PlaneWave CDK700 User manual

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CDK70O

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Contents
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 3
CDK700 Overview...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Unpacking ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Unpacking the Mount..................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Installation ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 6
Electronic Panel Housing Dimensions ....................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Software Installation ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Connecting the Mount to the Control Panel Box..................................................................................................................................................... 11
Connecting the Computer to the Control Panel Box and to the on-board Accessories ........................................................................................... 12
Connecting the CDK700 to PWI............................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Software Overview.................................................................................................................................................................................................. 14
Creating a Mount Model ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 18
Observing Session with Existing Mount Model ....................................................................................................................................................... 18
Collimation .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 18
Focusing .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 19
Rotating Tertiary (Optional Accessory).................................................................................................................................................................... 19
Using Two Focusers................................................................................................................................................................................................. 19
Back Focus according to REV F, 3/17/11 ................................................................................................................................................................. 19
VISUAL ADAPTER, 700399 (7003991 AND 7003992).......................................................................................................................................... 20
2” Feather Touch Adapters for CDK700 ............................................................................................................................................................. 20
APOGEE IMAGE TRAIN with Alta Body, AFW50 Filter Wheel, and Monster MOAG...................................................................................... 21
APOGEE IMAGE TRAIN with Alta D9 Body and AFW50 Filter Wheel............................................................................................................. 21
APOGEE IMAGE TRAIN with Alta D9 Body .................................................................................................................................................... 21
SBIG STL IMAGE TRAIN WITH INTERNAL FILTER WHEEL ............................................................................................................................... 21
FLI ProLine Body and CFW3(.848) or CFW5 (.848) and MMOAG .................................................................................................................. 22
FLI ProLine Body and CFW3(.848) or CFW5 (.848) and MMOAG .................................................................................................................. 22
SBIG STL IMAGE TRAIN with MOAG.............................................................................................................................................................. 22
Specifications .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 22
Wiring Diagrams ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 22

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Introduction
Thank you for your purchase of the CDK700.
CDK700 Overview
Unpacking
The CDK700 comes in 3 to 4 crates. The mount and
optics come in the first crate. The upper cage and the
secondary mirror come in the second crate and the
control box electronics comes in the third crate. In most
cases there are also accessories that are ordered with
the telescope and many times may warrant a 4th crate as
shown in the picture to the right. Crates 1, 2 and 3 are
also shown below opened to show how the telescope is
packed inside.
Crate 1 –Fork and Base –54x50x73 inches
Crate 2 –Upper Cage –43x43x25 inches
Crate 3 –Electronics –45x41x25 inches
Crate 4 –Accessories - 28x34x31 inches
Total Weight –2750 lbs

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To open crate 1, one of the sides needs to be removed. To do this, you will need an electric Phillips
screw driver. Remove one of the side panels as shown in the picture above. To choose the correct side
look at the bottom of the crate. It has a palletized bottom, meaning you can put a pallet jack or fork lift
under the crate. Remove one of the sides that has the opening for the fork lift underneath.
To remove the side panel, you will need to wood screws along the perimeter of the side panel. Once the
panel is removed it will look like the left hand image above.
Now you will want to remove the remaining sides and top. This you can do all at once. Just remove the
screws at the bottom of the three remaining sides, than you and another person will be able to slide the
remaining panels off together as one unit.
When the side and top panels have been removed from crate 1, it will
look something like the picture to the right.
The telescope mount is actually supported by the wooden side structure.
It is slightly lifted off of its base. This way the bearing is protected from
the mass of the telescope during shipping.
Unpacking the Mount
Step 1:
Attach the tandem lift bar to your crane of lifting device and attach
the tandem bar to the side lift plates on the inside of the forks as
shown in the picture to the right. At this point, put some tension of

