Avalon Instruments M-zeta User manual

M-zeta
Dual Dec Altazimuth Mount
(Made in Italy)
USER MANUAL
Version 1.0.0 October 2021
All the pictures and contents included here are propriety of AVALON INSTRUMENTS.
They cannot be reproduced, published, copied or transmitted in any way, including the internet, without the
written permission of AVALON INSTRUMENTS.

SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS AND WARNINGS
•Read carefully the manual before nstall ng and us ng the mount.
•Use the power cable suppl ed w th the mount or a 12V- 3A stab l zed power supply
as suggested n the manual.
•Connect the power cable correctly and securely to the power socket.
•Do not bend, pull or press the cable as th s may damage t.
•For any ass stance or repa r, please contact only the manufacturer.
•Be sure to remove the power supply at the end of ts use or before any clean ng or
ma ntenance.
•Th s mount must be used exclus vely by adults, do not allow use to ch ldren or to
people w th reduced mental capac ty.
•Avo d to operate the mount except as str ctly nd cated n the manual.
•Mod fy ng or alter ng n any way the character st cs of the mount w ll vo d the
manufacturer’s l m ted warranty.
•Never mod fy the tens on of the belts (by ded cated screw), these s set n the factory
and any unauthor zed change w ll vo d the manufacturer’s l m ted warranty .
•After us ng t, avo d to store the mount n areas exposed to sunl ght or n wet places.
IMPORTANT NOTE: DO NOT USE ANY KIND OF LUBRICANT, SPRY, LIQUID OR
OIL ON THE BELT DRIVE SYSTEM!!!
Any use of lubr cants w ll vo d the manufacturer’s l m ted warranty.
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Index
SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS AND WARNINGS.....................................................................................................2
Technical Specifications.......................................................................................................................................................
Forewords..............................................................................................................................................................................6
1. Packing Content................................................................................................................................................................7
2 Mount Description.............................................................................................................................................................8
3. M-Zeta Initial Setup........................................................................................................................................................10
3.1 Installing the M-zeta on the T-pod..........................................................................................................................10
3.2 Telescope installation..............................................................................................................................................12
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Techn cal Spec f cat ons
Type of mount Dual Dec Altazimuth mount
Head weight 12,2 kg (26,8 lb), without counterweight and bar
Maximum load 20 kg (44 lb)
Motion System All belts drive system based on four stages reducer.
All the movements are on ball bearings. No maintenance and no
backlash system.
Pulleys made with special polymer fiberglass charged and high
precision timing belts.
Construction Materials Machined from solid blocks of anodized aluminum with high
precision CNC machines
RA Axis Heavy duty steel, diam. 3 mm; all roller bearing axis movement
DEC Axis Heavy duty steel, diam. 3 mm; all roller bearing axis movement
Control System Avalon StarGO GoTo control system (Wi-Fi or Bluetooth)
Dovetail Plate Losmandy, 3" (7 mm) dovetail, single knob with 2 tightening
points
Warranty 2 years from the purchase date, years for the transmission system
(Belt Drive System )
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Forewords
This manual describes the Avalon M-Zeta mount, the procedures for its mounting and tuning on
the tripod and for the installation of a telescope. Additional Information on the M-Zeta mount
and on the StarGO control system, containing also the procedures for the use with third-party
software and in particular with the ASCOM driver, are reported in the StarGO manual which is
part of the mount supply.
A careful reading of this manual will enable the use of your mount safely and with the
maximum satisfaction.
The mount design and its configuration could be subject to modifications, without prior
notification, based upon designer’s improvements and the requests, if applicable, by the mount
users.
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1. Pack ng Content
Open the box to take all the content out. Extract all the components from the small cardboard
box and from the mount bag side pocket putting them on a clean, flat surface.
Component L st
•Mount head
•StarGo GoTo Control System
•StarGO control Keypad
•Keypad connection cable
•Losmandy saddle
•Tripod plate
•Car lighter power cable
•12 /240 VAC / 12 VDC power supply
•USB Cable
•Metric Hexagonal key set
•Attachment screws
•USB pen drive
•Documentation, warranty certificate
Package picture
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2 Mount Descr pt on
The M-zeta Fast Reverse mount is a portable Dual Dec Azimuthal mount devoted to the Visual
Observation and to the imaging, in the capacity range up to 20 kg (44 lb).
The M-zeta design was developed on the basis of the following technical concepts:
•Fast Reverse technology
•Computer aided design (CAD)
•High quality manufacturing with digital control axes CNC machines (CNC + CAM)
•Absolute quality materials: Anodized aluminium from milled mono-bloc, stainless steel
components and screws, brass components, techno-polymers
The M-Zeta motion transmission technology is based on pulley-tooth belt without play.
