Paramount GEM User Guide
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Appendix B: Motor Index Angles
The Paramount’s hour angle and declination axis servomotors require a unique motor index angle that is
required for motor initialization when the mount is turned on. These motor-specific motor index angles
are normally measured and saved to the control system at the factory. For the MKS 6000, they must be
measured and saved before the mount can operate normally.
Follow the steps below to measure and save the motor index angles to the MKS 6000.
Important: After installing the MKS 6000 upgrade and powering the mount on for
the first time, it the control system may emit successive beeps because the mount’s
motor index angles have not yet been measured and saved to the MKS 6000
permanent memory.
The MKS 6000 uses a different convention for measuring motor index angles
compared to earlier control systems. The measured motor index angle value for
both the hour angle and declination axes will be approximately 200.
The MKS 6000 requires TheSky Professional version 10.5.0 build 13655 or later. If you have an active
subscription, the latest release must be downloaded from www.bisque.com and installed. To do so, click
My account, Log In to log in, then click My account, My Downloads. If your subscription has expired, you
must renew it to access the latest release.
Measuring and Saving the Motor Index Angles
Use TheSky to measure and save the motor-specific motor index angles to the control system’s permanent
memory. This one-time initialization process is only required after installing a new control system, or after
installing a replacement worm block assembly (with a new motor).
1. With the mount turned off, connect the supplied USB cable to the computer.
2. During the index angle measurement process, for a given axis, the MKS 6000 rotates the motor
to find the motor index angle, and then reports the value. Note that the motors must be free to
rotate, or the process will fail. Before proceeding, double-check the following:
• Make sure to disengage the locking plungers in both axes on the Paramount MYT and
Paramount MX mounts. For the Paramount ME II, be sure to remove the axis locking
bolts so that both axes can rotate.
• For the Paramount MYT, MX, MX+ and ME II mounts, the worm and gear must be
disengaged by rotating the mechanical switch in both axes to the balance position.
• For the Paramount ME and Paramount GT-1100S mounts, only, the motor drive belts
must be removed before the motor index angles can be accurately measured.
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