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| 3/16-in. Allen wrench |
| 5/32-in. Allen wrench |
Document Topics
Orienting the Right Ascension and Declination Axes
In order to remove the Paramount ME's base panel, you must turn the mount upside down (see Figure 7). Before doing so, make sure that the Versa-Plate is removed, and the mount's right ascension and declination axes are in the proper orientation.
To begin, the declination assembly should be rotated to a "horizontal position" (see Figure 1). To do so, disengage the RA worm from the RA gear.
Warning!
Please read the Paramount ME User's Guide for details on how to disengage the worm from the gear. Remember to firmly grasp the declination assembly with at least one hand. By turning the RA knob clockwise, the worm is disengaged from the gear.
Figure 1: Use RA knob to disengage worm and
gear first.
(hold declination assembly while turning RA knob clockwise)
Figure 2 shows the disengaged position.
Do not remove the Worm
cover it is not necessary!
Figure 2: RA worm cover removed
showing the worm disengaged from the gear
Turn the RA knob clockwise until it stops, then back it off about 1/8th of a turn counterclockwise to prevent unwanted binding of the RA knob. Use the same for the declination knob.
WARNING! When the RA worm has been disengaged from RA the gear the declination axis will be free to move and the tendency for the out-of-balance (top heavy) declination assembly is to want to rotate to a horizontal position.
While holding on to the declination assembly "firmly" carefully "allow" the declination assembly to fall into the near horizontal position shown above. Actually just past horizontal where the Paramount ME rests against the "hard stop" is best, either side. This position is perfectly safe when the worm is free from the gear. See position above.
After the declination assembly has been rotated to the horizontal position, loosen the RA knob (turn it counterclockwise) to engage the worm and gear. Failure to do so will make the mount quite awkward to handle and is not recommended. See "Proper Worm and Gear Tooth Engagement" below for details.
Proper Worm and Gear Tooth Engagement
Issue
The worm may "seem to be" engaged with the gear when it's actually not fully engaged. (The worm and gear may have a "high spot" so that the teeth of the worm and gear are aligned, and not actually in mesh or engaged). If the worm is not fully engaged the gear can slip across the teeth of the worm when you try to pick up the Paramount ME. We want to avoid this.
Solution
When you "think" you have re-engaged the worm and gear the only way to be certain is to gently wiggle the right ascension (or declination) axis. If the two are not aligned, you will feel a small click and hear a "clunk" as the gear falls off the tooth and properly meshes the worm and gear. See below in an attempt to demonstrate this!
Figure 3: The diagram on the left shows the
gear and worm aligned tooth on tooth, and the diagram on the right shows proper engagement.
Disengaging the declination worm from the declination gear is much easier. Again the same procedure, just tighten the declination knob until it stops then back it off about 1/8th of a turn counter clockwise so there is no binding on the knob. Here you need not be concerned with the position of the gear. Disengaging the declination gear can also be done BEFORE or AFTER the Paramount has been flipped over, it does not matter.
Removing the Micro-Levelers
Before flipping the Paramount ME over, remove one of the four micro-levelers found on the outer four corners of the base plate on either side of the azimuth adjustment assembly. The knob on either side works fine. See below. Turn the knob counter clockwise to remove it.
Figure 4: Remove the Micro-Leveler
1 ONLY!
After the Paramount ME has been "flipped" over and is laying upside down you can again disengage the RA worm from the RA gear turning the RA knob in the clockwise direction as per the above. The declination axis will lay comfortably on the table or the floor not putting any stress on the RA gear or worm. That is too say the declination axis is completely free to move.
Loosening the Azimuth tension screws
Also BEFORE flipping the Paramount over now is a good time to loosen the azimuth tension screws that apply pressure to the bottom rotating dove tail. There are two small plastic plungers pushing tightly against the dove tail.
Figure 5: Location of the plastic plungers;
one on each side of the azimuth mounting
Figure 6: Back tension screws off 2 full
turns
The direction is to the right then up
(counterclockwise)
With the Paramount in the normal upright position loosen the azimuth tension screw two full turns counter clockwise. This should be enough to remove the tension on the bottom dovetail so that it can be rotated easily.
