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EQ North / EQ South Alignment
EQ North and EQ South Alignments assist the user in aligning the telescope when polar aligned on an optional equatorial wedge.
Similar to the Altazimuth alignments described earlier, the EQ alignments gives you the choice of performing an AutoAlign, Two-Star
alignment, One-Star alignment or Solar System alignment.
EQ AutoAlign
The EQ AutoAlign uses all the same time/site information as the Alt-Az alignments, however it also requires you to position the tube so
that the altitude index markers are aligned (see figure 4-2), and then rotate the telescope base until the tube is pointed towards the
Meridian (see figure 4-3). Based on this information the CPC will automatically slew to two selected alignment stars to be centered and
aligned. To use EQ Auto-Align:
1.
Select EQ North or South Align from the alignment options and press ENTER
2.
Press ENTER to accept the time/site information displayed on the display, or wait until the telescope has downloaded the
information from the GPS satellites.
3.
Select EQ AutoAlign method and press ENTER
4.
Use the up and down arrow buttons to move the telescope tube upwards until the altitude index markers are aligned. The altitude
index markers are located at the top of the fork arm. See figure 4-2.
5.
Use the left and right arrow buttons to move the telescope base until the fork arms are horizontally parallel and the tube is pointing
towards the Meridian.
6.
Based on this information, the CPC will automatically display the most suitable alignment stars that are above the horizon. Press
ENTER to automatically slew the telescope to the displayed star. If for some reason you do not wish to select one of these stars
(perhaps it is behind a tree or building), you can either:
Press the UNDO button to display the next most suitable star for alignment.
Use the UP and DOWN scroll buttons to manually select any star you wish from the entire
list of available stars.
7.
CPC then asks you to center in the eyepiece the alignment object you selected. Use
the direction arrow buttons to slew the telescope to the alignment object and
carefully center it in the finderscope. Press ENTER when centered.
8.
Then, center the object in the eyepiece and press ALIGN.
9.
Once you press the ALIGN button the telescope will automatically slew to a second
alignment star. Repeat steps 6 and 7 to complete alignment.
EQ Two-Star Align
The EQ Two-Star Align follows most of the same steps as the Alt-Az Two-Star Align. This alignment method does not require the user
to align the altitude index markers or point towards the Meridian, but it does require the user to locate and align the telescope on two
bright stars. When selecting alignment stars it is best to choose stars that, a) have a large separation in azimuth and b) both are either
positive or negative in declination. Following these two guidelines will result in a more accurate EQ Two-Star alignment.
EQ One-Star Align
EQ One-Star Align operates much the same way as EQ Two-Star Align however it only relies on the alignment of one star to align the
telescope. To use EQ One-Star Align follow steps 1 through 7 under the EQ Two-Star Align section.
EQ Solar System Align
This alignment method allows you use only one solar system object to equatorially align the telescope for daytime use. To align your
telescope using a solar system object follow steps 1 through 7 under the EQ Two-Star Align section.
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Figure 4-2 - Altitude Index Markers
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