TEC APO 160 Manuals

��ER’S MANUAL ������������������ IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ THIS MANUAL BEFORE USING YOUR TELESCOPE SAFETY WARNINGS Do not look at the sun through the telescope! Viewing the sun through the telescope without special equipment (Solar Filters) will cause permanent visual impairment and telescope parts damage. Do not disassemble! Disassembly of telescope could result in personal injury and telescope malfunction. CONTACT INFORMATION If you have any questions or need assistance - please contact us: Phone: 303 273 9322 • Fax: 303 273 0204 E-mail: [email protected] • Web site: www.telescopengineering.com User’s group site: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tec-scopes Address: Telescope Engineering Company • 15730 West 6th Ave. Golden CO, 80401. USA OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT (see www.telescopengineering.com for the current prices) Tube rings (extra or replacement) $330 Finderscope bracket with base $120 8�50 finder with illuminated reticle (������������������1�0 AP finder bracket $60 TEC 12” dovetail plate $90 Eyepiece Turret $500 Mahogany case for I-Turret $150 Field Flattener (special orders only) $750 1 TEC APO 160 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Mode l 160FL 160ED Clear aperture 6.3” / 160 mm Focal ratio 7.0 8.0 Focal length 1120 mm 1280 mm Image scale 3.1 arc min/mm 2.7 arc min/mm Field curvature 420mm 490mm Resolution (theoretical) 0.75 arc sec Focuser Feather Touch 3545 Eyepiece holder 2” Collet type Focusing range 4.5” / 114 mm One turn focus travel Coarse 21.5 mm / Fine 2.3 mm Back focus distance 7” / 180 mm Focuser load capacity 10 lb Tube assembly diameter 6.42” / 163 mm Dew shield dia. 8” / 202 mm TA length (shortest) 39.4” / 1000 mm 45.5” / 1156mm Balance point position OTA weight 24 lb / 11 kg * 26 lb / 12 kg* Lens coatings: Broad band 5 layer antireflecti�� coating (BBAR) Price (200�) $12,�00 $8,�00 Price includes : Optical tube assembly, front cover, plug, tube rings. *for tube rings and TEC 12”dovetail plate - add 3 lb. OVERVIEW This manual has been written to help you enjoy using your TEC APO 160 refractor. The APO 160 has number of features that in a given combination are rarely found in one scope: Precision apochromatic objective with modern coating that makes lenses almost invisible. Retractable Dew Shield. Light weight tube assembly. FeatherTouch 360° rotatable focuser with coarse and fine focusing. Collet type eyepiece holder. Line of accessories, including: Precision tube rings with adjustable latches, Dovetail plate (same width and fit as Losmandy plates), Finder bracket with new principle of finder adjustment with two thumb screws only. ALL PARTS OF THE TELESCOPE, INCLUDING: OPTICS, COATINGS, ETC. ARE MADE IN THE USA. GETTING TO KNOW YOUR TELESCOPE The parts of the telescope and their functions are identified and described below. 1 Front Cover. - black anodized mashined Aluminum with push-pull spring loaded latches. It protects the optics and holds the dew shield during transportation. 2 Retractable Sliding Dew Shield. This feature makes the OTA shorter for handling and transportation. The open end of the shield is rounded to improve aerodynamics of the front end of telescope. Rounded edge creates less turbulence compared to straight cut baffles. 3 Shield flange. It holds the shield with four 4-40 screws. 4 Tube assembly. The tube interior is coated with a special light absorbent coating and has 4 sharp edged baffles, which block internal reflections. 5 OTA Focusing Mounting Flange. 6 Focuser. See following Instructions written by Detlef Schmidt (Starlight Instruments Inc.). The focuser’s tube is coated inside with the same special coat- ing as the tube assembly. 7 Plug. It is a small part that keeps the focuser end closed. 1 2 3 4 6 5 7 2 To remove cover put thumb and index fingers into the sliding latches and move them in the shown directions. FEATHER TOUCH FOCUSER MODEL 3545 Care and use of the Feather Touch 3545 The Feather Touch 3545 was a collaborative design effort between Telescope Engineering and Starlight Instruments for TEC’s line of fine refractors. It was designed to provide the user the with the best possible control while focusing using a 9:1 fine focus reduction assembly along with other features that make the use of the telescope simple and functional. All efforts were taken to design it with the best available materials and technology to achieve long-lasting functionality and reliability. Part Description 6.1 OTA Focuser Mounting Flange 6.2 Focuser Locking Collar 6.3 Locking Collar Stems 6.4 Tension Adjustment Screw 6.5 Finder Base Screw Holes (Plugged with (2), 8-32 Button Head Screws) 6.6 Focuser Housing 6.7 Coarse Focus Knobs 6.8 Fine Focus Knob 6.9 Draw Tube with mm scale 6.10 Draw Tube End Cap 6.11 Draw Tube End Cap Locking Screws 6.12 Eyepiece Collet Locking Nut 6.13 Eyepiece Collet Sleeve 6.14 Plug with TEC logo Description of Design Features 1. The Feather Touch 3545 achieves excellent focusing capability using a 9:1 Planetary Reduction Assembly cou- pled to a fine focus knob (fig. 6.8). The fine focus knob should be used once the image is close to focus and final tweaking is required. 2. The two coarse focusing knobs (fig. 6.7) on each side of the focuser allow quick rough positioning of the eye- piece or imaging equipment. They are coupled to the rack and pinion set and the fine focus knob. 3. The assembly incorporating the focusing knobs, the pinion and it’s housing is called the pinion assembly (not shown). This assembly is attached to the focuser housing using (2) 6-32 socket head cap screws. The position of the pinion assembly relative to the rack, is pre- cisely adjusted by Starlight Instruments using 4 flat bottom set screws (internal to the pinion assembly) to pro- vide the minimum amount of backlash between the rack and the pinion for ease of operation. The other adjust- ment that is made is to align the pinion axis to be parallel to the rack face. NOTE: It is possible to reverse the pinion assembly for left handed preference but Starlight Instru- ments does not recommend the user reversing this assembly because of possible misalignment resulting in a loss of performance or possible damage. Please contact Starlight Instruments or TEC if this change is desired. 6.1 6.2 6.5 6.3 6.7 3 6.4 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.7 6.8 6.6 6.9 6.10