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6. Maintenance and
Servicing
6.1. Maintenance
The SmartStar
®
E mount or telescope is a
precision instrument designed to yield a
lifetime of rewarding applications. Given the
care and respect due any precision
instrument, your telescope will rarely require
factory servicing or maintenance.
Maintenance guidelines include:
1. Using wet cloth to clean the mount
and hand controller. Do not use the solvent.
2. Leave the dust cap on while not
operating the telescope. As with any quality
instrument, lens or mirror surfaces should
be cleaned as infrequently as possible.
Front surface aluminized mirrors, in
particular, should be cleaned only when
absolutely necessary. In all cases avoid
touching any mirror surface. A little dust on
the surface of a mirror or lens causes
negligible loss of performance and should
not be considered reason to clean the
surface. When lens or mirror cleaning does
become necessary, use a camel’s hair
brush or compressed air gently to remove
dust.
3. Organic materials (e.g., fingerprints)
on the lens may be removed with a solution
of 3 parts distilled water to 1 part isopropyl
alcohol. Use soft, white facial tissues or
cotton balls and make short, gentle strokes.
Change tissues often. Do not use scented,
colored, or lotioned tissues as damage
could result to the optics.
4. If your telescope is used outdoors on
a humid night, telescope surfaces may
accumulate water condensation. While such
condensation does not normally cause any
damage to the telescope, it is
recommended that wait the entire telescope
be dried before being packed away. Do not
wipe any of the optical surfaces. In addition,
the dust cap should not be placed back on
to the optical tube until the telescope is
thoroughly dry.
5. If your telescope is not to be used
for an extended period, perhaps for one
month or more, it is advisable to remove the
batteries from battery holder, if they are
installed. Batteries left installed for
prolonged periods may leak, causing
damage to the telescope’s electronic
circuitry.
6. Do not leave your telescope
outdoors on a warm day or inside a sealed
car for an extended period of time.
Excessive ambient temperatures can
damage the telescope’s internal lubrication
and electronic circuitry.
6.2. Storage and Transport
When not in use, store the telescope in a
cool, dry place. Do not expose the
instrument to excessive heat or moisture. It
is best to store the telescope in its original
box with the altitude lock knob unlocked. If
shipping the telescope, use the original box
and packing material to protect the
telescope during shipment.
When transporting the telescope, take care
not to bump or drop the instrument; this type
of abuse can damage the optics or affect
the GOTO tracking accuracy.
6.3. Troubleshooting
The following suggestions may be helpful
with operation of the SmartStar
®
E mount or
telescope.
The power indicator light on the
mount does not come on or there is
no response when pressing hand
controller’s arrow keys:
1. Verify that the power switch on the
mount is in the ON position.
2. Verify that the hand controller cord is
firmly connected to the HBX port on the
mount, or switch the cord to the other
HBX port.
3. Check the power source, which include:
• Using the battery? Are the batteries
installed correctly? Are the batteries
fresh? How long have they been used?