Celestron Advanced VX 700 Maksutov Cassegrain Telescope Advanced VX - Page 8

telescope (i.e., the telescope remains stationary when the R.A. clutch knobs are loose). 6. Tighten the screw on the counterweight to hold it in place. To keep the empty threads clean, always replace the Allen-key screws into the set of holes you are not using. Moving the Telescope Manually In order to properly balance your telescope, you will need to move your telescope manually at various portions of the sky to observe different objects. To make rough adjustments, loosen the R.A. and DEC clutch knobs slightly and move the telescope in the desired direction. Both the R.A. and DEC axis have lock levers to clutch down each axis of the telescope. To loosen the clutches on the telescope, rotate the lock levers counterclockwise. Declination Clutch Lever Tip: W  hile the above instructions describe a perfect balance arrangement, there should be a SLIGHT imbalance to ensure the best possible tracking. When the scope is on the west side of the mount the counterweight should be slightly imbalanced to the counterweight bar side. And when the tube is on the east side of the mount, there should be a slight imbalance toward the telescope side. This is done so that the worm gear is pushing against a slight load. The amount of the imbalance is very slight. When taking astroimages, this balance process can be done for the specific area at which the telescope is pointing to further optimize tracking accuracy. RA Clutch Lever Balancing the Mount in R.A. To eliminate undue stress on the mount, the telescope should be properly balanced around the polar axis. Proper balancing is crucial for accurate tracking. To balance the mount: 1. V erify that the telescope is securely attached to the telescope mounting platform. 2. L oosen the R.A. lock lever and position the telescope off to one side of the mount. The counterweight bar will extend horizontally on the opposite side of the mount. 3. R elease the telescope - GRADUALLY - to see which way the telescope "rolls." 4. L oosen the set screws on the side of the counterweight, so it can be moved the length of the counterweight bar. 5. Move the counterweight to a point where it balances the Balancing the Mount in DEC Although the mount does not track in declination, the telescope should also be balanced in this axis to prevent any sudden motions when the DEC lock lever is loose. To balance the telescope in DEC: 1. Loosen the R.A. clutch lock lever and rotate the telescope so that it is on one side of the mount (i.e., as described in the previous section on "Balancing the Mount in R.A."). 2. Tighten the R.A. lock lever to hold the telescope in place. 3. Loosen the DEC clutch lock lever and rotate the telescope until the tube is parallel to the ground. 4. Release the tube - GRADUALLY - to see which way it rotates around the declination axis. DO NOT LET GO OF THE TELESCOPE TUBE COMPLETELY! 5. Slightly loosen the knobs that hold the telescope to the mounting platform and slide the telescope either forward or backward until it remains stationary when the DEC clutch is loose. Do NOT let go of the telescope tube while the knob on the mounting platform is loose. It may be necessary to rotate the telescope so that the counterweight bar is pointing down before loosening the mounting platform screw. 6. Tighten the knobs on the telescope mounting platform to hold the telescope in place. 8 I ENGLISH