SKY-WATCHER AZ-Go2 User manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL
AZ-Go2 Mount
Copyright © Sky-Watcher
GT020609V3-03.05

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PART I : Assembling Your Telescope
PART II : USING THE AZ-Go2 MOUNT
CONTENT
1.1 Finderscope/Red dot nder assembly ......................................................................3
1.2 Eyepiece assembly ..................................................................................................4
1.3 Tripod assembly ......................................................................................................5
1.4 Telescope assembly .................................................................................................6
2.1 Control with a SynScan Hand Control ....................................................................7
2.2 Control with a Mobile Device .................................................................................7
2.3 Wi-Fi Connection ...................................................................................................7
2.4 Firmware Update ....................................................................................................7
PART III: Operating Your Telescope
3.1 Aligning and Using the nderscope / red dot nder ...............................................8
3.2 Focusing the telescope ..........................................................................................9
3.3 Choosing the appropriate eyepiece .......................................................................10
PART IV: Observing the sky
4.1 Sky Conditions .......................................................................................................11
4.2 Selecting an Observing Site ..................................................................................11
4.3 Choosing the Best Time to Observe........................................................................11
4.4 Cooling the Telescope ..........................................................................................12
4.5 Adapting Your Eyes ................................................................................................12
PART V: Proper Care for Your Telescope
5.1 Cleaning Your Telescope .......................................................................................13

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This instruction manual is applicable to 3 models. Take a moment to nd the model of your
telescope. Follow the instructions for your specic model in the manual. Read the entire
instructions carefully before beginning. Your telescope should be assembled during daylight
hours. Choose a large, open area to work to allow room for all parts to be unpacked.
1.1 Finderscope/Red dot nder assembly
1. Attaching the nderscope bracket(Fig.1.1.1a)
• Locate the nderscope optical assembly.
• Slide the nderscope bracket into the rectangular slot and tighten the screw to hold the
mount in place.
refractor Maksutov
Fig.1.1.1a
2. Attaching the red dot nder(Fig.1.1.2a)
• Slide the red dot nder bracket into the rectangular and tighten the screw to hold the red
dot nder in place.
Fig.1.1.2a
Before you begin
PART I: Assembling Your Telescope

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PART I: Assembling Your Telescope
1.2 Eyepiece assembly
1. Inserting eyepiece for refractor and Maksutov(Fig.1.2.1a)
• loosen the thumbscrew on the end of the focus tube.
• Insert the diagonal into the focus tube and re-tighten the thumbscrew to hold the diago
nal in place.
• Loose the thumbscrews on the diagonal.
• Insert the desired eyepiece into diagonal and secure by re-tightening thumbscrews.
refractor Maksutov
Fig.1.2.1a
2. Inserting eyepiece for reector(Fig.1.2.2a)
• Unscrew the thumbscrews on the end of the focus tube to remove the black plastic end-
cap.
• Insert the desired eyepiece then re-tighten thumbscrews to hold the eyepiece in place.
Fig.1.2.2a

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PART I: Assembling Your Telescope
1.3 Tripod assembly
1. Adjusting tripod legs(Fig.1.3.1a)
• Slowly loosen the height adjustment clamp and gently pull out the lower section of each
tripod leg.Tighten the clamps to hold the legs in place.
• Spread the tripod legs apart to stand the tripod upright.
• Adjust the height of each tripod leg until the tripod head is properly leveled.Note that the
tripod legs may not be at same length when the mount is level.
Fig.1.3.1a
Fig.1.3.2a
2. Attaching the quick-release accessory tray (Fig.1.3.2a)
• Hold the accessory tray directly above the bracket.Rotate the tray until the shape of the
hole matches the locking mechanism in the center of the bracket.Place the tray on top of
bracket and rotate to lock the tray in place.

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PART I: Assembling Your Telescope
1.4 Telescope assembly
1. Attaching the mount the tripod(Fig.1.4.1a)
• Place the single arm mount into the tripod head.
• Push the large cup underneath the tripod head upward and turn counter-clock wise to
secure the mount to the tripod.
Fig.1.4.1a
Fig.1.4.2a
2 Attaching the telescope tube to the mount(Fig.1.5.2a)
• Loose the black screw on the top of the mount until it is not protruding from the dovetail
accepter .
• Find the approximate balance point on the telescope tube.
• Slide in the telescope tube until the balance point of the telescope falls in the center of
the mount head.Tighten the screw until the dovetail bar on the telescope tube is securely
fastened on the mount.