The M-Zeta is mainly designed for visual observing with high focal length catadioptric tubes
(such as SC-Maksutov, RC, SC cameras, Cassegrain, DK, etc) up to 10″ aperture and 20 kg (44
lb) weight, according to the tube length. It is possible to use the M-zeta with Newton optics (for
example 8" f4).
Another M-uno basic advantage is that it doesn't need neither counterweights, nor the bar. Its
declination axis can be quickly balanced like in an equatorial mount, while, for the RA axis, it is
possible to fix the arm on three possible positions and to make the fine balance using a very
small counterweight. The M-uno mount, as well as the LINEAR, is equipped with the super
tested, simple to use StarGo GoTo Control System.
The M-Zeta total weight is only 12.2 kg.
The use of pulleys and toothed belts has allowed to obtain several advantages: a really steady
motion without play (no backlash) and sudden peaks. These features are of particular relevance
especially during quick motors reverse, in this way it is possible to have the motion without
breaks to recover the plays: from here the mount name FAST REVERSE.
It is important to underline that in the gear-worm systems the motion transmission has only one
tangent point of contact, any errors on each of the two components will, sooner or later, result
into a tracking errors. On the contrary, in the pulley-toothed belt system, no direct contact
occurs between the pulley and the motion is transmitted by the belt engaging from 0% to 90%
of the girth surface. Consequently any error, eventually present, is averaged among the cogs,
moreover soft, greatly reducing the tracking error.
Another significant advantage of very low frictions is that the risks of motor slipping during
GOTO operation is virtually null. On the contrary, it is well known the difficulty to regulate the
coupling between gear and worm in the conventional mounts. If the coupling is tight the motors
can stuck with consequent loss of the position, if the coupling is too loose the plays increase.
Since there are no gears, there is no need of periodical lubrication of the internal components
and therefore the maintenance is extremely reduced and limited to the external cleaning.
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3. M-Zeta In t al Setup
The first operation to be performed it is the mount fixing on the tripod.
It is strongly recommended to use the M-zeta mount with the Avalon Instruments T-pod tripod,
which has been designed to guarantee maximum performance. If a different kind of tripod is
used, it must have dimensions and characteristics compatible with the mount weight and with
the astronomical load to be installed.
3.1 Install ng the M-zeta on the T-pod
The M-zeta comes with a plate for attaching the mount on the tripod. It is shipped with the
correct holes for most of the tripods available on the market. The following figure shows
how to mount it on a T-Pod:
Place the plate on the top of the tripod and rotate it in order to find the three M8 threaded holes
on the T-pod top head, matching with 3 of the 6 holes on the T-pod plate available on the same
circumference.
Attach the plate with the three 8x16 screws provided for that purpose.
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At this point, it is possible to place the mount on the T-pod plate, by using the three M8 knobs
provided.
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3.2 Telescope nstallat on
After the mount has been placed and secured on the T-pod, the next step will be the positioning
of the telescope on the M-zeta. In order to do this operation, the Losmandy saddle that comes
with the package must be placed on the DEC axis top.
Take off from the packaging the Losmandy saddle,
and the four 4x16 bolts that can be found in the
screws small plastic bag.
Fix the Losmandy saddle on the main Dec axis side, by using the screws provided.
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After securely attaching the mount to the tripod and the clamp on the main Dec axis side, the
next step is to install the telescope.
First of all, in order to securely install the
telescope, place the Losmandy saddle parallel to
the ground, with the fixing knob toward the top.
Once the Losmandy saddle has been fixed, it is
possible to attach the telescope on it, by tightening
the fixing knob.
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Now that the telescope has been fixed, it will be
possible to proceed with the next step: the DEC
fine balancement.
3.3 DEC balanc ng
Before beginning the balancing operation, it is worthwhile to test the saddle locking knobs to
make sure they are tight. Telescopes do not like to being dropped!
In order to properly balance the telescope on the DEC axis, perform the following operations:
•Loosen the DEC knob and move the telescope parallel to the ground as seen in the
picture below, but do not let go of the telescope.
•Move the tube SLOWLY and CAREFULLY – to see in which direction, if any, it rotates
around the DEC axis. If the front end moves down, the telescope must be moved
backwards in the mount. If the front end moves up, the telescope must be moved
forwards. To do either of these, maintain a good grasp of the OTA and slowly loosen the
dovetail knob on the mounting saddle.
•Move the tube back or forth in the saddle, depending on whether it moved up or down,
until it stays in a horizontal position by itself when you remove your hand.
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Now that the telescope has been installed and balanced, it will be possible to perform the Sync
Home Position by following the instructions available on the StarGo User Manual, in the
Alt/azimuthal section.
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