Subscribe to Our Youtube Channel
Related Manuals for ASTRO-PHYSICS Mach1GTO
Summary of Contents for ASTRO-PHYSICS Mach1GTO
- Page 1 Keypad Optional Astro-Physics, Inc. 11250 Forest Hills Road Machesney Park, IL 61115 Telephone: 815-282-1513 Fax: 815-282-9847 support@astro-physics.com www.astro-physics.com June 2017...
-
Page 2: Table Of Contents
MAnAGeMent introduction to one of the Mach1Gto’s more innovative Features Preparation cable installation – the First time disassembly and subsequent setups and Polar Alignments A Few More hints and tricks... -
Page 3: Dec. Backlash Test
Altitude and Azimuth Adjustments Fine Altitude Adjustment Fine Azimuth Adjustment using software to improve Pointing Accuracy GeAr Mesh in the Mach1GTO checking and Adjusting the Gearbox backstops in r.A. and dec. Mount cAre, cleAninG And MAintenAnce care cleaning and touch-up... -
Page 4: Mach1Gto German Equatorial With Gtocp4 Servo Motor Drive
Mach1GTO Manual was prepared for the production run of mounts (serial # M10804 and later) that began shipping in February of 2016. Most of the information in this manual is applicable to all Mach1GTO’s that have been produced. -
Page 5: Mach1Gto Parts List
Additionally, various imaging and ccd based guiding configurations can take advantage of the Mach1GTO’s autoguider port. the autoguider port receptacle (rJ-11-6) uses the industry standard sbiG st-4 wiring setup. the GtocP4 control box can also take advantage of timed pulse guiding commands offered by many software guiding programs for greater precision. -
Page 6: Mechanical Features And Specifications
4.1 lb. (1.8 kg) Approximately 45 lb. (20 kg) scope and accessories (not including counterweights), depending on length. recommended for: Astro-Physics and similar fast refractors up to our 160 mm f7.5 capacity starFire edF, 8-11” scts and 6-8” Maks. -
Page 7: Introduction
GtocP4 servo control box. the GtocP4 is truly the “brains” of the system taking your wishes as expressed through a command input device like the Astro-Physics Gto Keypad or a computer, and translating them into actions taken by the mount. -
Page 8: Assembly Instructions
ASSEMbLy INSTRUCTIONS Please read all instructions before attempting to set up your Mach1GTO mount. the Mach1GTO is very rugged, however like any precision instrument, it can be damaged by improper use and handling. Please refer to the following illustrations. the parts are labeled so that we can establish common terminology. -
Page 9: Before You Leave Home
900Gto, 1100Gto, 1200Gto and 1600Gto mounts, the dec. axis of the Mach1GTO must be straight and square to the r.A. mating surface when mounted. don’t try to tilt it into place as you would with the larger dovetailed mounts. -
Page 10: Assemble Pier Or Tripod
4. lock in position with the hand knobs and make sure that leg clamps are tight. note: your tripod must be equipped with the tripod Adapter (AdAtri) to mount the Mach1GTO. if you purchased your tripod from Astro-Physics, it came with this adapter already installed. -
Page 11: 6" Eagle Adjustable Folding Pier (Eagle6)
Adapter (AdAtri) for mounting the Mach1GTO. current versions of the 900 standard Pier Adapter (900sPA) and the Flat Pier Plate for Ats Piers (119FP) will also accept this adapter to use the Mach1GTO with I.D. 5.810”... -
Page 12: Gross Latitude Adjustment
Gross Latitude Adjustment each side of the Mach1GTO’s polar fork base is clearly marked with a latitude scale. you may wish to give yourself a head start before heading out into the dark by presetting the mount to your latitude. At this point, just get the setting close using the scale, as it will be refined once you are fully set up and ready to polar align. -
Page 13: Servo Y-Cable Connection
GtocP3 or GtocP4 control box to the servo motor gearboxes can be run either inside or outside the mount. the Mach1GTO doesn’t really have anything that will catch the cables, but you still may want to run them inside. -
Page 14: Internal Cable Management
