Orion 120 EQ instruction manual Assembly

2. Assembly

Carefully open all of the boxes in the shipping container. Make sure all the parts listed in Section 1 are present. Save the boxes and packaging material. In the unlikely event that you need to return the telescope, you must use the original packaging.

Assembling the telescope for the first time should take about 30 minutes. No tools are needed, other than the ones provid- ed. All bolts should be tightened securely to eliminate flexing and wobbling, but be careful not to over-tighten or the threads may strip. Refer to Figure 1 during the assembly process.

During assembly (and anytime, for that matter), DO NOT touch the surfaces of the telescope objective lens or the lens- es of the finder scope or eyepieces with your fingers. The optical surfaces have delicate coatings on them that can eas- ily be damaged if touched inappropriately. NEVER remove any lens assembly from its housing for any reason, or the product warranty and return policy will be voided.

1.Lay the equatorial mount on its side. Attach the tripod legs one at a time to the mount using the bolts installed in the tops of the tripod legs. Remove the bolt from the leg, line up the holes in the top of the leg with the holes in the base of the mount, and reinstall the bolt so it passes through the leg and the mount. Tighten the wingnuts only finger- tight, for now. Note that the accessory tray bracket attachment point on each leg should face inward.

2.Tighten the leg lock knobs at the base of the tripod legs. For now, keep the legs at their shortest (fully retracted) length; you can extend them to a more desirable length later, after the scope is completely assembled.

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 accessory tray bracket to the attachment point on each leg. Use the bolt that comes installed in each attachment point to do this. First remove the bolt using the supplied screwdriver, then line up one of the ends of the bracket with the attachment point and reinstall the bolt. Make sure the smooth side of the accessory tray bracket faces up.

4.Now, with the accessory tray bracket attached, spread the tripod legs apart as far as they will go, until the bracket is taut. Attach the accessory tray to the brackets with the three wingnut-head bolts already installed in the tray. Push the bolts up through the holes in the bracket, then thread them into the holes in the tray.

5.Next, tighten the wingnuts at the top 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 1, at a latitude of about 40°, i.e., so the pointer next to the latitude scale (located directly above the Orion logo on one side of the mount) is pointing to the line at “40.” To do this, loosen one of the latitude adjusting T-bolts and then tighten the other latitude adjusting T-bolt until the pointer and the “40” line up (Figure 2). The declination (Dec.) and right ascen- sion (R.A.) axes many need re-positioning (rotation) as

Figure 2. To adjust the latitude angle of the equatorial mount, loosen one of the two latitude adjustment T-bolts, then tighten the other.

well. Be sure to loosen the RA and Dec. lock levers before doing this. Retighten them once the equatorial mount is properly oriented.

7.Thread the counterweight shaft in to the equatorial mount at the base of the declination axis until tight. Make sure the casting at the top of the bar is threaded clockwise as far as it will go before attaching the shaft.

8.Remove the knurled “toe saver” retaining bolt on the bot- tom of the counterweight shaft and slide both counterweights onto the shaft. Make sure the counter- weight lock thumbscrews are adequately loosened so the metal pin inside the counterweight is recessed enough to allow the counterweight shaft to pass through the hole. Position the counterweights about halfway up the shaft and tighten the lock thumbscrews. Replace the toe saver on the end of the bar. It prevents the counterweights from falling on your foot if the lock thumbscrews happen to come loose.

9.Attach the two tube rings to the equatorial head using the bolts that come installed in the rings. Remove the bolts, then push them, with the washers still attached, up through the holes in the tube ring mounting plate (on the top of the equa- torial mount) and rethread them into the bottom of the tube rings. Tighten the bolts securely with the smaller wrench. Open the tube rings by loosening the knurled ring clamps.

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 focus knobs are on the underside of the telescope. 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 position- ing the setscrew on the end of the cable over the indented slot on the worm gear shaft. Then tighten the setscrew.

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