Orion SKYQUEST XX12 - Manual (Page 7)

7
2. assembly
Now that you have unpacked the boxes and familiarized
yourself with all the parts in front of you, it’s time to begin
assembly.
assembly of the Dobsonian Base
Refer to Figure 5 during base assembly. The base need only
be assembled once, unless you disassemble it for long-term
storage. The assembly process takes about an hour and
requires, in addition to the supplied tools, a Phillips screw-
driver, and two adjustable crescent wrenches. (You can sub-
stitute a 10mm crescent wrench for one of the adjustable
crescent wrenches, or use a pair of pliers.) When tightening
screws, tighten them until firm, but be careful not to strip the
holes by over-tightening. If you use an electric screwdriver, do
final tightening with a standard screwdriver to avoid stripping.
1. With a Phillips screwdriver, screw the feet (Q) into the
underside of the ground baseplate (A) using the feet wood
screws provided. Insert the screws through the feet and
thread them into the predrilled starter holes.
2. Connect the side braces (N) to the side panels (C)
using three of the base assembly screws for each panel.
Connect each brace to the surface of the panel with the
SkyQuest IntelliScope label on it. The screws go through
the holes in the panels and thread into the starter holes in
the side braces. Use the 4mm hex key to firmly tighten the
screws.
3. Connect the front brace (B) to the two side panels (C)
with six of the base assembly screws. The screws go
through the holes in the side panels and thread into the
starter holes in the front brace. The side panels should
be oriented so the side braces are facing outward. The
front brace should be oriented so that the surface with the
metal insert (Figure 4) faces inwards. Do not completely
tighten the screws yet.
4. Connect the assembled structure to the top baseplate (D)
with the remaining eight base assembly screws in the pre-
drilled holes. The side of the top baseplate with the Ebony
Star laminate bearing surface ring should be facing down-
wards.
5. Firmly tighten the six base assembly screws installed in
step 2.
6. The azimuth encoder board (E) attaches to the under-
side of the top baseplate (D). The azimuth encoder board
can be found in the box with the optical tube. Between
the azimuth encoder board and top baseplate goes two
thick spacer washers (P) and one thin spacer washer (O).
These washers are critical in providing the proper spac-
ing for the assembled azimuth encoder. The two thick azi-
muth encoder spacer washers are included with the base,
but the thin azimuth encoder spacer washer is included
with the IntelliScope Object Locator kit. Insert an encod-
er wood screw through the slotted hole in the azimuth
encoder board so that the head of the screw is on the side
of the encoder board without the modular connector. Now,
place the two thick and one thin azimuth encoder spacer
washers on the screw (Figure 6).
C
M
B
L
K
D
F
E
A
J
H
N
N R
O
Q
Q
I
P
Figure 5. Exploded view of the Dobsonian base.
Figure 6. To install the azimuth encoder board, insert an encoder
board mounting screw through the slotted hole in the board. Then,
add two thick and one thin encoder spacing washers onto the
screw. Now, insert the modular connector on the encoder board into
the square hole in the the top baseplate, and thread the screw into
the pilot hole using a Phillips head screwdriver.
Azimuth encoder
spacer washers,
thick (2x)
Pilot hole
Azimuth encoder
spacer washer,
thin
Encoder
wood
screw
Azimuth
encoder
board
Top
baseplate