Attaching A Telescope - Orion Atlas EQ-G Instruction Manual

Tube ring
attachment screw
Figure 3.
The tube ring mounting plate.
this. The equatorial mount should now be firmly connected
to the tripod.
4. Remove the knob and washer from the bottom of the
center support shaft. Slide the tripod support tray up the
bottom of the central support shaft until the three tray
arms are touching the legs of the tripod. The flat side of
the support tray should be facing up. Make sure the "V" of
each tray arm is against a tripod leg. Place the washer on
the center support shaft against the tray, and follow it by
threading the knob all the way up the center support shaft
until it is tight against the tray. The tripod support tray pro‑
vides additional stability for the tripod, and holds up to five
1.25" eyepieces and two 2" eyepieces.
5. Loosen the counterweight shaft lock lever and fully extend
the counterweight shaft. Retighten the lock lever.
6. Remove the knurled "toe saver" retaining screw on the
bottom of the counterweight shaft and slide both counter‑
weights onto the shaft. Make sure the counterweight lock
knobs are adequately loosened to allow the counterweight
shaft to pass through the hole. Position the counterweights
about halfway up the shaft and tighten the lock knobs.
Replace the toe saver at the end of the bar. The toe saver
prevents the counterweights from falling on your foot if the
lock knobs happen to come loose.
Your Atlas EQ‑G mount is now fully assembled and should
resemble Figure 1 except for the hand controller, which is cov‑
ered in the separate SynScan GoTo Hand Controller manual.

4. attaching a telescope

The Atlas EQ‑G equatorial mount is designed to hold telescope
tubes weighing up to approximately 40 lbs. For heavier tele‑
scopes, the mount may not provide sufficient stability for steady
imaging. Any type of telescope can be mounted on the Atlas
EQ‑G, including refractors, Newtonian reflectors, and catadio‑
tropics, provided a set of tube rings is available to couple the
tube to the mount. Orion sells a variety of telescope tube rings.
Please visit our website at OrionTelescopes.com for details.
4
Flat washer
Lock washer
Optical axis offset
adjustment screws
Figure 4.
that the telescope tube be balanced on the R.A. and Dec. axes. (a)
With the R.A. lock lever released, slide the counterweights down
the counterweight shaft until they just counterbalance the telescope
tube. (b) When you let go with both hands, the tube should not drift
up or down. (c) With the Dec. lock lever released, loosen the tube
ring lock clamps a few turns and slide the telescope forward or back
in the tube rings. (d) When the tube is balanced about the Dec. axis,
it will not move when you let go.
1. Attach the tube mounting rings to the tube ring mounting
plate using the screws that come with the tube rings. The
screws should go through the center holes in the ends of
the mounting plate and rethread into the tube rings. Note
that the side of the mounting plate with the central "groove"
will be facing up (Figure 3). Use a small wrench to secure
the tube rings to the mounting plate.
Note: The tube ring mounting plate included with the Atlas
EQ‑G includes four optical axis offset adjustment screws;
these are the socket head cap screws located at each cor‑
ner of the mounting plate. These adjustment screws will be
explained further in Appendix A. For now, confirm that all four
adjustment screws are sufficiently unthreaded so that the
ends of their threaded shafts are flush with the top surface of
the tube ring mounting plate.
Note: The optical axis offset adjustment screws should be
oriented so that the threaded shaft extends upward through
the top surface of the tube ring mounting plate. If the tube
ring mounting plate arrives with the optical axis offset screws
installed backwards, reverse their orientation before proceed‑
ing (Figure 3).
2. Loosen the black mounting plate lock knobs on the top of
the equatorial mount. Place the mounting plate, with the
tube rings attached, in the slot on top of the equatorial
a.
c.
Proper operation of the equatorial mount requires
b.
d.