Eclinationis | Orion 130ST EQ guide

1. Lay the equatorial mount on its side. Attach the tripod

legs one at a time to the mount by sliding the screws

installed in the tops of the tripod legs into the slots at the

base of the mount and tightening the wing nuts finger-

tight. Note that the accessory tray bracket attachment

point on each leg should face inward.

2. Tighten the leg lock knobs on the bottom braces of the

tripod legs. For now, keep the legs at their shortest (fully

retracted) length; you can extend them to a more desir-

able length later, after the telescope is completely assem-

bled.

3. With the tripod legs now attached to the equatorial

mount, stand the tripod upright (be careful!) and spread

the legs apart enough to connect each end of the acces-

sory tray bracket to the attachment point on each leg.

Use the screw that comes installed in each attachment

R.A. setting circle

Latitude scale

Latitude lock

T-bolt

h		is
h	ax
t
ig
ascension
R

Latitude adjustment T-bolt

Azimuth lock knob

eclinationis x

Dec. slow-motion control cable

Dec. lock knob

Dec. setting circle

R.A. setting circle lock thumbscrew

R.A. slow-motion control cable

point to do this. First remove the screw using the supplied

screwdriver, then line up one of the ends of the bracket

with the attachment point and reinstall the screw. Make

sure that the ribs in the plastic molding of the accessory

tray bracket face downward.

4. Now, with the accessory tray bracket attached, spread

the tripod legs apart as far as they will go, until the brack-

et is taut. Attach the accessory tray to the accessory tray

bracket with the three wing screws already installed in the

tray. This is done by pushing the wing screws up through

the holes in the accessory tray bracket, and threading

them into the holes in the accessory tray.

5. Next, tighten the screws at the tops of the tripod legs, so

the legs are securely fastened to the equatorial mount.

Use the larger wrench and your fingers to do this.

6. Orient the equatorial mount as it appears in Figure 2,

at a latitude of about 40°, i.e., so the pointer next to the

latitude scale (located directly above the latitude lock

T-bolt) is pointing to the mark at “40.” To do this, loosen

the latitude lock T-bolt, and turn the latitude adjustment

T-bolt until the pointer and the “40” line up. Then retighten

the latitude lock T-bolt. The declination (Dec.) and right

ascension (R.A.) axes may need re-positioning (rotation)

as well. Be sure to loosen the RA and Dec. lock knobs

before doing this. Retighten the R.A. and Dec. lock knobs

once the 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. Now, with the counterweight lock knob still loose, grip the

counterweight with one hand and thread the shaft into

the equatorial mount (at the base of the declination axis)

with the other hand. When it is threaded as far in as it will

go, position the counterweight about halfway up the shaft

and tighten the counterweight lock knob. The retaining

screw and washer on the bottom of the shaft prevent the

counterweight from falling off (and onto your foot!) if the

counterweight lock knob becomes loose.

Figure 2. The SpaceProbe 130 ST’s equatorial mount.

9.Attach the two tube rings to the equatorial head using the hex head screws that come installed in the bottom of the rings. First remove the screws, then push the screws, with the washers still attached, up through the holes in the tube ring mounting plate (on the top of the equato- rial mount) and rethread them into the bottom of the tube rings. Tighten the screws securely with the smaller wrench. Open the tube rings by first loosening the knurled ring clamps. One of the tube rings has a piggyback cam- era adapter on top (the knurled black ring); it can be used to mount a camera for “piggyback” astrophotography.

10.Lay the telescope optical tube in the tube rings at about the midpoint of the tube’s length. Rotate the tube in the rings so the focuser is angled somewhere between hori- zontal and straight up. Close the rings over the tube and tighten the knurled ring clamps finger-tight to secure the telescope in position.

11.Now attach the two slow-motion cables to the R.A. and Dec. worm gear shafts of the equatorial mount by posi- tioning the thumbscrew on the end of the cable over the indented slot on the worm gear shaft and then tightening the thumbscrew. We recommend that the shorter cable be used on the R.A. worm gear shaft and the longer cable on the Dec. worm gear shaft. The Dec. worm gear shaft and cable should extend toward the front (open) end of the telescope optical tube. If it does not, you will need to remove the tube from the mounting rings, rotate the mount 180° about the Dec. axis (first loosen the Dec. lock knob), and then replace the tube.

12.To place the finder scope in the finder scope bracket, first unthread the two black nylon screws until the screw ends are flush with the inside diameter of the bracket. Place the O-ring that comes on the base of the bracket over the body of the finder scope until it seats into the groove on the middle of the finder scope. Slide the eyepiece end (narrow end) of the finder scope into the end of the brack- et’s cylinder opposite the alignment screws while pulling the chrome, spring-loaded tensioner on the bracket with