Orion 6/6I instruction manual Under side of top baseplate Pre-drilled starter hole

Center hole

Modular jack

Under side of top baseplate

Pre-drilled starter hole

Wood screw

Washer

	Wave
Altazimuth encoder board	spring

Under side of top baseplate

Figure 6. Install the azimuth encoder board on the under­ side of the top baseplate. Be sure to place one washer on the screw after inserting the screw through its hole in the azimuth board, then thread the screw into the predrilled starter hole.

bottom baseplate, you should also see three white plastic parts: a short azimuth bushing, a long azimuth bushing, and a flat Teflon bearing ring (Figure 4). The bushings may have remained lodged in the center hole of the baseplate(s) when you removed it. If that’s the case, use a finger to push the bushing out of the hole. Set the bottom baseplate and associated parts aside for now while you install the vertical stop L-bracket on the top baseplate.

2.Install the vertical stop L-bracket. It will be permanently installed on the top baseplate (Figure 5). The vertical stop L-bracket will be used before each observing session to set the precise vertical orientation of the optical tube, the procedure for which will be described later. Once installed, the L-bracket will never have to be removed because it does not interfere with the range of motion of the optical tube between vertical and horizontal positions.

To install the vertical stop L-bracket, insert the two 25mm (~1") machine screws through the two holes in the L-bracket’s foot. Then insert the screws into the holes in the top baseplate, with the L-bracket oriented as shown in Figure 5. On the underside of the top baseplate, place a small lock washer on the end of each screw, then thread on a small hex nut. While holding the hex nut stationary with two fingers, tighten the screw with a small Phillips screwdriver. Repeat for the other screw. Now the L-bracket is secured in place.

Note: You may discard the two small flat washers for the 25mm machine screws that were included in the hardware kit; they are not needed.

Figure 7. Wedge the wave spring between the azimuth encoder board and the baseplate and align the “hole” in the wave spring with the central hole in the baseplate.

3.Thread the vertical stop bolt and knob into the corresponding hole in the vertical stop bracket, in the orientation show in Figure 5. Thread it though so that 1/2" or so of the bolt emerges on the other side of the L-bracket, then thread on the jam nut. You will adjust the position of the vertical stop bolt and tighten the jam nut later, when initializing the IntelliScope system prior to using it for the first time.

4.Attach the azimuth encoder board to the underside of the top baseplate (Figure 6). Insert a wood screw through the slot in the azimuth encoder board, then place a washer over the tip of the screw. Now hold the encoder board so that the modular jack and large hole in the encoder board line up with their corresponding holes

in the baseplate. Insert the screw tip into the pre-drilled starter hole and screw it in with a Phillips screwdriver until just tight. The screw should not be fully tightened; it should be tight, but not tight enough to prevent the encoder board from moving in its slot.

5.Place the wave spring between the azimuth encoder board and the bottom of the top baseplate as shown in Figure 7. Position the wave spring so that it aligns precisely with the central hole in the baseplate.

Now that the azimuth encoder is installed on the underside of the top baseplate, be sure not to set the baseplate down on a flat surface, as doing so could damage the encoder. Rather, set the baseplate with attached vertical side panel assembly on its side for now.

6.Place one fender washer on the azimuth axis bolt, followed by the short nylon bushing. Then insert the bolt through the central hole from the underside of the bottom

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