Omegon EQ-500 X User manual

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Instruction Manual
Omegon® EQ-500 X
English Version 8.2019 Rev. A, Art.-Nr. 62783

Reproduction of part or all of the contents of this document in any form is expressly prohibited other than for individual use only. All text, images and labels are property of Nimax Gmbh.
The Omegon® EQ-500 X
Congratulations to your new Omegon® EQ 500 X. This German equatorial telescope mount is designed to give you years of
rewarding observations, thanks to durability and a high quality built. The mount can carry equipment weighing up to 10 kg.
The Vixen-Style (GP) saddle makes it compatible with most small and medium sized telescope.
Compatible telescopes
- Newtonian telescopes up to 200mm (8”) aperture
- Refractor telescopes up to 130mm (5”) aperture
- Cassegrain telescopes up to 235mm (9.25”) aperture
- Maksutov telescopes up to 200mm (8”) aperture
What’s included?
1- Stainless steel tripod
2- German equatorial mount head
3- Counterweight bar
4- Fine adjustment knobs (2)
5- Counterweights (2)
6- Tripod spreader plate
Introduction to equatorial mounts
The purpose of a telescope mount is not only to hold your telescope at a convenient height, but mainly to keep it balanced
and steady during observation. At the same time, it allows you to easily point the telescope in any direction. The Omegon®
EQ-500 X is an equatorial mount and hence offers even further convenience for observing the night sky. It is designed to
compensate for the Earth’s rotation.
Because of the rotation of the Earth and with it the telescope and the observer, the whole sky shows an apparent
movement and all stars seem to rotate around you once in 24 hours. While this movement is almost imperceivable to the
naked eye, it is very noticeable with the high magnification of a telescope. The Objects you want to observe can move out
of your field of view in just a short moment. Constant readjustment of the telescope’s direction is necessary. The
Equatorial mount makes these readjustments very easy and allows for comfortable observation sessions. If aligned
properly, a slow rotation of a single fine motion knob is enough to keep your observation targets from escaping your view.
The EQ 500 X has four axes:
Two axes, the altitude and azimuth adjustments, are only used to properly polar align the mount. After you finished the
polar alignment, you shouldn’t touch these adjustments anymore.
The other two axes, RA-axis and DEC-axis (right ascension and declination), are used to move the telescope and point it in
any desired direction. These axes each have one clamp. By opening the clamp, you can manually move the telescope along
the corresponding axis. Once you close the clamp, the telescope’s orientation is fixed along this axis. You can now only
move it with the corresponding slow-motion knob. The RA- and DEC-axis each have one slow motion knob. By turning
them, you can control the telescopes direction very finely. The slow-motion knob of the RA-axis is used to compensate for
the Earth’s rotation.
When aligned correctly, the mounts RA- and DEC-axis corresponds to the equatorial celestial coordinate system. Each star,
nebula or galaxy in the sky has a fixed set of celestial coordinates, which can be looked up in celestial maps. This makes an
equatorial mount like the Omegon® EQ-500 X ideal to use in combination with a star atlas.
Warning: Never point a telescope in the direction of the
sun without a high-quality solar filter. Looking at the sun
through a telescope causes instant damage to your eyes
without warning. The focused sunlight is also likely to
damage your telescope equipment. Never leave children
using a telescope during daylight without adult
supervision.

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What is what?
To properly follow this manual and successfully
operate the telescope mount, it is helpful to know
how all the different parts and features of the mount
are called.
a- Slow motion knob (RA-axis)
b- RA-axis clamp
c- Polar scope cover (back)
d- Altitude clamp
e- Altitude adjustment handle
f- Slow motion knob (DEC-axis)
g- Polar scope cover (front)
h- ????
i- Counterweight bar
j- Counterweights
k- Azimuth adjustment screws
l- Counterweight bar end piece
m- Saddle security screw
n- Telescope saddle knob
o- DEC-axis clamp
p- Circular bubble level
q- Weight attachment screw
r- DEC setting circle
s- RA setting circle
t- Latitude scale
u- Central knob
v- Spreader plate
x- Spreader knob
y- Tripod leg
z- Tripod leg extension
aa- Tripod foot
ab- Clamps for tripod legs
ac- Central rod

Reproduction of part or all of the contents of this document in any form is expressly prohibited other than for individual use only. All text, images and labels are property of Nimax Gmbh.
How to assemble the mount?
1. Preparing the tripod
1.1 Loosen the clamps for the tripod legs. Slide out the leg extensions
and re-tighten the clamps.
1.2 Spread the three tripod legs to give it a wide and stable stance.
1.3 Remove the black spreader knob from the central rod.
2. Attaching the mount head
2.1 Place the mount head onto the tripod.
2.2 Use the central rod between the three tripod legs to screw the mount head tightly onto the tripod. Make sure the
washer at the top of the central rod is flush with the tripod.
Tip: Extend the tripod legs by varying amounts for
your desired tripod height or to offset uneven
terrain.
Attention: The azimuth adjustment screws on the
underside of the mount head must be extended
before attaching the mount head! Extend them far
enough to give enough space for the protruding
knob on the top of the tripod.

