC lock knob and rotate the telescope tube until it is parallel to the ground

5. Slowly release the telescope and determine in which direction it rotates.

6. Loosen the telescope tube rings and slide the telescope forwards or backwards until it is balanced

7. Retighten the tube rings and the DEC lock knob

8. Reset the altitude axes to your local altitude

Operating the EQ3-2 mount

The mount has controls to move it up and down, called Altitude, and left to right, called Azimuth.

The two azimuth adjustment knobs are near the tripod head and allow fine adjustment for polar alignment. The altitude adjustment T-bolts allow fine adjustment for setting the mount to your local latitude.

It also has right ascension and declination direction which is the hour angles for polar aligned astronomical observing. To change these loosen the lock knobs to make large direction changes. Use the control cables for fine adjustment after the lock knobs have both been locked.

Focusing

Slowly turn the focus knobs under the focuser until the image in the eyepiece is sharp.

Polar alignment for visual use

1. Point the mount at Polaris. To do this aim the north leg of the tripod north and adjust the altitude angle of the mount until you can see Polaris through the polar axis view port

2. Adjust the front and back latitude adjustment bolts until you can see your local latitude on the scale

Pointing your telescope

Now it is polar aligned you can point it at various locations in the sky. At the moment both mount and telescope point north. To point south you cannot rotate the telescope around the DEC axis or it will be pointing at the ground. To point south you must rotate the mount in both RA and in DEC.

After pointing at and tracking an object for a while the counterweights may rise above being parallel to the ground, which means you have to perform a meridian flip or the telescope will collide with the mount or the tripod.

Performing a meridian flip

1. Rotate the telescope 180° in DEC and lock the DEC axis

2. Rotate your mount 12 hours in RA and lock the RTA axis. Use the setting circles to help you do this more accurately. Now you should be pointing at the same object but from the opposite side of your mount.

3. Adjust your RA setting circles back to the coordinates of your object and lock the setscrew when done.

If you do a meridian flip and point at a new object make sure to put its coordinates on the RA setting circle.

Using the setting circles

The setting circles can be used to help find objects in the sky by dialling in a set of coordinates. All objects in the sky have assigned coordinates labelled right ascension (RA for short) and declination (DEC for short). The RA axis follows east to west movement and is the primary axis. The DEC axis is for north-south positions and is primarily used for finding objects not tracking them, however small adjustments can be made. The better your polar alignment the fewer DEC adjustments you will need to make.

1. Align your telescope to an object that you know the coordinates of. Rotate the RA setting circle to show these coordinates. Leave the setscrew unlocked at this point

2. The DEC scale is set and does not need to be calibrated

3. As you rotate the scope in RA and DEC the setting circle values change, so to find a specific object turn both the axes until the designated coordinates line up with the pointers on the scales

4. After finding the object centre it in your eyepiece then lock the RA setscrew securely

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