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the lift bar as to take some of the weight off of the side plates holding the weight of the telescope.
Step 2:
Adjust the feet at the bottom of the base plate such that they touch
the floor of the wooden crate. We will soon transfer the weight of
the telescope to the feet. There are three feet clocked 120 degrees
apart.
Step 4:
Loosen and remove the two
orange cargo straps. Then
remove the eight wood screws on each side of the mount circled
in the picture to the left.
NOTE: Please make sure you have the tandem bar lifting just
slightly and the feel lowered to the pallet floor so the telescope
does not fall when the screws are removed.
Step 5:
Slowly lift the telescope of the wood support structure with your crane/lifting equipment. And set it
down on its feet, or remove the feet to set it on its observatory pier or foundation.
NOTE: There is a correct orientation for how to set the mount down. There is a
label on the non-rotating pier base of the mount which says “NO WRAP”. If you
are setting up the Northern Hemisphere then the NO WRAP label should be
pointed approximately South. If you are in the Southern Hemisphere, then the
NO WRAP label should be pointed approximately North.
Step 6:
Remove the side steel side plates on each side of the fork arm by
removing the eight socket head cap screws.

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NOTE: This side plate is heavy, so be prepared when the screws are removed that you are holding it. It
could fall and damage the telescope or worse damage you.
Step 7:
The telescope is shipped with a locking clamp on the azimuth bearing engaged. This is for shipping
safety. If you plan on lifting the telescope off of the bearing, it is a
good idea to engage the locking clamp.
To disengage the clamp, use the long Allen wrench provided with the
telescope as seen in the picture on the right. Turn the T handle
counter clockwise to loosen. All you have to do is turn it about 1 to
1.5 turns to fully disengage the clamp. This is done in four places at
the holes near the base of the fork arm. When you are done, the
telescope should move freely in azimuth.
For crate 2, you will just need to remove one of the side panels to remove the upper cage. Pick a side
panel whose base is accessible to a forklift like you did for crate 1. There are two bracing 2x4’s that will
also need to be removed in order to remove the upper cage.
For crate 3, you need to remove the top cover by removing the wood screws along the perimeter of the
cover and then remove the 2x4 braces.
Telescope Installation
The CDK700 as two major components that need installation. The first is the telescope and the second
is the Telescope Control Box. And there are several issues to think about prior to installing the
telescope. One is a cabling plan, another is the pier or mounting surface for the telescope and another
is the mounting wall for the Control Box. Other things to consider are the height of the telescope in the
observatory. If you are in a dome and the dome has high walls you may need to raise the telescope up
on a pier so the walls are not blocking too much of your sky. And you will need to prepare either bolts
with the correct orientation to North in the pier or mounting surface for the telescope.
Mounting Bolt Pattern
There are a couple ways of physically attaching to its pier or mounting floor. One is to have bolts come
out of the surface of the pier and then to put nuts and washers above and below the telescope base as
show in the picture below. In Appendix A we have a template for putting the bolt pattern in concrete.

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Cabling Overview
There are several cables for various uses. There are 7 control cables that go between the Control Box
and the Telescope, there is an Ethernet cable that goes between the computer and the Control Box, and
there is a USB cable that goes between the telescope and the computer.
110VAC or
240VAC
Computer
Control Box
CDK700
7 control cables
Ethernet
USB for
controlling all
accessories
110VAC or 240VAC for
powering accessories
like camera’s
Cables come out the
bottom of the telescope
Observatory Floor

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Electronic Panel Housing Dimensions
The control panel is normally mounted on the wall of the observatory. The cables connect to the
bottom of the box and should be routed down the wall, under the observatory floor over to the
telescope and back up through the floor
Telescope control Box Input
Input Voltage:
o90-264V AC for the single phase
o340-550V AC for the three phase
Input Frequency: 47-63 Hz
Input Current: 0.6 A to 8A
Inrush Current: cold start 60 A max
Power Factor: All units are
EN61000-3-2 compliant
There are three power supplies in the Telescope Control Box. There is a 12V, 24V and two 48V power
supplies. The 12V is to provide power to the telescope for standard 12V accessories and for the EFA kit

