Software Bisque Paramount OTA Ring Installation Instructions Manual page 38

Relieving Fork Stress
During the process of bolting the OTA to the forks, and balancing the payload, small misalignments
between the OTA and the forks could introduce unwanted stresses. These stresses may adversely affect
the behavior of the declination axis as the mount slews to different parts of the sky. The following
procedure can help relieve them to achieve optical mount performance.
1. Rotate the fork arms vertically, with the gear as close to the floor as possible, as shown in Figure
52.
a. Figure 52 does not show the OTA for clarity, but the OTA should be attached at this
point.
2. Slowly loosen the clamp setscrew (Figure 46) enough so that the entire weight of the OTA is
supported by the lower fork arm against its mounting plate.
a. The OTA is still captivated, but free to settle against the fork with the gear, so that
potential play is removed by the other fork's clamp/sliding cylinder mechanism.
b. The mounting plate on the fork arm with the gear is fixed, and the OTA must be
mounted 'hard' against it. (The force of gravity helps accomplish this when the fork
arms are rotated vertically). In contrast, the mounting plate on the opposite fork arm is
attached to a sliding cylinder that is designed to take up or account for any slack
between the OTA and the fork arms.
3. Tighten the clamp setscrew (Figure 46).
4. Rotate the fork arms so that they are equidistant from the ground.
5. Loosen the clamp setscrew (Figure 46) to release any bending of the fork arm with the gear in
Step 2 above.
6. Tighten the clamp setscrew.
The OTA is now mounted optimally, with no undue stresses between the two fork arms.
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