Using Your Telescope - Orion 23013 Instruction Manual

6. Place a nylon washer (F) over the long pivot bolt (G), then
insert the bolt up through the bottom of the ground baseplate
(A) and through the nylon bushing. Now put on the remaining
nylon washer (H) and the locking nut (I). Tighten the 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 only to keep the two pieces from coming apart when
moving the telescope.
IMPORTANT! Overtightening the nut will make the mount
difficult to rotate in the azimuthal direction.
installing the optical tube Handles
Premium Deep Space Explorers come with convenient handles
to help in lifting the optical tube onto and off of the Dobsonian
cradle. They also serve as levers for turning the telescope on the
azimuthal axis when the scope is pointed near the zenith (straight
overhead).
The handles attach to the altitude bearings (disks) on opposite
sides of the optical tube (refer to Figure 2). The handles should
be mounted in the center position on each of the bearings. Using
the provided Allen wrench, remove the bolt that resides in the
center hole.
To connect the handles to the altitude bearings, first remove the
nut and washer that is on the threaded shaft of each handle.
Insert the threaded shaft into the center hole in the altitude bear-
ing. Rotate the handle clockwise until the shaft threads all the
way into the hole. Now, re-attach the nut and washer to the end
of the threaded shaft from the inside of the telescope. This will
require reaching up into the optical tube. This is easiest to do if
the telescope is resting on its side. Use a crescent wrench to
tighten the nut firmly.
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 without recoating,
it nevertheless must be handled with extreme care. Do not touch
the mirror's aluminized surface or allow dirt and dust to build up on
it, as this could scratch the coating and compromise the optical
performance.
When you're ready to install the mirror in the optical tube, follow
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 socket-head mounting bolts and the large Allen
wrench provided, secure the mirror cell into place.
4. You'll adjust the alignment of the primary mirror later, in
Section 5.
Placing the optical tube on the Dobsonian Base
Lift the optical tube by the handles on the altitude bearings and set
the tube down so the bearings rest in the "cradle" of the base, as
shown in the front cover picture. For the larger models, we recom-
mend getting a friend to help lift the optical tube. Once in the
cradle, the tube should pivot freely up and down with gentle hand
4
pressure. Note that the tube may not be precisely balanced yet,
however, since the eyepiece is not in place. Proper balancing may
require the use of an optional counterweight system.

4. using Your telescope

Your Orion Premium Deep Space Explorer Dobsonian telescope
is one of the easiest telescopes there is to use. You will be sur-
prised at the simplicity of operation, ease of manual tracking, and
exceptional optical performance. To get the most out of your
telescope, read this section carefully.
use a Finder scope
An optional finder scope is highly recommended to assist in aim-
ing the telescope. It will help in locating objects and centering
them in the main telescope's field of view. An 8x50 finder scope
or larger is recommended.
Your Premium DSE comes with two predrilled holes for an Orion
8x50 or 9x60 finder scope bracket. The holes are located a few
inches from the focuser. If you purchased an optional finder scope,
you will want to install it before using your telescope.
Hardware is not provided for attaching the finder scope since the
user could decide to put one of many different finder scopes onto
the Premium Deep Space Explorer, each of which might require
different nuts and bolts. For the Orion 8x50 or 9x60 finder scopes,
we recommend using 10-24 x 1" slotted machine screws and the
corresponding nut, accompanied with washers, to fasten the finder
to the main telescope. These items are available from any hardware
store. To minimize stray reflections, you can mount the finder scope
with the screws inserted from the inside of the tube out.
To install other finder scope models, you will need to drill the holes
yourself. Choose a position for the finder scope which is directly on
top of the telescope tube when the tube is aimed at the horizon, near
the focuser. Position the telescope tube so that it is lying horizontally,
parallel to the ground. Mark the spots for drilling mounting holes. Drill
holes the same size as the bolts being used. Be careful not to let
dust or debris fall onto the mirrors. You may want to cover the sec-
ondary mirror with a soft tissue or a plastic bag while you are
installing the finder scope.
aligning a Finder scope
The finder scope and the telescope should be aligned to point to
exactly the same spot in the sky. Alignment is easiest to do in
daylight hours, before your observing session. Choose a treetop,
telephone pole, street sign—anything that is far off in the dis-
tance, at least 200 yards away. Put that image in the center of the
field of your telescope's eyepiece. Where is it in your finder
scope's eyepiece? Hopefully, the image will be in the field of view
and some simple adjustments on the alignment screws of the
mounting bracket will put the image dead-center in the cross-
hairs.
By loosening one alignment screw and tightening another, you
can change the line of sight of the finder scope. Continue making
adjustments to the various alignment screws until the image in
both the finder scope the telescope's eyepiece is exactly cen-
tered. Check the alignment by moving the scope to another
object and fixing the crosshairs on the exact point you want to
look at. Then look through the telescope's eyepiece to see if that