Orion Intelliscope tip

I have an Orion XT-12 Intelliscope. Been using it around my apartment and
found the Intelliscope controller to be easy to use and quite accurate.
Couple of weeks ago our local club had a star party and I hauled the XT-12
to the party.

I could not get the Intelliscope to align properly. The controller came on
and I went through the alignment process without a problem -- but -- after
aligning on two stars, the warp factor was unacceptable, I could not get it
down, and I could not find objects using the Intelliscope.

Suddenly I was struck by a blinding flash of the obvious:
-- First step in aligning the Intelliscope is to set the OTA vertical.
-- At my apartment, the scope sits on a flat concrete sidewalk.
-- At the star party, the scope was sitting on a rough, not level patch of
gravel.
-- If the base is not level, the OTA cannot be truly vertical.
-- I needed some sort of base with which to level the scope before aligning
the Intelliscope.

Here is the result of my butchering a piece of plywood to make what I call a
"leveling base" for my XT-12 Intelliscope. This will work for any
Intelliscope, though the size and layout will vary somewhat depending on the
size of the scope.
http://www.schlatter.org/Dad/Astrono...ing%20base.htm

May take a minute or two to load -- four jpg images on the page.

Hope someone finds this helpful.

Why didn't Orion think of this and put levelers on the Dob base?

Joe,
When initializing digital setting circles, "vertical" does not mean
vertical in the sense of being "plumb", as in if you tied a weight to a
string. It means "perpendicular to the base". Thus, if you find a
truly level spot on the ground, point your scope truly "vertical" , and
put an alignment mark on the base and alt bearings, the next time you
set up, you just align those marks, even if you are not on level
ground.
Regards,
Bob Hertel
Joe S. wrote:
I have an Orion XT-12 Intelliscope. Been using it around my apartment and
found the Intelliscope controller to be easy to use and quite accurate.
Couple of weeks ago our local club had a star party and I hauled the XT-12
to the party.

I could not get the Intelliscope to align properly. The controller came on
and I went through the alignment process without a problem -- but -- after
aligning on two stars, the warp factor was unacceptable, I could not get it
down, and I could not find objects using the Intelliscope.

Suddenly I was struck by a blinding flash of the obvious:
-- First step in aligning the Intelliscope is to set the OTA vertical.
-- At my apartment, the scope sits on a flat concrete sidewalk.
-- At the star party, the scope was sitting on a rough, not level patch of
gravel.
-- If the base is not level, the OTA cannot be truly vertical.
-- I needed some sort of base with which to level the scope before aligning
the Intelliscope.

Here is the result of my butchering a piece of plywood to make what I call a
"leveling base" for my XT-12 Intelliscope. This will work for any
Intelliscope, though the size and layout will vary somewhat depending on the
size of the scope.
http://www.schlatter.org/Dad/Astrono...ing%20base.htm

May take a minute or two to load -- four jpg images on the page.

Hope someone finds this helpful.

Why didn't Orion think of this and put levelers on the Dob base?

"Bob" wrote in message
ups.com...
Joe,
When initializing digital setting circles, "vertical" does not mean
vertical in the sense of being "plumb", as in if you tied a weight to a
string. It means "perpendicular to the base". Thus, if you find a
truly level spot on the ground, point your scope truly "vertical" , and
put an alignment mark on the base and alt bearings, the next time you
set up, you just align those marks, even if you are not on level
ground.
Regards,
Bob Hertel

Well, I'll be -- that does make sense -- because the Intelliscope works
based on the angular relationships between objects and that relationship
should not be affected by the level of the base provided the base is fairly
level???

So I pulled out the instruction manual and it says the scope base does not
have to be perfectly level for the Intelliscope to function properly.

The initial setup nstructions say:
-- Level the base and check with a level to ensure the base is level;
-- Push the OTA vertical;
-- Place a carpenter's level across the open end of the OTA;
-- On the base is a stop screw that can be moved in and out -- shimmed with
washers -- when the OTA is vertical, the bottom of the OTA bumps this stop
screw.
-- Instructions say to check the level that is across the top of the OTA
and adjust the stop screw so the level shows level.
-- At this point, the OTA is perpindicular to the base, thereby making it
perpindicular to the encoders.

I set up my scope on the homemade leveling base and checked the Dob base --
it was not level so I leveled it using my homemade leveling base, checking
with the bull's-eye level and my 4-ft level. Then, with the scope base
level, I laid the level across the top of the vertical OTA with the OTA
against the stop screw -- out of level by 1/8 of a bubble. I fiddled with
the shims and the stop screw until the OTA was vertical -- checked and
double-checked.

So -- now the OTA should be perpindicular to the base and the base can be
somewhat out of level and the Intelliscope will function just fine??

Thanks for explaining things.

Think I'll keep my invention handy for when I go to dark sky locations that
are quite a bit off level.




Joe S. wrote:
I have an Orion XT-12 Intelliscope. Been using it around my apartment
and
found the Intelliscope controller to be easy to use and quite accurate.
Couple of weeks ago our local club had a star party and I hauled the
XT-12
to the party.

I could not get the Intelliscope to align properly. The controller came
on
and I went through the alignment process without a problem -- but --
after
aligning on two stars, the warp factor was unacceptable, I could not get
it
down, and I could not find objects using the Intelliscope.

Suddenly I was struck by a blinding flash of the obvious:
-- First step in aligning the Intelliscope is to set the OTA vertical.
-- At my apartment, the scope sits on a flat concrete sidewalk.
-- At the star party, the scope was sitting on a rough, not level patch
of
gravel.
-- If the base is not level, the OTA cannot be truly vertical.
-- I needed some sort of base with which to level the scope before
aligning
the Intelliscope.

Here is the result of my butchering a piece of plywood to make what I
call a
"leveling base" for my XT-12 Intelliscope. This will work for any
Intelliscope, though the size and layout will vary somewhat depending on
the
size of the scope.
http://www.schlatter.org/Dad/Astrono...ing%20base.htm

May take a minute or two to load -- four jpg images on the page.

Hope someone finds this helpful.

Why didn't Orion think of this and put levelers on the Dob base?