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INSTRUCTION MANUAL
®
Orion
™
StarMax 102mm EQ
#9824 Equatorial Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope
Customer Support (800) 676-1343
E-mail: support@telescope.com
Corporate Offices (831) 763-7000
P.O. Box 1815, Santa Cruz, CA 95061
Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975
IN 158 Rev. A 0501
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Finder scope Meniscus lens Finder scope bracket 1/4"-20 adapter Eyepiece Dec. setting circle Star diagonal Eyepiece adapter Focus knob R.A. setting circle Latitude lock t-bolt Counterweight Latitude adjustment t-bolt Counterweight lock knob Dec. slow-motion control cable Counterweight shaft Azimuth lock knob R.A. slow-motion control cable Accessory tray Accessory tray bracket Accessory tray bracket attachment point Leg lock knob Figure 1. StarMax 102mm EQ Parts Diagram 2
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Welcome to a new world of adventure. Your new StarMax 102mm EQ is designed for high-resolution observing of astronomical objects, and can also be used for terrestrial exploration. With its precision optics and equatorial mount, you’ll be able to locate and enjoy hundreds of fascinating celestial objects, including the planets, Moon, and a variety of deep-sky galaxies, nebulas, and star clusters. If you have never owned a telescope before, we would like to welcome you to amateur astronomy. Take s
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DECLINATION AXIS wide enough to connect each end of the accessory tray 3. Assembly bracket to the attachment point on each leg. Use the screw that comes installed in each attachment point to do Assembling the telescope for the first time should take about this. First remove the screw using the supplied screwdriv- 30 minutes. No tools are needed other than the ones provid- er, then line up one of the ends of the bracket with the ed. All bolts should be tightened securely to eliminate flexing atta
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sure to loosen the R.A. and Dec. lock knobs before doing Spring-loaded this. Retighten the R.A. and Dec. lock knobs once the tensioner equatorial mount is properly oriented. 7. Slide the counterweight onto the counterweight shaft. Make sure the counterweight lock knob is adequately loosened to allow the counterweight shaft to pass through the hole in the counterweight. 8. With the counterweight lock knob still loose, grip the coun- terweight with one hand and thread the shaft into the equatoria
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The telescope is now balanced on the R.A. axis. It is not nec- while slowly rotating the focus knob clockwise. You should essary to balance the telescope on the Dec. axis, since the soon see the point at which focus is reached. optical tube’s mounting block is positioned so that the tele- Do You Wear Eyeglasses? scope will automatically be balanced on that axis. Now when you loosen the lock knob on one or both axes of motion and If you wear eyeglasses, you may be able to keep them on manually po
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Focusing the Finder Scope This is accomplished by slowly rotating the telescope on its right ascension (R.A.) axis, using only the R.A. slow-motion cable. But If, when looking through the finder scope, the images appear first the R.A. axis of the mount must be aligned with the Earth’s somewhat out of focus, you will need to refocus the finder rotational (polar) axis—a process called polar alignment. scope for your eyes. Loosen the lock ring located behind the objective lens cell on the body of t
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The equatorial mount is now polar aligned for casual observ- Understanding the Setting Circles ing. More precise polar alignment is recommended for The setting circles on an equatorial mount enable you to astrophotography. locate celestial objects by their “celestial coordinates”. Every object resides in a specific location on the “celestial sphere”. From this point on in your observing session, you should not That location is denoted by two numbers: its right ascension make any further adjustme
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Dec. coordinate indicator arrow object in the finder scope, and it should appear in the tele- scope’s field of view. Celestial equator (Dec. = 0°) The R.A. setting circle must be re-calibrated every time you wish to locate a new object. Do so by calibrating the setting cir- cle for the centered object before moving on to the next one. Confused About Pointing the Telescope? Beginners occasionally experience some confusion about how to point the telescope overhead or in other directions. In Figure
