Sky Watcher AZ-GTiX Dual Saddle Alt Azimuth Astronomy Mount Instruction Manual

AZ-GTiX Dual Saddle Alt Azimuth Astronomy Mount

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

Copyright c Sky-Watcher

Parts Diagram

PART I : SETTING UP THE AZ-GTix MOUNT

1.1 Setting up the Tripod

1. Fully expand the three legs of the tripod on level ground
2. Install the accessory tray on the tripod as shown in (Fig. 1.1a).
3. If using a short tube telescope, which does not hit the tripod legs when it points high up, with the AZ-GTix mount, the mount can be installed onto the tripod directly. Align the 3/8” socket at the base of the mount with the locking bolt on the tripod head. Lock the mount on the tripod by tightening the bolt (Fig. 1.1b).

1. Align the accessory tray and push down on it while holding onto the bottom supports.
2. Rotate the tray to lock it into place.

WARNING: The accessory tray of the tripod ensures that the tripod legs are firmly expanded, which prevents the tripod from accidentally tipping over. When using the AZ-GTix mount on the tripod, an accessory tray should always be used to ensure stability.

4. If using a long tube telescope with AZ-GTix mount, an extension pier should be inserted
between the tripod and the AZ-GTix mount to prevent the telescope from hitting
the tripod legs when it points high up (Fig. 1.1c).
① Attach the extension pier to AZ-GTix Mount
② Attach the extension pier to tripod and tighten the locking knob.

1.2 Attaching the AZ-GTix Mount to the Tripod

1. Fully expand the legs of the tripod on level ground. Make sure that the tripod is stable.

2. Screw the AZ-GTix mount to the 3/8” bolt on the tripod head’s mounting plate, tighten the bolt MODERATELY.
   Caution: Over-tightening the mount may cause damage to the internal mechanical
   parts.

3. Most tripods’ mounting plate comes with 1 to 3 locking screws. Firmly tighten the locking screws from underneath the plate to secure the AZ-GTix mount in place.

4. Raise the tripod’s central pole to the desired height, and make sure that it also prevents
   the telescope from hitting the tripod legs when the telescope points high up.

5. Adjust the lengths of the legs to center the bubble level on the mount.

1.3 Telescope Assembly

1.Attach the dovetail to the Dovetail Groore (Fig.1.3a).
2.Tighten OTA Lock Knob to lock the OTA in place.

1.4 Finder scope Assembly

Attaching the finder scope bracket（Fig.1.4a ).
① Locate the finder scope optical assembly
② Slide the finder scope bracket into the rectangular slot and tighten the screw to hold the
mount in place.

1.5 Eyepiece assembly

1.Inserting eyepiece for refractor and Maksutov (Fig.1.5.a).
2.Ioosen the thumbscrew on the end of the focus tube.
3.Insert the diagonal into the focus tube and re-tighten the thumbscrew to hold the diagonal
in place
4.Loose the thunb screws on the diagonal
5.Insert the desired eyepiece into diagonal and secure by retightening thumbscrews

PART II: OPERATING YOUR TELESCOPE

2.1 Aligning and using the finderscope

1 Aligning and using the finderscope
These fixed magnification scopes mounted on the optical tube are very useful accessories. When they are correctly aligned ‘with the telescope, objects can be quickly located and
brought to the center of the field. Alignment is best done outdoors in day light when it’s easier to locate objects. If it is necessary to refocus your finderscope, sight on an object that is at least 500 meters (or yards) away. For 6×30 finderscope: loosen the locking ring by unscrewing it back towards the bracket. The front lens holder can now be turned in and out to focus.

• When focus is reached, lock it in position with the locking ring (Fig.2.1.1a).

• Choose a distant object that is at least 500 yards away and point the main telescope
  at the object. Adjust the telescope so that the object is in the center of the view in your
  eyepiece.

• Check the finderscope to see if the object centered in the main telescope view is centered on the crosshairs.

• For the 6×30 finderscope with spring loading, adjust only the two small screws
  (Fig.2.1.1b).

