Paramount ME User’s Guide
29
The positions of the three mounting locations are represented on the top of the Versa-Plate
as eight-inch grooved circles (see XFigure 9X). Each circle corresponds to the location of the
declination housing when the Versa-Plate is mounted at that position. Attaching the
Versa-Plate to the middle circle centers it on the declination housing. The Versa-Plate can
also be moved about one inch forward (for Schmidt–Cassegrain or similar OTAs) or one-
inch backward (for Newtonians or longer OTAs).
There are twelve tapped holes in the top of the Paramount ME declination gear (XFigure 10X).
The four inner holes accept 1-inch, ¼-20 thread, flat socket cap screws (± 0.001 inches).
The eight outer holes accept 1-inch ¼-20 socket head cap screws (± 0.001 inches).
Normally, the eight outer holes are sufficient for mounting the Versa-Plate. The four inner
holes permit attaching smaller (custom-made) top plates to the declination gear, if
necessary. Software Bisque attaches all twelve screws when the mount is assembled.
Figure 10: Versa-Plate mounting specifications.
The Paramount ME’s declination axis cannot rotate a full 360 degrees, regardless of the
orientation of the Versa-Plate; therefore, the Versa-Plate must be mounted properly to
ensure normal mount operation.
An arrow is machined into the top of the declination housing that indicates the direction of
incoming light (see XFigure 11X and XFigure 12X) for the optical tube assembly. Use this to
arrow to determine the orientation of the Versa-Plate for your optical system.
Notes:
The machined arrow should not point toward the entrance pupil of the optical tube
assembly.
The declination assembly (that is, the component on which the arrow is machined)
should never be disassembled for any reason.
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