Attaching to an Optional Tripod, Focusing

Orion® TrailHead™ Spotting Scopes

#9520 15-45x65mm Straight • #9521 20-60x85mm 45° Angled

	Knurled	Focus
Eyepiece		knob
	Zoom ring
			Angle	Lens

			indicator	shade

Thumbscrew

	¼"-20		Objective

	Mounting
			lens
	block

Figure 1: The TrailHead 15-45x65mm straight zoom spotting scope.

Congratulations on your purchase of a quality Orion spotting scope. Your TrailHead zoom spotting scope is a high-quality opti- cal instrument for viewing birds, wildlife, sports events, or any- thing else you want to see more closely. It will provide many years of superb, enjoyable viewing. Before using your spotting scope, we recommend that you read through the following instructions. Please refer to Figures 1 and 2 above to identify the various parts mentioned in this manual.

Attaching to an Optional Tripod

The TrailHead zoom spotting scope can be attached to a sturdy camera tripod or other mount by use of the 1/4"-20 threaded hole in its mounting block. This hole accepts 1/4"-20 mounting studs that are standard on most tripods.

The spotting scope can be rotated relative to the mounting block, should you wish to change the orientation of the eyepiece for a more comfortable viewing angle. With the spotter attached to a tripod, loosen the thumbscrew on the mounting block’s ring, and grasp the body of the spotting scope. Rotate it to the desired posi- tion, and re-tighten the thumbscrew when done.

Extending the Lens Shade

A nice feature of the TrailHead zoom spotting scope is its retract- able lens shade. Having a retractable lens shade is desirable, as it keeps the length of the spotting scope shorter, and thus more portable, when transporting it.

When using the spotter, especially in bright daylight, the lens shade helps reduce glare (stray light) from entering the field of view. Glare is undesirable because it decreases overall image contrast. To use the lens shade you must first remove the lens cap. The lens shade can be extended by grasping and pulling it away from the objective lens. Retract the lens shade by pushing it inwards before putting it back into its case.

WARNING: Never look directly at the Sun through your spotting scope — even for an instant — without a professionally made solar filter that completely covers the front of the instrument, or permanent eye damage could result. Young children should use this spotting scope only with adult supervision.

Eyepiece

Focus

knobLens

Angleshade indicator

Knurled zoom ring

Thumbscrew ¼"-20

Mounting	Objective
block	lens

Figure 2: The TrailHead 20-60x85mm angled zoom spotting scope.

Figure 3: The TrailHead zoom spotting scope with the dew shield extended.

Focusing

Point the spotting scope in the general direction of an object at least 20 feet away. Rotate the focus knob with your fingers until the object comes into sharp focus. Go a little bit beyond sharp focus until the image just starts to blur again, and then reverse the rota- tion of the knob, just to make sure you’ve hit the exact focus point.

Using the Zoom Eyepiece

The TrailHead zoom spotting scope line provides continuous zoom magnification of either 15-45x (on the 65mm) or 20x to 60x (on the 85mm). The magnification is adjusted by rotating the knurled rubber zoom ring on the eyepiece. The arrow indicator and mag- nification scale show the current magnification setting. Changing the magnification may also require slight refocusing to achieve the sharpest image.

For general use, it’s a good idea to start viewing at the lowest magnification until you’ve acquired your viewing target. Then you can zoom-in to a higher magnification to see more detail. Note that as magnification increases, the images will become dimmer; this is an inherent law of physics, and cannot be avoided.

Twist-Down Eyecups

The spotting scope features a rubber twisting eyecup on the zoom eyepiece. This eyecup is usually left in the up position for use with- out eyeglasses. To use the spotting scope with eyeglasses, simply grasp the eyeguard and gently twist clockwise to lower it to the desired position. The eyeguard has handy click stops to keep it in place once it is set.

Use of the View-Through Carry Case

A feature of the TrailHead spotting scopes is that they can be used while still inside the carrying case and mounted on a tripod. This

IN 360 Rev A 02/09