ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS SynScan V5 User manual

SynScan V5 GoTo
HandController
#7947, #7942
IN 620 Rev. C 05/19
INSTRUCTION MANUAL
Corporate Offices: 89 Hangar Way, Watsonville CA 95076 - USA
Toll Free USA & Canada: (800) 447-1001
International: +1(831) 763-7000
Copyright © 2022 Orion Telescopes & Binoculars.All Rights Reserved. No part of this product instruction or any of its contents
may be reproduced, copied, modied or adapted, without the prior written consent of Orion Telescopes & Binoculars.
AN EMPLOYEE-OWNED COMPANY
Español
Francais
Deutsche
Italiano
uPour obtenir le manuel d'utilisation complet,
veuillez vous rendre sur le site Web OrionTele-
scopes.eu/fr et saisir la référence du produit dans
la barre de recherche.
vCliquez ensuite sur le lien du manuel
d’utilisation du produit sur la page de description
du produit.
uWenn Sie das vollständige Handbuch einsehen
möchten, wechseln Sie zu OrionTelescopes.de,
und geben Sie in der Suchleiste die Artikelnum-
mer der Orion-Kamera ein.
vKlicken Sie anschließend auf der Seite mit den
Produktdetails auf den Link des entsprechenden
Produkthandbuches.
uPara ver el manual completo, visite
OrionTelescopes.eu y escriba el número de
artículo del producto en la barra de búsqueda.
vA continuación, haga clic en el enlace al
manual del producto de la página de detalle del
producto.
uPer accedere al manuale completo, visitare
il sito Web OrionTelescopes.eu. Immettere the
product item number nella barra di ricerca
vFare quindi clic sul collegamento al manuale
del prodotto nella pagina delle informazioni sul
prodotto.

2
Table of Contents
1. Overview and OperatingModes 3
1.1 Keypad Layout and Connection Ports ..............4
1.2 Slewing with the Direction Keys ...................4
1.3 SynScan Operating Modes ......................4
2. Initialization 5
2.1 Setting the Mount’s Home Position ................5
2.2 Initializing the Hand Controller....................5
3. GoTo Star Alignment 7
3.1 Choosing an Alignment Method ..................7
3.2 Choosing the Alignment Star(s)...................7
3.3 Alignment Methods for Equatorial Mounts ..........7
3.4 Alignment Methods for Alt-azimuth Mounts..........8
3.5 Tips for Improving Alignment Accuracy ............10
3.6 Comparison of Alignment Methods
(EquatorialMount/Mode).......................10
4. Locating Objects 11
4.1 Messier, NGC, IC, and Caldwell Objects...........11
4.2 Planets and the Moon .........................11
4.3 Named Stars, Double Stars, and VariableStars .....11
4.4 SAO Stars ..................................12
4.5 Deep Sky Tour ...............................12
4.6 User-Dened Objects .........................12
5. Conguring Hand Controller and
MountSettings 12
5.1 Date, Time, Site, Time Zone,
and Daylight Saving Time ......................12
5.2 Hand Controller Display and Keypad Settings ......13
5.3 Backlash Compensation .......................13
5.4 Tracking Rate ................................13
5.5 Autoguide Speed .............................13
5.6 Setting Meridian Flip ..........................13
5.7 Altitude Axis (Elevation) Slew Limits ..............14
5.8 Enable/Disable Auxiliary Encoder ................14
5.9 Alignment Star Filter ..........................14
5.10 Sorting Method of Alignment Stars ..............14
5.11 Naming of Stars .............................14
5.12 Re-aligning the Mount ........................15
5.13 Show Position ..............................15
5.14 Show Time and Local Sidereal Time .............15
5.15 Display Version Information ....................15
5.16 Display Power Voltage ........................15
5.17 Display Polaris Position .......................15
5.18 Display Polar Alignment Error ..................15
5.19 Changing Polar Scope Illumination Level .........15
5.20 Language Conguration ......................15
6. Advanced Functions 16
6.1 Identifying Objects ............................16
6.2 Synchronizing Encoders .......................16
6.3 Parking the Telescope .........................16
6.4 Pointing Accuracy Enhancement (PAE) ...........16
6.5 Camera Control ..............................17
6.6 Periodic Error Correction (PEC) for EQ Mount ......18
6.7 Calibrating Auto-Home Offset ...................19
6.8 Polar Alignment without Polar Scope .............19
6.9 Setting Cone Error and Non-Perpendicular Error ....19
6.10 Astronomical Time-Lapse Photography...........20
6.11 Solar Tracking Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
7. Connecting SynScan to a Computer 20
7.1 Working with Astronomical Software Programs ......20
7.2 PC Direct Mode ..............................21
Warning:
• Never look directly at the Sun with the naked
eye or with a telescope – unless you have a
proper solar lter installed over the front of the
telescope! Otherwise, permanent, irreversible eye
damage may result.
• Never use your telescope to project an image of
the Sun onto any surface. Internal heat build-up
can damage the telescope and any accessories
attached to it.
• Never use an eyepiece solar lter or a Herschel
wedge. Internal heat build-up inside the
telescope can cause these devices to crack
or break, allowing unltered sunlight to pass
through to the eye.
• Never leave the telescope unsupervised, either
when children are present or adults who may not
be familiar with the correct operating procedures
of your telescope.

3
8. Updating Firmware 21
8.1 Hardware Requirements .......................21
8.2 Preparation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
8.3 Updating Firmware ...........................21
8.4 Troubleshooting ..............................21
9. Using a SynScan GPS Module 21
9.1 Initialization of Hand Controller
with SynScan GPSModule ....................... 21
9.2 Checking GPS Information .....................22
Appendix A: Standard Time Zones of the World ........23
Appendix B: SynScan Menu Tree ...................24
Appendix C: Eliminating Cone Error .................25
Appendix D: SynScan Self-Diagnosis ................26
Appendix E: Schematic of the Ports .................27
Appendix F: Specications ........................27
Appendix G: Star Charts ..........................30
1. Overview and
OperatingModes
The SynScan V5 GoTo hand controller provides easy, computer-
ized location of thousands of night sky objects – planets, nebu-
las, star clusters, galaxies, and more for viewing through your
telescope.The SynScan hand controller, combined with the opti-
cal encoders and electronic drive motors of your GoTo mount,
allow you to automatically point your telescope to a specic
object, or tour the skies with push-button simplicity. The user-
friendly menus allow automatic slewing to over 42,000 objects
and stars. Even inexperienced astronomers will quickly master
SynScan’s intuitive features and functionality.
1.1 Keypad Layout and Connection Ports
The hand controller’s two-line liquid crystal display (LCD) is
backlit for comfortable viewing. The contrast of the text and the
brightness of the red backlight are both adjustable.
There are four categories of control keys on the hand controller
(Figure 1a):
1. Mode keys
2. Direction keys
3. Scroll keys
4. Dual Purpose keys
Mode Keys
The three mode keys are ESC, MENU, and ENTER.
• ESC is used to escape from a certain command or go back a
level in the menu tree.
• MENU is a quick hot key that takes you to the SETUP menu.
• ENTER is used to select the functions and submenus in the
menu tree, and to conrm certain functional operations.
Direction Keys
The direction keys (Up, Down, Left, Right) allow the user to have
complete control of the mount at almost any step in operation.
These controls are locked out when the telescope is slewing to
an object.The direction keys are very helpful when initially align
-
a.
Scroll keys
Dual purpose
(shortcut) keys
Direction
keys
Mode keys
Display
screen
Figure 1. a) The SynScan GoTo hand controller, b)Hand
controller cable, serial cable, and USB ports on the bottom end of
the controller
Serial
cable port
(RJ-12)
Hand controller
cable port
(RJ-45)
USB port
b.

4
ing the mount, centering objects in the eyepiece eld of view,
slewing, and manually guiding. The left and right direction keys
can also be used to move the text cursor when entering data on
the hand controller.
Scroll Keys
The Up and Down scroll keys allow you to scroll up and down
within the menu tree or selections displayed on the hand control-
ler screen.
Dual Purpose (Shortcut) Keys
The dual purpose keys serve two distinct purposes. They are
used for data entry and as quick-reference (shortcut) keys.
• TOUR: Access the “Deep Sky Tour” function. Takes you on a
preset tour of the best night sky objects visible
• RATE: Changes the slew speed controlled by the directional
keys.There are 10 slew speeds to choose from, with 0 being
the slowest and 9 being the fastest.
• UTILITY: Access to the UTILITY FUNCTION menu. Displays
functions such as “Show Position”, “Show Information,” etc.
• USER: Access to the OBJECT LIST submenu. Gives access
to up to 25 user-dened coordinates
•
ID: Access to the “Identify” function. Identies the object the
mount is currently pointing to.
• M: Access to the “Messier Catalog” submenu of 109 Messier
objects.
• NGC: Access to the “NGC Catalog” submenu.
• IC: Access to the “IC Catalog” submenu.
• PLANET:Access to “SOLAR SYSTEM” objects.
• OBJECT:Access to the “OBJECT LIST” menu.
To connect the SynScan V5 hand controller to your mount, plug
the 8-pin RJ-45 connector of the coil cable that came with your
SynScan into the corresponding port on the bottom of the hand
controller (Figure 1b), and plug the other end of the cable into the
port on the mount’s drive panel. The table below lists the “Hand
Control” ports on different Orion GoTo mounts.
Mount Model Hand Controller Port
“Hand Control” Port
on Mount
Atlas EQ-G 8-pin RJ-45 DB-9 (F)
SkyView Pro GoTo, Sirius EQ-G, Sirius
Pro AZ/EQ-G Atlas Pro AZ/EQ-G,
HDX110 EQ-G
8-pin RJ-45
SkyQuest GoTo Dobsonians, all other
Orion GoTo alt-azimuth mounts
6-pin RJ-12
Plug the coil cable’s RJ-45 connector into the mount.The smaller
modular jack on the bottom of the hand controller is used for
serial (RS-232) communications between the SynScan and a
computer equipped with astronomy software such as Starry Night
Pro (see Section 7: Connecting SynScan to a Computer). A
serial cable was included with your Orion GoTo mount or tele-
scope.
1.2 Slewing with the Direction Keys
The four large direction keys (Figure 1a) allow the mount to be
slewed electronically as follows:
• The Left and Right keys control the movements of the Right
Ascension (R.A.) axis (for an equatorial mount or mode) or
the azimuth axis (for an Alt-azimuth mount or mode).
•
The Up and Down keys control the movements of the
Declination (Dec.) axis (for an equatorial mount or mode) or
altitude axis (for an Alt-azimuth mount or mode).
• Pressing the “RATE” key will enable the slewing speed to be
selected or changed:
·
The LCD screen will display “Set Speed,” followed by the
current speed as “Rate = *X”’.
·Press a number between “0” and “9” to select a new speed.
·Press the ENTER key to return to the previous display.
·
If you do not press the ENTER button, you can continue to
change the speed while using the direction keys to slew
the mount.
·If there is no keypad operation in 5 seconds, the most recent
speed will be kept and the LCD display will return to its
previous content.
The following table lists the available slewing speeds:
Rate No.
0 1 2 3 4
Speed *1
0.5X*21X*38X 16X 32X
Rate No.
5 6 7 8 9
Speed *1
64X 128X 400X 600X Max*4
• Rates 7, 8, and 9 are used for fast slewing of the mount.
• Rates 5 and 6 are primarily used to move a target within the
eld of view of a nder scope.
• Rates 2, 3, and 4 are slower rates useful for moving a target
in the eld of view of an eyepiece.
•
Rates 0 and 1 are the slowest rates, ideal for centering an
object in a high-power eyepiece, or for manual guiding.
Note:
*1: Speed is represented as multiples of the sidereal rate (Earth’s
rotation speed)
*2, *3: For Equatorial mounts, the speed is the drift speed of an
object in the FOV with tracking turned on; it is not the axis’s rota-
tion speed.
*4: Maximum speed varies on different mounts. For most Orion
mounts, it is higher than 800X (3.4 degrees/sec).
1.3 SynScan Operating Modes
The SynScan V5 hand controller has two operating modes to
choose from: Full Feature Mode and Easy Tracking Mode.
1. Full Feature Mode
Full Feature mode is the most commonly employed mode of
operation. In this mode the hand controller must be connected

