Baader Planetarium FCT I User manual

Manual
Congratulations on your purchase of the Baader FCCT (Filter Changer Camera Tilter).
It allows the comfortable use of lters on the Celestron RASA 8 with suitable QHY came-
ras, as well as the adjustment of tilt with the camera still attached to the telescope.
This manual will show you how to install and operate it correctly. Please take a few minu-
tes to read it before using the FCCT.
– EN ver. 02/2022 –
BAADER PLANETARIUM
Zur Sternwarte 4 •D-82291 Mammendorf •Tel. [phone] / 8089-0 •Fax [phone]
www.baader-planetarium.com •[e-mail] •www.celestron.de
G
M
B
H
for QHY-cameras with Ø 72 mm
(e.g. QHY 163 / 174 / 183)
for QHY-cameras with Ø 90 mm
(e.g. QHY 268 / 294)
# 2459070 # 2459071

2Manual: FCCT - Filter Changer Camera Tilter
Table of Contents
Baader Filter Changer & Camera Tilter ................................... 3
FCCT I and FCCT II Scope of Supply..................................... 4
Adjustment and mounting screws....................................... 5
FCCT-Mounting instructions
Preparing the FCCT for Installation ...................................... 6
Differences between the FCCT I and FCCT II parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Attaching the FCCT I to the Camera ..................................... 8
Attaching the FCCT II to the Camera.................................... 10
Attaching the FCCT to the RASA 8 ..................................... 12
Inserting of Filters ................................................... 14
Usage of the FCCT Tilter
Adjusting the image plane at the RASA 8 ................................ 15
How to adjust tilt and achieve perfect ne-collimation? ..................... 16
FCCT Accessories................................................... 17

© Baader Planetarium GmbH 3
Baader Filter Changer & Camera Tilter
The Baader FCCT has been specially developed for the Celestron RASA 8. It makes it
possible to mount various QHY cameras on the RASA 8 in such a short way that suf-
cient space remains for a lter slider and a tilt adjustment option. This allows the use
of unmounted 31 mm, 36 mm or 2" (Ø 47.4 mm) lters from Baader Planetarium (these
can be light pollution lters for colour cameras or high-speed narrowband lters for
monochrome cameras). At the same time, it allows much more convenient collimation
of the optics, as the adjustment screws are no longer blocked by the camera, but are
freely accessible on the side of the FCCT.
To make this possible in spite the short back focus of the RASA 8, a somewhat more
complex and very compact adaptation is necessary. Therefore, only some QHY ca-
mera models can be used. A list of currently compatible cameras can be found on the
product page www.baader-planetarium.com/fcct.
The FCCT is only compatible with unmounted lters due to the short backfocus of
the RASA 8. You need a separate lter slider for each lter and these sliders are availa-
ble separately.
For the adaptation, the connecting ange of the camera must be removed. Depen-
ding on the camera, you will need the FCCT I # 2459070 for QHY cameras with 77mm
diameter (e.g. QHY 174/163/183) or the FCCT II # 2459071 for QHY cameras with 90
mm diameter (e.g. QHY 268/294). The two FCCT models differ both by a different
camera ange ring (with 77 or 90 mm) and by a shorter or longer RASA-side adapter.
Please read these instructions carefully before mounting the FCCT. With the up-
grade set # 2459075, the FCCT I can be converted into the FCCT II for larger cameras,
should you change cameras later.
For other cameras, depending on the backfocus, it is possible to use the Baader
Universal Filter Changer UFC by means of the UFC S70 / RASA 8" telescope adapter
(height: 1.4 mm) # 2459136; however, this does not offer the possibility of adjusting
the image plane without removing a larger camera, if necessary, if the diameter of the
selected camera covers the adjustment screws of the telescope.

4Manual: FCCT - Filter Changer Camera Tilter
3
5
Scope of supply of FCCT I and FCCT II
Scope of supply
Before starting, please check the scope of supply. You should nd:
1FCCT I or FCCT II with Dark-Slider 2inside
(is used as dust cover and for taking dark frames)
3Two spacer rings, each 0.5 mm thick
42 mm Allen key, 28 cm long (33 cm with handle)
50.9 mm, 1.3 mm and 1.5 mm Allen Key
6Filter-Extractor-Tool to insert the lter slider into the FCCT
7Storage bag for up to four lter sliders (lter sliders are not included, see page 15)
8One pair of cotton tricot gloves # 2905050
9Three hexagon socket screws (1.5 mm spanner size) to attach the
FCCT camera ange to the QHY camera body
You will also need FCCT lter sliders (not included) and a suitable crosshead screwdriver
(not included) to be able to remove your camera's ring dovetail.
7
4
8
1
9
2
6