German equatorial Mount “swaps sides” to point at the other side of the meridian. the Mach1GTO utilizes an innovative cable pass-through system that allows cables to enter and exit the mount’s interior at several different locations. -
Page 15: Cable Installation - The First Time
Mach1GTO Cable Insertion r.A. axis to help you guide the cable end out the access hole. -
Page 16: Disassembly And Subsequent Setups And Polar Alignments
● Always tie off cables for ccd cameras to the focuser so that the weight of the cables doesn’t cause movement (flexure) in the imaging system over a long exposure. Please●feel●free●to●contribute●hints●and●tricks●of●your●own●for●future●editions●of●this●manual.●●At●Astro-Physics,● we●know●that●our●customers●come●up●with●some●clever●solutions!●●E-mail●your●suggestions●to●support@astro- physics.com. -
Page 17: Attach Mounting Plate
(purchased separately) several mounting plates (also called cradle or saddle plates) are available for the Mach1GTO mount. if you own more than one instrument, you may need more than one plate, or you may wish to use one of the dovetail mounting plate options with more than one male dovetail sliding bar. -
Page 18: Astro-Physics Dovetail Options
18” Flat Mounting Plate’s available mounting ring hole spacing of 13.75” allows the use of the 15” dovetail Plate (dove15) on top of your instrument as an accessory plate. note: this is a very large plate for the Mach1GTO. if your instrument requires such a large plate, it may be too large for this mount. -
Page 19: Losmandy D Series Compatible Saddle Plates
(sliding bars) like the losmandy v series. the newer vixen specification is slightly narrower than our long established Astro-Physics 15“ specification and has a much less angled bevel to the dovetail. this dovetail saddle will not adequately clamp onto the smaller vixen style plate (sliding bar). -
Page 20: Side-By-Side, Vixen Style And Other Plate Options
Side-by-Side, Vixen Style and Other Plate Options in general, we recommend side-by-side configurations more often for our larger mounts. however, the Mach1GTO can handle a pair of smaller instruments in a side-by-side configuration. A nice pairing for a versatile visual setup might be a small wide field refractor along with a smaller-sized Maksutov cassegrain for high-power viewing. -
Page 21: Assemble Counterweight Shaft
Please note that this shaft weighs in at a hefty 7.5 lbs., including the safety stop. 2. owners who plan to use their Mach1GTO for long-distance travel may wish to purchase this shaft for a more compact fit in a travel case. the 9.675” shaft was specifically designed to fit inside the hollow declination shaft and screw into the counterweight adapter from the back side. -
Page 22: Attach Mounting Rings
We prefer this keyhole method to the standard way of completely removing the screws and possibly dropping them in the grass. Astro-Physics or Losmandy Dovetail Plates: Attach the mounting rings to the male dovetail plate (sliding bar). -
Page 23: Understanding The R.a. And Dec. Clutch Knobs
Most users will never need to use a hex key on their Mach1GTO’s clutches, but if you are heavily loaded, if your system is out of balance, or if you are doing critical long exposure astrophotography, you may wish to have the extra clutch tightness. -
Page 24: Balancing The Telescope
bALANCING THE TELESCOPE to achieve the best performance from your mount, your telescope should be well-balanced. this is more important for imaging setups than for visual setups since greater precision is required for guiding. those who are setting up for visual use or casual imaging need only be “adequately”... - Page 25 Remove Lever Assembly Cover 1. Grip the lever Assembly cover and pull it free to expose the lever Assembly inside. there are grooves on either side of the cover to assist with your grip. 2. rotate the lever 180º to disengage the worm (never force it past its limits). When you rotate the lever, the motor gear- box will tilt and disengage the worm from the worm wheel.
