Celestron CGEM II Manual De Instrucciones página 10

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 Verify that the telescope is securely attached to the
telescope mounting platform
2 Loosen 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 Release the telescope — GRADUALLY — to see which
way the telescope "rolls "
4 Loosen 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
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
Tip: While 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
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
10 | ENGLISH
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
Like R A balance, these are general balance instructions
and will reduce undue stress on the mount When taking
astroimages, this balance process should be done for the
specific area at which the telescope is pointing
Adjusting the Mount
In order for a motor drive to track accurately, the telescope's
axis of rotation must be parallel to the Earth's axis of rotation,
a process known as polar alignment Polar alignment is
achieved NOT by moving the telescope in R A or DEC but
by adjusting the mount vertically, which is called altitude and
horizontally, which is called azimuth This section simply
covers the correct movement of the telescope during
the polar alignment process The actual process of polar
alignment, or making the telescope's axis of rotation parallel
to the Earth's, is described later in this manual in the section
on "Polar Alignment "
Adjusting the Mount in Altitude
• To increase the latitude of the polar axis, tighten the rear
latitude adjustment screw and loosen the front screw
• To decrease the latitude of the polar axis, tighten the front
latitude adjustment screw (located below the counter-
weight bar and loosen the rear screw
The latitude adjustment on the CGEM II mount has a range
from approximately 15° to 70°
Latitude
Adjustment
Knobs
Azimuth
Adjustment
Knobs