Orion ATLAS EQ-G User Manual download pdf (Page 12)

Functions of the GoTo Hand Controller

There are four main categories of control buttons on the GoTo

hand controller (Figure 13):

1. Mode buttons

2. Directional buttons

3. Scroll buttons

4. Dual Purpose buttons

Mode Buttons

The three mode buttons are located at the top of the con-

troller, directly below the LCD screen. They include the ESC,

ENTER, and SETUP buttons.

The ESC button is used to escape from a certain command or

go back a level in the menu tree.

The ENTER button is used to select the functions and sub-

menus in the menu tree, and to confirm certain functional

operations.

The SETUP button is a “hot key” that takes you to the Setup

Menu.

Directional Buttons

The directional buttons allow the user to have complete motion

control of the Atlas EQ-G mount at almost any step in opera-

tion. These controls are locked out when the mount is slewing

to an object. The directional buttons are very helpful when

initially aligning the mount, centering objects in the eyepiece

field of view, and manual guiding. The directional buttons are

typically used in conjunction with the RATE button. The left

and right directional buttons can also be used to move the text

cursor when entering data into the hand controller.

Scroll Buttons

The up and down scroll buttons allow you to scroll up and

down within the menu tree or selections displayed on the

hand controller screen.

Dual Purpose Buttons

The dual purpose buttons serve two distinct purposes. They

are used for data entry and as quick reference keys.

TOUR button: Takes you on a preset tour of the best night sky

objects visible

RATE button: Changes the speed of the motors when the

directional buttons are pressed. There are 10 speeds to

choose from, with 0 being the slowest and 9 being the fast-

est.

UTILITY button: “Hot key” access to the Utility Functions

menu.

USER button: Enter or recall coordinates for up to 25 objects

in the User Defined database.

ID button: Identifies the object the mount is currently pointing

to.

NGC, IC, M, Planet, and Object buttons: Allow direct access

to catalogs and databases of over 13,400 objects.

GoTo Hand Controller

Operation

This section provides a guide for initial setup and alignment of

the Atlas EQ-G mount with the GoTo hand controller.

Initial Setup

1. Perform the polar alignment using the procedure previous-

ly outlined in Section 6. A rough polar alignment will suf-

fice, but an accurate polar alignment using the polar axis

finder scope will increase tracking accuracy (and pointing

accuracy for one-star alignments).

2. Rotate the telescope tube about the mount’s declination

axis so the tube is parallel with the mount’s R.A. axis (and

the front of the tube is pointed to the sky, not the ground).

Rotate the mount’s R.A. axis so the counterweight shaft is

pointed straight down. The telescope and mount should

now appear as shown in Figure 14. This will be called the

“home” position of the mount.

Note: Once the mount is initially set to its “home” position, the

mount should not be moved manually. Otherwise, the GoTo

hand controller will lose track of the mount’s position, and the

alignment procedure will need to be performed again. Keep

both the R.A. and Dec. lock levers engaged.

3. Turn on the power switch on the mount

4. The initial screen displayed on the hand controller is the

version screen. Press ENTER to proceed.

Figure 13. The GoTo hand controller.

Display screen

Mode buttons

Directional

buttons

Dual purpose

buttons

Scroll buttons

1 2 ... 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 ... 26 27

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Orion ATLAS EQ-G User Manual Page 12

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