APERTURA AD6 Dobsonian 6 Inch Telescope User Manual

APERTURA AD6 Dobsonian 6 Inch Telescope

Product Information

The AD6 Dobsonian 6 Telescope is a versatile telescope designed for astronomical observations. It includes various components such as an optical tube, finderscope, eyepieces, and a base mount. The telescope is equipped with a 6×30 90-degree right-angle finderscope and comes with two eyepieces (25 mm and 9 mm) for different magnification levels. Additionally, it includes a 2-to-1.25 eyepiece adapter and a 35mm 1.25 extension tube for enhanced viewing options.

Product Usage Instructions

1. CAUTION: Never attempt to look at the sun with your AperturaTM Dobsonian Telescope unless you have a full-aperture solar filter installed over the open end of the optical tube. Using an eyepiece-mounted solar filter alone is not sufficient. Always cover the finderscope and finder scope eyepiece with opaque plastic dust caps to prevent accidental exposure to the sun. Failure to use a full-aperture solar filter can result in severe eye damage and permanent blindness.
2. Before assembling the telescope, carefully unpack the two packages included: the Apertura AD Telescope Optical Tube Box and the Base Mount Box.
3. In the Apertura AD Telescope Optical Tube Box, you will find the following components:
   • Dobsonian Optical Tube
   • 6×30 90-degree Right-Angle Finderscope
   • Plastic Dust Cover for Optical Tube
   • 2 Side Bearings
   • Eyepieces: 25 mm (1.25) and 9 mm (1.25)
   • 2-to-1.25 Eyepiece Adapter
   • 35mm 1.25 Extension Tube
4. In the Base Mount Box, you will find the following components:
   • 2 Large Round Base Plates
   • Turntable Hardware: 1 Round Plastic Roller-Bearing Disc, 2 Metal Discs
   • 1 Four-hole Eyepiece Tray
   • 1 Handle
   • 3 Black Plastic Feet
   • 1 Allen Wrench
   • 1 Adjustment Knob Assembly: 1 Bolt with Knob Head, 1 Large Washer, 1 Small Bearing Washer, 1 Small Washer, 1 Axle Sleeve, 6 Long Black Allen Screws, 2 Medium Silver Allen Screws, 3 Medium Phillips Screws, 2 Short Black Phillips Screws
5. To assemble the Dobsonian Base:
6. Attach the handle to the BASE FRONT using two medium silver Allen screws. Ensure that the flat face of the embedded T-nuts is on the back side of the board (opposite the handle).
7. Attach BASE RIGHT to BASE FRONT using two long black Allen screws. The BASE RIGHT has two smaller pre-drilled holes for the eyepiece tray.
8. Attach BASE LEFT to BASE FRONT using two long black Allen screws. Make sure all three sides are securely attached.
9. Locate the BOTTOM BASE PLATE with 3 holes around its edge and a brass fitting in the center hole. Find the TOP BASE PLATE with four holes around its edge (excluding the center hole).
10. Turn the completed BASE HOUSING upside down and align the holes of the UPPER BASE PLATE with the holes of the BASE HOUSING.
11. Screw long black Allen screws through the BOTTOM BASE into the BASE HOUSING, ensuring that the side with the recessed holes faces away from the BASE HOUSING.
12. Place the BOTTOM BASE PLATE with the feet facing down and insert the AXLE SLEEVE into the center hole.
13. For the ROLLER BEARING ASSEMBLY, place one of the two METAL DISCS on the BOTTOM BASE PLATE, aligning the AXLE SLEEVE to the hole in the center. It can be flipped either way.
14. Place the ROUND PLASTIC ROLLER-BEARING DISC over the first METAL DISC. It can be flipped either way.
15. Follow this by placing the second METAL DISC over the ROLLER-BEARING DISC. It can be flipped either way.
16. Pick up the BASE HOUSING with the UPPER BASE PLATE already attached and place it onto the AXLE SLEEVE of the BOTTOM BASE PLATE.
17. Assemble washers onto the ADJUSTMENT BOLT in the following order: small washer, ball bearing washer, larger washer.

Once you have completed assembling your Apertura AD6 Dobsonian Telescope, refer to the user manual for instructions on aligning and using the telescope for astronomical observations.

CAUTION!