5
to an Orion GoTo telescope mount. After turning on the power
to the mount, an “Initialization” routine for the hand controller
must be performed, followed by a GoTo “Alignment” routine,
which precisely orients the mount with the coordinate grid of the
sky. Only after the “Alignment” is done can the SynScan hand
controller’s GoTo function be used to accurately pinpoint celes-
tial objects.
A owchart of the “Full Feature” operation is shown here:
Initialization Alignment Observing or
other operations
Locate a celestial
object automatically
2. Easy Tracking Mode
The Easy Tracking mode is suitable for quick setup for visual
observing of brighter celestial objects, such as planets, the
Moon, or the Sun. If the user does not turn on the tracking func-
tion, the Easy Tracking mode can also be used for observing
terrestrial objects.
In Easy Tracking mode, the hand controller must be connected
to an Orion GoTo telescope mount. The mount must be set in a
proper “Home Position” (refer to Section 2.1 for details) before
turning on the power. After turning on the power to the mount,
you’ll complete an “Initialization” routine on the hand controller.
Then you can choose to skip the “Alignment” routine and start
the tracking function directly (refer to Section 5.4 for selecting
the tracking rate). Users will need to locate a celestial object in
the sky, and then use the hand controller to manually point the
telescope to the target.The object locating function may still be
used but it will not yield a highly accurate result.
A ow chart of the “Easy Tracking” operation is shown here:
Initialization Start
Tracking
Observing or
other operations
Locate a celestial
object automatically
2. Initialization
2.1 Setting the Mount’s Home Position
Before powering on the telescope mount, it should be set to the
“home position.”The home position is different for equatorial and
alt-azimuth mounts.
1. Home Position of an Equatorial Mount
• Level the tripod head.
•
Point the R.A. axis toward the North Celestial Pole (in Northern
Hemisphere) or the South Celestial Pole (in Southern
Hemisphere).
• Orient the counterweight shaft so it points downward.
•
Point the telescope in the general direction of the North
Celestial Pole (in Northern Hemisphere) or the South Celestial
Pole (in Southern Hemisphere).
2. Home Position of an Alt-azimuth Mount
To operate the SynScan hand controller in “Full Feature” mode,
no particular home position is required.
To operate the SynScan in “Easy Tracking” mode, the mount should
be set u p as close as possible to the following home position:
• Level the mount base.
•
Level the telescope’s tube (parallel to ground) and point it
toward true North (not magnetic North).
2.2 Initializing the Hand Controller
Once the mount has been set to the home position, turn the
mount’s power switch to ON and start the initialization process
via the SynScan hand controller.
1. Selecting the Operating Mode of the Mount
A SynScan V5 hand controller with rmware version 4.05.06
or later supports both an equatorial mount and an alt-azimuth
mount. It automatically detects the model of the mount to which
it connects and selects the appropriate operation mode accord-
ingly.
For an Equatorial/Alt-azimuth dual-mode mount, such as the
Orion Atlas Pro AZ/EQ-G, the SynScan hand controller will
request that the user select the operating mode you wish to use:
• The LCD screen will display “Operating Mode” in the rst line.
•
Use the scrolling keys at the bottom left and right of the keypad
to choose Equatorial mode (EQ Mode) or Alt-azimuth mode
(AZ Mode).
• Press ENTER to conrm the selection.
2. Firmware Version Display
The hand controller will display the rmware version.
•
Press ENTER to proceed to the next step. Press ESC to return
to the previous step.
• You can slew the mount with the direction keys at this step.
3. Solar Warning Message
The hand controller will scroll a warning message about the
dangers of viewing the Sun with a telescope without a properly
tted solar lter.
•
Press ENTER to conrm you have read the warning messages
and proceed to the next step. Press ESC to return to the
previous (rmware version display) step.
• You can slew the mount with the direction keys at this step.
4. Auto-homing (HDX110 EQ-G Mount only)
The “Auto-Homing” feature automatically establishes a home
position for the telescope.This capability applies only to mounts
equipped with the Auto-homing feature, such as the Orion
HDX110 EQ-G mount. Here’s the procedure:
•
The LCD screen will display “Auto-Home?” in the rst line, and
display “1) YES 2) NO” in the second line.
• Press “2” to skip this step and proceed to the next step, or…
•
Press “1” to start the auto-homing routine on the mount.
Once completed, the screen will display “Home Position
Established.” Press ENTER to proceed to the next step.
•
During the auto-homing routine, pressing the ESC key will
stop the mount’s movement. The screen will display “Home
Position NOT Established.” Press ENTER to proceed to the
next step.

6
•
After the home position is established, the LCD screen will
display “Add DEC offset?” in the rst line, and display “1)YES
2)NO” in the second line.
• Press “2” to skip this step and proceed to the next step.
•
Press “1” and then use the numeric keys and the LEFT/
RIGHT directional keys to enter offset (in degrees) of the
declination axis and then press the ENTER key to conrm.
The declination axis will start slewing to the designated offset
position. This function is designed for a side-by-side dual
telescope setup.
5. Entering Data About the Observing Site,Time, andDate
Geographic Coordinates
The LCD screen will display “Set Longitude:” on the rst line and
the longitude values on the second line.
•
Enter the telescope’s current longitudinal location using the
numeric keypad and scroll buttons. If you do not know the
longitude coordinate of your viewing location, consult an atlas
or look them up on the internet (i.e., search “[your location]
coordinates”).
• Use the scroll keys to toggle between E and W.
•
Press ENTER to conrm the entered coordinates and proceed
to the next step.
The LCD screen will then display “Set Latitude:” on the rst line
and the latitude values on the second line.
•
Enter the telescope’s current latitudinal location using the
numeric keypad and scroll buttons. If you do not know the
latitude coordinate of your viewing location, consult an atlas
or look them up on the internet (i.e., search “[your location]
coordinates”).
• Use the scroll keys to toggle between N and S.
•
Press ENTER to conrm the entered coordinates and proceed
to the next step.
Note: Latitude and longitude coordinates must be entered in
degrees and arcminutes. If your atlas or other reference source
provides coordinates in decimal values (i.e., latitude = 36.95 N),
you must convert that into degrees (°) and arcminutes (‘), i.e.,
latitude 36.95 N = latitude 36°57’ N. There are 60 arcminutes in
1 degree.
Time Zone
The LCD screen will display “Set Time Zone” on the rst line and
the current time zone on the second line.
• Enter the time zone in which you are observing in hours (see
Appendix A), using the scroll keys and numeric keypad. Use
the scroll keys to change the “+” or “-” sign.The “+” sign is used
for time zones in the Eastern Hemisphere (Europe, Africa,
Asia, Oceania), while the “-” sign is used for time zones in
the Western Hemisphere (North and South America). So for
California the time zone would be entered as -08:00.
• Press ENTER to conrm your choice and proceed to the next
step.
Date,Time, Daylight Saving Time
•
Enter the date in the format mm/dd/yyyy using the numeric
keypad. Press ENTER to conrm your choice.
•
Enter your current local time using the 24 hour time mode
(e.g., 2:00 p.m. = 14:00). Press ENTER to view the time you
entered. If the time is incorrect, press ESC to go back to the
previous screen. If the time is correct, press ENTER again to
proceed to the next step.
• When “Daylight Saving?” is displayed, use the scroll keys to
select “Yes” or “No”. “YES” indicates the time entered in the
previous step is Daylight Saving time, while “NO” indicates
the time entered is Standard time.
•
Press the ENTER key to conrm and proceed to the next step.
Elevation (for atmospheric refraction compensation)
•
The LCD screen will display “Set Elevation:” in the rst line,
and the elevation in meters in the second line.
• Use the scroll keys to change the leading “+” or “-” sign when
the cursor is on it.
•
Press the numeric keys at the cursor position to ll in the
elevation in meters.
• Press the ENTER key to conrm the input and proceed to the
next step.
• Press the ESC key to return to the previous step.
6. Display Position of Polaris Relative to NCP
This step applies to an equatorial mount (or mode) only. It speci-
es the orientation of the north star, Polaris, relative to the north
celestial pole (NCP) in the polar scope’s eld of view.
•
The LCD screen will display “Polaris Position in P.Scope=
HH:MM”.When using a polar scope to do the polar alignment,
user can imagine the large circle in the FOV of a polar-scope
as a clock’s face with 12:00 at the top, and put the Polaris
at the “HH:MM” position of the large circle. Press ENTER to
conrm and proceed to the next step. Press ESC to return to
the previous step.
• The LCD screen will display “Hour Angle of Polaris = HH:MM”.
Press ENTER to conrm and proceed to the next step. Press
ESC to return to the previous step.
7. Starting GoTo Alignment
For this, the last step in the hand controller’s initialization process,
the screen will display “Begin Alignment?” and ask you to select
1) YES or 2) NO.
Press“1”to start the alignment process.
The SynScan hand controller will operate in Full Feature mode
(refer to Section 1.4) after the alignment.
Press“2”to skip the alignment process.
The SynScan hand controller will enter standby mode.
•
You can start the tracking functions (refer to Section 5.4),
or use the GoTo function (see Section 4) to roughly locate
celestial objects. For either operation the SynScan hand
controller will employ the Easy Tracking mode (refer to
Section 1.3 Step 2).

