TwinStar FirstView User manual

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FirstView 3” Reflector Telescope Owner’s Manual
1. Horizontal Locking Auxiliary Screw
2. Main Mount
3. Pitching Auxiliary Knob
4. Pitching Sha t Screw
5. Rack and Pinion Focusing Knob
6. Thumb Nut or Finder Scope
7. Finder Scope Bracket
8. Finder Scope
9. Eyepiece
10. Focusing Tube
11. Pitching Clamp Handle Screw
12. Le t and Right Blocks
13. Pitching Sha t
14. Main Tube
15. Mount Base
16. Tripod Leg
17. Accessory Tray
*Not Pictured: Moon Filter, 2x Barlow Lens, eyepiece cleaning cloth

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ASSEMBLY I STRUCTIO S
1. Remove the tripod legs (#16) rom the box and separately extend them to suitable length rom
top to bottom. Tighten the locking knobs.
2. Connect each leg to the mount base (#15) with the long screw and wing nuts (Pg. 4, Fig. 2a), but
do not tighten yet. Make sure the accessory tray brackets on each leg are on the inside.
3. Stretch out the tripod legs and position the accessory tray (#17). Connect each accessory tray
bracket to the tray using the short screws and wing nuts (Pg. 4, Fig. 3).
4. Install the pitching sha t (#13) on the main tube (#14) with the pitching sha t screws (#4) (Pg. 4,
Fig. 2b).
5. Loosen the le t and right blocks (#12) on the main tube (#14), install the main tube on the main
mount (#2). Tighten the right and le t blocks (#12) (Pg. 4, Fig. 2c) and the pitching clamp handle
screw (#11) (Pg. 4, Fig. 2d).
6. Remove the thumb nuts or inder scope (#6). Insert the two bolts in the inder scope bracket
(#7). Tighten thumb nuts (#6) to mount bracket onto main tube (Pg. 4, Fig. 4a).
7. Place eyepiece in the ocusing tube (#10) and tighten the thumb screw (Pg. 4, Fig. 4b).
READ CAREFULLY BEFORE ATTEMPTI G TELESCOPE OBSERVATIO S
A telescope is an optical and mechanical instrument o great precision. Handled with care and respect, it
will provide many years o excellent service. This booklet is designed to urnish you with in ormation on
this telescope’s structure, speci ications and proper operating techniques.
WHAT IS A TELESCOPE?
A telescope is an optical system designed to magni y distant objects. The telescope you have purchased
is called a REFLECTOR TELESCOPE, it consists o an open tube with curved mirror at the bottom. The
open end o the tube is pointed at the object in the sky and the entering light rays strike the mirror at
the bottom. The rays, re lected rom the mirror, strike a secondary mirror called a diagonal mirror. As a
result o the curvature o the main mirror, the light rays are bent to meet at a point. The purpose o the
diagonal mirror, which is located a short distance be ore the ocal point, is to re lect the light rays
toward the side o the tube where an eyepiece magni ies the image or you.
MAI TE A CE OF THE TELESCOPE
As a precision optical and mechanical instrument, the telescope must be handled with utmost care.
When not in use, store it in the box. Lenses and mirrors must be cleaned as care ully and rarely as
possible to avoid accuracy and per ormance being a ected. Optical elements must never be taken out
o their mount by an inexperienced person. When it becomes necessary to clean the lenses or mirrors, a
cleaning solution, no stronger than mild soap and water, in combination with a so t, lint- ree cloth
should be gently applied to the optical sur ace without rubbing. A thorough rinse in clear water should
ollow and the optical element is not rubbed dry, but allowed instead to air dry. The use o solvents such

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as xylene and alcohol or cleaning purposes is not recommended. Eyepieces should be cared or and
cleaned like any other optical element. Eyepieces are constructed so that they can be taken apart. The
inexperienced person should not attempt this because the lenses o the eyepiece are care ully aligned
during manu acturing and careless handling could lead to misalignment. Another maintenance problem
peculiar to this re lector, involves the metallic coating o the mirror. With normal exposure and use, the
metallic coating will eventually wear away. Recoating is a job or the pro essional, not or the amateur.
CARE OF THE MIRRORS
The main and diagonal mirrors should not be cleaned or touched by hands because they are highly
aluminized to give brilliant re lectivity. I the telescope is always stored in the box when not in use, there
should be no problem with dust collecting on the mirror sur aces. I or any reason they have to be
cleaned, use a ine camel hair brush or a so t, lint- ree cloth. With normal exposure and use, the metallic
coating will eventually wear away.
CAUTION
: UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES
SHOULD YOU LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN
THROUGH THE SCOPE. DIRECT
OBSERVATION OF THE SUN IS DANGEROUS
TO YOUR EYES.

