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instruction Manual
™
orion skyQuest Xti
intelliscope Dobsonian
t elescopes
#10026 XT6i, #10018 XT8i, #10019 XT10i, #10020 XT12i
customer support (800)‑676‑1343
E‑mail: support@telescope.com
corporate offices (831)‑763‑7000
89 Hangar Way, Watsonville, ca 95076
oriont elescopes.com
Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975
IN 226 Rev. J 09/12
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Finder Secondary mirror holder scope with 4-vane spider (not visible) Finder scope bracket Eyepiece Focuser Navigation knob Optical tube Altitude tensioning knob Retaining knob (opposite side) IntelliScope Computerized Controller Port Object Locator modular jack Right side panel Primary mirror cell Front brace Eyepiece rack Handle Left side panel Top baseplate Ground baseplate Foot (3) Figure 1. The SkyQuest XT8 IntelliScope 2
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Congratulations on your purchase of an Orion SkyQuest XTi IntelliScope Dobsonian. It is a high-perfor- mance astronomical instrument designed to provide dazzling views of celestial objects and unprecedent- ed ease of use. With the addition of the optional IntelliScope Computerized Object Locator (Controller), you gain the ability to locate and view thousands of celestial objects with the push of a button. Searching for faint objects – so often a source of frustration for telescope users – is a
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3 Plastic feet 3 Feet attachment wood screws (length 1") 5 Encoder board mounting wood screws 1 Brass bushing 1 Azimuth axis hex-head screw (length 2.25") 2 Fender washers (diameter 1") 1 Hex lock nut 4 Altitude bearing cylinders 4 Altitude bearing cylinder screws (length 1.5", black) 1 Vertical stop knob 1 Small thin Azimuth Encoder board washer Figure 1.2. To remove the rear end ring, unthread the screws 3 Vertical stop knob washers that connect it to the tube. Box #3 (Xt12i only): Primary
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Figure 1.6. Lower the assembled mirror cell onto the tube so one side of the end ring is seated on the tube edge. The threaded attachment holes in the end ring should also be lined up with the Figure 1.5. Thread the collimation thumbnuts, with nylon through holes in the end of the tube. washers attached, through the rear end ring and onto the threaded shafts. Make sure the thumbnuts have at least three full turns of engagement on the shafts. Next, assemble the rear end ring to the mirror c
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C N B Spacer washer L Figure 3a. The spacer washer goes between the azimuth K encoder board and the top baseplate of the Dobsonian base. M D E G F J A Encoder board mounting screw Azimuth encoder board H Figure 3b. Installing the azimuth encoder board. Line up the large hole in the encoder board with the central hole in the top baseplate. I side panels should be oriented so the SkyQuest IntelliS- cope labels are facing outward. The front brace should be Figure 2. Exploded view of the XTi In
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Correct Tension pads a. Bearing cylinders Figure 5. Attaching the bearing cylinders. Encoder connector board b. Figure 4. To connect the baseplates, tilt them only slightly, as shown. Do not place them on their side. (a) Use one wrench to hold Screws the hex nut steady (b) while turning the other end of the azimuth Figure 6. Attaching the encoder connector board. axis screw. then tighten the hex nut a quarter turn beyond that. This 6. Place a fender washer (H) onto the azimuth axis screw
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Next, you’ll need to install the altitude encoder board assem- bly. To do so, please refer to the separate instruction manual for the IntelliScope Computerized Object Locator. installing the Vertical stop Place three flat washers onto the shaft of the vertical stop screw. Thread the vertical stop into the threaded insert on the inside of the front panel until just tight (Figure 7). The position Vertical Stop of the vertical stop is adjustable by adding or removing wash- ers. This is importa
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Figure 10. The tensioning knob, with the metal and nylon washers, goes on the left side of the base, just above the IntelliScope port. The tensioning knob should be tightened until the Altitude CorrecTension pads just touch the telescope’s altitude bearing. bearings Bearing cylinders Figure 9. Lift the optical tube and place it into the Dobsonian Figure 11. The retaining knob on the right side of the base base so that the altitude bearings rest on the bearing cylinders. is inserted though t
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1.25" eyepiece adapter 2" eyepiece adapter Nylon Eyepiece alignment thumbscrew Objective Finder (2) lens cell scope bracket Focus knobs Focus lock thumbscrew Correct-Image Focusing tension prism housing Focusing adjustment set screw lock ring Tensioner Figure 13a. The 2" Crayford focuser of the SkyQuest XT8i, XT10i, and XT12i. Figure 12a. The 9x50 right-angle correct-image finder scope and bracket (6x30 for the XT6i). Focus knobs Focus lock thumbscrew Knurled thumbscrew Focusing tensi
