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Avalon Instruments M-tre User Manual

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USER MANUAL
Version 1.0.0. October 2023
All the pictures and contents included here are propriety of
AVALON INSTRUMENTS
.
They cannot be reproduced, published, copied or transmitted in any way, including the internet, without the
AVALON INSTRUMENTS
written permission of
.

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Summary of Contents for Avalon Instruments M-tre

  • Page 1 USER MANUAL Version 1.0.0. October 2023 All the pictures and contents included here are propriety of AVALON INSTRUMENTS They cannot be reproduced, published, copied or transmitted in any way, including the internet, without the AVALON INSTRUMENTS written permission of...

  • Page 2: Safety Recommendations And Warnings

    SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS AND WARNINGS • Read carefully the manual before installing and using the mount. • Use the power cable supplied with the mount or a 12V- 3A stabilized power supply as suggested in the manual. • Connect the power cable correctly and securely to the power socket. •...

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Table of Contents SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS AND WARNINGS.....................2 Technical Specifications...............................4 Forewords....................................5 1. Packing Content................................6 2 Mount Description................................7 3. M-tre Initial Setup................................9 3.1 Latitude Range Setting............................10 3.3 Telescope installation..............................13 4. Telescope Balancing...............................15 4.1 Dec Balancing................................15 4.2 RA Balancing................................17 5. M-tre mount stationing..............................19 5.1 Latitude Fine Adjustment............................19...

  • Page 4: Technical Specifications

    Technical Specifications Type of mount Single Arm Equatorial Fast-Reverse Mount weight 35 Kg Maximum load 38 kg single telescope setup, 50 kg double telescope setup Motion System Four-step reducer via pulley timing belt system on ball bearings, with no play on both axis. (Belt Drive System) Construction Machined from solid blocks of anodized aluminum with high Materials...

  • Page 5: Forewords

    Forewords This manual describes the Avalon M-Tre mount, the procedures for its mounting on the Adjustable Angle Pier and for the installation of a telescope. Additional Information on the M- tre mount and on the StarGO2 Pro control system, containing also the procedures for the use with third-party software and in particular with the INDI and ASCOM and Alpaca ASCOM drivers, are reported in the StarGO2 Pro manual which is part of the mount supply.

  • Page 6: Packing Content

    Packing Content Open the box to take all the content out. Extract all the components from the small cardboard box and from the mount bag side pocket putting them on a clean, flat surface. Component List • Mount Head • StarGo2 Pro Box •...

  • Page 7: Mount Description

    2.000 rpm and thermal stress from 0 to 90°C (30 to 195 F) in a few minutes, we can think that the life cycle of the M-tre toothed belts will be extremely long ! It is important to underline that in the gear-worm systems the motion transmission has only one tangent point of contact, any errors on each of the two components will, sooner or ©...
  • Page 8 If the coupling is tight the motors can stuck with consequent loss of the position, if the coupling is too loose the plays increase. On the other hands, the absence of significant play in the M-tre makes the initial calibration of guiding CCD quick and easy.

  • Page 9: M-Tre Initial Setup

    This operation will be described in the section 3.1 below. It is strongly recommended that the M-tre mount is used with the Avalon Instruments T-pod tripod which has been designed to guarantee maximum performance. If a different kind of tripod is used, it must have dimensions and characteristics compatible with the mount weight and with the astronomical load to be installed.

  • Page 10: Latitude Range Setting

    NOTE: due to the M-tre weight it’s better to perform this operation in at least two people, while one unscrew the bolts, the other should hold up the mount.
  • Page 11 The following are the steps necessary to perform the fine Azimuth adjustment on the M-tre Loose the azimuth adjustment knobs and perform a few turns of the two lateral Azimuth adjustment knobs by rotating them in opposite directions.
  • Page 12 The two lateral Azimuth adjustment knobs press on the corresponding pin, allowing the fine Azimuth rotation. When the fine Azimuth adjustment has been set, is possible to tight the mount fixing knob. © All Rights reserved -...

