Carson Optical RP-300 instruction manual Assembly of your Red Planet Telescope

	Assembly of your Red Planet Telescope:
	Setting Up Your Tripod:
	The aluminum tripod comes preassembled and ready-to-use. Remove the
	tripod from the box and pull apart the legs. Gently push down the tripod
	braces (Fig. 7-35) until they are in the lowest position. Turn the tightening
	ring (Fig. 7-31) (located at the center of the Tripod Brace) clockwise to lock
	the tripod in the open position. You can then extend the legs to the desired
	height by pulling open the tab on each leg lock (Fig. 7-36), sliding the leg
	down the desired amount and then pushing the leg lock back against the leg
	into the locked position (Fig. 7-35). Repeat the process with each leg trying
	to keep the tripod as level as possible with the ground. You will notice there
	are holes in the tripod leg braces (Fig. 7-33). These are designed to hold eye-
	pieces when not in use. For added stability you can hang a weight from the
	tripod hook (Fig. 7-34) located at the bottom middle portion of the tripod.
	Attaching the Equatorial Mount:
	Remove the equatorial mount (Fig. 2-10) from the box and twist into the
	position shown in Fig. 3. Place the bottom of the mount (Fig. 3-20) into the
	hole in the top of the tripod head and secure with the mount locking screw
	(Fig. 3-21). Please be careful to make sure that the mount is securely at-
	tached to the tripod.
	Attaching the Counterweight:
	Attach the threaded end of the counterweight bar (Fig. 2-11) into the threaded
	hole in the equatorial mount (Fig. 2-10). Remove the safety screw from the
	end of the counterweight bar and set aside for a moment. Slide the counter-
	weight (Fig. 2-12) onto the bar and tighten down using the screw on the side
	of the counterweight (Fig. 2-13). Be careful not to drop the counterweight.
	It is quite heavy and could harm you or damage your floor if dropped. Do
	not worry about the position of the counterweight just yet. We will position it
	properly later. Replace the safety screw at the end of the counterweight bar.
	Attaching the Slow Motion Cables:
	Locate the two slow motion cables (Fig. 1-7,8). Loosen the screw at the end
	of each cable so that it does not protrude through the hole. Slide the short
	cable onto either side of the R.A. shaft (Fig. 1-8) (located at the bottom of
	the mount) and tighten down with the locking screw. You can place the cable
	on either side depending on which side is most comfortable for you to use.
	Slide the longer cable onto the Dec. shaft (Fig. 1-7) (located at the top of the
	mount) and tighten down with the locking screw. These slow motion cables
	will allow you to make fine pointing adjustments to the telescope in both
10	R.A. and declination. This will be discussed in more detail later.

Attaching the Telescope Tube to the Mount:

Remove the two cradle rings (Fig. 1-6) from the box. There are two holes in the top of the equatorial mount (called the optical tube saddle plate (Fig.

2-9)). Place the threaded screw at the bottom of each cradle ring (Fig. 6-29) through one of these holes and secure it using the included washer and wing nut (Fig. 6-30). Attach and secure the other cradle ring in the same way.

Make sure that the cradle ring lock knobs (Fig. 6-28) are both on the same side.

Unscrew the locks (Fig. 6-28) on each cradle ring and open them both. Care- fully remove the optical tube assembly (Fig. 1-5) from the box. Gently rest the optical tube into the cradle rings with the focuser (Fig. 1-2) towards the front. The cradle rings should be roughly in the center of the tube. We will balance this later. Close the cradle rings around the telescope and secure by tightening the cradle ring lock knobs (Fig. 6-28).

Attaching the Finder Scope:

There are two finder scope bracket mounting bolts (Fig. 5-27) located at the front end of the optical tube. Remove the nuts and set aside. Place the finder scope bracket (Fig. 5-26) onto the mounting bolts and tighten down securely to the optical tube. Make sure the bracket is facing forward as shown in Fig. 5. Slide the finder scope (Fig. 1-1) into the bracket facing forward. Tighten down the finder scope bracket thumbscrews (Fig. 5-24) to secure the finder scope in place.

Attaching the Eyepieces:

Insert the Kellner 20mm eyepiece (Fig. 1-3) into the focuser (Fig. 1-2) and tighten down using the focuser locking screw (Fig. 4-23).

You have now completed the assembly of your Red PlanetTM telescope. We will now need to make the necessary adjustments in order to use your telescope properly.

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