• NEVER attempt to look at the sun with your Apertura™ Dobsonian Telescope UNLESS you have a FULL-APERTURE SOLAR FILTER (not included with a telescope) installed over the open end of the optical tube.
• Never use an eyepiece-mounted solar filter alone and always cover the finderscope and finder scope eyepiece with opaque plastic dust caps. WITHOUT A FULL-PRESSURE SOLAR FILTER INSTALLED, YOU RISK SEVERE EYE DAMAGE AND PERMANENT BLINDNESS!

Please take a few minutes to read over the assembly instructions to familiarize yourself with the individual parts and procedures before attempting to assemble your Apertura™ Dobsonian Telescope.

Unpacking

Optical Tube Box

• Dobsonian Optical Tube
• 6×30 90-degree Right-Angle Finderscope
• Plastic Dust Cover for Optical Tube
• 2 Side Bearings
• Eyepieces:
  • 25 mm (1.25”)
  • 9 mm (1.25”)
• 2”-to-1.25” Eyepiece Adapter
• 35mm 1.25” Extension Tube

Base Mount Box

• Wood Components:
  • 1 Small Panel – Front
  • 1 Large Panel – Right
  • 1 Large Panel – Left
  • 2 Large Round Base Plates
• Turntable Hardware:
  • 1 Round Plastic Roller-Bearing Disc
  • 2 Metal Discs
• 1 Four-hole Eyepiece Tray
• 1 Handle
• 3 Black Plastic Feet
• 1 Allen Wrench
• 1 Adjustment Knob Assembly:
  • 1 Bolt with Knob Head
  • 1 Large Washer
  • 1 Small Bearing Washer
  • 1 Small Washer
  • 1 Axle Sleeve
• 6 Long Black Allen Screws
• 2 Medium Silver Allen Screws
• 3 Medium Phillips Screws
• 2 Short Black Phillips Screws

Assembling the Dobsonian Base

1. Attach the handle to the BASE FRONT with two medium silver Allen screws. The curved edge of the board is the top of this part when vertical.
   IMPORTANT! Make sure the flat face of the embedded T-nuts are on the BACK side of the board (opposite the handle).

2. Attach BASE RIGHT to BASE FRONT with two long black Allen screws. (The BASE RIGHT is the one with two smaller pre-drilled holes for the eyepiece tray)

3. Attach BASE LEFT to BASE FRONT with two long black Allen screws. Be sure all three sides are secure.

4. Locate the BOTTOM BASE PLATE. The BOTTOM BASE PLATE has 3 holes around its edge and a brass fitting in the center hole. Attach the 3 feet to the BOTTOM BASE PLATE’s bottom side with 3 medium Phillips screws, with the wider side of the feet facing the board. (The bottom side of this plate has the brass fitting almost flush with the surface – see inset picture)

5. Locate the TOP BASE PLATE. The TOP BASE PLATE has four holes around its edge (not counting the center hole). Turn the completed BASE HOUSING upside down. Align the holes of the UPPER BASE PLATE with the holes of the BASE HOUSING.

6. Screw long black Allen screws through the BOTTOM BASE into the BASE HOUSING making sure the side with the recessed holes is facing away from the BASE HOUSING.

7. Place BOTTOM BASE PLATE with feet facing down. Insert AXLE SLEEVE into the Center hole.

8. ROLLER BEARING ASSEMBLY Place one of the two METAL DISCS on the BOTTOM BASE PLATE aligning the AXLE SLEEVE to hole in the Center. (It can be flipped either way)
   Now place the ROUND PLASTIC ROLLER-BEARING DISC over the first METAL DISC. (It can be flipped either way)
   Follow this with placing the second METAL DISC over the ROLLER-BEARING DISC. (It can be flipped either way)

9. Pick up the BASE HOUSING with the UPPER BASE PLATE already attached and place it onto the AXLE SLEEVE of the BOTTOM BASE PLATE.

10. Assemble washers onto the ADJUSTMENT BOLT in this order:

    • Small washer
    • Ball bearing washer
    • Larger washer
      Thread the ADJUSTMENT BOLT through all of the assembled base parts. Tighten the knob until it feels firm but not too tight.
      TIP: Tightening or loosening this knob is how you will adjust the amount of effort it takes to rotate your Apertura™ Dobsonian telescope on its base.

11. Attach the 4-HOLE EYEPIECE TRAY to the BASE RIGHT panel of the BASE HOUSING ASSEMBLY using the two pre-drilled holes and two small black Phillips screws.

Assembling the Optical Tube

• Remove (2) bolts located on each side of the OPTICAL TUBE.