© Baader Planetarium GmbH 5
Adjustment and mounting screws
Side view of the FCCT I and FCCT II. Both contain the following screws and compo-
nents, some of which are of different design for FCCT I and FCCT II:
1Six mounting screws for the RASA-ange – 1.3 mm spanner width
2Six adjustment screws for the tilter (in pairs) – 2 mm spanner width
3Two safety screws for the tilter – 0.9 mm spanner width
4FCCT-RASA-ange (connects to the Celestron retaining ring)
5FCCT-Basis (with the chamber for the lter sliders)
6FCCT-QHY-ange (to adapt 77 mm or 90 mm QHY-cameras)
Overview of the FCCT I and FCCT II
FCCT I, designed for QHY-cameras with 77 mm diameter
(z.B. QHY 174/163/183).
for Ø 77 mm
for Ø 90 mm
FCCT II, designed for QHY-cameras with 90 mm diameter
(e.g. QHY 268/294).
2 3
(shortened)
(standard)
2
4
4
5
5
6
6
3
1
1

6Manual: FCCT - Filter Changer Camera Tilter
Preparing the FCCT for Installation
1. Remove the dark-slider. You'll notice that
it is held in place by three neodymium
magnets, which ensure lters can be
easily removed and precisely returned to
the same position.
2. Remove the FCCT-RASA-ange 4by
loosening the six screws 1(see page
5) with the 1.3 mm Allen key. You don't
have to remove them, loosening them is
enough
3. Now turn the FCCT on the other side
and loosen the three pairs of adjustment
screws of the tilter 2with the extra-
long 2 mm Allen key. You don't have to
remove them, it is enough if they stand
out a little bit.
2
The pictures show the FCCT I. The procedure is the same for the FCCT II, only the
FCCT-RASA-ange and the FCCT-QHY-ange look different.
4

© Baader Planetarium GmbH 7
Preparing the FCCT for Installation
4. Now loosen the safety screws 3of the
FCCT QHY camera ange. You don't
have to remove them, it is enough if they
stand out by about 2 mm.
These screws are very important: They
t into a very small groove in the inner
ring and make sure that the parts of the
FCCT can't fall apart at the telescope in
case of an operating error.
5. Now you have disassembled the FCCT
into its three parts:
4– FCCT-RASA-ange
(with three pairs of holes)
5– FCCT-base with tilter screws
6– FCCT-QHY-ange (on its back
is a chamber for the lter slider)
Now you can attach the FCCT-QHY
camera-ange 6to your QHY-camera
as shown on the following pages.
For the FCCT I, please continue reading
on page 8, for the FCCT II on page 10.
6
5
4
4
6
4
6
3
Please note: Differences between the FCCT I and FCCT II parts
The FCCT-RASA-ange of the
FCCT II is shorter, in order to
achieve the same optical length
as with the FCCT I.
The FCCT-QHY-ange of the
FCCT II is the same Ø 77mm an-
ge as that of the FCCT I, but there
is an additional Ø 90mm adapter
on top.

8Manual: FCCT - Filter Changer Camera Tilter
6. First remove the ring dovetail from your
QHY camera, as here in the example of
the QHY174 with the QHY dry cartridge
attached. To do this, you need a normal,
small Phillips screwdriver (not included in
the scope of delivery). Store the screws
and the ring dovetail carefully. Make sure
that the screws do not fall onto the cover
glass of the chip chamber!
7. Now remove only the arrowed three of
the six screws (1.5 mm spanner size)
on the outermost edge of the camera
housing, as shown in the illustration.
Caution: Do not remove all six screws,
as this could cause the chip chamber
to leak. However, removing only three
screws at 120° intervals does not reduce
camera tightness.
8. Place the FCCT-QHY-ange 6in such a
way onto the camera that the lter slider
will later be parallel to the long side of the
camera sensor, when it is pushed into the
FCCT (as indicated with the red lines).
9. Now secure the FCCT-QHY-ange 6
with the three M2 hex screws ( 9in the
scope of delivery on page 4) instead of
the original screws supplied by QHY
which you have removed previously.
Attaching the FCCT I to the Camera
Camera shown with included removable desiccant plug for the sensor chamber.
6