2.2 Focusing the telescope

• Slowly turn the focus knobs under the focuser, one way or the other, until the image in the eyepiece is sharp(Fig.2.2a).The image usually has to be finely refocused over time, due to small variations caused by temperature changes, flexures, etc. This often happens with short focal ratio telescopes, particularly when they haven’t yet reached outside temperature. Refocusing is almost always necessary when you change an eyepiece.

2.3 Choosing the appropriate eyepiece

• The magnification produced by a telescope is determined by the focal length of the eye piece that is used with it. To determine a magnification for your telescope, divide its focal length by the focal length of the eyepieces you are going to use. For example, a 10mm focal length eyepiece will give 80X magnification with an 800mm focal length telescope.
• When you are looking at astronomical objects, you are looking through a column of air that reaches to the edge of space and that column seldom stays still. Similarly, when viewing over land you are often looking through heat waves radiating from the ground, house, buildings, etc. Your telescope may be able to give very high magnification but what you end up magnifying is all the turbulence between the telescope and the subject. A good rule of thumb is that the usable magnification of a telescope is about 2X per mm of aperture under good conditions.
• Too much magnification and too small a field of view can make it very hard to find things. It is usually best to start at a lower magnification with its wider field of view and then increase the magnification when you have found what you are looking for- First find the moon then look at the shadows in the craters!

PART III : ELECTRONIC CONTROL INTERFACE

3.1 Control Panel

The control panel of the AZ-GTix mount is shown below:

3.2 Panel Interface Components:

POWER: This is an input for external power to avoid running on the 8 AA
batteries in the AZ-GTix mount battery compartment.

HAND CONTROL: This RJ-12 6-pins outlet is for connecting the Syn-
Scan hand controller.

SNAP: This is a stereo jack outlet to connect with a camera’s shutter
control port. The SynScan hand control can control the camera to take
pictures automatically via this interface.

ON/OFF Switch: Turns the power to the mount and hand controller on and off.

Power LED: The power LED serves as a power-on indicator and provides
other statuses.

1. Steady on: Internal Wi-Fi is off.
2. Intermittent one flash: Interna) Wi-Fi is on.
3. Intermittent two flash: App has connected to internal Wi-Fi.
4. Intermittent three flash: Internal control board has entered firmware update mode.

3.3 Pinout of The Interfaces:

Note: The SNAP port provides two trigger signals to the stereo plug. For a camera which only needs a shutter-release signal, either trigger signals will work. For a camera which requires an extra “Focus” signal, both signals should be connected properly.

3.4 DSLR Control Cable

Available for Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Sony cameras. See the table below to select the
appropriate cable for your camera model; it can be ordered from the local Skywatcher dealer.

 Part

Number

|

 Camera Interface Style Controller Interface

|

|

 Compatible Camera Models

---|---|---|---

AP-R1C

|

Canon remote (E3

type)

|

Canon RS-60E3

|

Canon EOS 100D, 300D/350D, 400D/450D,  500D/550D, 600D/650D, 700D, 60D/60Da, 70D

AP-R3C

|

Canon remote (N3

type)

|

Canon RS-80N3, TC 80N3

|

Canon EOS 5D/6D/7D,

10D/20D/30D/40D/50D, 1V, 1D,

1Ds Mark III, 5D Mark III

AP-R1N

|

Nikon 10-pin remote  terminal

|

Nikon MC-22, MC-30,  MC-36

|

Nikon D1/D2/D3/D4 D200/D300/D700/D800

AP-R2N

|

Nikon remote cord

connector

|

Nikon MC-DC1

|

Nikon D70S, D80

AP-R3N

|

Nikon accessory

terminal

|

Nikon MC-DC2

|

Nikon D90, D600, D3000/D3100/D3200/ D3300,

D5000/D5100/D5200/D5300, D7000/D7100

AP-R1S

|

Sony remote terminal

|

Sony RM-S1AM, RM L1AM

|

Sony a100, a200, a300, a350, a450, a550,  a560

a700, a850, a900

AP-R3L

|

Olympus multi

connector

|

RM-UC1

|

Olympus E-P1/E-P2, E-PL2/E-PL3, E510/ E520/E550/E620, E400/E410/E420, SP 570UZ /SP-590UZ

3.5 External Power Supply Requirements

• Input Voltage: DC 7.5V (minimum) to DC 14V (maximum). Voltage not in this range  might cause permanent damage to the motor controller or the hand controller.
• Input Plug: Barrel type with 2.0mm I.D and 5.5mm O.D. Must be central positive.
• Input Current: At least 750mA.
• Do not use an unregulated AC-to-DC adapter. When choosing an AC adapter, a switching power supply with 12V output voltage and minimum 750mAoutput current is recommended.
• If the power voltage is too high, the motor controller will stop the motors automatically.

