Using Your Telescope - Orion 9931 Instruction Manual

1. Screw the rubber feet into the underside of the ground base-
plate (A) using the self-tapping wood screws provided, with
a Phillips screwdriver. Position the feet on the opposite side
of the ground baseplate from the preinstalled Teflon pads,
directly beneath them. To start the screw, hold it in position
and tap the head with the handle of the screwdriver.
2. Loosely attach the front brace (B) of the cradle to the two
sides (C) with four Allen-head screws in the predrilled
holes. Do not completely tighten the screws yet.
3. Attach the two sides (C) to the top baseplate (D) with the
remaining four Allen-head screws in the predrilled holes.
Tighten all four screws.
4. Tighten the four side screws installed earlier, and press on
the black plastic screw-head caps.
5. Insert the nylon bushing (E) into the hole in the center of
the top baseplate (D). Tap the nylon bushing in so it goes
all the way into the top baseplate and part way into the
ground baseplate (A). The nylon bushing should be flush
with the top surface of the top baseplate (D).
6. Place a nylon washer (F) over the long pivot bolt (G), then
insert the bolt up through the bottom of the ground base-
plate (A) and through the nylon bushing. Now thread on the
remaining nylon washer (H) and locking nut (I). Tighten the
locking nut just enough to allow a slight separation of the
top baseplate from the ground baseplate when the mount
is lifted. The purpose of the nut is to keep the two pieces
from coming apart when moving the telescope.
IMPORTANT! Overtightening the nut will make the mount dif-
ficult to rotate in the azimuthal direction.
7. Attach the handle to the front brace (B) with the two 1"
Allen screws provided in the predrilled holes. Place a
washer on each screw next to the screw head.
installing the Primary Mirror
Leave the protective covering on the primary mirror until just
prior to installing it in the telescope tube. This is a first-surface
mirror and, while tough enough to survive years of use with-
out recoating, it is nevertheless delicate and must be handled
with extreme care. Do not touch the mirror's aluminized top
surface with your fingers (or anything, for that matter)!
When you're ready to install the mirror in the optical tube, fol-
low these steps:
1. Remove the protective tissue from the primary mirror. Set
the mirror cell on the floor in a clean room.
2. Carefully ease the tube over the mirror and mirror cell so
that the predrilled holes on the perimeter of the mirror cell
line up with the holes at the base of the optical tube.
3. With the 1" Allen-head bolts provided, secure the mirror
cell into place with the large Allen wrench.
4. You'll adjust the alignment of the primary mirror later, in
Section 5.
4
Figure 2. The view down the focuser tube of a Newtonian
reflector with eyepiece removed. In this example, the optical
system is badly out of collimation.
Placing the optical tube on the Dobsonian Base
Lift the optical tube and set the altitude bearings on either
side of the tube in the "cradle" of the base, as shown. Once in
the cradle, the tube should pivot freely up and down with
gentle hand pressure. Note that the tube may not be properly
balanced yet, since the eyepiece and finder scope are not in
place. Proper balancing may require the use of an optional
counterweight system.
installing the Finder Scope
We recommend mounting a finder scope to your Deep Space
Explorer to help in locating objects and centering them in the
main telescope's field of view. The 5x finder scope included
with the DSE is easily attached with the two bolts and wash-
ers provided in the predrilled holes near the focuser (see
diagram). The holes are covered with small black caps, which
must be removed before installation of the finder scope.
Note that the finder scope bracket has a small cylindrical
"peep sight" in the stem. It is useful as a quick aiming device.

4. using Your telescope

Your Orion Deep Space Explorer Dobsonian telescope is one
of the easiest telescopes there is to use. You will be surprised
at the simplicity of operation, ease of manual tracking, and
exceptional optical performance. To get the most out of your
telescope, carefully read this section.
transporting the telescope
The telescope is easy to take wherever you want to do your
observing. There are only two pieces to deal with: the optical