assembly gear. Attach the slow motion knob to the oppo- site end of the worm gear shaft.
Flange
Hole
Figure 7. The location of the flange on the mount.
3.Slide the open end of the manual clutch assembly onto the worm gear shaft. Make certain that the setscrew on the manual clutch will press against the flat on the Dec. worm gear shaft. Secure the manual clutch assembly by tighten- ing the setscrew with a 2mm hex key.
4.Make certain that the gears of the motor assembly mesh with the gears of the manual clutch assembly. Also, make certain the gears are not too tightly pressed together. You can adjust the way the gears mesh by tightening or loosen- ing the
Figure 8. The assembled Dec. motor drive.
Dec. motor assembly to the mount. If the gears are not meshed properly or are too tightly pressed together, then the drive will not track properly, or at all.
When finished, the Dec. motor drive should resemble Figure 8.
Please note that if you wish to use the
motor drive attached, you must first loosen the thumb- wheel on the manual clutch assembly. Failure to do so may result in damage to the motor.
Attaching the Velcro
Two strips of velcro (one strip of “hooks” and one strip of “loops”) have been provided so you can create a place to keep the hand controller out of the way when not in use. Place the “hooks” strip of velcro on the back of the hand controller and the “loops” strip on a tripod leg or on the mount where it will be in a conveniently reached spot. Simply hang the hand control- ler by the velcro when it is not in use. Make certain when you attach the velcro to the mount that the hand controller’s posi- tion will not interfere with the motion of the mount.
Operating the Dual-Axis Drive
For the motor drive system to track properly, the equatorial mount must be polar aligned. This involves aligning the R.A. axis of the mount so it is parallel to the Earth’s axis of rotation (polar axis). Consult the manual that came with your SkyView Pro equatorial mount for details on how to polar align it.
The telescope must also be precisely balanced for the motor drive system to properly track the night sky. Consult the man- ual that came with your mount for details on balancing your telescope in the R.A. and Dec axes.
Insert four
Two cords are permanently connected to the hand controller. The printing on the bottom of the hand controller’s front panel indicates the R.A. cord and the Dec. cord. Connect the modu- lar plug on the end of the R.A. cord to the modular jack on the R.A. motor assembly (through the hole in the bottom of the R.A. motor assembly cover), and connect the plug of the Dec. cord to the jack on the Dec. motor assembly.
To turn on the motors, flip the power switch to either the “N” position (if you are in the Northern Hemisphere) or the “S” switch (if you are in the Southern Hemisphere). Make sure the thumbwheels on the manual clutch assemblies are engaged (i.e. tightened against the brass gears). The LED in the center of the hand controller should be shining green. If properly aligned and balanced, the mount should now be tracking the motion of the night sky, and the telescope should hold any astronomical object steady in its eyepiece over time.
To move your telescope to a new object, loosen both the R.A. and Dec. lock levers and move the telescope until it is pointed in the general direction of the object you wish to view. Retighten the R.A. and Dec. lock levers. Loosen the thumbwheels on both the Dec. and R.A. manual clutch assemblies and use the R.A. and Dec.
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