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and the fans. The 24V power supply is for control circuit and the two 48V power supplies supply the 96V
line voltage for the direct drive motors.
Here are the power supplies:
1x of 12V Power Supply: PS-C12012 /501-1230, Manufacturer: Allied
1x of 24V Power Supply: PSP-24024 / 501-0190, Manufacturer: Allied
2x of 48V Power Supplies: PSP-480S48/501-0195, Manufacturer: Allied
Software Installation

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The software is now installed, but there are still a few things that need to be done before you can open
PWI. PWI needs three programs to be "manually installed" on the users computer.
0. Before you begin, make a Restore Point on your computer.
1. Install ComACRServer.exe
a. In the Windows Explorer: Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\PlaneWave Instruments\PlaneWave
Interface\Drivers\
b. Right Click on ComACRServer.exe and select Run as administrator.
2. Install PXPAX530.exe
a. Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\PlaneWave Instruments\PlaneWave Interface\Drivers\
b. Right Click on PXPAX530.exe and select Run as administrator.
3. Transforms.dll:
a. Click the (Windows) Start button
b. Search for "cmd"
c. Right Click the icon for (cmd.exe) in the upper left corner of the window
d. Select Run as Administrator
e. You will get a cmd popup with path "C:\windows\system32>"
f. Type the following line with quotes and all:
regsvr32 "C:\Program Files (x86)\PlaneWave Instruments\PlaneWave
Interface\Drivers\Transforms.dll"
g. click Enter.
Connecting the Mount to the Control Panel Box
There are seven cables that go between the control panel and the telescope. The cables are yellow
Turck cables which are 5 meters long. One end connects to the bottom of the Control Panel and the
other end goes up through the bottom of the telescope to a connector rail on the inside of the
telescope. The
connector rail inside
the telescope is
accessible by
removing the cover

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which is at the base of the fork arms as shown in the picture below.
Connecting the Computer to the Control Panel Box and to the on-board
Accessories
The Control Panel has an Ethernet connector so it can talk to the computer. Attach the Ethernet port at
the bottom of the Control Panel to the computer via the Ethernet cable provided.
The computer also needs to be connected to the telescope
via USB cable. This is because the telescope has two USB
ports built into the telescope. This way accessories like the
Focuser, Field De-rotator, CCD Camera’s and Autoguiders
can easily connect through the telescope without having a
bunch of extra cables hanging off the side of the telescope.
Inside the fork base, you can see the USB hubs in the
picture to the right. There is already a USB cable installed
in the telescope. You will need to route that table down
through the bottom of the telescope. Then you will to take the provided USB extension to connect
between the USB cable coming out of the bottom of the telescope to the computer.

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Connecting PlaneWave Interface Software to the CDK700
The first step to connecting PWI to the telescope and the telescope accessories (focuser, rotator,
tertiary rotator, etc) is to physically connect the computer to the telescope. Connect to the control
panel box using an Ethernet cable. One end goes in the computer and
the other goes in the control panel box. That is the communication for
the telescope drive system which controls the telescopes movement and
position as well as homing and limit switches.
To talk to the focuser, rotator, and M3 tertiary rotator connect a USB
cable from the computer to the USB hub pre-installed in the telescope.
The telescope actually has a cable pre attached to the USB hub. So all
that is needed is a USB extension cable to connect to that USB cable
which comes out of the bottom of the telescope along with the rest of
the cabling.
Once all the cables are attached, open PWI on the computer. The home
screen will appear as shown in the picture of the right.
To connect PWI to the CDK700:
1 –Go to the Enable menu at the top and choose Mount than select
CDK700.
2 –Plug in the Control Box. It can be plugged into 115 AC to
220 AC. Note that there is a switch that needs to be set on
the two 48V power supplies, selecting 115 or 220. See the
picture to the right.
Note: To open and close the Control Panel, please read
Appendix B.
3 –Close the control panel cover and turn the power to the ON position.
4 –Press the CONNECT button on PWI to connect the software to the
Control Box. Notice that the SIMULATOR indicator will turn off.
You are now connected to the telescope.

