Paramount ME Physical and Operational Specifications

Specification

Details

Azimuth Adjustment Design

The Paramount ME has a precision 11-inch azimuth adjustment "bearing" that makes polar alignment adjustments easy very precise, and repeatable.

Azimuth Adjustment Limits

The azimuth can be adjusted a maximum range of plus or minus 4 degrees.

Bearings

8.8-inch outer diameter (OD), 5.9-inch inner diameter (ID) right ascension angular contact ball bearing, 6.7-inch OD, 4.3-inch ID declination angular contact ball bearing.

Cabling

Through-the mount wiring for mount control plus auto-guider input, parallel or serial port CCD camera control and two additional devices (dew heater, video camera, etc.). A large access hole permits the addition of custom cables through the mount.

Counterweights

Two 9 kg (20 lbs.) counterweights are provided. Additional counterweights can be purchased from Software Bisque. See the Counterweight accessories for details.

Dome Offset Distance

You may wish to permanently mount your Paramount ME so that center of the dome is coincident with the center of the intersection of the mount's right ascension and declination axis.

One of the required measurements is the distance from the center of the Paramount ME to the intersection of the mount's right ascension and declination axis (which changes with latitude).

Use the following equation to compute the distance from the center point of the mount to the intersection of the right ascension and declination axis.

Distance (cm) = 33 * cos(latitude + 29) - 10

Distance (in.) = 13 * cos(latitude + 29) - 4

For the northern hemisphere, a positive value indicates that the ra/dec axis intersection is north of the center of the mount. A negative value indicates the ra/dec axis intersection is south of the center of the mount.

Gear Specifications

All aluminum, 11.45-inch (29 cm), 576 tooth research-grade right ascension gears and 7.45-inch (18.9 cm), 375 tooth declination gear each with 7 arcsecond or less peak-to-peak periodic error before periodic error correction.

The typical Paramount ME periodic error after periodic error correction is applied is one arcsecond peak-to-peak or less.

Gear Construction

Precision CNC brass worm gears; precision CNC integrated all aluminum right ascension and declination gears.

Instrument Capacity (Carrying Capacity)

68 kg (150 lb.) instrument capacity. This does not include the weight of the counterweights. Therefore, the total carrying capacity (instruments plus counterweights) is 136 kg (300 lb.).

Latitude Adjustment Limits

The Paramount ME's built-in Latitude Adjustment Wedge can be adjusted from 15º to 58º altitude (which corresponds to your latitude).

Software Bisque sells an optional Latitude Adjustment Wedge that allows the Paramount ME to achieve polar alignment at any latitude (0-90 degrees, or pole-to-pole latitude adjustment).

Local Operation

Joystick manual control (10-foot cable included) or PC- or Windows Mobile Device-interface control (using TheSky or TheSky Pocket Edition).

Paramount ME Joystick

Material Design

German Equatorial Mount (GEM) with all stainless-steel and anodized aluminum construction. (Worms and the Versa-Plate plungers are manufactured from brass.)

Maximum Dimensions

The overall "maximum" dimensions of the Paramount ME will vary depending upon the following factors.

• The dimensions of your optical tube assembly (OTA).

• How the OTA is mounted to the Versa-Plate (using a dovetail, OTA rings, or other mechanism).

• The length of the counterweight shaft (which depends upon the weight of the payload).

• The height of your pier.

• Your longitude.

Approximate "Standalone" Paramount ME Dimensions

This table below gives the maximum dimensions of the Paramount ME without additional equipment.

Important Note

The overall maximum width of the Paramount ME and optical tube assembly depends upon:

• Maximum dimensions of the primary OTA

• How the primary OTA is mounted (OTA rings, dovetail, other means)

• Dimensions of additional equipment that is mounted to primary OTA (finder telescopes, smaller OTAs, other).

Tracking Past Meridian

The Paramount ME can track a maximum of 7 degrees past the meridian before encountering a physical hardware stop that prevents the right ascension axis from rotating further.

By the default the software-imposed (and configurable) tracking limit is 5 degrees.

Weight

Overall weight (base plus Versa-Plate) is 29.5 kg (68 lbs.) without optical tube assembly or counterweights.

Worm Block Design

Spring-loaded right ascension and declination worm block assemblies can be engaged for near zero backlash, or disengaged for adjusting payload balance.