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3. Attaching miscellaneous parts
3.1 Insert the spreader plate onto the central rod. Slide it up as far as
possible while positioning it tightly between the three legs.
3.2 Screw the black knob onto the central rod to tighten and hold the
spreader plate into position.
3.3 Screw the counterweight bar into the threaded hole opposite of
the telescope saddle.
3.4 Unscrew the flat end piece of the counterweight bar and slide the
counterweights onto the bar. Each counterweight has an attachment
clamp. Loosen it to freely move the counterweight along the bar and
tighten it to hold it in place.
3.5 With the counterweights clamped onto the bar, screw the end
piece back onto the counterweight bar. This prevents the weight from
accidentally sliding off.
3.6 Attach the two slow motion knobs to the metal shafts on the DEC-
and RA-axis. Each knob can be tightened onto the shaft by a small
perpendicular screw.
Tip: The mount head might be in a different
position than shown in these images. By opening
the clamp for the RA-axis, you can rotate the
mount head until the counterweight bar points to
the ground.
By loosening the altitude clamp and rotating the
altitude adjustment handle, you can slowly change
the angle of the mount head to prevent the
counterweight bar touching the tripod legs.
Don’t forget to tighten all clamps again!
Hint: Depending on your telescope, you might
need a second or third counterweight. A second
counterweight is included with this mount.
You can use any counterweight with an inner
diameter of 20 mm.

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4 Installing your telescope
4.1 Unscrew the telescope saddle knob and the saddle security screw.
They need to be extended far enough to not obstruct the telescope’s
dovetail bar in the next step.
4.2 Slide the telescope’s dovetail bar into the saddle.
4.3 Tighten the saddle knob against the dovetail bar, to securely fix the
fix the telescope in place on the mount head.
Congratulations! The telescope and mount are now assembled completely. Everything looks finished and you might be
tempted to just dive into observation and use it without further preparations. However, it is strongly recommended to
follow the rest of this manual to balance the mount correctly and align it with the Earth’s axis of rotation.

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Balancing the equatorial mount
1. The telescope must be balanced along the RA-axis and the
DEC-axis. Get familiar with the clamps for both axes. The
clamp for the RA-axis is further back on the mount, while the
clamp for the DEC-axis is at the front, closer to the telescope
saddle.
2. It is recommended to start the balancing process with the
RA-axis. Make sure that the clamp for the DEC-axis is
tightened and the telescope can’t move around this axis.
Loosen the Clamp for the RA-axis and rotate the telescope
until the counterweight bar is horizontal. Hold onto the
telescope. If the RA-axis is unbalanced, it will not be able to
stay in this horizontal position without you holding it there.
Unscrew the clamp for the counterweight and carefully move
it along the horizontal counterweight bar until the telescope
is balanced and can stay horizontal without your support.
The RA-axis is now balanced. Make sure to re-tighten the
counterweight in this position.
If a balance along this axis is not possible, you might need an
additional counterweight.
3. Close the clamps of the RA-axis with the counterweight
bar in horizontal position. Loosen the clamp for the DEC-axis.
Rotate the telescope towards the horizon and hold onto it. If
the DEC-axis is unbalanced, it will not be able to stay in this
horizontal position without your support.
Carefully loosen the saddle knob that clamps against the
telescope’s dovetail bar. Make sure to not let the telescope
drop out of the saddle and hold onto it. Slide the Telescope
along the dovetail bar left or right and carefully test the
balance. Tighten the saddle knob again. The telescope should
now be able to stay horizontal without you holding onto it.
Loosen the telescope saddle knob and readjust the position
of the dovetail bar if necessary.
After the telescope is balanced along the DEC-axis, make
sure to re-tighten the saddle knob again. Tighten the saddle
security screw for additional stability.
4. If both the RA-axis and the DEC-axis are balance, you should be able to open the clamps of both axes. The telescope
should then be freely movable to any position and it should stay balanced in any position. If this isn’t the case, repeat the
balancing process from the beginning.