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PART II: USING THE AZ-Go2 MOUNT
2.1 Control with a SynScan Hand Control
Plug in the SynScan hand control into the hand control port in order to control the telescope
and mount for astronomical observation. Please refer to the SynScan hand control manual
for operation instructions.
Users can download the free “SynScan”App from the App Store( for iOS devices) or Google
Play (for Android Devices) for astronormical observation. Skywatcher will also provide apps
for photography. Please check the stores for availability.
2.2 Control with an Mobile Device
• User must connect to the mount’s Wi-Fi within 15 minutes after turning on power. The Wi-Fi
will be turned off automatically if no connection is estabilished within 15 minutes, .
• By default, the SSID of the built-in Wi-Fi is “SynScan_xxxx” and there is no password. User
can download Skywatcher’s “SynScan” app from App Store or Google Play to congure
the mount’s built-in Wi-Fi.
• Reset Wi-Fi conguration to factory default by turning on the power without the SynScan
hand control connected and no App operations via the Wi-Fi connection for 4 hours.
2.3 Wi-Fi Connection
2.4 Firmware Update
When a new rmware for the control board inside the mount is available, Skywatcher will re-
lease it on www.skywatcher.com. Users can visit this website to download the rmware and
the necessary application to upate the rmware.

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PART III: Operating Your Telescope
3.1 Aligning and using the nderscope/red dot nder
1. Aligning and using the nderscope
These xed magnication scopes mounted on the optical tube are very useful accesso-
ries. When they are correctly aligned with the telescope, objects can be quickly located and
brought to the center of the eld. Alignment is best done outdoors in day light when it’s easi-
er to locate objects. If it is necessary to refocus your nderscope, sight on an object that is at
least 500 meters (or yards) away. For 6x30 nderscope: loosen the locking ring by unscrew-
ing it back towards the bracket. The front lens holder can now be turned in and out to focus.
When focus is reached, lock it in position with the locking ring (Fig.3.1.1a).
• Choose a distant object that is at least 500 yards away and point the main telescope
at the object. Adjust the telescope so that the object is in the center of the view in your
eyepiece.
• Check the nderscope to see if the object centered in the main telescope view is cen-
tered on the crosshairs.
• For the 6x30 nderscope with spring loading, adjust only the two small screws
(Fig.3.1.1b).
Fig.3.1.1a Fig.3.1.1b
• 2. Aligning and using the red dot nder
• The Red Dot Finder is a zero magnication pointing tool that uses a coated glass win-
dow to superimpose the image of a small red dot onto the night sky. The Red Dot Finder
is equipped with a variable brightness control, azimuth adjustment control, and altitude
adjustment control (Fig.3.1.2a). The Red Dot Finder is powered by a 3-volt lithium battery
located underneath at the front. To use the Finder, simply look through the sight tube and
move your telescope until the red dot merges with the object. Make sure to keep both
eyes open when sighting.
• Like all nderscopes, the Red Dot Finder must be properly aligned with the main tele-
scope before use. This is a simple process using the azimuth and altitude control knobs.

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PART III: Operating Your Telescope
• Open the battery cover by pulling it down (you can gently pry at the 2 small slots) and
remove the plastic shipping cover over the battery(Fig.3.1.2b).
• Turn on the Red Dot Finder by rotating the variable brightness control clockwise until you
hear a “click”. Continue rotating the control knob to increase the brightness level.
• Insert a low power eyepiece into the telescope’s focuser. Locate a bright object and posi-
tion the telescope so that the object is in the center of the eld of view.
• With both eyes open, look through the sight tube at the object. If the red dot overlaps the
object, your Red Dot Finder is perfectly aligned. If not, turn its azimuth and altitude ad-
justment controls until the red dot is merged with the object.
• Slowly turn the focus knobs under the focuser, one way or the other, until the image in the
eyepiece is sharp (Fig.3.2a). The image usually has to be nely refocused over time, due
to small variations caused by temperature changes, exures, etc. This often happens with
short focal ratio telescopes, particularly when they haven’t yet reached outside tempera-
ture. Refocusing is almost always necessary when you change an eyepiece.
Fig.3.1.2a Fig.3.1.2b
3.2 Focusing the telescope
Fig.3.2a