7
•
You can also start an alignment process to operate the
SynScan hand controller in Full Feature mode.
•
You may slew the mount with the direction keys to point
the telescope to terrestrial targets for observing. The
“User-Dened Objects” function (refer to Section 4.6) of
the SynScan hand controller is a useful tool for terrestrial
observing.
3. GoTo Star Alignment
In order for your GoTo telescope to accurately locate and point
to objects in the sky, it must rst be aligned on known positions
(stars) in the sky. With the supplied information, the mount can
replicate a model of the sky and the movements of astronomi-
cal objects. We’re not talking about polar alignment here; that
should be done prior to the GoTo alignment procedure (consult
the manual for your specic mount or telescope.)
Note: For best results, consider using an illuminated reticle
(crosshair) eyepiece to aid in the precise centering of stars in the
telescope’s eld of view (FOV) during the alignment process.And
before performing any of the alignment methods, be sure that
your nder scope is precisely aligned with the telescope tube.
3.1 Choosing an Alignment Method
At the beginning of the alignment process, you will use the scroll
keys to choose an alignment method. The available alignment
methods differ between the mount types:
•
For an equatorial mount, the choices are 1-Star Alignment
(1-Star Align.), 2-Star Alignment (2-Star Align.) or 3-Star
Alignment (3-Star Align.).
•
For an alt-azimuth mount, the choices are Brightest Star
Alignment (Brightest Star) or 2-Star Alignment (2-Star Align.).
• Select one and press ENTER to proceed to the next step.
Note: For a detailed description and comparison of each align-
ment method, please refer to Section 3.6.
3.2 Choosing the Alignment Star(s)
In this step, you will be asked to choose one or multiple alignment
stars from a list provided by the SynScan hand controller, and
then control the mount to center the star(s) in the eld of view of
the telescope’s eyepiece.The SynScan hand controller will then
use the data collected in this process to calculate the mount’s
orientation relative to the sky coordinates.
The steps for aligning on alignment stars may differ depending on
the type of mount used, as well as the chosen alignment method.
Please refer to the relevant section for your mount:
• 3.3 Alignment Methods for Equatorial Mounts
• 3.4 Alignment Methods for Alt-azimuth Mounts
3.3 Alignment Methods for Equatorial Mounts
If you are using the GoTo controller for the rst time, we recom-
mend you begin with the 3-star alignment. In most cases, a 3-star
alignment produces the most accurate alignment of the three
possible methods. A 1-star alignment is the least accurate but
may be sufficient for casual observing.
3-Star Alignment
1. At the prompt of “Choose 1st Star,” use the scroll keys
to browse through a list of star names and choose one
you’re familiar with. Press ENTER.The mount will then
automatically slew the telescope toward that star.
2. After the mount stops, the hand controller will display
“Use arrow buttons Ctr.To eyepiece.” The mount’s tracking
function is also automatically turned on to prevent the
target star from drifting in the FOV of the telescope.
3. Now use the direction keys to move the telescope to
center the star in the FOV of the nder scope.
4. Then look in the eyepiece and move the telescope (using
the directional keys) so that the chosen star is centered in
the eld of view of the telescope eyepiece.
5. Press ENTER to conrm the star is centered.
Note: Generally, a slew rate of 5 or 6 is best for centering the
star in the nder scope, and a rate of 2 or 3 works best for center-
ing the star in the telescope’s eyepiece. The slewing speed can
be adjusted by pressing the RATE/2 key. Choose a desired rate
between 0 (slowest) and 9 (fastest).
6. You will then be prompted to choose a 2nd alignment star.
Choose a star using the scroll buttons and press ENTER
to conrm your choice. Repeat the centering procedure for
the second alignment star using the direction buttons and
press ENTER to conrm alignment.
7. The controller will provide a list of stars that can be used
as the third alignment star. Choose a star using the
scroll buttons and press ENTER to conrm your choice.
Once again, repeat the centering procedure for the third
alignment star and press ENTER to conrm alignment.
8. Once the three alignment stars have been entered and
alignment is completed, the hand controller will display
“Alignment Successful.” Press ENTER to access the Main
Menu.
9. If “Alignment Failed” is displayed, the alignment procedure
must be performed again.To do this, turn the mount’s
power switch off, then on again.
2-Star Alignment
Two-star alignment requires only two alignment stars but may
produce lesser pointing accuracy than the three-star alignment.
1. From the alignment prompt, select “2-Star Align” using the
scroll buttons. Press ENTER to conrm your choice.
2. The hand controller will provide a list of stars available in
your current sky for you to choose as the rst alignment
star. Use the same procedure as described for the 3-star
alignment to center the rst and second star in the nder
scope, then in the telescope’s eyepiece. Once the two
alignment stars have been entered and alignment is
complete, the hand controller will display “Alignment
Successful.”
3. If “Alignment Failed” is displayed, the alignment procedure
must be performed again.To do this, turn the mount’s
power switch off, then on again.

8
1-Star Alignment
One-star alignment is the simplest and quickest alignment
method, as only one alignment star is required. Due to minimal
data input, however, a one-star alignment will not yield optimal
results unless polar alignment is very accurate, and any cone
error is minimized (see Appendix C).
1. Access the alignment screen and select “1-Star Align”
using the scroll buttons. Press ENTER to conrm your
choice.
2. The hand controller will provide a list of stars available
in your current sky for you to choose as the alignment
star. Use the same procedure as described for the
3-star alignment to center the rst (and only) star in the
nder scope, then in the telescope’s eyepiece. Once
the alignment star has been entered and alignment is
complete, the hand controller will display “Alignment
Successful.”
3. If “Alignment Failed” is displayed, the alignment procedure
must be performed again.To do this, turn the mount’s
power switch off, then on again.
Cancellation During Alignment Process
1. While the mount is slewing during the alignment, you may
press the ESC key to stop the mount. The hand controller
screen will display “MOUNT STOPPED. Press any key…”
2. Press any key and the SynScan hand controller will
display “Exit Alignment? 1) YES 2) NO.” Press key 1 to exit
the alignment process; press key 2 to go back to choose
an alignment star.
3.4 Alignment Methods for Alt-azimuth Mounts
There are two methods for aligning in Alt-azimuth mode, and they
are very similar: Brightest Star Alignment and 2-Star Alignment.
Both actually involve identifying and pointing the telescope to two
different bright stars in the night sky. Both alignment methods
provide the same level of precision.The only difference is that for
the Brightest Star alignment, the hand controller will prompt you
to select the rst alignment star from a directional region of the
sky and will provide a short list of the brightest stars in that region.
With the 2-Star alignment procedure the list of eligible stars is not
grouped by region of sky.
For the novice stargazer unfamiliar with the night sky or the
names of brighter stars, some might nd the Brightest Star Align-
ment to be the easier of the two methods. The 2-Star method
is for users who know the names of at least some stars in the
night sky. To assist you in performing the alignment by either
method, we have included in Appendix G a set of star charts
with the names of some bright stars indicated for easy reference.
Rules for choosing alignment stars:
•
It is recommended that the two alignment stars be 15-60
degrees above the horizon and their altitudes differ by 10-30
degrees.
•
The two alignment stars should be separated by 45-135
degrees in azimuth, preferably around 90 degrees.
Note: Before performing either of the alignment methods, be
sure that the nder scope or reex sight is precisely aligned with
the telescope tube.
Brightest Star Alignment
Aligning the 1st Star
1. Select “Brightest Star” as your Alignment Method. Press
ENTER.
2. The hand controller will prompt you to “Select Region.”
Referring to Figure 2, choose the region that corresponds
with where you see the brightest star in the sky. It may
be helpful to have a compass for reference during this
process. There are eight overlapping regions to choose
from, each covers a 90-degree span in azimuth. The
direction you choose will only affect your alignment star
selection; you will still be able to choose objects to view
across the entire sky once the alignment is complete.
3. After you have selected the region of the sky containing
the brightest star, the hand controller will generate a list of
the brightest stars in that region sorted by the brightness
of the star, with the brightest stars at the top of the list.
Only stars brighter than magnitude 1.5 will appear in the
list. If there is no star brighter than magnitude 1.5 in the
selected region, the hand controller will display “No object
found in this region.” Press ENTER or ESC and select
another region of sky.
Figure 2. Directional regions of the sky used in the “Brightest
Star” alignment method.
Figure 3. Alignment star information displayed on LCD.
N
O
R
T
H
E
A
S
T
S
K
Y
S
O
U
T
H
E
A
S
T
S
K
Y
S
O
U
T
H
W
E
S
T
S
K
Y
N
O
R
T
H
W
E
S
T
S
K
Y
N
O
R
T
H
E
R
N
S
K
Y
E
A
S
T
E
R
N
S
K
Y
S
O
U
T
H
E
R
N
S
K
Y
W
E
S
T
E
R
N
S
K
Y
N (0˚)
E (90˚)
S (180˚)
(225˚)
W (270˚)
(315˚)
(135˚)
(45˚)
1. Capella
NE 35.3 15.7 Altitude Angle
Star Name
Azimuth Angle
Orientation
Brightness Order