© Baader Planetarium GmbH 9
10. Now put the FCCT-base 5onto the
camera ange that the cut-outs for the
lter slider match.
To do so, at rst bring the dark-slider 2
into its position and check if can be mo-
ved easily, while you attach the upper part
5. In this case, the dark-slider acts as an
adjustment tool.
11. This side view (with the dark slider re-
moved) shows the correctly tted upper
part. If you look closely, you can see that
the lower adjustment screw of the facing
pair of screws is still screwed outwards
here.
12. Now rst screw the two 180° opposite
locking screws 3back in until the visible
end of the grub screw is ush with the ou-
ter edge (and thus engages in the groove
on the inner ring), but does not protrude
deeper – otherwise the tilter function may
be blocked.
Now hand-tighten the three tilt screws 2
on the camera side. All six tilt screws
should be equally deep in the FCCT to
ensure that the camera is initially aligned
parallel to the axis. If possible, check the
alignment with a caliper gauge – the more
precisely the body parts of the tilter are
leveled, the easier it is to adjust the camera.
13. Now the FCCT is mounted on the camera.
Insert the dark slider as dust protection
before mounting the FCCT on the RASA 8
as described from page12 on.
5
Attaching the FCCT I to the Camera
2
3
2

10 Manual: FCCT - Filter Changer Camera Tilter
6. First remove the ring dovetail from your
QHY camera, as here in the example
of the QHY294. To do this, you need a
normal, small Phillips screwdriver (not
included in the scope of delivery). Store
the screws and the ring dovetail carefully.
Make sure that the screws do not fall
onto the cover glass of the chip chamber!
7. Now remove only the marked three of
the six screws on the outermost edge
of the camera housing, as shown in the
illustration.
Caution: Do not remove all six screws,
as this could cause the chip chamber
to leak. However, removing only three
screws at 120° intervals does not reduce
camera tightness.
8. Place the Ø 90 FCCT-QHY-ange 6in
such a way onto the camera that the lter
slider will later be parallel to the short
side of the camera sensor, when it is
pushed into the FCCT (as indicated with
the red lines).
Attaching the FCCT II to the Camera
9. Now secure the FCCT-QHY-ange 6
with the three M2 hex screws ( 9in the
scope of delivery on page 4) instead of
the original screws by QHY which you
have removed before.
6

© Baader Planetarium GmbH 11
10. Now put the FCCT-base 5onto the
camera ange that the cut-outs for the
lter slider match.
To do so, at rst bring the dark-slider 2
into its position and check if can be mo-
ved easily, while you attach the upper part
5. In this case, the dark-slider acts as an
adjustment tool.
11. This side view (with the dark slider re-
moved) shows the correctly tted upper
part. If you look closely, you can see that
the lower adjustment screw of the facing
pair of screws is still screwed outwards
here.
12. Now rst screw the two 180° opposite
locking screws 3back in until the visible
end of the grub screw is ush with the ou-
ter edge (and thus engages in the groove
on the inner ring), but does not protrude
deeper – otherwise the tilter function may
be blocked.
13. Now hand-tighten the three tilt screws 2
on the camera side. All six tilt screws
should be equally deep in the FCCT to
ensure that the camera is initially aligned
parallel to the axis. If possible, check the
alignment with a caliper gauge – the more
precisely the body parts of the tilter are
leveled, the easier it is to adjust the camera.
14. Now the FCCT is mounted on the camera.
Insert the dark slider as dust protection
before mounting the FCCT on the RASA 8
as described from page12 on.
5
Attaching the FCCT II to the Camera
3
2
2

12 Manual: FCCT - Filter Changer Camera Tilter
18. Now place the FCCT-RASA ange 4
with one of the two supplied 0.5 mm
metal spacer rings ( 3in the scope of
supply on page 4) in the inside of the re-
taining ring. If necessary, you can insert a
second spacer ring here if the manufac-
turing tolerances in the RASA 8 require a
slightly wider focus position (for more on
this, see page 15).
15. Remove the large retaining ring from your
RASA 8, which is also used to attach
Celestron's original T-2 or C-mount ca-
mera adapters.
16. Remove the protective optical window
that is factory tted to the lens group cell
of the RASA 8 (or any other lter that may
be present at this point) to be able to use
the maximum diameter of the RASA 8's
eld attening optics with larger camera
formats.
17. There is a plastic ring in the previously
removed Celestron retaining ring, which
must be removed too.
Attaching the FCCT to the RASA 8
4
3