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PART III: Operating Your Telescope
3.3 Choosing the appropriate eyepiece
• The magnication produced by a telescope is determined by the focal length of the eye-
piece that is used with it. To determine a magnication for your telescope, divide its focal
length by the focal length of the eyepieces you are going to use. For example, a 10mm
focal length eyepiece will give 80X magnication with an 800mm focal length telescope.
• When you are looking at astronomical objects, you are looking through a column of air
that reaches to the edge of space and that column seldom stays still. Similarly, when
viewing over land you are often looking through heat waves radiating from the ground,
house, buildings, etc. Your telescope may be able to give very high magnication but what
you end up magnifying is all the turbulence between the telescope and the subject. A
good rule of thumb is that the usable magnication of a telescope is about 2X per mm of
aperture under good conditions.
• Too much magnication and too small a eld of view can make it very hard to nd things.
It is usually best to start at a lower magnication with its wider eld of view and then
increase the magnication when you have found what you are looking for. First nd the
moon then look at the shadows in the craters!

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PART IV: Observing the sky
4.1 Sky Conditions
• Sky conditions are usually dened by two atmospheric characteristics, seeing, or the
steadiness of the air, and transparency, light scattering due to the amount of water va-
pour and particulate material in the air. When you observe the Moon and the planets,
and they appear as though water is running over them, you probably have bad “seeing”
because you are observing through turbulent air. In conditions of good “seeing”, the stars
appear steady, without twinkling, when you look at them with unassisted eyes (without a
telescope). Ideal “transparency” is when the sky is inky black and the air is unpolluted.
• Do not view immediately after sunset. After the sun goes down, the Earth is still cooling,
causing air turbulence. As the night goes on, not only will seeing improve, but air pollution
and ground lights will often diminish. Some of the best observing time is often in the early
morning hours. Objects are best observed as they cross the meridian, which is an imagi-
nary line that runs through the Zenith, due North-South. This is the point at which objects
reach their highest points in the sky. Observing at this time reduces bad atmospheric
effects. When observing near the horizon, you look through lots of atmosphere, complete
with turbulence, dust particles and increased light pollution.
4.2 Selecting an Observing Site
• Travel to the best site that is reasonably accessible. It should be away from city lights,
and upwind from any source of air pollution. Always choose as high an elevation as
possible; this will get you above some of the lights and pollution and will ensure that you
aren’t in any ground fog. Sometimes low fog banks help to block light pollution if you get
above them. Try to have a dark, unobstructed view of the horizon, especially the south-
ern horizon if you are in the Northern Hemisphere and vice versa. However, remember
that the darkest sky is usually at the “Zenith”, directly above your head. It is the shortest
path through the atmosphere. Do not try to observe any object when the light path pass-
es near any protrusion on the ground. Even extremely light winds can cause major air
turbulence as they ow over the top of a building or wall. Observing through a window
is not recommended because the window glass will distort images considerably. And an
open window can be even worse, because warmer indoor air will escape out the window,
causing turbulence which also affects images. Astronomy is an outdoor activity. The best
conditions will have still air, and obviously, a clear view of the sky. It is not necessary that
the sky be cloud-free. Often broken cloud conditions provide excellent seeing.
4.3 Choosing the Best Time to Observe

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PART IV: Observing the sky
4.4 Cooling the Telescope
• Telescopes require at least 10 to 30 minutes to cool down to outside air temperature. This
may take longer if there is a big difference between the temperature of the telescope and
the outside air. This minimizes heatwave distortion inside telescope tube (tube currents).
Allow a longer cooling time for larger optics.
4.5 Adapting Your Eyes
• Do not expose your eyes to anything except red light for 30 minutes prior to observing.
This allows your pupils to expand to their maximum diameter and build up the levels of
optical pigments, which are rapidly lost if exposed to bright light. It is important to observe
with both eyes open. This avoids fatigue at the eyepiece. If you nd this too distracting,
cover the non-used eye with your hand or an eye patch. Use averted vision on faint ob-
jects: The center of your eye is the least sensitive to low light levels. When viewing a faint
object, don’t look directly at it. Instead, look slightly to the side, and the object will appear
brighter.

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PART V: Proper Care for Your Telescope
5.1 Cleaning Your Telescope
• Replace the dust cap over end of telescope whenever not in use. This prevents dust from
settling on mirror or lens surface. Do not clean mirror or lens unless you are familiar with
optical surfaces. Clean eyepieces with special lens paper only. Eyepieces should be han-
dled with care, avoid touching optical surfaces.

AZ-Go2 Mount
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