Orion 9995 Speed buttons Directional buttons Set button, Speed Buttons, Setting the Slewing Speed

1.Speed buttons

2.Directional buttons

3.Set button

The dual-axis hand controller is equipped with a red LED light in each button to indicate operation. An individual button’s LED will illuminate when the button is pressed. If a button combina- tion is entered, all LEDs will illuminate to indicate a successful operation.

Speed Buttons

The three buttons located near the top of the dual-axis hand controller (Guide, Slow, and Fast) are used to set the slewing and guiding speed of the mount.

Directional Buttons

The directional buttons allow complete control of the mounted telescope’s position during slewing or tracking. The Left and Right directional buttons control movements about the right ascension (R.A.). axis. The Up and Down directional buttons control movements about the declination (Dec.) axis.

Set Button

The Set button is used to set the dual-axis hand controller to operate in either Northern or Southern hemisphere locations.

Note: The Go button is not used in normal operation of the dual-axis controller.

Tracking Objects with the Dual-Axis Hand Controller

In order for your Sirius EQ-G mount to accurately track celes- tial objects as they appear to migrate across the night sky, your mount must be properly polar aligned. For more details on polar alignment, please consult section 6 of this manual.

Once the power switch is turned on, the dual-axis controller begins to track by rotating the R.A. axis motor at the default (sidereal) rate. The Dec. axis motor will not rotate. As long as the mount has been properly polar aligned, it should not be necessary to adjust the Dec. axis for accurate tracking. If you notice a lack of tracking precision at the default (sidereal) rate, consult section 6 of this manual and attempt to polar align the mount more accurately.

Tracking can be deactivated or activated at any time the Sirius EQ-G mount is receiving power. In order to deactivate tracking, simply press and hold the Guide button then press the Slow button on the controller. Pressing the same button combination will reactivate tracking at the default (sidereal) rate.

There are three tracking rates used by the dual-axis controller:

Sidereal rate tracking is the default tracking rate for the Sirius EQ-G mount. Celestial objects are tracked using this rate which is equivalent to the rate of the Earth’s rotation.

Solar rate tracking is used to track the Sun over a long period of time. Solar rate tracking is activated by pressing and holding the Slow speed button, then the Right directional button.

Warning: Never look directly at the Sun through your tele- scope or its finder scope, even for an instant, without a professionally made solar filter that completely covers the

front aperture of the instrument, or permanent eye dam- age could result.Young children should use this telescope only with adult supervision.

Lunar rate tracking is used to track the Moon at its rate of apparent motion across the sky. Lunar rate tracking is activat- ed by pressing and holding the Slow button, then the Down directional button.

Note: Solar and Lunar tracking rates can only be used when the Sirius EQ-G has tracking activated. If tracking is deactivat- ed, you must first activate tracking by holding the Guide button then pressing the Slow button.

Setting the Slewing Speed

In order to conveniently center an object in your telescope’s finderscope or eyepiece, you can set the speed rate at which the motors rotate the telescope when the directional buttons are pressed. The three speed buttons located near the top of the hand controller are used to set the slewing rates of the mount.

The slewing speed buttons each have two different speeds assigned to them. The slewing speed that is employed is dependent on whether or not the dual-axis controller has track- ing activated or deactivated (by holding the Guide button then pressing the Slow button).

With tracking activated, the Guide button will slew the Sirius EQ-G mount at a very slow speed equals to 1.5x sidereal rate. This speed rate will generally be used to guide a telescope while imaging with a camera. You can also change the Guide button speed rate to be slightly faster or slower (see “Setting the Guiding Speed”). If tracking is deactivated, pressing the Guide button will set the Sirius EQ-G to slew at 32x sidereal rate; this speed is too fast for guiding during imaging.

By pressing the Slow button with tracking activated, the Sirius EQ-G will slew at 4x sidereal rate. With tracking deactivated, pressing the Slow button will set the Sirius EQ-G mount to slew at 64x sidereal rate.

With tracking activated, the Fast button will set the Sirius EQ- G mount to slew at 8x sidereal rate. If tracking is not activated, pressing the Fast button will set the Sirius EQ-G to slew at 800x sidereal rate; this is a very fast speed that can be used to slew the mount from object to object across the sky.

Changing the Guiding Speed

The dual-axis hand controller provides 4 different guiding speed settings: 2x, 1.75x, 1.5x (default), and 1.25x sidereal rate. If you change the guiding speed from the default setting of 1.5x sidereal rate, the controller will guide at the chosen speed until another guiding speed is selected.

9