© Baader Planetarium GmbH 13
19. Now place the three parts shown above on
the thread of the RASA 8 lens group cell
and screw the Celestron coupling nut to-
gether with the 0.5 mm spacer ring and the
FCCT RASA ange 4slightly hand-tight.
Now centre the telescope ange as best
as possible in the union nut and then
tighten it further.
Caution: Always tighten this retaining ring
only hand-tight, never with force!
20. Place the camera with the previously
mounted FCCT lter chamber in the desi-
red orientation on the RASA telescope
ange of the FCCT and hand-tighten the
six screws 1(spanner size 1.3 mm).
Please be careful not to damage the
Schmidt corrector plate with the hexago-
nal spanner!
21. Rotate the camera so that the long or
narrow sides of the sensor point exactly
to the dovetail rail of the tube. In this way,
the camera is aligned with the R.A. and
DEC axes of the mount (see also page
15).
1
Attaching the FCCT to the RASA 8
4

14 Manual: FCCT - Filter Changer Camera Tilter
1. Now insert the desired lters into one
of the separately available lter drawers
using the enclosed tricot cotton gloves.
To do this, place the lter drawer with the
at side down on a clean, dust-free cloth.
The side of the lter drawer that will later
face the camera is now facing down.
Insert the lter with the side facing
downwards that is supposed to face the
camera (e.g. with CMOS-optimised Baa-
der lters, the black lter edge now faces
downwards).
1. Now click the lter into the mount by ap-
plying light pressure from above so that
it sits ush. See also the videos on the
product pages of the lter drawers:
www.baader-planetarium.com/fcct
2. Use the Filter Extractor Tool ( 6in the
scope of delivery on page 4) to remove
the dark slider from the RASA, after you
have taken your dark frames ideally in a
darkened room (or with a dark opaque
cloth wrapped around).
3. Now use the Filter Extractor Tool to
reinsert the lter drawer with the desired
lter. The built-in neodymium magnets
ensure that each drawer is always held in
the same position and cannot fall out.
Note: Whenever manipulating a lter
holder, you can slide a nger between
the arms of the extractor tool for safety's
sake, so that the lter drawer cannot fall
to the oor under any circumstances.
Inserting of Filters
6

© Baader Planetarium GmbH 15
Adjusting the image plane at the RASA 8
The adjustment itself is done on the starry sky. The FCCT is designed to maintain the
correct working distances when using the appropriate QHY camera and unmounted
31 mm / 36 mm or 2" (47.4 mm) Baader lters with 2 mm glass thickness, together
with one of the enclosed 0.5 mm spacer rings ( 3in the scope of supply on page 4).
The clear glass lter built into the RASA should be removed, as each additional lter
shifts the focus outwards by about a third of its glass thickness.
The second of the two 0.5 mm thick rings is used to compensate for manufacturing to-
lerances – only if a satisfactory result cannot be achieved when focusing on the centre
of the image. In this case, you can add the second 0.5 mm ring, or even remove both
rings (e.g. if you use lters from other manufacturers).
1. The camera sensor is aligned with the
lter drawer and the adjustment screws
as shown in the illustration on the left,
if it was installed according to this
manual. The orientation of the camera
to the RASA can also be rotated by 90°
without losing the orientation to the
axes of the mount. The numbers 1 to 3
mark the pairs of adjustment screws;
screw pair 1) is now opposite the lter
drawer.
2. For the adjustment of the image plane,
the stars in the centre of the image
must rst be focused as small and
round as possible. Only then each
corner of the image can be examined
separately and adjusted by moving the
respective screw pairs. The diagram
shows the function of the screw pairs: :
1tilts the camera along the
Longitudinal axis
2and 3tilt the camera
the diagonal axes
3. Use the extra-long Allen key with hand-
le to align the camera by loosening
and tightening each pair of screws so
that the stars are as small and round
as possible, even in the corners of the
picture.
Do not overtighten the screws (see
next page)!
Please note: At f/2, even small changes
have a big effect!
32
1
2
2
3
3
1 1