NOTE: Make certain the Allen key is seated all the way down into the head of the screw before attempting to loosen it. These screws are reasonably tight! If you cause any damage to the screws a new set of 2 replacement screws already pre-greased are included with the new base plate for your convenience. Grab the Allen key at the end of the wrench opposite the screw for leverage! Direction is indicated by arrows in the image, to the right and up.
Working position for Base Plate removal
The safest position for the Paramount ME to be placed in to remove the bottom plate is sitting upside down. That is on a sturdy table that can fully support the weight of the Paramount (68 pounds) or place the Paramount on the floor. Preferably on carpet or tile or possibly cardboard on top of concrete in order to protect the mount's finish.
IMPORTANT: To relieve any potential stress on the worms and gears they should be completely disengaged during the removal of the base plate. That is both RA and declination worms are pulled away from the gears, just as they are when the Paramount ME is shipped by Software Bisque. Refer to the Paramount ME documentation for details.
If the Versa-Plate is already installed it will not pose a problem. You need not remove the Versa-Plate. If the latitude adjustment is not fully compressed that too is not an issue. Just leave Paramount in whatever position it happens to be. The default shipping position for the Paramount is shown where the altitude adjustment is all the way down or full compressed.
Figure 7: The Paramount ME is placed upside down on sturdy wooden table.
This is the easiest and safest position to remove the base plate.
NOTE: The worms and gears are not engaged!
Azimuth Adjustment Removal
Removing the azimuth adjusting assembly is easiest after the Paramount has been turned upside down because you can easily get at the screws. Before you attempt to remove the azimuth block from the base plate loosen the two azimuth adjusting knobs found on either side of the adjustment block shown as shown below. Back these screws off one full turn so they are not tight against the anchor piece.
4 10/32 by 3/4-inch socket head cap screws
to remove
Use a 5/32 Allen key counter clockwise
rotation
In the above picture pulling DOWN with a bit of force on the Allen key. That is turning the screw counter clockwise which loosens the screw. There are 4 10/32 by 3/4-inch socket head cap screws holding the azimuth block in place. Use a 5/32 Allen key to loosen all 4 screws. All 4 screws must be completely removed in order to remove the azimuth adjustment assembly. Grab the Allen key at the end opposite of the screws to provide leverage when loosening these 4 screws. The direction to loosen the screw has been indicated on the above image.
NOTE: Make certain the Allen key is seated all the way down into the head of the screw before attempting to loosen it. These screws are reasonably tight! If you cause any damage to the screws a new set of 4 replacement screws already pre-greased are included with the new base plate for your convenience. Grab the Allen key at the end of the wrench opposite the screw for leverage! Direction is indicated by arrow in the image, down then to the right.
Base Plate Removal Position
After the azimuth adjustment assembly has been removed, the micro-leveler has been removed, AND after the azimuth tension screws have been loosened, the base plate can be rotated into the proper position.
If the bottom plate cannot be rotated easily you may not have loosened the azimuth tension screws enough. Try backing the azimuth tension screw out another full turn and try again.
Figure 8: The Micro-Leveler hole
aligned to the anchor.
The Base Plate should easily rotate into position!
Grab the base plate using both
hands and pull the base plate up and away. If you feel tension wiggle
the base plate left and right until it is resting in the proper position.
DO NOT use any force at all! The
plate will come off quite easily when the procedures have been followed!
Figure 9: Base Plate has been removed
Hold firmly as to not drop the plate!
Base Plate Installation
The new base plate comes pre-greased and ready to install. There are 4 replacement 5/32nd socket cap screws included, two new azimuth plastic plungers, and two new azimuth tension screws pre-installed.
The newly shipped base plate already has the azimuth tension screws loose in place ready for install. You need only tighten them to engage them after the plate is installed.
First again remove one of the micro-levelers from either side of the new base plate as described above section.