-
Page 26: Altitude And Azimuth Adjustments - Rough Polar Alignment
With a pier that is not level, each adjustment in azimuth also causes a minor shift in altitude and vice versa. this is why we have included the bubble level on the Mach1GTO. however, don’t waste time obsessing about having the pier perfectly level. - Page 27 2011, we began shipping Mach1GTO mounts with an integrated Precision Adjust rotating Pier base and a rear-mounted, hi-res Azimuth Adjuster. the adjuster is labelled in the photos below at right. owners of earlier mounts that have not been fitted with this upgrade should refer to the instructions in an earlier manual.
- Page 28 3. Altitude (latitude) adjustments: the altitude adjustment mechanism on the Mach1GTO has two components. there is a large altitude adjustment knob on the front (north) side of the mount for making the adjustments. the second part is the innovative tool-free altitude locking lever on the west side of the polar fork base. this lever has a spring-loaded, ratchet-type action that allowed us to use a longer handle for leverage than would otherwise have been possible.
-
Page 29: Fine Polar Alignment
Gto servo control box will function as soon as they are plugged in. that means that the r.A. axis will be tracking up to the limits of your polar alignment. however, if you plan to use any of the go-to functions of the Mach1GTO or do astrophotography, you must perform a more accurate polar alignment. -
Page 30: Altitude And Azimuth Adjustments
Mach1GTO regardless of the method you choose for determining the amount and direction of each adjustment. We’ll leave the choice of method up to you. We list the fine altitude adjustment first because our Gto Quick star drift Method begins with altitude. -
Page 31: Fine Altitude Adjustment
2011, we began fitting the Mach1GTO mounts with a Precision Adjust rotating base and hi-res Azimuth Adjuster. -
Page 32: Using Software To Improve Pointing Accuracy
● Astro-Physics command center (APcc), Pro version with pointing and tracking model, www.astro-physics.com ● MaxPoint™ Modeling software from diffraction limited, www.cyanogen.com ●... -
Page 33: Gear Mesh In The Mach1Gto
NO●MORE●WORM●MESHING! the good news is that the Mach1GTO is always in mesh, thanks to the Auto-Adjusting Motor Gearboxes! the Mach1GTO mount represents a new era in the ease of gearbox adjustment. our new design eliminates the need for gear mesh adjusting...it has become automatic. -
Page 34: Mount Care, Cleaning And Maintenance
Care Although we build it to be rugged enough for field use, your Mach1GTO is a precision instrument with very accurate worm and wheel adjustments. Please be careful if you place the mount on a flat surface, i.e. the ground or trunk of your car. the gear alignment may be affected if the r.A. -
Page 35: Troubleshooting, Tips And Support
Mach1GTO clutches can be fully tightened without worry. -
Page 36: Additional Support
Astro-Physics also participates and you will find a wealth of information in the archives. to find the group, link from user Groups in our website’s sidebar. -
Page 37: Appendix A: Declination Axis Backlash Tests
APPENDIx A: DECLINATION AxIS bACKLASH TESTS PulseGuide™ PulseGuide™ is a free software program, developed by ray Gralak, to provide keypad-like functionality using a computer. it offers the additional feature of a dec. axis backlash test. you can download it through a link from the AP website. once you have started the PulseGuide™... -
Page 38: After Running Tests 1 And 2
Astro-Physics for instructions. MaxImDL™... -
Page 39: Appendix B: Mounting Plate Fastener Chart
(4) M6-1.0x16mm Fhscs [for mounting to 600e] DOVE08 8" dovetail Plate (4) 1/4-20x5/8" shcs [for mounting to 900, 1100Gto or Mach1Gto, requires Q4047 or to attach to sbd13ss or sbd16ss] (4) 10-32x3/4" shcs [for mounting as Accessory Plate onto A-P rings] (4) 1/4-20x1/2"...
Need help?
Do you have a question about the Mach1GTO and is the answer not in the manual?
Questions and answers