• Align SILVER SIDE BEARING ASSEMBLY with the same holes and insert the top bolt first (do NOT tighten yet). Then slide the BEARING ASSEMBLY up if necessary and insert the bottom bolt. Repeat on the other side of the OPTICAL TUBE. The position of these BEARING ASSEMBLIES will determine the balance point of your telescope and may need to be adjusted depending on what accessories are installed on your optical tube. With the included accessories attached to the Apertura Dobsonian Telescope, balance is achieved with these initial settings (see picture).
  NOTE: When other accessories are attached to the OTA, the balance point may change and appropriate adjustments to these settings may be required

• Move the OPTICAL TUBE over onto the BASE HOUSING assembly.

  • TIP: The metal seam of the telescope tube should be turned to the side of the base that has the handle (BASE FRONT).
  • TIP: The flat sides of the SILVER SIDE BEARING ASSEMBLIES should be facing up (flat).
  • TIP: Tightening or loosening the black, plastic knobs of the side-bearing assemblies is how you will adjust the tension of the bearings. If excessive tension is required to balance the telescope (e.g. because of heavier eyepieces/accessories), then you may need to adjust the balance point of the bearing assemblies as described in Step 2 above.

• Locate the 90-DEGREE RIGHT-ANGLE FINDERSCOPE and attach it to the dovetail finderscope bracket on the side of the OPTICAL TUBE.
  Use the thumbscrew to tighten the finderscope into place.

Aligning Your Finderscope

When first attached, the finderscope will not be perfectly aligned with the telescope’s optics. Once the finderscope is properly aligned with the main telescope’s view, the finderscope’s extra-wide field of view will help you easily center the main telescope on objects you wish to view.

1. Start by inserting the 25mm eyepiece into the telescope’s focuser. Point the telescope at a large, distant, and stationary object (such as the detail on a billboard at least 250 yards away). Focus the eyepiece and center that distant object in the eyepiece; in other words, start with an earthbound object for focusing and alignment.
2. Now look through the finderscope. To focus the finderscope, first loosen the lens cell by unscrewing it a half-turn. Then turn the locking ring the other way, to pull it back from the lens cell and expose the maximum number of threads on the finderscope body. Turn the lens back and forth to focus your view. Once the lens is focused, then tighten the locking ring to hold the lens cell in place. You may need to make a slight focus adjustment the first time you use the finderscope on the night sky, but once the focus is set on the sky you should not need to adjust it again.
3. Once focused, then align your finderscope by gently adjusting the two thumbscrews on the finderscope bracket (the silver “knob” contains a spring that gives backpressure to the thumbscrews and does not need adjustment). Carefully align the finderscope body until its crosshairs are centered on the object that is currently centered in the main telescope’s eyepiece.
4. If you bump the finderscope during transport or use and disturb its alignment, it will only require a quick and easy adjustment of the two thumbscrews to realign the finderscope to the main telescope’s view.
   • Precision Micro Crayford Style Focuser
     Your Apertura Dobsonian Telescope comes standard with a Dual-Speed 10:1 focuser. It is pictured here with the drawtube fully extended.

The Apertura focuser will accept 2“ and 1.25” eyepieces (with included adapter) and other common hardware. The amount of extension required for each eyepiece will vary, therefore retract or extend the drawtube to bring the image into focus.

Some eyepieces reach focus at a different location than others; which in some cases falls outside of the adjustment range of the focuser. There is a 35mm 1.25″ extension tube included with this telescope to help those eyepieces reach focus. The spacer is generally not required when using the two eyepieces included with this telescope.

The movement of the focuser tube is a result of tension inside the focuser, which can be adjusted by the tensioning screw. In general, use the lightest amount of tension that will work with the installed components for smooth action. But as heavier eyepieces are used, especially in conjunction with other components, increase the tension to compensate for the extra weight.

Once you achieve focus, you may want to use the locking screw to hold the focuser in place even if the adjustment wheels are moved. This is helpful when exchanging parfocal eyepieces or having other viewers come to the eyepiece.

Eyepiece Selection
Your Apertura™ Dobsonian Telescope comes standard with two eyepieces: a 1.25” diameter wide field, a low-power eyepiece with a 25mm focal length, and a 1.25” diameter high-power eyepiece with a 9mm focal length. To get the best results from your telescope, always start with your widest field (lowest power) eyepiece, then work your way up to the higher power eyepiece, keeping the image centered throughout.