Reproduction of part or all of the contents of this document in any form is expressly prohibited other than for individual use only. All text, images and labels are property of Nimax Gmbh.
Polar alignment
The polar alignment ensures, that the RA-axis of the telescope is
parallel to the Earth’s axis of rotation. This makes tracking of objects in
the night sky much more comfortable and allows the use of setting
circles to centre on dark and hard to find objects. For visual
observation, an approximate polar alignment is often enough.
1 Approximate polar alignment
1.1 A quick and approximate polar alignment is possible without a
polar scope. You need to know your local latitude. The latitude is one
of the geographic coordinates to describe a position on the globe. It
runs from 0° at the Equator to 90° at the North Pole (and -90° at the
South Pole). You can check the latitude of your location with most GPS
devices or maps. You can also simply search online for the latitude of
the nearest city. For this approximate polar alignment, it is enough to
know the latitude to an accuracy of 1°.
1.2 Open the altitude adjustment clamp on the side of the mount
head. You only need to loosen it by a small amount. Then rotate the
altitude adjustment handle and note how the arrow at the latitude
scale moves accordingly. Adjust the altitude until the arrow points at
your local latitude. Re-tighten the altitude adjustment clamp.
1.3. The telescope mount must be pointed towards the celestial pole
(north for the northern hemisphere). For an approximate polar
alignment, you can use a compass or the night sky to orient yourself.
The north star Polaris is usually visible with the naked eye, even under
light polluted skies. Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (Big and Little Dipper)
are one of the most recognizable constellations in the sky. Polaris is
the last star of the handle of the Little Dipper. The RA-axis of the
telescope mount must be pointed in the direction of Polaris. Pick up
the telescope mount from the ground and position it towards north.

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1.4 Remove the front and back polar scope covers. For an exact polar
alignment, an optical polar scope can be installed here. For the
approximate polar alignment, the naked view through the polar tube is
enough.
1.5 The approximate polar alignment is finished, when Polaris is visible
in the centre of your field of view while looking through the empty
polar tube. To move and centre Polaris there, it is necessary to finely
adjust the mounts altitude and azimuth axis.
1.6 To adjust the altitude axis, open the altitude adjustment clamp on
the side of the mount head (like in step 1.2 above.) Rotate the altitude
adjustment handle. Instead of looking at the latitude scale, focus on
the night sky. Polaris will move up or down while rotating the handle.
1.7 To move Polaris left and right in your field of view, you need to
adjust the azimuth axis of the mount. Use the two azimuth adjustment
screws for that. Screw them both in (without force) until you feel a
resistance. The screws now clamp around a knob on top of the tripod.
Now you must always operate both adjustment screws
simultaneously: When screwing one adjustment further in, you must
screw the other adjustment further out. This moves Polaris left or right
in your field of view.
1.8 After centring Polaris, re-tighten the altitude adjustment clamp.
Congratulations! Your mount is now balanced and aligned.
Tip: A much more precise polar alignment is possible with optional
accessories, for example an optical polar scope. However, for most
visual applications this precision isn’t needed.

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How to use Setting Circles?
Setting circles are a very useful tool for operating equatorial mounts,
especially for finding faint objects without a GoTo function. They are
best used in combination with a physical or digital star atlas, because
you need to know the RA and DEC coordinates of stars and nebulas.
There are setting circles on both the RA and DEC axis, marked with
celestial coordinates. Both setting circles are manually movable. At
each circle, you can find an arrow pointing to a specific coordinate.
1. To find a faint object, first consult your star atlas and learn about
the region of the sky around the object. You need to find a star in the
vicinity of the object, that you can recognize with your naked eye in
the night sky. This will be your reference star.
2. Point the telescope at the reference star and centre it in a low
power eyepiece. Check the RA and DEC coordinate of this star in your
atlas.
3. Rotate both setting circles so that the corresponding arrows mark
exactly the coordinates of the star. The circles are now set to your
reference star.
4. Check the RA and DEC coordinates of the faint object you are
interested in observing. Rotating the telescope around both axes will
also change what coordinates the arrows are pointing at.
Move the Telescope until the settings circles show the exact RA and
DEC coordinates of your target object
5. The object should now be visible in the field of view of your
telescope (using a low powered eyepiece).
Tip: This method is more precise
the closer the reference star is to
your target object.