Paramount GT-1100 Robotic Telescope Mount

page 26 Paramount User’s Guide
Left and right motion moves the telescope in right ascension; up and down motion moves
the telescope in declination. The speed of the slew increases the further the joystick is moved
from the center position. A total of 15 different speeds are traversed as you move the
joystick from center all the way to the edge. The first two are slower than sidereal rate, and
they increase up to the maximum speed, as entered in the TheSky TCS TM Setup Dialog.
Homing the Mount Using TheSky
Upon establishing a link with the Paramount ME, TheSky will prompt as to whether or not
the mount should be homed if it detects that the mount has not already been homed.
Adding the Counterweights
While the right ascension gear and worm are NOT in contact, the counterweights should be
placed on the counterweight bar.
Note: Add the estimated amount of counterweight before
attaching the optical tube assembly!
The amount of counterweight depends on the weight of the optical tube assembly. Try to
make a close estimate to how much counterweight is required and add this to the declination
counterweight bar. It is best if the counterweights are too far down the bar (i.e. too heavy)
for the optical tube assembly at the start. This way, when fine-tuning the balance, gravity will
not be working to flop the optical tube downward.
Once added, the right ascension axis will be bottom heavy yet will be in a safe state since the
axis is free to hang downward due to gravity. Adding the optical tube assembly will now
result in a system that is close to balance.
After the counterweights are added, firmly tighten each of the counterweight knobs to insure
the weights do not slip. Also make sure you add the counterweight safety stop on the
bottom of the counterweight bar.
Safety Tip