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r/Astronomy•
HumbleDialog

Not getting anywhere with Orion tech support / Humble Noob Question

I received my first telescope as a gift this past Christmas (an Orion 130ST). From my understanding, it is pretty good for a starter scope and I'm having a lot of fun with it. It's on an equatorial mount, which I think I have mostly figured out. Only problem is that I need to set the latitude adjustment way higher than I should to get it polar aligned, like 10 degrees higher. Obviously, I'm new to all this, so I don't know enough to know if this is a problem or not. Anyway, I tried to get my question answered through Orion tech support. Can someone explain what I'm missing?

Here is the exchange:

Me: I recently received the 130ST as a gift, and so far I love it. However, I'm having some trouble with the mount. After I get the tripod level and the scope pointed north, I need to set the latitude adjustment to 42-43 degrees to get Polaris in view even though I am located at around 33 degrees north. I'm checking that the tripod is level by setting a standard level in the accessory tray below the mount and moving it around at different angles to make sure it is level in all respects. Is this a valid leveling technique? How do you recommend ensuring that it is level? Even if the tripod isn't exactly perfectly level, I doubt it is off by up to 10 degrees. As a test, I even adjusted the legs of the tripod such that Polaris would be in view when set to 33 degrees, and it seemed somewhat in danger of toppling over. Is it possible that the markings on the mount are off? Will it affect the alignment of the mount if I just keep it at 42 degrees?

Orion Support: Thank you for contacting Orion. If your tripod is level and your latitude is set at 33 you should be ok. When you polar align an equatorial mount, you aim the RA axis of the mount at Polaris, not the telescope.

Me: Thanks for the response. However, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but when Dec is at 90, aren't the RA axis and the telescope theoretically pointed at the same place? Every guide for polar alignment I've found, including the instruction manual packaged with the scope, indicates that Polaris should be seen in the finder scope when alignment has been reached.

Orion Support: Thank you for contacting Orion. The opticsl tube will be pointing north but when over the RA axis is us usually not pointing exactly at Polaris. You may see Polaris in the finder since it has a large field of view.

(typos in the last response are theirs, not mine, so I don't entirely get what that second sentence is saying)

Ok, so I understand that Polaris isn't exactly at the CNP, but I should see it in roughly the center of my 25mm eyepiece when the scope is aligned, right?

Posted Jan 12, 2012, 11:41 PM UTC · edited

613
MrGonz•

I understand where both of you are at but it may take some time to get you and Orion on the same page. Since I am friends with a bunch of Orion employees and you are a redditor and a new backyard astronomer, etc. etc., if you would like, you can PM with contact information (email only would be fine) and I can have one of the engineers or the customer service manager contact you personally to help you out.

Otherwise, find a local club and take your telescope there and get some hands on help. The learning curve is sometimes steep, but you'll be sailing the night sky confidently in no time!

Dark skies!

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HumbleDialogOP•

Awesome, I will send you a PM, thanks!

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dearastronomerModerator: Asteroids/Comets/Variable Stars•

I would also suggest finding a local astronomy club. To be honest, your predicament is why I do not recommend equatorial mounts to beginners.

Now, to dechpher the tech support message. I'm not familiar with that model of telescope, but what the tech is explaining is that the mount is what needs to be aligned with Polaris/NCP not the telescope itself.

That being said, with the mount aligned with polaris, you should be able to see it in the finder, but the finder itself could be out of alignment.

Try manually pointing your scope at Jupiter (the really bright "star" in the west in late evening) see if it's centered in the eyepiece and finder.

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HumbleDialogOP•

The eyepiece and finder are aligned. I should have stated that before.

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HumbleDialogOP•

Also, if declination is at 90 on the mount, isn't the tube and the mount pointing at the same place by definition? So for the mount to be polar aligned, the NCP would need to be centered in the eyepiece. Or is this where I'm wrong?

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Hellvis•

No, you're thinking correctly. It could be possible that your head isn't level. I wouldn't count on the tray being perfect. Getting the scope level makes a big difference. When I get mine level I can leave the scope tracking a star for an hour or more. If it's not level, forget it. It's out of the eyepiece in a few minutes.

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FloorFunktion•

I have 3 levels glued to each corner of my tray. My friend and I bought a used Orion 8" Skyview Pro as our first scope and have regretted it ever since. I mean, we figured it out, but it took a while to get used to. A year later we got a used 13" Coulter Odyssey and wondered why we didn't go Dob in the first place. "The best telescope to buy is the one you'll use the most"

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Hellvis•

I use these to level my GEM: http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=51109&cat=1,43513

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btc9183•

In my somewhat limited experience, I have found that the eyepiece tray is not the ideal spot to use to level your tripod. I am not familiar with that scope, but most EQ mounts have a machined surface on the tripod on which you mount the head itself. That is where you need to level the tripod to ensure that the EQ head itself is level. Once you have gotten it level, things should be much easier from that point on. If the alignment scope and the OTA are lot lining up - i.e. Polaris is not visible in both at the same time - then the tube is misaligned. The manual that came with the scope should have a procedure in it to align the OTA with the polar axis. Good luck!

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HumbleDialogOP•

Thanks for the advice. I'll try to find a place to check the levelness of the EQ head.

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BioTechDude•

Hope this helps. A video on setting up and aligning a EQ mount. I'm a visual/doer style learner :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdkB5NCnFps

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HumbleDialogOP•

Great video, thank you.

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BioTechDude•

Like collimating, setting up a EQ didn't make ANY sense to me until I watched a video a few times. I still usually set it up most nights as an Alt/az when I'm not viewing planets/using high magnification.

I have the Skywatcher 130n, which is basically the exact same scope as yours. I love the thing.

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