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Software Overview
Once PWI is open, it will appear as seen on below the left. If you press the SHOW button on the left side
of the PWI window it will expand the window as seen below on the right. You can then press the HIDE
button to hide the expanded view of PWI.
Here is a description of the different what each item means on the PWI window.
Tabs that change the window below. One is for
controlling the Mount, one for the Focuser, etc.
Direction controls for the mount. Up down
arrows move altitude and left right moves
azimuth.
Select, Keyboard Arrows allows you to use the
arrows on the keyboard to move the telescope
just like the yellow arrows above.
Mount status window shows the RA and Dec
position that the telescope believes it is pointed
at as well as the Altitude and Azimuth. Also
shown is the local sidereal time.
The STOP button will stop the telescope when it is
slewing. It will not stop tracking.
Tracking On check box will start Alt/Az tracking
when it is checked.
Target: GET gets the current position and places
it in the RA and Dec windows below, GOTO will
send the telescope to the RA and Dec position
displayed in the windows, and MODEL will
assume that the telescope is pointed accurately
at the RA and Dec position in the windows and
will add a point to the mount model.
Mount Motor Controllers motors the state of the
Azimuth Drive, the Alt Drive and the connection
of the Control Box. True means they are
connected or active and false means they are not.
The Connect button connects the PWI software
to the Control Box electronics. When connected,
it will read Disconnect.

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Scrolling down on the right hand scroll bar on the main PWI window, the next information section that
comes up is RA/Dec, than Alt/Az. In the RA and Dec window, it displays the current RA and Dec of the
telescope in hours, minute and seconds of right ascension for RA and degrees, minutes, and seconds for
declination. It also list the J2000 RA and Dec position of the telescope. Next is give the RA and Dec
positions of the target. For instance, if you pick a object from the database for which you want the
telescope to slew, that RA and Dec will appear in this window. After that, errors in RA and Dec are
displayed in arcseconds as well as RMS error values. This is the error is the difference between the
position the telescope is trying to be at versus the position it is really at.
The Alt/Az section has similar information, but in Alt/Az instead of RA/Dec. All the units are in degrees,
minutes and seconds of arc. An addition subtlety is that there is also Azm Encoder and Alt Encoder
values on this screen. This value is
the raw encoder value translated
to Alt/Az. There are no
corrections for all the modeling
that PointXP does. Nor are their
corrections for the levelness of the
mount on the pier. Lastly there
are Azimuth and Altitude
Velocities shown here too.
Scrolling down to PointXP, Auto Mount and Plate Solve Setting:
PointXP MOUNT MODEL: This window displays how many
calibration points the model has and the rms pointing error.
You can also press the EDIT MODEL button and PointXP will
open up.
Auto MOUNT: This window is used to create a mount model for
the telescope. Pressing START will activate the telescope to
create a mount model based on the parameters below. Azm
Steps and Alt Steps is defining how many azimuth positions the
telescope will slew too when creating the model. Alt Steps is
the same thing. So, in our default setting, the telescope will
slew to 13 different positions in azimuth and in each azimuth
position, it will go to 4 altitude position for a total of 4 x 13
positions, or 52.
PlateSolve Setting: When an Auto mount model is started, for each position that the telescope will add
a calibration point to the mount model, a plate solve will be done in that position. This window defines
the parameter for the image that is going to be taken to do the plate solve. In most cases you can just

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use the default of 5 seconds and 2 x 2 binning. But you will need to set your Plate Scale. And whenever
you change the settings on this window, be sure to press the SAVE button.
Scrolling down to Mount Settings:
RMS Window: The Azm RMS and Alt RMS tracking errors are
averaged over a time period. This setting sets that time period
anywhere from 0 to 10 seconds.
Max RMS Encoder Error For Goto:
Goto Time Scale:
Adjust errors to agree with Sky Errors:
Scroll Down to Mount Sensors
Commands: The commands drop down menu has several items in
it as seen below.

