Remember These Tips - ASTRO-PHYSICS Mach2GTO Manual

REMEMBER THESE TIPS

● Begin your balance procedure in Park 3 position (pointing to the celestial pole). This will ensure that an out of
balance scope does not have a sudden, wild swing that could damage the scope, the mount or you!
● GTOCP5 Control Box will auto-park mount when powered off. The GTOCP5 control box will auto-park the mount
in place when the power is turned off or is interrupted. Nevertheless, we do recommend parking the mount to a
convenient park position when finishing the evening's viewing if leaving the mount set up for another night.
Recommended: Park 3 is a safe and balanced position. Park 2 is a convenient position for loading and unloading
your scope. Park 5 is a safe, low profile position with minimum cable twisting. See Park positions in "Appendix A".
● Never perform a Plate Solve at Park 3. The RA at Park 3 is undefined. This can cause the plate solve to be off by
180 degrees, resulting in the next slew going counterweight up.
● Be sure that all clutches on the mount are tight. Firmly hand-tighten all clutches on both axes of the mount. With
heavy loads, you may consider adding a bit more tightness using an Allen wrench. Forgetting to tighten the clutches
may degrade guiding performance.
● Be sure to remove the RAPAS after polar aligning. The Right-Angle Polar Alignment Scope MUST be removed
after polar alignment is complete. Not doing so can risk damage from counterweight or scope collision!
Use It and Remove It.
Computer and Keypad use together. If you are using a computer for primary mount control, but wish to have
●
the Keypad connected for convenience while at an eyepiece, then set the Keypad to AutoConnect: EXT so that the
computer will initialize the mount, not the Keypad. Refer to the Keypad manual for guidance.
Use the mount with its own power supply. For best performance the mount should have its own power supply.
●
This is especially true when imaging. Normally, the mount will be using a 24-volt power supply, but it can also run with
12 volts; however, the maximum slew rate will be reduced from 1800x to 1200x.
Always tie off cables for CCD cameras. Tying cables to the focuser body ensures that the weight of the cables don't
●
cause movement (flexure) in the imaging system during a long exposure.
Reference the Astro-Physics Support page of the website. There is a wealth of information on the
●
webpage that can often answer the questions you have, as well as provide in-depth understanding and fixes. All the
latest versions of the manuals can be found there.
Please take special notice:
● Outdoor Storage
then it is highly recommended to remove the GTOCP5 and Keypad and take them inside to a safer environment.
Tarps and covers cause significant condensation build up unless steps are taken to mediate the problem. Often low-
wattage light bulbs or fans are used to reduce condensation for short term storage, but this is no guaranty.
● VERY IMPORTANT:
they are not waterproof! We cannot be responsible for water damage when reasonable care has not been taken to
shield them from excessive dew or when storing them outside under tarps for extended periods.
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. We also encourage you to participate in our user group:
– If you have a mount that is left outside for extended periods covered by a tarp or scope cover,
We take every precaution to make our control boxes moisture and dew resistant; however,
ap-gto.groups.io/g/mail
34
Support