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ture difference between the indoor and outdoor air will cause image blurring and distortion. If at all possible, escape the light-polluted city sky and head for darker country skies. You’ll be amazed at how many more stars and deep-sky objects are visible in a dark sky! “Seeing” and Transparency Atmospheric conditions vary significantly from night to night. “Seeing” refers to the steadiness of the Earth’s atmosphere at a given time. In conditions of poor seeing, atmospheric turbu- lence causes
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an observer to own five or more eyepieces to access a wide when rotating the diagonal. Retighten the thumb screws on range of magnifications. This allows the observer to choose the the eyepiece adapter once the diagonal has been rotated to best eyepiece to use depending on the object being viewed. an appropriate position. To calculate the magnification, or power, of a telescope and Objects to Observe eyepiece combination, simply divide the focal length of the Now that you are all set up and read
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SATURN The ringed planet is a breathtaking sight when it is nitude 5 is required. Select one that shows the positions of many well positioned. The tilt angle of the rings varies over a period deep-sky objects, so you will have a lot of options to choose of many years; sometimes they are seen edge-on, while at from. If you do not know the positions of the constellations in the other times they are broadside and look like giant “ears” on night sky, you will need a planisphere to identify them. eac
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Continue using stars as guideposts in this way until you are at 9. Care and Maintenance the approximate position of the object you are trying to find (Figure 9). Look in the telescope’s eyepiece, and the object Transporting should be somewhere within the field of view. If it’s not, sweep The included soft carry case provides an excellent way to the telescope carefully around the immediate vicinity until the transport the optical tube and its accessories. Remove the object is found. tube from the
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Then apply some cleaning fluid to a tissue, never directly on the optics. Wipe the lens gently in a circular motion, then remove any excess fluid with a fresh lens tissue. Oily finger- prints and smudges may be removed using this method. Use caution; rubbing too hard may scratch the lens. For the large surface of the meniscus lens, clean only a small area at a time, using a fresh lens tissue on each area. Never reuse tissues. 10. Specifications Optical design: Maksutov-Cassegrain Aperture: 102mm
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One-Year Limited Warranty ™ This Orion StarMax 102mm EQ is warranted against defects in materials or workmanship for a period of one year from the date of purchase. This warranty is for the benefit of the original retail purchaser only. During this warranty period Orion Telescopes & Binoculars will repair or replace, at Orion’s option, any warranted instrument that proves to be defective, provided it is returned postage paid to: Orion Warranty Repair, 89 Hangar Way, Watsonville, CA 95076. If the
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™ ™ Collimating Orion StarMax and Apex Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescopes (StarMax 90,102, and 127, Apex 90, 102, and 127) (9821,9824,9826,9820,9823,9825) Collimating is the process of aligning a telescope’s optics. focus the image with the focusing knob. If the telescope is Your StarMax or Apex’s primary mirror was aligned at the correctly collimated, the expanding disk should be a circle factory and should not need adjustment unless the telescope (Figure 1). If the image is unsymmetrical, the scop
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Secondary Secondary mirror mirror Reflection of Reflection of Front of your eye in Front of your eye in telescope secondary telescope secondary mirror mirror Secondary Reflection of reflection of inside of tube inside of tube (misalignment) Figure 2a Figure 2b Figure 2a: If the telescope’s optics are out of alignment the Figure 2b: With the optics properly aligned the view through the view through the rear opening of the telescope will resemble rear opening of the telescope will resemble Figure
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Figure 4a Figure Figure 4c Figure 4d 4b Figure 4a: Using the 3mm Figure 4b: Now, with the Figure 4c: Turn the small Figure 4d: Turn the two Allen wrench, turn the large 2mm Allen wrench, turn the screw that is 180° opposite large screws adjacent to the screw clockwise a small two adjacent small screws the first screw clockwise no small screw counterclockwise amount, no more than 1/4 of counterclockwise no more more than 1/4 turn. no more than 1/4 turn. a turn. (Note, actual selected than 1/4 tur