9
4. Now, use the Scroll keys to scroll through the list of bright
stars. There will only be a few stars, at most, on the list,
and sometimes only one star will be on the list. The hand
controller will display the name of the star on the rst
line, and the approximate position of the star (based on
the time and date entered during the initial setup) on the
second line (Figure3). The rst coordinate on the second
line is an E-W coordinate (azimuth angle), and the second
coordinate indicates degrees above the horizon.These
coordinates provide a simple way to identify the bright
star you have chosen.When you are condent the hand
controller is displaying the name of the bright star you
wish to align on, press ENTER.
5. The mount will NOT slew to the selected bright star
automatically. Instead, the screen will display “Point scope
to RR ZZ.Z° TT.T° ,” where RR is the region (e.g., NE, SW,
etc.) ZZ.Z is the azimuth angle in degrees, and TT.T is the
altitude in degrees. Use the direction keys to move the
mount and point the telescope to the 1st alignment star
selected in the previous step. Center the 1st alignment
star in the FOV of the nder scope or the red dot nder,
and then press ENTER to proceed to the next step.
If the mount has clutches on its axes, you can loosen the clutches
to move the mount manually to point the telescope to the target.
Note:Generally, a slewing rate of 5 or 6 is best for centering the
star in the nder scope, and a rate of 2 or 3 works best for center-
ing the star in the telescope’s eyepiece. The slewing speed can
be adjusted by pressing the RATE/2 key. Choose a desired rate
between 0 (slowest) and 9 (fastest).
6. Now the screen will display “Ctr. to eyepiece” and the
name of the selected 1st alignment star. Use the direction
keys to center it in the telescope’s eyepiece and then
press ENTER.
Aligning the 2nd Star
1. If the rst alignment star is not a planet, the LCD screen
will display “Choose 2nd Star”; otherwise, it will display
“Choose 1st Star.”
2. Scroll through the list using the Scroll keys and refer to the
appropriate star chart in the back of this manual to choose
a second alignment star. Ideally, you want this star to be
about 60 degrees (i.e., about six st-widths held at arm’s
length) away from the rst alignment star in azimuth, and
preferably at roughly the same altitude. The more distance
between the two alignment stars, the better accuracy
the alignment will produce. Once you’ve selected a
second alignment star, press ENTER. The mount will now
automatically slew to the selected star, which should land
in or near the eld of view of your nder scope.
3. After the mount stops, the hand controller will display the
name of the selected star on line 1 and “Ctr. to eyepiece”
on line 2. After you’ve centered it in the telescope’s
eyepiece (or rst in the nder scope, if the star is not
visible in the eyepiece eld of view), press ENTER.
• If the rst alignment star was not a planet, the SynScan hand
controller will now display “Alignment Successful.” Press
ENTER to skip extra messages and complete the alignment
process.
•
If the rst alignment star was a planet, the SynScan hand
controller will display “Choose 2nd Star.” Repeat from Step 2
to complete the alignment process.
• If the message “Alignment Failed” displays, it usually means
the star positions do not correspond with the location and
date/time information input during setup. Please check your
user initialization settings before starting again.
Cancellation During Alignment Process
1. While the mount is slewing during the alignment, you may
press the ESC key to stop the mount. The hand controller
screen will display “MOUNT STOPPED!! Press any key.”
2. Press any key and the SynScan hand controller will
display “Exit Alignment? 1) YES 2) NO.” Press key 1 to exit
the alignment process; press key 2 to start the alignment
process over.
2-Star Alignment
To perform the 2-star alignment, follow the same steps described
for the Brightest Star alignment, except that the hand controller
will not prompt you to select a directional region for a bright star.
Instead, you’ll be presented with a list of stars available in your
current sky to choose from, for each of the two alignment stars.
Daytime Alignment Method for Alt-Azimuth Mounts
You can align the mount in daytime on the Sun, the Moon, or
for a quick alignment just before dawn or after dusk using the
Sun, Moon, a bright planet or even a bright star. This alignment
requires the telescope mount to be leveled before powering up
and beginning the alignment.
Aligning on the Sun, Moon, a Planet or Bright Star in
Daytime:
In the Setup menu, go to Alignment, then “Daytime Align.”
1. The LCD screen rst displays a warning message to
remind you that looking directly at the Sun without proper
protection is dangerous and can result in permanent eye
damage or blindness. Always use proper protection before
aligning on the Sun, including a solar lter mounted on the
front aperture of your telescope and nder scope. Once
you have conrmed that everything is safe for aligning on
the Sun, press ENTER to go to the next step.
2. Now the screen will prompt the brightest object in the sky.
In daytime, the Sun will be the rst target prompted in the
alignment star list.You may also use the scroll keys to
browse to another alignment object, such as the Moon, a
planet, or a bright star to use as a reference target. Press
ENTER to conrm the selection.
3. The LCD screen displays “Point scope to ZZZ zz.z’ sTT
tt.t’ ”, which means point the telescope to the location with
an azimuth of ZZZ degrees, zz.z minutes and an altitude
of sTT degrees, tt.t minutes.These are the coordinates of
the selected 1st alignment target. Then use the directional
keys on the SynScan to move the mount to point the
telescope to the object and center it in the FOV of the
nder scope or the red dot nder.Then press ENTER to

10
proceed to the next step. If the telescope has clutches on
its axes, you can loosen the clutches to move the mount
manually to point the telescope to the target.
4. Now the screen will display “Ctr. to eyepiece” and the
name of the selected alignment object.The object should
be in the FOV of the telescope.You can use the directional
keys to center it in the eyepiece and then press the
ENTER key. The hand controller will display “Alignment
Successful” and then return to the Daytime Align menu.
The daytime alignment is now completed.
3.5 Tips for Improving Alignment Accuracy
Eyepiece
•
Use a reticle eyepiece to ensure accurate centering of your
alignment objects. If a reticle eyepiece is not available, try to
use an eyepiece with longer focal length to yield a smaller
FOV. You can also try de-focusing the star image to obtain a
large star disk in the FOV. Centering the star disk in the FOV
is easier than centering a pinpoint star, in the absence of a
reticle eyepiece.
• During the alignment process, avoid changing or rotating the
eyepiece and the diagonal (if one is used).
Mechanical Backlash
All mounts have some amount of mechanical backlash on both
axes. To avoid introducing alignment error from backlash, keep
the following rules in mind:
•
When centering an alignment star in the eyepiece, the
operation should always end by using the UP and RIGHT
direction keys to move the axes.
• If there is overshoot when centering an alignment star in the
eyepiece with UP and RIGHT keys, use the LEFT or DOWN
keys to pull the star back to the edge of the FOV and then use
the RIGHT and UP keys to center the star again.
Alignment Star Selection
The choice of alignment stars can also impact the alignment
accuracy. Please refer to earlier parts of Section 3 on sugges-
tions for choosing alignment stars for various mounts and align-
ment methods.
3.6 Comparison of Alignment Methods
(EquatorialMount/Mode)
1-Star Alignment
Advantage: Quickest alignment.
Preconditions:
• An accurate polar alignment for the mount.
• Small cone error in the telescope-mount setup.
• If the cone error is large, there will be noticeable offset in the
R.A. when the SynScan hand controller locates an object
that is:
·On the other side of the meridian from the alignment star.
·Deviated signicantly in declination from the alignment star.
Rules for choosing an alignment star:
• Choose an alignment star with smaller declination. It will help
to obtain higher resolution in R.A. movement in the telescope’s
eyepiece.
•
If there is cone error in the telescope-mount setup or if you are
unsure about it, choose an alignment star that is close to the
object(s) to be observed.
2-Star Alignment
Advantage: For visual observing, the mount does not need to be
polar-aligned accurately.
Preconditions: Small cone error in the telescope-mount setup.
Rules for choosing alignment stars:
•
The deviation in R.A. of the two alignment stars should not
be too small or too close to 12 hours, i.e., 180 degrees; the
recommended deviation is between 3 and 9 hours, i.e.,
between 45 and 135 degrees.
•
If there is cone error in the telescope-mount setup or if you
are unsure about it, choose two alignment stars that are on
the same side of the meridian. The absolute values of the
two alignment stars’ declination should be between 10 to 30
degrees.
Note: If the polar alignment of the mount is good, it is not neces-
sary to choose “2-Star alignment” to align the mount; use “1-star
alignment” instead.
3-Star Alignment
Advantages:
• Good pointing accuracy; even if the telescope-mount system
has cone error.
•
For visual observing, the mount does not need to be accurately
polar-aligned.
Preconditions: The skies on both sides of the meridian are clear
of obstructions.
Rules for choosing alignment stars:
•
The three alignment stars should be spread out on both sides
of the meridian.
•
For the two alignment stars on the same side of the meridian,
they should differ in R.A. by greater than 3 hours, i.e., 45
degrees apart in RA, and the absolute value of the difference
of the two alignment stars’ declination should be between 10
and 30 degrees ( 10° < |Dec1 – Dec2| < 30°).
• If there is cone error in the telescope-mount setup or you are
unsure about it, don’t choose alignment stars that all have
small declinations (close to Dec. = 0).
Note: If you are sure that there is no (or very small) cone error in
the telescope-mount system, then it is not necessary to choose
the “3-star alignment” to align the mount. Use “1-star alignment”
or “2-star alignment” instead.
4. Locating Objects
Users can access several popular celestial object catalogs stored
in the SynScan hand controller and command the telescope

11
mount to locate a specic object in the catalogs.The object loca-
tion function is available for either “Full Feature” mode (Section
1.3 Step 1) or “Easy Tracking” mode (Section 1.3 Step2) of the
mount.
The SynScan hand controller boasts a vast database of over
42,000 objects and stars. Once the telescope has been GoTo
aligned, you can access and view the thousands of objects in
the SynScan database. The database contains the following
catalogs:
Named Star: A list of 100 popular, known stars
Solar System: The other 8 planets of our solar system and
Earth’s Moon
NGC: 7,840 of the brightest deep-sky objects from the Revised
New General Catalog
IC: 5,386 of standard stars and deep sky objects from the
Indexed Catalog
Messier: Complete list of 110 Messier objects
Caldwell: Complete list of 109 Caldwell objects
SAO Catalog: The SAO star catalog in the SynScan hand
controller is a small sub-set of the 259,000-star SAO catalog,
containing only stars brighter than magnitude 8
Double Star: Includes 55 of the best double stars to view
Variable Star: Includes 20 of the most famous variable stars
User Object: Up to 25 objects can be saved in the User-Dened
database
Deep-SkyTour: Takes you on a preset tour across the night sky,
stopping at the brightest and most beautiful objects visible in your
sky at the current time/date
4.1 Messier, NGC, IC, and Caldwell Objects
1. Press the M, NGC, or IC shortcut key on the hand
controller, or press the OBJECT key. For Caldwell objects,
there is no shortcut key so press the OBJECT key and
scroll until “Caldwell Catalog” is displayed, then press
ENTER.
2. Enter the 3-digit (for Messier or Caldwell) or 4-digit
catalog number of the object you wish to target.
• Messier objects are numbered from 1 through 110.
• NGC objects are numbered from 1 through 7840.
• IC objects are numbered from 1 through 5386.
• Caldwell objects are numbered from 1 through 109.
3. If the selected object is below the horizon at this time, the
SynScan hand controller will display “Below horizon” for
2 seconds; otherwise, it will display the object’s current
azimuth and altitude.
4. By using the scroll keys, you can browse the following
information of the object: J2000 celestial coordinates,
magnitude (MAG=), rising time (Rise:), transit time
(Transit:), setting time (Set:), size (Size=) and associated
constellation (Constellation:).
5. Press the ENTER key to proceed to the next step.The
screen will display “View Object?”
6. Press the ENTER key to slew the mount toward the target
(or press the ESC key to return to the previous step).
When the mount stops, the SynScan hand controller will
beep and then return to the previous step.The mount will
also automatically start tracking the object.
7. You can press the ESC key to stop the mount if needed.
The screen will display “MOUNT STOPPED!! Press any
key.” Then press any key to return to the previous step.
Note: The mount will not slew if:
• The object is below the horizon.
•
On an alt-azimuth mount, the object’s altitude exceeds the
limit set by the hand controller. (The screen will display “Target
over slew limit” in this case.) See Section 5.6 for more on
altitude slew limits.
4.2 Planets and the Moon
1. Press the “PLANET” shortcut key. The screen will display
“Solar System” in the top row.
2. Use the scroll keys to browse through the list of entries,
which includes Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus, Neptune, Pluto (Yes, we know, it’s no longer
officially a planet!), and the Moon. Choose one and press
ENTER.
3. If the selected object is currently below the horizon, the
message “Below horizon” will display for 2 seconds;
otherwise, you will see the object’s current azimuth and
altitude.
4. Using the scroll keys, you can browse the following
information of the object: current RA and Dec coordinates,
rise time (Rise:), transit time (Transit:), set time (Set:), and
the common name of the object. Press ENTER to proceed
to the next step.
5. To slew to the object, follow the same process described
for the Messier, NGC, IC, and Caldwell Objects in Section
4.1 above.
4.3 Named Stars, Double Stars,
and variableStars
1. Press the “OBJECT” shortcut key. Use the two scroll keys
to browse the list until “Named Star,” “Double Stars,” or
“Variable Stars” is displayed, and then press the ENTER
key to select the desired option.
2. Once inside, use the two scroll keys to nd the desired
object in the list of star names. Press the ENTER key to
conrm the selection.
3. To slew to an object you will use the same basic
procedure as for the other objects above (see Section
4.1).
Note: The data for the separation angle (Separation:) and the
position angle (Position Angle:) are provided for double stars,
and the maximum magnitude (Max.MAG=), minimum magnitude