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Home –Calibrate Sensor After Model: This is used to calibrate the home switches on the telescope.
You first need to create a mount model (align the telescope to the sky). Once that is done, you can
Calibrate the home switches. This is useful because when you turn off the telescope and turn it back on,
you can use this calibrate home to get the telescope up and running again using the mount model
previously created. In other words, you only need to create one mount model and you can use it over
and over again. This feature would only be used when you create a new mount model.
Home –Send Telescope to Home: This is used when you power up the telescope that already has a
mount model. You would use this feature each night you start up. It initializes the position of the
telescope very accurately.
MOUNT MODEL –Add Cal Point: This command will allow you to add a calibration point to the mount
model of the telescope for the position for which you are currently pointed. This works in conjunction
with MaximDL. When this command is called, PWI will tell MaximDL to take an image. Then another
software called Plate Solved (comes with PWI) will examine the image using and determine the precise
RA and DEC of the image, then it will add the information to the mount model.
MOUNT MODEL –Edit Model: This opens PointXP, seen on the right, which
is the software algorithm that calculates the mount model and converts RA
and DEC to Alt/Az. There is more information on PointXP in the Chapter
Entitled PointXP.
MOUNT MODEL –Remove All Cal Points: This command removes all the calibration point from the
mount model.
MOUNT MODEL –Save Model as Default: This commands saves the current mount model as the
Default mount model. The default mount model is opened when PlaneWave Interface is opened.
SETTINGS –Edit Location: This command opens the Edit Mount Location dialog box. Here you enter
your longitude and latitude, Time Zone, and elevation. See the image below.

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Running the Telescope for the First Time
Observing Session with Existing Mount Model
Start up Session:
End Session:
Collimation
Step 1 –Put the collimation tool with the laser in the back of the telescope.
Step 2 –Make sure the laser is true to the backplate/mirror cell. Be sure to spin the laser to make sure
that it is true.
Step 3 –Watch beam of laser hit the secondary. Adjust the spider vanes such that the laser coincides
with the center dot. The accuracy is forgiving on this step.
Step 4 –Collimate the secondary so that the laser points back on itself.

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Focusing
Rotating Tertiary (Optional Accessory)
Using Two Focusers
Back Focus REV F, 3/17/11
NOTES:
Tertiary to Focal Plane = 826.861mm (32.553”)
Last Lens to Focal Plane = 400.361mm (15.762”)
Tertiary to end of alt hub or “Reference Point” = 542.925mm (21.375”)
Last Lens to end of alt hub or “Reference Point” = 116.425mm (4.584”)
Tertiary to racked in focuser = 635mm (25.0”)
Last lens to racked in focuser = 208.5mm (8.209”)
Reference point on CDK700.
542.9mm (21.374”) from tertiary.
10.795mm
(.425”)
81.3mm (3.2”)
Fully racked in
Focal Plane
191.861mm (7.554”)
Rotating Focuser, 600180
273.161mm (10.754”)

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VISUAL ADAPTER, 700399 (7003991 AND 7003992)
The visual adapter, 700399, is to be used with the Rotating Focuser (600180), or the Hedrick Focuser
(200340) on the CDK700.
2” Feather Touch Adapters for CDK700
For strictly visual use, it may be convenient to use a Feather Touch Focuser. For this use, the PlaneWave
FTF2025BCR-2 adapter is to be used along with the Feather Touch Focuser, FTF2025BCR and used for
straight through viewing. Since this is a Nasmyth focus, it does not make sense to use a diagonal.
Focal Plane
191.861mm (7.554”), from fully
racked in focuser
273.161mm (10.754”), from
mounting surface
205.156mm (8.077”)
FeatherTouch Adapter,
FTF2025BCR-2
68mm (2.67”) Half racked
FeatherTouch
IRF90, Rotating Focuser, 600180
Visual Adapter for CDK700, 700399,
Feather Touch Adapter,
FTF2025BCR-2