16 Manual: FCCT - Filter Changer Camera Tilter
How to adjust tilt and achieve
micron adjustment with the FCCT?
The FCCT (like the UFC and M68 Baader tilters) essentially consists of 3 pairs of
opposing set screws which independently move the inner tilt mechanics and are easily
accessed from the side using the included hex key (Allen wrench). These screws have
tapered and hardened points that bear against a precision hardened ‘zero-clearance’
steel-counterpart. The direction that each set screw moves the tilter is shown with an
etched arrow next to the individual screw. On the FCCT the extra-long hex-key with
handle also serves as torque-control against overtightening. As soon as the handle
starts to rotate (to "ex") without continuing to turning the screw then the maximum
torque allowed is reached and instead of continuing to increase pressure on that
screw, the other screw in that pair rst must be unlocked by a very small amount.
CAUTION: Never tighten a screw too firmly, only light to medium tension is requi-
red to hold the tilter with zero play. Tightening the screws too hard may damage
the hardened screw tips.
1. Check each set screw to make sure it is lightly tightened down (seated). The
screws only need to bear against the internal mechanism with light pressure.
2. To move the tilter in a particular direction, rst loosen the opposite direction screw
a very small amount, then lightly tighten the screw that moves the tilter in the
direction you want it to go. Only very small adjustments are needed to square the
mechanical axis, so only move the screws a small amount.
3. Final small tweaks may be made by very slightly increasing the pressure of just a
single screw, or very slightly decreasing the pressure of the opposing screw.
Tips:
• It is recommend that you start with the tilter set at its nominal midway position with
both parts ush. The tilt allowed is approx 0.4 mm to either side.
• The amount of loosening and tightening controls the amount of tilt movement. Al-
ways put the image center into perfect focus rst and then work out the edges.
• A simple way to check if overtightening occurs is to closely inspect each single
image frame taken during the adjustment procedure to see if some upper or lower-
side movement (that is: lateral movement) is visible when trying to move one screw
in the system to adjust for more angular tilt. Even slightest lateral movement would
indicate that at least one of the three pairs of screws is severely overtightened, as
each tilter-system is mechanically matched to zero-play.
• In case lateral movement is visible at all in the image frame, then loosen the op-
posing screw by the same amount and it will cause a tilt action immediately. You
will need some time to "get the right feel" just how nely each these three pairs of
screws work as a team, to increase pressure and reduce pressure in order to do the
adjustment in very minute increments. In this way, micron movements are possible.

© Baader Planetarium GmbH 17
• The FCCT is designed to carry up to 2 Kg of camera equipment (the larger M68 and
UFC-tilter can take up to 5 Kg of camera total weight).
• The tilter should be positioned close to the camera, to reduce additional loads from
having the camera cantilevered far from the tilter.
FCCT Accessories
For the FCCT, we offer (in addition to spare parts and extensions) three sizes of high-
quality 3D-printed lter drawers that exclusively hold unmounted lters with diameters
of 31 mm / 36 mm and 2" (unmounted diameter = 47.4 mm). Of the unmounted 2"
lters, we offer selected lters for immediate purchase, but any 2" Baader lter will
work when removed from the mount.
Filters smaller than 31 mm very often lead to vignetting in the corners of the image,
even with small chip sizes, and force cropping of the image content.
Available Accessories
• 31 mm lter slider, 3D-printed (single #2459087 or set of four #2459097)
• 36 mm lter slider, 3D-printed (single #2459088 or set of four #2459098)
• 2" (Ø 47,4 mm) lter slider, 3D-printed (single # 2459085 or set of four #2459095)
• Adapter kit from FCCT I to FCCT II for QHY 268/294 # 2459075
• 1x Additional 0.5 mm spacer (2 pieces are already included) # 2459080
• Unmounted 2" (Ø 47,4 mm) L-RGB-C and (Ultra-) Highspeed-Filter especially for the
FCCT can be found in our FCCT category: www.baader-planetarium.com/fcct
# 2459080
# 2459075
# 2961153U # 2961128U # 2961303U # 2961378U # 2961453U # 2961528U # 2961573U # 2961603RU # 2961603GU # 2961603BU # 2458416U
# 2459087
# 2459088 # 2459085

18 Manual: FCCT - Filter Changer Camera Tilter
BAADER PLANETARIUM
Zur Sternwarte 4 •D-82291 Mammendorf •Tel. [phone] / 8089-0 •Fax [phone]
www.baader-planetarium.com •[e-mail] •www.celestron.de
G
M
B
H
© Baader Planetarium. All Rights reserved. Products or instructions may change without notice or obligation. Im-
ages and illustrations may differ from the original products. We reserve the right of errors. Reproduction of this
instruction manual, complete or in parts, only with written permission by
www.baader-planetarium.com