12
(Min.MAG=), and period of variation (Period=) are provided for
variable stars.
4.4 SAO Stars
1. Press the “OBJECT” shortcut key and use the two scroll
keys to nd “SAO Catalog,” then press ENTER.
2. Enter the 4 left-most digits of the 6-digit SAO number
(e.g., “SAO 0238xx”). Press ENTER, then the hand
controller will nd the rst SAO number in the database
that matches the four left-most digits entered (e.g., “SAO
023801”).
3. Use the scroll keys to change the last two digits until the
screen displays the desired SAO index number. Press the
ENTER key to conrm the input. (e.g., “SAO 023825”).
Note: The SAO catalog in the SynScan hand controller is a
sub-set of the SAO catalog. It only contains stars brighter than
magnitude 8.
4. To slew to a star you will use the same procedure as for
the other objects above (see Section 4.1).
4.5 Deep Sky Tour
The SynScan V4 hand controller enables you to take a tour of
the best deep-sky objects visible in the current sky from your
location. You can select them one by one and command the
SynScan hand controller to automatically point the telescope
to each object for viewing. This is the “Deep Sky Tour” function.
1. Press the “TOUR” shortcut key. The screen will display
“Deep Sky Tour” in the top row. Use the two scroll keys to
browse through a list of the deep-sky objects and press
ENTER to pick one.
2. The screen will display the catalog to which the object
belongs as well as its catalog number in the top row. The
object’s current azimuth and altitude will be displayed in
the bottom row.
3. Use the scroll keys to browse the object’s current celestial
coordinates, magnitude (MAG=), rise time (Rise:),
transit time (Transit:), set time (Set:), size (Size=), and
associated constellation (Constellation:).
4. Press ENTER to proceed to the next step.
5. Go To the Object: Slewing to an object involves the same
procedure as described for the other objects above (see
Section 4.1).
4.6 User-Defined Objects
The SynScan hand controller allows you to save up to 25 objects
in the User-Dened database.You can save currently unknown
objects, unidentiable objects, current comet and/or asteroid
positions, or you can make a custom list of your favorite objects
to view.
Dening and saving an object to the database
1. Press the “USER” shortcut key. The screen will display
“User Object”.
2. Press the scroll keys until “New Object” is displayed
on the screen, then press the ENTER key. The screen
will display “Coord. Type 1) RA-DEC 2) Mount.” Press
“1” to enter R.A./Dec. coordinates for a celestial object;
press “2” to enter Alt-azimuth coordinates for a land
object. If “RA-DEC” is chosen, the screen will display the
coordinates to which the telescope is currently pointing. If
“Mount” is chosen, the screen will display the coordinates
of the mount’s two axes. The rst number is the
coordinates of the R.A. or azimuth axis, while the second
number is the coordinates of the Dec. or altitude axis.
3. Edit the coordinates using the numeric keys and scroll
keys. Press ENTER to save the chosen setting.
4. The screen will display “Save?” Press the ENTER key to
start saving the coordinates. (Or press the ESC key to
proceed to the next step without saving the coordinates.)
5. The hand controller will prompt you to choose a storage
space index number between 1 and 25 for your chosen
object. Select the number you wish to represent the
coordinates, using the scroll buttons. Press ENTER to
conrm.
6. Once the object coordinates are represented by a
number, the hand controller will display “View Object?”
Press ENTER to slew the telescope to the coordinates.
Press ESC to exit.
Selecting a user dened object
1. Press the USER shortcut key. The screen will display
“User Object / Recall Object”. Press ENTER.
2. Use the scroll keys to browse through the list of
pre-dened objects indexed from 1 to 25. Select the
number representing the object you wish to view, then
press ENTER to display the object’s coordinates. Press
the ENTER key again to proceed.
3. The screen will now display “View Object?” Press ENTER
to slew the telescope to the selected object. Press ESC to
exit.
5. Configuring Hand
Controller and
MountSettings
The MENU and UTILITY shortcut keys are the entry points for
conguring many aspects of the mount and hand controller.The
different types of functions available are listed below, along with
their respective purposes. Press the MENU or UTILITY keys, as
directed below, to access them.
5.1 Date, Time, Site, Time Zone, and
Daylight Saving Time
•
Date – Allows you to change the date entered at the initial
setup.
• Time – Allows you to change the current time.
• Observation Site – Allows you to change the current location
settings.
• Daylight Saving – Allows you to change the Daylight Saving
option.

13
•
Alignment – Allows you to re-perform the 1-star, 2-star, or 3-star
alignment for GoTo operation at any time without restarting
the mount (see Section 5.10).
5.2 Hand Controller Display and Keypad Settings
1. Access “MENU \ Handset Setting” and press the ENTER
key.
2. Use the scroll keys to select “LCD Contrast,” then use the
left/right direction keys to adjust the contrast of the LCD
text characters.
3. Use the scroll keys to select “LED Backlight,” then use the
left/right direction keys to adjust the LED brightness of the
hand controller keys (buttons).
4. Use the scroll keys to select “LCD Backlight,” then use the
left/right direction keys to adjust the brightness of the LCD
screen’s backlight.
5. Press ESC to exit the adjustment.
5.3 Backlash Compensation
Backlash is a delay in motorized motion of the mount due to slack
between gears. This delay, or hesitation, is experienced when
the slewing direction is reversed on one or both axes of motion
using the direction keys on the hand controller. So when you’re
looking at an object in the eyepiece, it will not move immediately
upon pressing a direction key – there will be a lag time.
The SynScan hand controller can compensate for backlash by
commanding the mount to slew at a higher speed for a specic
amount of distance when the user reverses direction with the
direction keys. With such backlash compensation you’ll get a
faster response from the mount.
This function allows you to insert a value for each axis to
compensate for slewing backlash experienced on that axis. For
improved pointing accuracy, it is important that the backlash
value is set to be equal or greater than the actual amount of
backlash between the gears. If the actual amount of backlash is
unknown, we recommend that you set the value to 5000 (approxi-
mately equivalent to 0.2°). First set the value for R.A. backlash,
then press ENTER to set the value for DEC.
1. Access “MENU / Backlash” and press the ENTER key.
2. The screen will display “Azm = X°XX'XX" ” or “RA =
X°XX'XX" ”. Use the Left/Right keys to move the cursor
and use the numeric keys to ll in a number at the cursor
position to input the amount of backlash in the azimuth
or R.A. axis. Press the ENTER key to nish the input and
proceed to the next step.
3. The screen will display “Alt = X°XX'XX" ” or “Dec =
X°XX'XX" ”. Fill in the amount of backlash in the altitude
axis or Dec. axis and then press the ENTER key.
Notes:
•
Set the backlash value to 0 for an axis to disable backlash
compensation for that axis.
•
Backlash compensation is only active for computerized GoTo
slewing, not for manual slewing with the direction buttons.
5.4 Tracking Rate
The mount can track at several different rates, which you select
depending on the type of object(s) you’ll be observing or photo-
graphing.
1. Access “MENU \ Tracking” and press the ENTER key.
2. Use the scroll keys to browse the various options, and
press the ENTER key to pick one.
•
Sidereal Rate: This is the default tracking rate.
Activates tracking at sidereal rate (R.A. tracking) for
observing/photographing stars, deep-sky objects, and
planets.
•
Lunar Rate: Activates tracking at lunar rate (R.A.
tracking) for observing/photographing the Moon.
•
Solar Rate: Activates tracking at solar rate (R.A.
tracking) for observing/photographing the Sun.
• PEC + Sidereal Rate: Activates sidereal rate tracking
and turns on Periodic Error Correction (PEC).Applies
to equatorial mounts/mode only.
• Stop Tracking: Turns off the tracking function.
Note: You can turn on the tracking without performing a star
alignment procedure. In this case, the polar alignment should be
rather accurate for an equatorial mount; and the mount must be
set up to the proper home position before turning on the power
(refer to Section 2.1).
5.5 Autoguide Speed
For astronomical imaging, some Orion equatorial mounts or dual
equatorial/alt-azimuth mounts have a designated autoguider
interface.The pin-outs on the 6-pin modular connector are ST-4
compatible and can be used with most autoguiding cameras
currently available.The guiding speed can be adjusted using the
Auto Guide Speed function in the Setup Menu.
1. Access “MENU \ Auto Guide Speed” and press the
ENTER key.
2. Use the scroll keys to choose one of the following guiding
speeds: 0.125X, 0.25X, 0.5X, 0.75X, or 1X, and then
press the ENTER key.The default autoguiding speed is
0.5X.
5.6 Setting Meridian Flip
On an equatorial mount, the SynScan hand controller automati-
cally decides whether to perform a meridian ip at the beginning
of a GoTo command. If the object being targeted lies close to the
meridian on its east side, the software will ip the mount so that
the telescope is on the east side, to prevent the telescope from
bumping against the tripod.
Astrophotographers can override the automatic meridian ip and
“force” a meridian ip prior to beginning an imaging sequence
on a particular object. This is a very useful feature, obviating
the need to ip the scope to the east side during a long imag-
ing sequence.You can now do it before you start the sequence.
There is no limitation on how far in front of the meridian an object
can be in forcing a meridian ip – other than physical limitations
presented by your telescope and tripod.

