Safety and Care and Instructions
Do not borrow this telescope
unless you have been trained on it.
These instructions are just a reminder.
The Maxscope
is our finest piece of equipment, manufactured to tolerances four times finer than
the Hubble space telescope. Be gentle
with it!
Do not take it apart other
than removing the lens cap and changing lenses.
Check that the front lens
cell is undamaged. If you are in any
doubt do not use the scope.
Align the equatorial head of the mount so that its axis is pointed North/South. Pull out the balance arm and lock. Plug in the battery pack and the electronic controller.
Attach the adapter plate of the scope to the mount head and make sure it is securely attached before you let go!
Roughly align the scope by loosening the locks of the mount and turn until the shadow of the scope shows no elongation.
Without an
eyepiece in the diagonal, look through the telescope. If it is
aligned you will see the objective lens bright red with a black central obstruction.
If not, try using gently moving the axis of the scope to find the Sun.. This is tricky at first but practice will improve your skill. Keep going back to the shadow method to get a rough
alignment. When you get the bright image, l
Place the eyepiece in the
telescope and focus the scope. Centre the solar image using
the electronic controller. Now
adjust the Doppler dial to see different features.