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FOCUSING THE TELESCOPE & ALIGNING THE
CROSSHAIR FINDER SCOPE
1. Focusing (see Pg. 5, Fig. 3)
Leave the telescope in the same position as when assembling
(terrestrial position).
Loosen the set screw attached to eyepiece adaptor (#10) on
the main telescope tube.
Locate the lowest power eyepiece (20mm) and attach it to the
eyepiece adapter, tightening the set screws. Aim the telescope
at a distant object in the daytime, such as a stop sign, or corner
o a building etc. Rack the ocusing knob (#8) back and orth
until the object is in sharp ocus.
ALIGNING THE CROSSHAIR FINDER SCOPE
With the telescope in sharp ocus, look into the inder scope
(#4). I the inder scope (#4) is not in ocus, turn the inder
scope eyepiece (#6) around on its thread until the views are
sharp and clear. I the object you see in the main telescope is
not in the center o the inder scope cross hair, do the
ollowing: tighten and loosen the three screws (#25) in the
bracket, causing the inder scope to move up or down, side to
side, or diagonally. When the object is dead center in the cross
hairs, your inder scope is adjusted. Repeat this process by
replacing the lower power eyepiece with a higher power
eyepiece. Once the image centered under highest
magni ication in the telescope is also centered in the inder
scope, your inder scope is success ully aligned. It may now be
used or rapid location o sky-bound objects you want to
observe with the telescope. Occasionally, the ocusing scope
may have to be readjusted.
Eyepiece & Magni ication
This telescope is supplied with three di erent eyepieces (4mm,
12.5mm, and 20mm). The power o each particular eyepiece is
directly related to the ocal length o the telescope which is
700mm (millimeters); However, the power o each eyepiece is
related to the ocal length o the objective mirror o the
telescope.
The ormula is as ollows:
Focal length o the telescope
= Magni ication
Focal length o eyepiece
For example , your 20mm eyepiece will show a magni ication o :
700mm
= 35x Magni ication
20mm
USING YOUR TELESCOPE ASTRONOMICALLY
Be ore learning the technical details o this telescope, you will
ind that you can now enjoy observing the stars, planets and
moon.
THE MOON AND THE STARS
I you are viewing at night, you will get the most un out o
looking at the moon and its cratered sur ace. Aim the inder
scope so that the moon is in the center o the crosshairs. The
main telescope is now directly aimed at the moon. The moon
filter will allow you to view the moon more com ortably by
lowering the brightness o the lunar sur ace. You can use the
moon ilter included with your telescope by simply attaching it to
the male end o the eyepiece, then inserting the eyepiece into
the ocusing tube like usual. Focus the telescope as described
previously.
At this point, try the more power ul eyepieces to observe more
detail o the moon. A ter looking at the moon, you will probably
want to look at some o the more well-known constellations (i.e.
the big dipper). The stars will appear as lickering dots o light.
This is the case with even the more power ul telescopes.

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For planetary viewing, try observing Venus irst, as it is one o
the brightest objects in the night sky at most times o the year.
The planets will tend to appear like lat discs through your
telescope, and you will probably be quite surprised by the
rapidity with which they move across the sky. I you aim your
telescope at a planet and walk away or ive or ten minutes ,
you are likely to ind that the planet has moved out o the
telescope’ s ield when you get back.
Note1: Whenever locating an object, always use the finder
scope first, as it has a wide field of the view and will speed up
the process of observing celestial objects.
Note2: Always start with the lowest power eyepiece (20mm in
the telescope tube and work up to the power you
want…making the necessary focusing adjustments as you
change eyepieces .
Note3: Do not be alarmed by the fact that the images you see
are upside-down. This is normal with reflector telescopes. The
image can be corrected to appear right-side up using an
Erecting Eyepiece (not included .