14
To set the meridian ip mode, go to Setup\Flipping Mode.
•
Scroll to Auto Flipping and press ENTER to let the hand control
decide automatically whether to perform a meridian ip.
• Scroll to Force Flipping and press ENTER to force the mount
to perform a meridian ipping for the next GoTo object only.
• Scroll to No Flipping and press ENTER to prevent the mount
from performing a meridian ip for the next GoTo object only.
Note that the size of your telescope and its orientation when it’s
pointed at the object you’re targeting will inuence whether a
meridian ip can be achieved without the telescope contacting
the tripod or pier. So during a meridian ip you should moni-
tor the telescope carefully as it slews and be ready to hit the
ESC key to stop the slewing immediately if the telescope is
getting too close to the tripod or pier! Failing to do so could
cause damage to your “ipping” equipment!
5.7 Altitude Axis (Elevation) Slew Limits
Some alt-azimuth mounts have limited slewing range on their
altitude axis, or users may need to set slewing limits for some
equatorial mounts. Users can set the upper or lower altitude limit
for such mounts.
•
When you select an object whose altitude exceeds the altitude
limits of an alt-azimuth mount, or the elevation slewing limit of
an equatorial mount, the SynScan hand controller will display
“Target is over slew limits!!” and will not initiate slewing.
•
When you use the Up or Down direction keys to slew the
altitude axis to exceed the altitude limits of an Alt-azimuth
mount, the SynScan hand controller will automatically stop the
altitude axis and display “Over slew limit. Slewing stopped!”
In this case you have to press any key and the SynScan
controller will bring the altitude axis back.
Follow these steps to set the altitude slewing limits:
1. Access “MENU \ Elevation Limits”, and press the ENTER
key.
2. Use the scroll keys to choose options “Enable” or
“Disable,” then press the ENTER key to conrm.
3. If “Disable” is chosen, the SynScan hand controller will
turn off the altitude limit.
4. If “Enable” is chosen, the SynScan hand controller will
turn on the altitude limit, and you can input the upper and
lower limits as follows:
•
The screen will display “Set Elev. Limits:” in the top row,
and “Upper=+XXX. X°” in the bottom row. Use the Left/
Right keys to move the cursor and use the numeric
keys to ll the upper limits. The leading sign can be
changed with the scroll keys. Press the ENTER key to
end the input and proceed.
•
The screen will display “Lower=+XXX. X°” at the
bottom row; ll in the data in a similar way.
5.8 Enable/Disable Auxiliary Encoder
Some Orion telescopes and mounts are equipped with auxiliary
encoders on their primary axes to support manually moving the
scope without upsetting the mount’s GoTo alignment status.
Users may turn off the auxiliary encoder to obtain the best point-
ing accuracy. The auxiliary encoder can be turned on again at
any time for manually moving the mount.
1. Access “MENU \ Auxiliary Encoder” menu and press the
ENTER key.
2. Use the scroll keys to select between “Enable” or “Disable”
and press the ENTER key.
Note: After re-enabling the auxiliary encoders, it is recom-
mended to use the direction keys to move both axes a bit before
commanding the hand controller to locate an object.
Note: For some Orion mounts, which are not equipped with
auxiliary encoders, when accessing the Auxiliary Encoder, the
hand controller display will show “Not available!” and return to
the previous step.
5.9 Alignment Star Filter
Not all combinations of alignment stars are good for a 2-star
alignment or 3-star alignment.The SynScan hand controller uses
a built-in advanced alignment star lter to show only the stars that
are suitable to work with the 1st or 2nd alignment star(s), when
asking the user to choose the 2nd or 3rd alignment star. This
helps to improve the success rate of the alignment.
Some advanced users or those who have limited sky visibility can
turn on/off this advance lter with the following steps:
1. Access “MENU \ Alignment Stars \ Adv. Filter” and press
the ENTER key.
2. Use the scroll keys to choose “OFF” and then press the
ENTER key to disable the lter.
3. Use the scroll keys to choose “ON” and then press the
ENTER key to enable the lter.
Note: Even if the advanced lter function is turned off, the
SynScan hand controller will still apply the following rules to
generate the list of alignment stars:
•
The alignment star’s altitude must be above 15
degrees.
•
For an equatorial mount or mode, the alignment star’s
declination must be between -75 and +75 degrees.
•
For an alt-azimuth mount or mode, the alignment star’s
altitude must be below 75 degrees or within the altitude
limits dened by the user (Section 5.6).
5.10 Sorting Method of Alignment Stars
1. Access “MENU \ Alignment Stars \ Sort by” and press the
ENTER key.
2. Use the scroll keys to select “Magnitude” or “Alphabet” and
the press the ENTER key to sort the list accordingly.
5.11 Naming of Stars
1. Access “MENU \ Alignment Stars \ Set Star Name” and
press the ENTER key.
2. Use the scroll keys to choose between “Common Name”
and “Bayer Designation”, press the ENTER key to conrm.

15
5.12 Re-aligning the Mount
You can execute a 1-star alignment, 2-star alignment, or 3-star
alignment at any time without restarting the mount.
1. Access “MENU \ Alignment” and then press the ENTER
key.
2. Use the scroll keys to select an alignment method and
press the ENTER key to start the alignment process. For
detailed instructions on alignment, please refer to Section
3.
5.13 Show Position
This function displays the coordinates of the point in the sky at
which the telescope is aimed.Access the menu “UTILITY FUNC-
TION \ Show Position” and press the ENTER key.
Use the scroll keys to choose one of the following coordinate
types:
•
Dec/RA: Displays the current equatorial coordinates of the
telescope.
•
Alt/Azm: Displays the current altitude and azimuth coordinates
of the telescope.
• Ax1/Ax2: Displays the current coordinates of the mount. Ax1
is the position of the declination or altitude axis, and Ax2 is
the position of the R.A. or azimuth axis.
Note:You can use the direction keys to slew the mount to specic
coordinates by referring to the real-time coordinates display.
5.14 Show Time and Local Sidereal Time
To display the current local sidereal time (LST) and the local
time, access the menu “UTILITY FUNCTION \ Show Information
\ Time” and press the ENTER key.
5.15 Display Version Information
Access the menu “UTILITY FUNCTION \ Show Information \
Version” and press the ENTER key, and then use the scroll keys
to browse through the following information. Press the ESC key
to exit.
•
H.C. Firmware: The rmware version of the SynScan hand
controller.
•
Database: The database version of the SynScan hand
controller
•
H.C. Hardware: The hardware version of the SynScan hand
controller.
•
Motor Controller: The rmware version of the mount’s internal
motor controller board.
•
H.C. Serial No.: The serial number of the SynScan hand
controller.
5.16 Display Power Voltage
To display the voltage of the power supply used to power the tele-
scope or mount, go to “UTILITY FUNCTION \ Show Information
\ Power Voltage” and press the ENTER key.
5.17 Display Polaris Position
This function can aid in achieving an accurate polar alignment
when using the mount’s polar axis nder scope. Imagine the
large circle around the celestial pole (cross in center) in the polar
scope’s eld of view as a clock’s face, with 12:00 at the top, and
put Polaris at the “HH:MM” position of the large circle.
1. To do this, access the menu “UTILITY FUNCTION \
Show Information \ Polaris Pos.” and press the ENTER
key. The screen will display “Polaris Position in P.Scope
= HH:MM.” Use the scroll keys to display “Polaris HA =
HH:MM”, where HA stands for Hour Angle. Press the ESC
key toexit.
5.18 Display Polar Alignment Error
Checking the polar alignment error will tell you how accurate
your polar alignment is, which will allow you to decide if you
should perform the polar alignment procedure again or if it’s
“good enough” for your purpose.
1. Access the menu “UTILITY FUNCTION \ Show
Information \ Polar Align. Error” and press the ENTER
key. The screen will display “Mel=+DDD°MM'SS"
Maz=+DDD°MM'SS" ”. The “Mel” value is the polar
alignment offset in elevation, and the “Maz” value is the
polar alignment offset in azimuth. The data is valid only
after a 2-star or 3-star GoTo alignment.
5.19 Changing Polar Scope Illumination Level
This function applies only to certain Orion mounts that are
equipped with a variable-brightness polar scope illuminator.
1. Access the menu “UTILITY FUNCTION \ Polar Scope
LED” and press the ENTER key.
2. Use the Left/Right direction keys to adjust the illumination
level. Press the ENTER key to conrm and exit.
5.20 Language Configuration
The SynScan V5 hand controller with rmware version 4.38.01 or
higher supports multiple languages, including English, Chinese
(simplied), Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French,
Italian, Dutch, and others. You may set which language will be
displayed on the hand controller. English is set as the default
language.
Here are the steps for setting a different language:
3. Browse to “Select Language“ under the Setup sub-menu,
then press ENTER.
4. Use the scroll keys to select a language from the list. The
current selected language will be highlighted.
5. Press ENTER. The hand control will now display in the
selected language.
Note: If you execute the Factory Setting function under the
Setup menu, the hand controller will reset the language to
English.
Note: If the hand controller was set to an unfamiliar language
by accident and the foreign language messages are not easy to
understand, you should turn off the power, then press and hold
the ‘5’ and ‘8’ keys on the hand controller simultaneously while
you turn on the power again.The hand controller will go into SET
LANGUAGE mode; you may then use the scroll keys to nd one
of the three default languages, English, Chinese or Japanese.

