How to Setup the Telescope to Observe

Locate the buckle on the tripod strap.

When storing the tripod, it is best to tighten the tripod strap using the adjustment on the strap. If the strap is adjusted too tightly, you may want to loosen it before you unbuckle it.

Unbuckle the tripod strap and rest it on the ground, out of the way.

Slowly pull the tripod legs apart, taking care that the tripod doesn't tip over.

Place one hand on the tripod leg connector, and push the center down, extending the legs of the tripod.

Continue pushing down until the tripod leg connector is as far down as it will go.

Rotate the tripod tray from its storage position to its active position, where the legs are align in the groove of each point of the tray.

Tighten the telescope tray knob, which is underneath the telescope tray.

Look at the bubble level on the top of the tripod to see if the tripod is level.

If the bubble is within the center of the circle, your telescope is level, if it is off to one side you will need to adjust the tripod legs to accommodate uneven ground.

Generally you will want to raise the leg opposite (furthest) from the the bubble. You may need to adjust two legs. If you are unsure, gently raise one leg and watch the bubble.

Turn the knob at the base of the tripod leg counterclockwise to losen it.

Slowly raise or lower the tripod leg as needed.

Watch the bubble as you adjust the leg to determine where the tripod is level.

Tighten the knob at the base of the tripod leg by turning it clockwise until it is secure.

Make sure that the tripod is level before you mount the telescope.

If you need to level your tripod, check out this guide for tips and instructions.

Locate the three screws on the tripod. These screws will align with holes on the telescope to hold the telescope into place.

Locate the center pin on the tripod. There is a hole on the telescope where this pin will rest.

Firmly grasp the handle on the right side of the fork mount.

Place your other hand in the hand-hold beneath the hand paddle mount on the left side of the telescope fork mount.

Lift the telescope with your center of mass always at the level of the telescope. Do not bend over and try to lift the telescope with your back, it is heavy and you may hurt yourself or the telescope.

Carefully lift the telescope and carry it to the tripod.

You may want to have two people carry the telescope.

Insert wisdom here.

Rotate the telescope on the tripod until it seats onto the three attachment bolts.

Tighten these three screws to secure the telescope to the tripod.

Insert wisdom here.

Locate your power adapter.

Thread one end of the power adpater through the handle on the right side of the telescope fork mount.

Loop the connector end that goes to the telescope back around and tie a simple overhand knot.

Gently pull the knot to secure it, ensuring that there is enough cable to for the connector to reach the base of the telescope.

Plug the telescope connector into the power adapter on the base of the fork mount.

Locate the hand paddler mount slot on the left arm of the fork mount.

Locate the hand paddle cradle.

Slide the hand paddle cradle into the slot.

Press down to make sure that the hand paddle cradle is secure.

Locate your hand paddle.

Take the connector end of the coil cable on the hand paddle and plug it into the "control" jack on the base of the fork mount.

Insert the hand paddle into the cradle.

Do not leave the hand paddle loose while using the telescope, as it can get damaged. Rest the hand paddle in the cradle when you are not holding it.

With with thumbscrews on the telrad shoe loosened, set the telrad down in the shoe.

Tighten the thumbscrews on the telrad shoe to secure the telrad.

Turn on telrad reticle using switch on back right of telrad

You can adjust the brightness of the telrad display. Turning the switch clockwise increases the brightness.

After you have centered an object in the telescope, use the three screws on the back of the telrad to align the display on this same object.

Locate your star diagonal.

Remove the translucent white cap and the black cap from the diagonal.

Store the caps someplace where you won't lose them.

Locate your eyepiece.

Remove the translucent white cap and the black cap from the eyepiece.

Store your caps someplace where you won't lose them.

Lift up the eyepiece cup by unfolding the rubbery edge of the eyepiece.

Insert the silver tube of the eyepiece into the black tube star diagonal.

Tighten down the screws to hold the eyepiece in place.

When you tighten screws, finger-tight is enough. Do not over tighten the screws.

Insert the silver tube of the star diagonal into the T-adapter on the back end of the telescope.

Tighten the two screws to hold the diagonal to the telescope.

When you tighten screws, finger-tight is enough. Do not over tighten the screws.

Grasp the raised tabs along the edge of the telescope cover.

Rotate the telescope cover counterclockwise to unlock it.

Pull the telescope cover away from the telescope.

Once the telescope cover is removed, the optics are exposed.

Never touch or try to clean the glass corrector plate. The corrector plate is very fragile and you could damage the optics.

If you notice dew or moisture on the corrector plate, leave the telescope cover off of the scope and wait until the dew has evaporated off the cover, which may take until the next morning.

Locate the Astrozap label on your dew shield. This is the outside of the dew shield.

Turn the dew shield over, to the inside.

Locate the lighter colored, rubber strip on the edge of the dew shield. This is where the dew shield will meet the telescope.

Wrap the dew shield around the edge of the telescope, aligning the lighter colored, rubber edge on the dew shield with the outer edge of the telescope tube.

Wrap the dew shield so that the edges overlap.

Press down on the overlapping edges to secure the velcro.

When it comes time to remove the dew shield, simply slide it directly off the end of the tube.

Located the long cable that carries both power and data to the Mallincam camera.

Insert the side of the cable with the RCA adapter into the white "IN" port on the back end of the IOTA-VTI timer box.

Locate the end of the cable the carries power to the Mallincam camera and carries data back to the IOTA-VTI timer.

Making sure there is enough slack for this cable to allow the camera to move up and down in altitude, secure the cord to the right arm of the form mount with a simple overhand knot.

Turn the Mallincam camera to expose the back end of the camera.

Insert the power cable into the power port of the camera.

Align the two pins on the "VIDEO-OUT" port of the camera with the two slots on the BNC connector of the data cable.

Insert the BNC connector and turn clockwise to secure the connector.

Remove the lens cover from the camera.

Do not touch or attempt to clean the glass covering the camera chip.

Locate the focal reducer which was shipped in a zip-lock bag with the camera.

Screw the focal reducer into the threads on the front end of the camera, turning the focal reducer clockwise.

With the focal reducer attached to the camera, insert the camera system into the T-adapter at the back end of the telescope.

Tighten the two thumb screws on the T-adapter so that the camera is held in place. These screws should be finger tight.

Locate the cable that will be used to connect the IOTA-VTI timer to the Mini-DVR.

Insert the side of the cable with the yellow RCA adapter into the yellow "OUT" port on the timer.

Insert the other end of the Mini-DVR cable into the "AV1" port of the Mini-DVR.

In order to record, the Mini-DVR needs a DV card.

Rotate the DV card so that the labeled end faces the back of the Mini-DVR. Insert the DV card into the slot at the top of the Mini-DVR.

You should be able to feel the DV card engage into a spring mechanism inside the Mini-DVR slot.

Place the Mini-DVR on top of the IOTA-VTI box and place on the tripod tray.

Use care when holding the Mini-DVR. Dropping the Mini-DVR can damage the device.

Shown here is the back end of the Mallincam camera after it has been connected and inserted into the telescope T-adapter.

Press and hold down the center button shown to access the camera menu. This center button is also the "enter" button for the menu.

Use the four arrow keys to navigate the camera menu.

You are now ready to observe.