ASTRO-PHYSICS 600 Manual - Page 3

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Mount Maintenance and Alignment

Under normal operating conditions, no maintenance is required. For customer convenience, we have added certain

adjustments that will keep the mounting in top shape, but only if the adjustment procedures are understood. Do not

attempt any adjustments to the drive gear with telescopes or counterweights attached to the mounting.

The heart of the mounting is the worm gear drive. For highest accuracy, the alignment of the stainless steel worm against

the wheel is critical. This alignment should not be disturbed: do not loosen the four screws on the side of the worm

housing. There is provision for adjusting the tension of the worm against the worm wheel. It is advised that you do not

make any adjustment unless you are thoroughly familiar with worm gears. Adjustments of the worm should be made with

the motor assembly removed from the mount. Tighten the gear engagement only enough to just eliminate backlash. The

small worm gear must move freely. If the gear is too tight, it will not drive accurately.

The declination axis uses a tangent arm slow motion system. If backlash develops in this axis, the small stainless steel

captive nut requires tightening. This is accomplished with the set screw on the nut. Tighten the set screw just enough to

eliminate the backlash.

Both the R.A. and Dec. have manual slow motion knobs. These allow you to manually move the axes by a small amount.

These knobs have friction pads that may in time loosen. If this happens, the motors will slip and not drive properly,

especially if the telescope is unbalanced. To remedy this, loosen the set screws on the knob and tighten the knob against

the friction pad. The knobs are internally threaded – rotate them clockwise to tighten, counterclockwise to loosen.

Tighten the set screws again to lock the knobs to the shaft.

If any problems occur, please don't hesitate to contact Astro-Physics for assistance.

Possible Modifications for your 600 Mount:

ST-4 Modification: The 8010 controller can be modified to accept the ST-4 autoguider. If this modification has already

been made, you will see an on-off switch and male 15-pin D-sub connector on the lower side of the box. Please call

Astro-Physics if you need modification #ST4MOD.

DUAL AXIS HAND CONTROLLER FOR MODEL 600 AND 800 MOUNTS

Astro-Physics, Inc.

11250 Forest Hills Road

Machesney Park, IL 61115

Telephone: (815) 282-1513

Fax: (815) 282-9847

www.astro-physics.com

Select your driving rate

SID

SOL = Solar rate

LUN = Lunar rate

VAR = Variable rate. Push this button, then turn

DEC

= Declination

R.A.

= Right Ascension

MODE = You can adjust the rate for slewing (8X) or guiding

(2X).

= Sidereal rate

Var.Rate knob