PART IV : USING THE AZ-GTix MOUNT

4.1 Installing The Telescope or Camera

AZ-GTix provides the following ways to assemble the telescope or camera:

1. Use only one telescope (Fig.4.1a).

2. Install the telescope on one side and the camera on the other side. When installing the camera, you need to use a Fork arm attachment (Fig.4.1b).

3. Install a telescope on each side for use. At this time, in addition to the Fork arm attachment, another adjustment groove is required (Fig.4.1c).

In order to make the two telescopes point to the same direction, four adjustment groove need to be adjusted (Fig.4.1e)

4.2 Manually Rotating The Mount

Refer to the following diagrams:

1. Loosen the Alt clutch wheel to manually rotate the telescope vertically.
2. Loosen the Azimuth adjustment knob to manually rotate the telescope horizontally.

Tips:

• Fully tighten the clutches for all motor driven applications. This will give the best pointing accuracy.
• Half engage the clutches to manually point the telescope while preventing it from moving freely without external force.
• Fully loosen the clutches to move the telescope quickly.

4.3 Control with a SynScan Hand Control

Plug in the SynScan hand control into the hand control port in order to control the telescope and mount for astronomical observation. Please refer to the SynScan hand control manual for operation instructions.

4.4 Control with an Mobile Device

Users can download the free “SynScan Pro” or “Synscan Photo” App from the App Store(
for iOS devices) or Google Play (for Android Devices) for astronomical observation or
photography.

4.5 Wi-Fi Connection

• User must connect to the mount’s Wi-Fi within 15 minutes after tuming on power. The Wi-Fi will be turned off automatically if no connection is estabilished within 15 minutes.
• By default, the SSID of the built-in Wi-Fi is “SynScan_xxxx” and there is no password. User can download “Synscan Pro” app from App Store or Google Play to configure the mount’s built-in Wi-Fi.
• Reset Wi-Fi configuration to factory default by turning on the power without the Synscan hand control connected and no App operations via the Wi-Fi connection for 4 hours.

4.6 Freedom FindTM Function

The AZ-GTix mount is equipped with auxiliary encoders on both the azimuth axis and altitude axis. Therefore, the mount can keep track of its current position even when a user
unlocks the clutches and rotates the mount in azimuth axis and altitude axis manually.

With this feature, a user can manually operate the mount anytime without worrying about
losing the mount’s alignment status. When the user wants to operate the mount with the
SynScan hand control again, no alignment is required and all that is needed to be done
is to re-lock the clutches.

This feature can be disabled with the SynScan hand controller or the SynScan App. If an
user does not need to rotate the mount manually after alignment, it is recommended to
disable this feature to obtain the best pointing accuracy.

PART V: OBSERVING THE SKY

5.1 Sky Conditions

• Sky conditions are usually defined by two atmospheric characteristics, seeing, or the steadiness of the air, and transparency, light scattering due to the amount of water va pour and particulate material in the air. When you observe the Moon and the planets,  and they appear as though water is running over them, you probably have bad “seeing”  because you are observing through turbulent air. In conditions of good “seeing”, the stars  appear steady, without twinkling, when you look at them with unassisted eyes (without a telescope). Ideal “transparency” is when the sky is inky black and the air is unpolluted.

