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Assorted eyepieces are available both to increase and decrease the operating eyepiece power of the telescope. If the Jupiter 114 EQ-D is used on a regular basis, a selection of four to five eyepieces is recommended. For example, an eyepiece assortment of focal lengths 40mm, 25mm (Included as standard equipment), 12.5mm, 9mm, and 6mm yields a magnifying range of 22.5x, 36x, 72x, 101x, and 150x respectively. The included high quality Barlow Lens serves to double the power of each of these eyepieces. To use the Barlow Lens, insert the #126 unit into the telescope’s focuser first, followed by an eyepiece; the power thus obtained is then double the power obtained when the eyepiece is used alone. For example, the MA 25mm eyepiece, when used in conjunction with the Barlow Lens yields 72x.
MAINTENANCE
1. Cleaning
As with any quality instrument, lens or mirror surfaces should be cleaned as infrequently as possible. Front surface aluminized mirrors, in particular, should be cleaned only when absolutely necessary. In all cases avoid touching any mirror surface. A little dust on the surface of a mirror or lens causes negligible loss of performance and should not be considered reason to clean the surface. When lens or mirror cleaning does become necessary, use a camel’s hair brush or compressed air gently to remove dust. If the telescope’s dust cover is replaced after each observing session, cleaning of the optics will rarely be required.
2. Mount and Tripod Adjustments
Every Jupiter 114 EQ-D equatorial mount and tripod is factory inspected for proper fit and function prior to shipment.
The tripod legs have wingnuts (39, Fig. 1), and Phillips-head screws (38, Fig. 1) that may have backed off. They may be tightened to a firm feel for a more sturdy performance of the telescope.
3. Collimation (Alignment) of the Optics
All Jupiter 114 EQ-D telescopes are optically aligned at the factory prior to shipment. It is unlikely that you will need to align, or collimate, the optics after receipt of the instrument. However, if the telescope received unusually rough handling in shipment, it is possible that the optics must be re aligned for best optical performance. In any case this alignment procedure is simple, and requires only a few minutes the very first time the telescope is used. Take the time to familiarize yourself with the following collimation procedure, so that you will recognize a properly collimated instrument and can adjust the collimation yourself, if necessary.
a. Correct collimation
The properly collimated (aligned) mirror system in the Jupiter 114 EQ-D assures the sharpest images possible. This occurs when the primary mirror and diagonal mirror are tilted so that the focused image (see Fig. 4) falls directly through the center of the focuser drawtube (17, Fig. 1). These mirror tilt adjustments are made with the diagonal assembly (Fig. 5) and the primary mirror cell (Fig. 6), and will be discussed later.
Diagonal | Diagonal Mirror | Primary Mirror |
Assembly |
| | Promary Mirror-Tilt |
| Focused Image | Screws |
| |