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Altitude Azimuth Figure 15. Adjust the tensioning knob until the altitude balance Figure 14. The SkyQuest IntelliScope has two axes of motion; is just right. The telescope should move easily in altitude without altitude (up/down) and azimuth (left/right). drifting when you let go. dust cap on the front of the telescope tube should always To move the telescope, simply take hold of the navigation remain in place when the telescope is not in use. It is also knob near the front opening of the sc
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Focusing the t elescope With the 25mm Sirius Plössl eyepiece in the focuser and secured with the thumbscrew(s), move the telescope so the front (open) end is pointing in the general direction of an object at least 1/4-mile away. Now, with your fingers, slowly rotate one of the focusing knobs until the object comes into sharp focus. Go a little bit beyond sharp focus until the image just starts to blur again, then reverse the rotation of the knob, Naked-eye view just to make sure you’ve hi
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of focus, you will need to refocus the finder scope for your The magnification provided by the 10mm eyepiece is: vision. Loosen the lock ring located behind the objective lens 1200 mm cell on the body of the finder scope (see Figure 12a) by turn- = 120x 10 mm ing it counterclockwise. Back the lock ring off by a few turns, The maximum attainable magnification for a telescope is for now. Focus the finder scope on a distant object by thread- directly related to how much light its optics can co
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a. b. c. Figure 17. Picking up and carrying the SkyQuest IntelliScope as a single unit (with tube held captive on the base) requires some caution. (a) First, position the tube vertically. Then grasp the handle on the base with one hand while supporting the tube with the other. This ensures that the tube will not swing down and impact the ground (b) With knees bent, slowly lift the base while supporting the tube. (c) As you lift, continue to support the tube with one hand to keep it parallel w
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Reflective surface of collimation cap Center ring on b. c. primary mirror a. d. e. Figure 19. Collimating the optics. (a) When the mirrors are properly aligned, the view down the focuser drawtube should look like this. (b) With the collimation cap in place, if the optics are out of alignment, the view might look something like this. (c) Here, the secondary mirror is centered under the focuser, but it needs to be adjusted (tilted) so that the entire primary mirror is visible. (d) The sec
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Preparing the t elescope for collimation Figure 20. The SkyQuest Once you get the hang of collimation, you will be able to do XTi IntelliScope it quickly even in the dark. When trying it for the first time or properly set up two, though, it is best to collimate in daylight, preferably in a for collimation. brightly lit room and with the telescope aimed at a white wall. Note the white It is recommended that the telescope tube be oriented hori- paper placed zontally. This will prevent a
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“dot” of the collimation cap is moving closer or further away from the “ring” on the center of the primary mirror. If turning that one thumbscrew does not seem to be bringing you closer to collimation, try using one of the other collimation thumb- screws. It will take some trial and error using all three thumb- screws to adjust the telescope properly. Over time you will get the feel for which collimation screws to turn to move the image in a given direction. When you have the dot centered a
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B. seeing and t ransparency Atmospheric conditions play a huge part in quality of view- ing. Light from stars and other celestial objects must travel through miles of Earth’s atmosphere to reach our eyes. The 1.9 air in the atmosphere will refract and bend the light. Atmo- spheric turbulence will worsen the effects of refraction, which can cause the image you see in your telescope to be unsta- 4.9 ble. The steadiness of the atmosphere is called “seeing.” 2.4 3.4 2.4 1.7 In conditions of good
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if you wish. This is especially recommended for small and JUPITER The largest planet, Jupiter, is a great subject for bright objects like planets and double stars. The Moon also observation. You can see the disk of the giant planet and takes higher magnifications well. watch the ever-changing positions of its four largest moons: Io, Callisto, Europa, and Ganymede. Higher power eyepieces Deep-sky objects, however, typically look better at medium should bring out the cloud bands on the planet
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tive to color in faint light. Still, there is something very special database for each object. Since the telescope is not depen- about seeing an astronomical object in real time, with your dent on motors for movement, you can move the telescope to own eyes — “live,” if not in living color. your target much more quickly (and quietly!) than motorized telescopes can — and without guzzling all those batteries in note about astrophotography the process. SkyQuest IntelliScope Dobsonians are designe