Next place the new base plate over the bottom dove tail plate and carefully align it accordingly. The anchor piece and missing micro-leveler threaded hole are used for indexing.
NOTE: DO NOT use any force! Make sure the base plate is parallel to the dove tail plate allowing the base plate to fall into place quite easily. The extremely well CNC parts go together very easily and if they don't want to join carefully pull the base plate back and try again! Again careful wiggling of the plate may help you fit the base plate into place.
Figure 10: Base Plate reinstalled,
and ready to be rotated into place.
Rotate the base plate back into the proper position. The anchor needs to be centered between the 4 mounting screws for the azimuth adjustment block. See above. In this picture rotate the base plate counter clockwise or from the right to the left of the image.
Figure 11: Anchor centered,
azimuth assembly can be reinstalled.
Just reverse the azimuth removal procedure. And this is easiest when the Paramount ME is still upside down! If the block does not want to go on you have two options. Loosen the azimuth knobs on either side of the block first or more accurately position the anchor. Easiest to just loosen the outer two azimuth knobs a couple of turn giving yourself plenty of room.
When the 4 - Allen screws have been reinstalled and just engaged rotate the Allen key approximately 1/4th off a turn or starting at the 12:00 position 90 degrees clockwise to 3:00. They need not be extremely tight. This is not that critical! Don't tighten any of them until after they have all been installed and engaged.
Tightening the Azimuth Tension Screws
Before mounting the base plate make sure the plastic plungers did not fall out of place during shipping. If they are not tucked inside the hole they will prevent the base plate from going on. Just push the small white plungers back deep in their holes to make room!
Figure 12: Plungers are not in place yet!
Push the plungers back in their holes
first!
Get them out of the way
Now that the base plate is "ready" you can flip the Paramount ME back into the upright position. This makes the tightening procedure easiest.
WARNING! Because the worms are free from the gears in the upside down working position, as per the above instructions for base plate removal, both the RA and declination gears and worms need to be fully engaged before flipping the Paramount ME upright! This is extremely important. DO NOT attempt to lift the Paramount until you are 100% certain the RA gear and worm are fully engaged. This is not as critical in declination, where there is little tendency for rotation.
The newly shipped base plate already has the azimuth tension screws in place along with the plastic plunger ready for installation. You need only tighten them to engage them after the plate is installed, that is there is no need to back them off any more. However first make sure the plungers are deep in their holes.
The azimuth tension screw installation procedure is a bit involved. The key is getting the right amount of tension on the two azimuth tension screws pushing on the plastic plungers located on the front of the base plate on opposite sides of the azimuth adjustment block. The block is already "installed back in place".
Using the 3/16 Allen key insert the key firmly into the head of the screw using the BALL END of the key! Then tighten the tension screw using your fingers on the opposite end of the key. Tighten the screw as tight as you can. DO NOT insert the key the same way shown in the removal procedure use the opposite end of the Allen key FIRST the ball end inserted firmly into the head of the screw!
Figure 13: Tighten screw as tight as
you can
using end of Allen key
Note position of thumb on Allen key
Once the azimuth tension screw is as tight as you can get it, take the Allen key out and flip it around 180 degrees. Re-insert the Allen key starting as close to the 12:00 position as you can. Using the ball end of the key for leverage rotate the screw 90 degrees 1/4th of a turn clockwise to the 3:00 position. See below illustrating this.
Figure 14: Starting and ending position of
Allen key
To test the tension of the screw on the plunger see if you can manually turn both of the azimuth knobs one at a time with the anchor engaged and the mount moving east and west or left and right.
You should be able to move the mount left and right on either side of the anchor without the need for the Allen key. If you find you cannot turn them easily enough by hand, back off the tension screw counter clockwise about 1/25th or 1 quarter of a turn then try again. When you get to the point where you can just move the Paramount ME manually using the azimuth knobs you are good to go.
NOTE: There is no need to loosen these once they are set. Specifically, you do not need to loosen them when making azimuth polar alignment adjustments.
