• 28 •
ASSEMBLING THE REFRACTING TELESCOPE
• Fully open the tripod (1) then set up the tray (2). Set the tripod to the desired height by lengthening
the sliding section of each leg.
• Insert the counterweight (3) into the sha (4). Use the locking screw to lock the counterweight in
place (5).
Screw the counterweight sha into the base of the declination axis of the equatorial mount. (See FIG
2)
• Fix the base of the equatorial mount (6) onto the head of the tripod (7) using the nut (8).
• Fix the base of the cradle (9) onto the head of the equatorial mount (10) and screw it in place (11).
• Use adjustment knobs (12) and (13) to set the controls. Tighten the knurled screws on the ends of
the adjustment knobs to hold them in place.
• Insert the star diagonal (FIG 3) into the focussing tube, then insert eyepiece K 25mm (14) into the
star diagonal. Moderately tighten the knurled screw (15) to lock the eyepiece in place.
• Attach the mount for the nderscope (16) to the optics tube using the locking nuts (17). en, centre
the nderscope (18) on its mount using the three adjustment screws (19).
e refracting telescope is now set up. Before you can use it eectively, you will now need to align the
nderscope.
ALIGNING THE FINDERSCOPE
e wide optical eld of the 6 x 30mm nderscope will allow you to easily locate a celestial object,
before observing it with the high magnication refracting telescope. e 6 x 30 (18) nderscope and
the mount for the nderscope (16) attach to the tube of the refracting telescope as explained above.
However, for the nderscope to function, it must be aligned with the refracting telescope, so that the
refracting telescope and the nderscope are directed at the same point in the sky. Once this simple
alignment is complete, it makes it much easier to nd objects, because rst you will locate an object
in the wide angle nderscope, then you will be able to observe it in the eyepiece of the refracting te-
lescope.
To align the nderscope:
• Place the eyepiece (14) with the least magnication (K 25mm) into the star diagonal of the refracting
telescope.
• Unscrew the right ascension brake (RA) and the declination brake (Dec) so that the refracting te-
lescope can turn freely on its two axes. en point the telescope towards an object on the land (for
example, the chimney on a house) at least 200 metres away. Look at the object through the eyepiece to
centre it in the eld of the refracting telescope (14). Use the adjustment knob to set the focus (20), to
achieve a clear picture. Once the object has been centred, re-tighten the brakes.
• Now look in the nderscope and tighten or loosen one or more of the knurled screws (19), as re-
quired, until the reticle on the nderscope is centred on the object the telescope is aimed at.
Once the adjustment has been made, the objects the nderscope is aimed at will be centred in the eld
of the telescope.