Observation Tips
Your telescope will perform best when local artificial lighting is kept to a minimum. Nearby street lights and lighted buildings cause a lot of light pollution and will degrade the quality of your view with your telescope. When choosing a viewing location, try to find a spot far away from tall structures with a wide view of the open sky. Allow your eyes time to adjust to the darkness before you expect to see any faint objects in the night sky. Usually, 30 minutes is long enough for your eyes to totally adapt to the dark. Preserve your dark-adapted vision by avoiding looking at sources of light (street lights, cell phones, computers, etc.). If you are exposed to a light source, the adjustment period will begin again. After your eyes have reached their dark-adapted state you’ll want to consider using a red-lens light source for activity in the dark.

Acclimating Your Telescope
Before using your telescope, you should allow its temperature to equalize to that of the ambient air temperature outside. Larger scopes take longer to equalize and should be given half to one full hour depending on the temperature difference (one hour for a difference of 40 degrees Fahrenheit). Keeping your telescope and optics in an outside or non-environmentally controlled building such as a garage or shed can decrease the time it takes for the temperature differential to stabilize.

Viewing Conditions

The quality of the conditions for viewing is referred to as “seeing,” usually rated on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 as perfect seeing and 1 as very poor. There are two major conditions to notice in evaluating viewing conditions on any given night: atmospheric disturbance and air transparency. The best conditions for astronomical viewing are when atmospheric disturbances are at a minimum. Lower your expectations when trying to use your scope too early in the night or trying to focus on objects close to the horizon as this will impair your ability to view clearly. Generally, you want to set your telescope up on the highest point possible as it affords the highest quality viewing and isn’t as subject to atmospheric disturbances. A good way to determine how well you will be able to see on any given night is to look at bright stars about 40 degrees above the horizon and look for twinkling of stars. Twinkling is caused by atmospheric disturbances and is an indicator that quality viewing may be difficult. Though, often what twinkles near the horizon will become steadier later in the evening as it moves higher in the night sky. Also affecting the viewing quality is the transparency (clarity) of the air. Remember that our viewing of the universe from the ground begins by looking through many miles of air that is full of particles and water which is in constant motion and changes regularly.

Tracking Celestial Objects

• Since the Earth is always rotating, astronomical objects will appear to move across the night sky. When using your Apertura™ Dobsonian Telescope for a little while, you need to manually track the observed objects by carefully moving the scope’s tube to keep the object relatively centered in the eyepiece. Using higher magnification means that you have to make more frequent tracking adjustments than when using lower magnification.
• A popular method for locating night sky objects is called “star-hopping.” Start by finding a known star or moon or planet, and scan from there to other stars closer to the destination object. This method is far from new but it might take a little time to master, requiring at least a rudimentary familiarity with the location of a variety of celestial objects. However, learning to star-hop makes object location much quicker and gets you to where you want to be without much fuss. Experience will make this easier and dramatically increase your personal knowledge of the night sky! You don’t need to memorize every single object in the night sky, but it can be very rewarding just to know a handful of the most prominent sights such as the Orion constellation, the Big Dipper, the North Star, etc.
• A star chart will help you determine which constellation your target object is near. Find the brightest star in that constellation and place it in the center of your eyepiece. Again refer back to your star chart to figure out the next brightest star as you gradually move towards your intended target. If you are unsuccessful at first, please be patient and repeat the steps until your final destination is in view. Again, your speed will increase with experience.

Keeping Your Telescope Clean

Do not touch, rub, brush, wipe, or otherwise contact the primary mirror or secondary mirror. Over time a thin layer of dust will accumulate on the surface of these mirrors. This is normal and is best left alone. If it is absolutely necessary, use only an optical lens brush and lens bulb puffer to remove dust from your mirrors.

• The outside of your Apertura™ Dobsonian Telescope is easily cleaned with a dust cloth or sponge for fingerprints, dust, etc.
• Clean other components ONLY when absolutely necessary and then ONLY with a mild soap solution and lint-free cloth by gently blotting. Do not use any harsh cleaning chemicals to avoid damaging the finish on your telescope and components.
• Use a dry soft cloth to remove condensation from the outside of your telescope before storing it. Do not try to dry the eyepiece or finderscope lenses but rather let them dry naturally.
• Avoid leaving your telescope in an excessively hot environment such as the inside of a car as high temperatures can damage your telescope in several ways.

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