Using Your Telescope, Focusing the Telescope

scope (Figure 6a). That’s the point at which the shaft remains horizontal even when you let go with both hands (Figure 6b).

3.Retighten the counterweight lock knob. The telescope is now balanced on the right ascension axis.

Now when you loosen the lock lever on one or both axes and manually point the telescope, it should move with- out resistance and should not drift from where you point it.

fingers, slowly rotate one of the focus 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, just to make sure you’ve hit the exact focus point.

Note: The image in the telescope will appear reversed left-to-right.. This is normal for astronomical telescopes that utilize a star diagonal. The finder scope view will be rotated 180°. (Figure 7)

If you have trouble focusing, rotate the focus knob so the draw- tube is in as far as it will go. Now look through the eyepiece while slowly rotating the focus knob in the opposite direction.

Naked-eye view

6a.

6b.

Figure 6a, 6b. Proper operation of the equatorial mount requires that the telescope tube be balanced on the R.A. axis. (a) With the R.A. lock lever released, slide the counterweights along the counterweight shaft until it just counterbalances the tube. (b) When you let go with both hands, the tube should not drift up or down. The‑telescope tube should already be balanced in the Dec. axis if you have properly centered the 1/4" mounting block between the tube rings.

5. Using Your Telescope

This section will get you used to the functions and features of your new telescope.

Focusing the Telescope

With the 25mm eyepiece inserted in the diagonal, 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

View through finder scope and telescope

Figure 7. The view through a standard finder scope and reflector telescope is rotated 180°. This is true for the SkyView Pro 80mm ED EQ and its finder scope as well.

You should soon see the point at which focus is reached.

Note About the Crayford Focuser

The SkyView Pro 80mm ED EQ comes equipped with a Crayford focuser. The Crayford design allows for smooth, precise focusing without any image shift that typical rack-and- pinion designs experience. If you find that the focus knobs are too tight or too loose, you can make adjustments to the focuser tension by using the focuser tension thumb screw located on the bottom of the optical tube. Make adjustments to this thumb screw until the focuser motion feels comfort- able, but you must have at least some tension applied to the focuser drawtube, or else it will not move when you turn the focus knobs.

Viewing with Eyeglasses

If you wear eyeglasses, you may able to keep them on while you observe, if the eyepiece has enough "eye relief" to allow you to see the whole field of view. You can try this by looking through the eyepiece first with your glasses on, and then with them off, and see if the glasses restrict the view to only a portion of the full field. If they do, you can easily observe with your glasses off by just re-focusing the telescope the needed amount. If you suffer from severe astigmatism, however, you may find images noticeably sharper with your glasses on.