  • Page 13: Telescope Installation

    Telescope installation After the mount has been placed and secured on the T-pod, the next step will be the positioning of the Telescope on the M-tre. and to perform the Polar Alignment. Place the mount arm in the position shown on...
  • Page 14 While holding the telescope with one hand, use your other hand to rotate the knob on the dovetail saddle clamp, as shown in the right picture, until it is firmly locked. Before leaving the telescope, be sure it has been securely attached by making certain that the male dovetail bar is in close contact with the female saddle and there is no space between them.

  • Page 15: Telescope Balancing

    With the M-tre mount it is better to start balancing the DEC axis rather than the RA axis. The M-tre is unique in that it allows the RA axis to be almost automatically balanced with any telescope.
  • Page 16 Note: Always lock the clamp before checking the balance with the new tube position! If the tube remains stable in a horizontal position when the DEC knob unlocked, the DEC axis will be balanced. Tighten the dovetail clamp to firmly lock the telescope tube in its new position.

  • Page 17: Ra Balancing

    RA axis. The M-tre (as the M-zero and the M-due mount) allow to move the DEC arm in several positions toward the RA axis. This feature help to find a fine balancing by using as less as counterweight possible.
  • Page 18 NOTE: Most German Equatorial mounts are based on worm gear technology. They need to be slightly unbalanced in the easterly direction to avoid any unwanted pendulum-like behaviour when crossing the meridian. The M-tre’s toothed-belt transmission technology eliminates the need for this small amount of east-bias unbalance. This is a major ©...

  • Page 19: M-Tre Mount Stationing

    M-tre mount stationing Before using the M-tre mount it is necessary to position its polar axis parallel to the earth’s axis of rotation. In this chapter the operations to trim the latitude and the azimuth and to perform the mount alignment to the celestial pole using the standard polar scope (or the optional alternative) will be described.

  • Page 20: Azimuth Regulation

    5.2 Azimuth Regulation The azimuth regulation is performed in a similar manner, using both hands to turn the other two adjustment knobs in opposite directions simultaneously. When a knob is rotated in one direction the other is rotated in the opposite direction. Turn them so that the screws attached to the knobs press against the brass adjustment post and move the mount to the right or left by a small amount.

  • Page 21: Stargo2 Pro Installing

    5.4 StarGo2 Pro installing The First step to be performed in the cables connection procedure, is the StarGo2 Pro box assembling. The porocedure is described with picture sequence below. © All Rights reserved -...
  • Page 22 © All Rights reserved -...

  • Page 23: Cables Connection

    5.5 Cables connection After the StarGo2 Pro box assembling, it is possible to plug the cables required to connect the encoders ad the RA/DEC motors with the box. Encoders cable connection. In the picture below are shown the encoder connectors on DEC and RA axis. The mount package comes provided with the two RS232 cables required to connect the StarGo2 Pro box with the corresponding connector.
  • Page 24 The shortest cable (0,5 meter length) must be used to connect the RA axis male connector to the DEC female conncetor. As shown in the left picture. The longest, must be used to connect the StarGo encders connector to the DEC axis male conncetor. As shown in the picture on the left.
  • Page 25 After the encoders has been connected, the RA and DEC motors must be connected with the corresponding plug placed in the bottom side of the StarGo2 Pro box. The packaging comes provided with two RJ11 cables. The white one it is the one available to connect the RA motor to the StarGo2 Pro RA plug, whereas the black one must be used to connect the DEC motor to the corresponding plug on the StarGo2 box, as shown in the pictures below.

  • Page 26: More Modern And Precise Approaches To Polar Alignment

    5.3.5 Dual Axis Alignment The M-tre is a Dual Dec mount, so, it is possible to assemble on the bottom side a Secondary clamp in order to allow the installation of a secondary telescope. It is also possible to perform an adjustment in Azimuth and Altitude in order to allow the telescopes alignment.
  • Page 27 © All Rights reserved -...

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