16
Then press ENTER to select the language you want. Restart
the hand controller, and it will display in the selected language.
6. Advanced Functions
6.1 Identifying Objects
After aligning the mount for GoTo operation, the SynScan hand
controller can be used to identify any object at which the tele-
scope is pointing.
1. Center the object to be identied in the telescope’s
eyepiece.
2. Press the “ID” shortcut key. The screen will display
“Identify: Searching…”. The SynScan hand controller will
look up the named stars, planets, Messier objects, NGC
objects, and IC objects within a 5 degrees range of the
object centered in the eyepiece.
3. The screen will display “No object found” if the SynScan
hand controller cannot identify the object.
4. If an object is found within the 5-degree range, the screen
will display the object’s name in the top row, and the
deviation from the object in the center of the eyepiece.
5. If multiple objects are found, use the scroll keys to browse
through the list of identied objects.
6. Press the ENTER key to select an identied object and
then use the scroll keys to read its data, such as the
J2000 celestial coordinates, magnitude (MAG=), rising
time (Rise: ), transit time (Transit: ), setting time (Set: ),
size (Size= ), associated constellation (Constellation: ),
etc.
7. Press the ESC key to exit.
6.2 Synchronizing Encoders
For telescopes or mounts that are not equipped with auxiliary
encoders, if the mount loses the correct position of either of
its two axes – for example, if an axis is manually moved – the
pointing accuracy will be compromised when the SynScan hand
controller tries to locate an object.
Providing the base of the mount or its tripod was not moved,
you can recover the pointing accuracy with the “Synchronize
Encoder” operation.
1. Access “MENU \ Sync. Encoder” and press the ENTER
key.
2. Use the scroll keys to select an alignment star and press
the ENTER key. The mount will point the telescope toward
the alignment star.
3. After the mount has stopped, use the direction keys to
center the alignment star in the eyepiece, then press the
ENTER key to conrm.
4. The SynScan hand controller will display “Sync Encoder
Completed.” Press any key to exit.
6.3 Parking the Telescope
If the mount has not been moved after an observing session, you
can “park” the telescope to keep the alignment data, PAE data,
and PEC data, and start your next observing session without
having to redo the GoTo alignment and calibration.
Parking
1. Access the menu “UTILITY FUNCTION \ Park Scope” and
press the ENTER key.
2. The screen will display “Park to…” Use the scroll keys to
choose one of the following parking positions and press
the ENTER key.
•
Home Position: Park the telescope in the Home
Position (refer to Section 2.1).
•
Current Pos.: Park the telescope in its current position.
• Custom Position: Park in the same position you used
after the previous observing session.
3. The mount will slew to the parking position (except
parking at the current position). When the mount stops the
screen will display “Position saved.Turn offpower”.
4. You may now turn off power to the mount, or press the
ESC key to cancel parking.
Resuming from Parked Position
1. Turn on power to the mount.
2. Pass through the initial steps.
3. When the screen displays “Start from Park? 1)Yes 2)No”:
• Press “1” to resume operation of the mount from the
parked status.After the regular initialization steps, the
SynScan hand controller will be ready for full feature
operation like in the previous observing session.
•
Press “2” to abandon the previous saved park position
and alignment data and start a regular observing
session.
6.4 Pointing Accuracy Enhancement (PAE)
The pointing accuracy enhancement (PAE) function enables
the telescope mount to achieve enhanced pointing accuracy in
specic areas of the sky.
After a 1-star, 2-Star or 3-star alignment, the telescope mount
might still have a small pointing error due to many factors, such
as the exure of the telescope, atmospheric refraction, or other
mechanical issues. The amount of pointing error may vary in
different portions of the sky.
The SynScan hand controller divides the sky into 85 small zones,
and you can calibrate the pointing error for each of these zones.
The next time the SynScan controller tries to locate an object in
the calibrated zone (or a zone nearby), it will automatically apply
the recorded calibration data to compensate for the pointing
error. This function is useful for locating faint deep sky objects,
and it is also helpful to obtain consistent pointing accuracy for a
permanent observatory.
Perform the following procedure to use the PAE function:
1. Perform a 1-star alignment, 2-star alignment, or a 3-star
alignment.

17
2. Choose a bright star near the area of interest in the night
sky. Consult a star map or software program to choose the
star, if necessary.
3. Find this reference star in the hand controller’s object
database (Named Stars) and press ENTER to select the
star. Press ENTER again, and the LCD will ask “View
Object?” Press ENTER to issue a command to the mount
to go to the star. If the mount is under the control of a
computer running planetarium software, click on the star
to slew the mount to it.
4. Use the direction keys to accurately center the star in a
high-powered eyepiece (10mm or less focal length), or
preferably, an illuminated reticle eyepiece. Remember to
end the centering operation by pressing the Right and Up
direction keys together.
5. Use one of the following operations to start the PAE
calibration:
•
Press the “UTILITY” shortcut key, access the sub-menu
“PAE \ PAE Correction,” then press the ENTER key.
• Or, press and hold the ESC key for 2 seconds.
6. The LCD screen will read “Recentering Obj.:” in the rst
row, and the name of the reference star in the second row.
(If the GoTo command was sent by a computer running
planetarium software, the LCD will read “The last target”
instead of the star’s name.)
7. Make sure the chosen star is still centered in the eyepiece
(center it again if needed, as in Step 4), and press the
ENTER key.
After the PAE function is performed, the hand controller will recal-
culate its model of the sky. The pointing accuracy in the area of
sky around the chosen bright star should now be improved. To
improve pointing accuracy in another region of the sky, perform
the PAE function again, this time choosing a bright star in the
new region of interest.
Note:Whenever the SynScan hand controller locates an object, it
will automatically check whether PAE calibration data is available,
and apply the compensation accordingly. No manual interven-
tion is required. If more than one PAE calibration is performed in
the same zone, the previous calibration data will be overwritten.
You can access the menu “UTILITY FUNCTION / PAE / Clear
PAE data” to clear all PAE calibration data. The PAE calibration
data will be automatically cleared after a 1-star alignment, 2-star
alignment, or 3-star alignment.
Note: If the mount is “parked” before it is powered off, the star
alignments and PAE corrections will remain stored in the hand
controller. As long as the mount is not moved once parked, the
alignment will not need to be performed again when it is subse-
quently powered on.
6.5 Camera Control
The SynScan hand controller can control a DSLR camera to do
astrophotography. It can accept eight different sets of exposure
parameters, and then control the camera to take the exposure
sets without manual intervention.
To use the camera control function, the camera must be equipped
with a shutter release control port and be set to the “Bulb” expo-
sure mode.
Connecting the Camera
1. Using the SNAP port on the telescope mount: Select
Orion equatorial mounts, such as the Atlas Pro AZ/EQ-G
and HDX110 EQ-G, are equipped with a SNAP port on
the drive panel.You’ll need an appropriate shutter control
cable to connect your DSLR camera to the 2.5mm SNAP
port.
2. Using the serial port on the SynScan hand controller:
The SynScan hand controller uses 2 pins (The SHUTTER
and COMMON pins in the diagram of Appendix E of
its serial port to control the shutter release of a DSLR
camera. Use a proper shutter control cable to connect the
SynScan hand controller and a camera.
Set Up Control Parameters
1. Press the “UTILITY” shortcut key, access the sub-menu
“Camera Control \ Conguration” and press the ENTER
key.
2. Edit the “interval” time; that is, the time between each
exposure (in MM:SS format) and press the ENTER key.
3. Use the scroll keys to browse through the list of 8 groups
of parameters.A sample screen-shot is shown here:
Select a Group
1. mm:ss X 000
The rst number (“1”) is the index number of this set; the “mm:ss”
data is the exposure time in minutes and seconds; and the last 3
digits are the number of frames to be shot, up to 999. Press the
ENTER key to pick a group and proceed to the next step.
4. The rst row of the screenshot below indicates the index
number of the set being edited. The second row shows
the exposure time of this group.
Edit Group#1
Exposure mm:ss
•
Use the numeric keys to enter the exposure time, then
press the ENTER key.
•
Now the screen is changed to set the number of
frames to be shot for this set, as shown below. Use
the numeric keys to enter the number of frames after
the word “Repeats” and press ENTER.
Edit Group#1
Repeats 000
•
The SynScan hand controller will return to Step 2,
where you can enter another set of exposures, if
desired.
Note: To disable an exposure set, set either the “Exposure” or
the “Repeats” parameter to 0.
5. After setting the parameters for your exposure set(s),
press the ESC key to exit the conguration process.

18
Batch Exposure
1. Set the camera to “Bulb” exposure mode.
2. Press the “UTILITY” shortcut key, access to the sub-menu
“Camera Control \ Shoot,” and press the ENTER key.
3. The SynScan hand controller will start the rst exposure
set and display the progress data on the screen.A sample
screenshot is shown below:
Shooting#1: 003
Released mm:ss
•
The top row shows the set index and the number of
frames pending.
•
The bottom row shows the remaining exposure time
of the current frame.
•
At the end of each frame, the SynScan hand controller
will give a beep and wait for the pre-set time interval
before the next exposure.
4. During the exposure, you can press the ESC key to
suspend the operation.The screen will display “Shoot
Suspended. 1) Resume 2) Exit.” Press the “1” key to
resume the exposures or press “2” to exit.
Shoot Suspended
1) Resume 2) Exit
6.6 Periodic Error Correction (PEC) for EQ Mount
Almost all equatorial mounts that use worm gears have a peri-
odic tracking error, which is due to slight eccentricities and
misalignments in the gears. Periodic error is not critical for visual
observing but might lower the image quality in long-exposure
astrophotography if not minimized. The SynScan hand control-
ler has a periodic error correction (PEC) function to improve the
tracking performance for astrophotography. The PEC training
function provides a correction to reduce the amplitude of the
worm gear errors. By recording the guiding actions over one full
worm gear cycle, SynScan can then “play back” those actions
with each subsequent worm cycle to compensate for drifting in
the R.A. sidereal tracking caused by periodic error.
Orion equatorial mounts feature two different types of PEC,
depending on the model of the mount. One type is software-
based PEC (SPEC), which applies to Orion’s SkyView Pro GoTo,
Sirius EQ-G, and Atlas EQ-G mounts. The other type is perma-
nent PEC (PPEC), which comes standard with the Atlas Pro AZ/
EQ-G and HDX110 EQ-G mounts. The SynScan hand control-
ler detects the mount model and chooses the appropriate PEC
algorithm.
Note: PEC training is recommended for advanced users with
interest in long-exposure astrophotography only. Careful guid-
ing is required. Standard sidereal tracking is sufficient for casual
visual applications, and PEC training is not required.
PEC Training
For mounts that support standard, or software-based PEC, such
as the Sirius EQ-G and Atlas EQ-G, you’ll need to manually (visu-
ally) guide for at least one full worm cycle using an illuminated
reticle eyepiece capable of producing at least 300X magnica-
tion with your telescope. For best results, the true eld of view
should not exceed 10 arcminutes.
For mounts that support PPEC, such as the Atlas Pro AZ/EQ-G
and HDX110 EQ-G mounts, an autoguiding camera can be used
instead of manual guiding for the PEC training process. In such
cases, it is recommended to turn on the autoguider for at least
one minute before starting the PEC training process. The total
time for the PEC training of these mounts can be as long as two
cycles of the period error.
The following step-by-step procedure below describes how to
perform the PEC training function manually, using an illuminated
reticle eyepiece.
1. Perform an accurate polar alignment, then perform a
GoTo star alignment.
2. Then choose a star close to the celestial equator, i.e., with
a small Dec. value (Dec. between +10° and –10°). This
object will be used as the guide star. Point the telescope
toward it and start the mount tracking.
3. Rotate the reticle eyepiece in the focuser (or diagonal)
until the R.A. movement of the star (i.e., its movement
when you press the Left or Right direction button) runs
parallel to one set of the illuminated crosshairs. Then
center the star on the crosshairs of the eyepiece’s reticle.
4. Access the menu “UTILITY FUNCTION \ PEC Training”
and press the ENTER key.The screen will display “Select
Speed: 1) 0.125X 2) 0.25X.” This is the speed used to
move the star in the FOV of the telescope when you
press the Left or Right direction key on the SynScan
hand controller. Choosing a 0.125X sidereal rate is
recommended for a longer focal length telescope, and
a 0.25X sidereal rate is recommended for a shorter
focal length telescope. Press the “1” or “2” key to make a
selection and proceed to the next step.
5. The screen will display the elapsed time once the guide
speed has been selected, indicating that the recording
of the guiding actions has begun. Use the Left and Right
direction keys to control the mount and keep the star
centered in the reticle eyepiece until the PEC training time
is up and the SynScan hand controller stops displaying
the time. (If the star drifts in declination, it doesn’t matter.
PEC is only concerned with corrections of movement in
R.A.) The total time for this training process depends on
your particular mount model, but it will be at least several
minutes. Pressing ESC will immediately stop the recording
and exit from the PEC training function.
PEC Replay
Once PEC training is completed, PEC tracking can be turned on
by accessing “MENU \ Tracking \ PEC+Sidereal,” then press the
ENTER key to start the PEC replay. The SynScan will play back
the guiding corrections you made during the PEC training cycle
to compensate for the periodic error.
Notes:
•
The PEC + Sidereal tracking rate will be accurate only after at
least one full cycle of PEC training is performed.