5.2 Selecting an Observing Site

• Travel to the best site that is reasonably accessible. It should be away from city lights, and upwind from any source of air pollution. Always choose as high an elevation as possible; this will get you above some of the lights and pollution and will ensure that you aren’t in any ground fog. Sometimes low fog banks help to block light pollution if you get above them. Try to have a dark, unobstructed view of the horizon, especially the south ern horizon if you are in the Northern Hemisphere and vice versa. However, remember  that the darkest sky is usually at the “Zenith”, directly above your head. It is the shortest  path through the atmosphere. Do not try to observe any object when the light path pass es near any protrusion on the ground. Even extremely light winds can cause major air  

is not recommended because the window glass will distort images considerably. And an open window can be even worse, because warmer indoor air will escape out the window, causing turbulence which also affects images. Astronomy is an outdoor activity. The best conditions will have still air, and obviously, a clear view of the sky. It is not necessary that the sky be cloud-free. Often broken cloud conditions provide excellent seeing.

5.3 Choosing the Best Time to Observe

• Do not view immediately after sunset. After the sun goes down, the Earth is still cooling, causing air turbulence. As the night goes on, not only will seeing improve, but air pollution and ground lights will often diminish. Some of the best observing time is often in the early morning hours. Objects are best observed as they cross the meridian, which is an imaginary line that runs through the Zenith, due North-South. This is the point at which objects  reach their highest points in the sky. Observing at this time reduces bad atmospheric  effects. When observing near the horizon, you look through lots of atmosphere, complete  with turbulence, dust particles and increased light pollution.

PART V: OBSERVING THE SKY

5.4 Cooling the Telescope

• Telescopes require at least 10 to 30 minutes to cool down to outside air temperature. This may take longer if there is a big difference between the temperature of the telescope and the outside air. This minimizes heatwave distortion inside telescope tube (tube currents). Allow a longer cooling time for larger optics.

5.5 Adapting Your Eyes

• Do not expose your eyes to anything except red light for 30 minutes prior to observing.  This allows your pupils to expand to their maximum diameter and build up the levels of  optical pigments, which are rapidly lost if exposed to bright light. It is important to observe cover the non-used eye with your hand or an eye patch. Use averted vision on faint objects: The center of your eye is the least sensitive to low light levels. When viewing a faint  object, don’t look directly at it. Instead, look slightly to the side, and the object will appear  brighter.

PART VI: PROPER CARE FOR YOUR TELESCOPE

6.1 Cleaning Your Telescope

• Replace the dust cap over end of telescope whenever not in use. This prevents dust from
settling on mirror or lens surface. Do not clean mirror or lens unless you are familiar with
optical surfaces. Clean eyepieces with special lens paper only. Eyepieces should be handled with care, avoid touching optical surfaces.

PART VII : SPECIFICATIONS

Dimensions:

Specification:

Product Name

|

AZ-GTix Mount

---|---

Mount Type

|

Altitude-azimuth Mount

Single Side Payload

|

6 kg

Total Payload

|

10 kg

Mount Weight

|

2 kg

Tripod + Extension Pier Weight

|

2.7 kg + 0.5kg

Power Requirement

|

DC7.5~14V, 1A

Motor

|

DC Servo Motor

Gear Ratio

|

6480

Resolution

|

2073600 Counts/Rev., 0.625 arc-second

Resolution of Aux. R.A./Dec. Axis Encoders

|

1068 Counts/Rev., approx. 20 arc-minutes

Default Wi-Fi Access Point SSID

|

SynScan_xxxx

Access Point IP Address

|

192.168.4.1

Network Protocol

|

UDP, Port 11880

Note: The above specification may be changed without prior notice.

AZ-GTix Mount

NEVER USE YOUR TELESCOPE TO LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN.
PERMANENT EYE DAMAGE WILL RESULT. USE A PROPER SOLAR FILTER
FIRMLY MOUNTED ON THE FRONT OF THE TELESCOPE FOR VIEWING
THE SUN. WHEN OBSERVING THE SUN, PLACE A DUST CAP OVER YOUR
FINDERSCOPE OR REMOVE IT TO PROTECT YOU FROM ACCIDENTAL
EXPOSURE. NEVER USE AN EYEPIECE-TYPE SOLAR FILTER AND NEVER
USE YOUR TELESCOPE TO PROJECT SUNLIGHT ONTO ANOTHER
SURFACE, THE INTERNAL HEAT BUILD-UP WILL DAMAGE THE
TELESCOPE OPTICAL ELEMENTS.

Read User Manual Online (PDF format)

Download This Manual (PDF format)

Download this manual  >>