Starmax Resource STARMAX 90 User's Manual
Contents
1. Collimating Orion StarMax and Apex Maksutov Cassegrain Telescopes StarMax 90 102 and 127 Apex 90 102 and 127 9821 9824 9826 9820 9823 9825 Collimating is the process of aligning a telescope s optics Your StarMax or Apex s primary mirror was aligned at the factory and should not need adjustment unless the telescope is handled roughly This manual contains information on how to test the collimation of your telescope and instructions for proper alignment should that be needed Star Testing the Telescope Before you start adjusting the primary mirror of your tele scope make certain that it is actually out of collimation by performing a star test Take your telescope out at dusk and let it acclimate to the outside temperature this usually takes 30 60 minutes When it is dark point the telescope upwards at a bright star and accurately center it in the eyepiece s field of view Slowly de Collimated Out of collimation Figure 1 A star test will determine if a telescope s optics are properly collimated An unfocused view of a bright star through the eyepiece should appear as illustrated on right if optics are perfectly collimated If circle is unsymmetrical as in illustration on left scope needs collimation focus the image with the focusing knob If the telescope is correctly collimated the expanding disk should be a circle Figure 1 If the image is unsymmetrical the scope is out of2. collimation Also the dark shadow cast by the secondary mir ror should appear in the very center of the out of focus circle like the hole in a donut If the hole appears off center the telescope is out of collimation If you try the star test but the bright star you have selected is not accurately centered in the eyepiece the optics will always appear out of collimation even though they may be perfectly aligned It is critical to keep the star centered so over time you will need to make slight corrections to the tele scope s position in order to account for the sky s apparent motion Collimating the StarMax Apex To collimate your telescope remove the diagonal and eye piece and look into rear opening of the tube also remove the dust cover from the front of the tube This should be done indoors with the telescope pointed at a white wall in a well lit room Try to keep your eye centered with respect to the rear opening of the tube as best as possible Using an Orion Collimating Eyepiece will aid greatly in keeping your eye cen tered and is strongly recommend Alternatively you can make a crude collimating tool out of an empty black plastic 35mm film canister It will not have crosshairs so it won t be as precise but it will be better than nothing Cut 1 2 from the top lip of the canister and put a 1 16 to 1 8 diameter hole in the center of its bottom Insert the film canister collimating tool into the focuser like
3. an eye piece with the bottom end out IN 183 Rev A 03 02 Secondary mirror Reflection of Front of your eye in telescope secondary mirror Secondary Reflection of reflection of inside of tube inside of tube misalignment Figure 2a Figure 2a If the telescope s optics are out of alignment the view through the rear opening of the telescope will resemble Figure 2a Once you are ready to collimate look into rear opening of the tube If your telescope is out of collimation it will resemble Figure 2a a properly collimated scope will resemble Figure 2b The direction of the misalignment in your telescope may differ from Figure 2a but the diagram will give you the gen eral idea of how things will look Note there are six alignment screws on the back of the opti cal tube three large and three small You will need 3mm and 2mm Allen wrenches to turn these screws These alignment screws push and pull the mirror cell in order to tilt it When you loosen or tighten one of these screws the other five screws must be adjusted as well to keep the proper amount of pressure on the back of the mirror cell By making slight adjustments to how much the screws are tightened and loos ened you will change the alignment of the primary mirror Look into the rear opening of the tube and locate the black crescent that shows the telescope is out of alignment Figure 2a Note which way the front of the telescope would need to move in order
4. to fill that black crescent and resem ble Figure 2b Then look at the back end of the telescope and locate the alignment screw that is in the direction that the Secondary mirror Reflection of Front of your eye in telescope secondary mirror Figure 2b Figure 2b With the optics properly aligned the view through the rear opening of the telescope will resemble Figure 2b front of the telescope needs to move For example if the view in your telescope resembled Figure 2a then you would want to move the front opening of the telescope scope to the right Then the alignment screw you would start with would be the screw on the right as shown in Figure 3 Your actions now depend on whether this alignment screw is a small or large screw Please note that you will be working to adjust the mirror cell by keeping all the screws not too loose and not too tight Follow the steps listed below careful ly and refer to the figures that accompany them Figure 3 If the view through the rear opening of the telescope resembled Figure 2a then the alignment screw you would start with would be this one The actual first alignment screw you would pick will vary depending on which way the front opening would need to move in order to fill the black crescent Figure 3 Figure 4a Figure 4a Using the 3mm Allen wrench turn the large screw clockwise a small amount no more than 1 4 of Figure
5. Figure 4b Now with the 2mm Allen wrench turn the two adjacent small screws counterclockwise no more Figure 4c Figure 4c Turn the small screw that is 180 opposite the first screw clockwise no more than 1 4 turn Figure 4d Figure 4d Turn the two large screws adjacent to the small screw counterclockwise no more than 1 4 turn a turn Note actual selected than 1 4 turn alignment screw will vary If the alignment screw is a large screw First using the 3mm Allen wrench turn the large screw clock wise a small amount no more than a 1 4 turn Figure 4a Now with the 2mm Allen wrench turn the two adjacent small screws Figure 4b counterclockwise no more than 1 4 turn Locate the small screw that is 180 opposite the first screw Figure 4c and turn it clockwise no more than 1 4 turn Turn the two large screws adjacent to the small screw Figure 4d counterclockwise no more than 1 4 turn Repeat the above steps until the front opening is centered in the direction you wanted it to go You may need to repeat this or the small screw adjustment process with other screws in order to align it in other directions Figure 5a Figure 5b Figure 5c Figure 5d Figure 5a Using the 2mm Allen wrench turn the large screw counterclockwise a small amount no more than 1 4 of a turn Note Actual selected alignment screw will vary Figure 5b
6. Now with the 3mm Allen wrench turn the two adjacent large screws clockwise no more than 1 4 turn If the alignment screw is a small screw First using the 2mm Allen wrench turn the small screw counterclockwise a small amount no more than a 1 4 turn Figure 5a Now with the 3mm Allen wrench turn the two adjacent large screws Figure 5b clockwise no more than 1 4 turn Locate the large screw that is 180 opposite the first screw Figure 5c and turn it counterclockwise no more than 1 4 turn Finishing Collimation Once you have finished adjusting your telescope you will need to perform another star test described earlier to check the collimation If your telescope appears collimated after star testing it should not need adjustment again unless it is roughly handled Figure 5c Turn the large screw that is 180 opposite the first screw counterclockwise no more than 1 4 turn Figure 5d Turn the two large screws adjacent to the small screw clockwise no more than 1 4 turn Turn the two small screws adjacent to the large screw Figure 5d clockwise no more than 1 4 turn Repeat the above steps until the front opening is centered in the direction you wanted it to go You may need to repeat this or the large screw adjustment process with other screws in order to align it in other directions Repeat these two procedures as needed until the view through the scope resembles Figure 2b If you have gone through t
7. his process and your telescope is still out of collimation please contact Orion customer sup port You may need to return the telescope for repair covered on warranty for 1 year after purchase
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