19
•
After turning on the PEC + Sidereal replay, wait for at least one
worm cycle before taking a picture.
•
To re-use the PEC data on a mount that supports SPEC, users
should “park” the telescope before shutting off power (refer to
Section 6.3). This stipulation does not apply to mounts that
support PPEC.
6.6 Calibrating Auto-Home Offset
The Orion HDX110 EQ-G mount has an Auto-Home function
that can automatically set the mount to a standard home posi-
tion after turning on the power. The offset of the home position
can be calibrated and compensated with the following procedure:
1. Accurately polar-align the HDX mount.
2. Turn off the power, then turn it on again, and then initialize
the hand controller.
3. When the SynScan hand controller displays “Auto-
Home?,” press the “1” key to execute the auto-home
process.
4. Finish the subsequent initialization steps.
5. At the end of the initialization, choose 1-star alignment to
align the mount.
6. At the end of the 1-star alignment, the hand controller
will ask “Update H.P.O? 1) No 2) Yes” (“H.P.O.” stands for
Home Position Offset).
• Press “1” to keep the original Home Position Offset.
•
Press “2” to use the results obtained from the 1-star
alignment to calibrate the home position offset.
6.8 Polar Alignment without Polar Scope
Polar alignment of your mount by means of the polar-axis scope
is covered in the instruction manual for the mount.
However, there is another, more accurate way to polar align.
This software-based polar alignment routine can be performed
without use of the polar-axis scope.You will need to use a reticle
eyepiece for this procedure to ensure precise centering of the
stars in the eyepiece eld of view.
1. Complete a 2-star alignment or 3-star alignment. At the
end of the alignment, the SynScan hand controller will
display the polar alignment error in altitude (Maz) and
azimuth (Mel) (refer to Section 5.17). Based on the error
given, you can decide whether it will be necessary to
adjust the polar alignment.
2. Press the “MENU” shortcut key, and then access to
sub-menu “Alignment\Polar Alignment”. Press the ENTER
key to proceed to the next step.
3. The screen will display “Select a Star”.
•
Use the scroll keys to browse through a list of star
names and press the ENTER key to pick one as the
reference star for polar alignment.
• The mount will start slewing to point the telescope to
the reference star.
4. Use the direction keys to center the reference star in the
eyepiece of the telescope after the mount stops slewing.
Remember to end the centering operation with Up and
Right direction keys. Press the ENTER key to proceed to
the next step.
5. The screen will now display the polar alignment error in
altitude (Mel=dd°mm'ss").You can then use the data to
determine whether or not to adjust the altitude of the R.A.
axis. Press the ENTER key again to proceed to the next
step.
6. The mount will slew to a new position. When it stops,
the screen will display “Adjust Altitude:” By using ONLY
the altitude adjustment mechanism of the mount (DO
NOT touch the azimuth adjustment mechanism and
DO NOT use the direction keys on the hand controller),
bring the reference star back to the closest point to
the center of the FOV of the telescope’s eyepiece.
Remember the reference star’s position in the eyepiece
for later adjustment. Press the ENTER key to conrm the
centering operation.
7. The screen will now display the polar alignment error in
azimuth (Maz=dd°mm'ss").You can then use the data
to determine whether or not to adjust the azimuth of the
mount. Press the ENTER key again to proceed to the next
step.
8. The mount will slew to a new position. When it stops,
the screen will display “Adjust Azimuth:” By using ONLY
the azimuth adjustment mechanism of the mount (DO
NOT touch the altitude adjustment mechanism, DO NOT
use the direction keys on the hand controller), bring the
reference star back to the closest point to the previous
position (at the end of Step 6). Press the ENTER key to
conrm the centering operation.
9. The screen will display the polar alignment error again,
press the ENTER button to end the polar alignment
process. It should be an improvement over what was
given in Step 1.
10. Go back to the “Alignment” menu on the SynScan hand
controller and execute another 2-Star or 3-Star alignment,
and then check the polar alignment error data reported
at the end of the 2-star alignment or 3-star alignment.
Repeat Step 2 to Step 8 until the error is small enough
to be acceptable. Generally, you can expect to get up to 1
arc-minute polar alignment accuracy after repeating this
polar alignment process 2 or 3 times.
6.9 Setting Cone Error and Non-Perpendicular
Error
• Cone Error (CE) occurs when a telescope’s optical axis is not
perpendicular to the equatorial mount’s declination axis (or
the alt-azimuth mount’s altitude axis).
•
Non-Perpendicular Error (NPE) occurs when the mount’s two
axes are not orthogonal.
Without proper compensation, both of the above errors could
lead to inaccurate pointing when the telescope system tries to
locate a celestial object automatically.The value of these errors
can be compensated for with settings on the hand controller.

20
1. Access the menu “Setup\Alignment\Cone Error” to display
and modify the cone error (CE).
•
The cone error compensation will be applied to 1-Star,
2-Star, and Brightest-Star alignments.
•
In a 3-Star alignment, the SynScan hand controller
measures the current cone error and overwrites the
old cone error value.
•
Cone error is quite common in telescope systems,
but an alt-az mount is less sensitive to cone error.
Generally, you can set cone error to 0 on an alt-az
mount.
2. Access the menu “Setup\Alignment\NP Error” to display
and modify non-perpendicular error (NPE).
•
Generally, NPE is very small and can be ignored,
i.e., set to 0, in most cases unless superior pointing
accuracy is required.
Note: If the value of CE or NPE entered in the hand controller is
not 0, it will display a reminder message “CAUTION: Prev. NPE,
CE applied” at the end of the alignment routine.You should make
sure that the stored CE and NPE parameters are correct for the
current system setup; otherwise, these values should be set to 0.
6.10 Astronomical Time-Lapse Photography
The SynScan hand controller can command an Orion GoTo tele-
scope mount (equatorial or alt-az mount) and a DSLR camera
to take series of long exposure photographs of the night sky.
This series of photos can then be used to make a time-lapse
video. The SynScan accomplishes this task through the follow-
ing sequence.
1. At an initial position, turn on sidereal tracking of the mount
and release the shutter of the camera at the same time.
2. Keep mount tracking on and the camera shutter open until
the preset exposure time is reached.
3. Then close the camera shutter and return the mount to the
initial position.
4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 until the preset number of photos is
taken.
Operation Details:
1. Connect the camera’s shutter control port to the mount (or
SynScan hand controller) with proper cables.
2. Point the camera to the desired orientation.
3. Access the menu “UTILITY\Astro Time-Lapse\
Conguration\Exposure Time” to set the exposure time of
the camera.
4. Access the menu “UTILITY\Astro Time-Lapse\
Conguration\Repeat Times” to set the number of photos
to be taken.
5. Access the menu “UTILITY\Astro Time-Lapse\
Conguration\Shoot” to commence taking photos.
6. The LCD will display remaining photos and remaining
time of the ongoing exposure.
7. Press the ESC key to pause or cancel the sequence.
Figure 4. Application window for SynScan rmware loader.
6.11 Solar Tracking Mode
The Solar Tracking Mode allows you to track the Sun as it moves
across the sky, without the need to do an alignment or start the
mount from a specic home position.
1. Before turning on this mode, make sure that
• The alt-azimuth mount’s base is leveled, or the
equatorial mount is polar-aligned.
• The correct date, time, daylight saving setting,
longitude, and latitude have been entered into the
SynScan hand controller.
2. Access the “UTILITY” menu, nd and select “Solar
Tracking Mode”, then press ENTER.
3. Before proceeding further, make sure your telescope
and nder scope both have a proper solar lter covering
the front aperture, to prevent possible eye damage from
looking at the Sun!
4. Point the telescope at the Sun and use the arrow buttons
to center the Sun in the eld of view of the telescope.
The mount always starts tracking the Sun after all arrow
buttons are released.
7. Connecting SynScan to a
Computer
7.1 Working with Astronomical Software
Programs
The SynScan V5 hand controller can communicate with a
computer via the RS-232 port or the USB port at the bottom of the
controller (Figure 1b). In this way you can use many commercially
available planetarium software programs to control your GoTo
telescope or mount, essentially bypassing the hand control-
ler’s interface. If you choose to use the serial port, the computer
must also have an RS-232C serial port (which most don’t have
these days); otherwise, an optional USB-to-Serial adapter is
required. Connect the SynScan hand controller to the computer
using either
This manual suits for next models
5
Table of contents
Popular Controllers manuals by other brands

Concoa
Concoa 522 Series Installation and operation instructions

Gardenic
Gardenic GN-1113 user manual

Mitsubishi Electric
Mitsubishi Electric MELSEC FX3U Programming manual

Carel
Carel uPC Technical leaflet

Honeywell
Honeywell SILENT KNIGHT SK-Control nstallation and Maintenance Instructions

OJ Electronics
OJ Electronics PRH Series instructions