Orion SKYVIEW PRO 120 EQ User Manual
Page 4
 
1. Stand the tripod legs upright and spread the legs out as far
as they will go. Keep the tripod legs at their shortest (fully 
retracted) length, for now; you can extend them to a more 
desirable length later, after the scope is fully assembled.
2. Place the base of the equatorial mount onto the tripod
head. Orient the equatorial mount so that the post on 
the tripod head lines up between the azimuth adjustment 
knobs on the equatorial mount (Figure 2). You may need 
to loosen the azimuth adjustment knobs on the equatorial 
mount in order to fit the mount into the tripod head.
3. Thread the central support shaft into the equatorial mount
until tight. This will secure the equatorial mount to the tri-
pod head.
4. Remove the knob and washer from the bottom of the center
support shaft. Slide the tripod support tray up the bottom 
of the central support shaft until the three tray arms are 
touching the legs of the tripod. The flat side of the acces-
sory tray should be facing up. Make sure the “V” of each 
tray arm is against a tripod leg. Place the washer back on 
the center support shaft against the tray, and thread the 
securing knob all the way up the center support shaft until 
it is tight against the tray. The tripod support tray provides 
additional stability for the tripod, and holds five 1.25" eye-
pieces and two 2" eyepieces.
5. Thread the latitude adjustment L-bolt into the rear of the
equatorial mount casing as shown in Figure 1.
6. Thread the counterweight shaft into the equatorial mount
at the base of the declination axis until tight. Make sure the 
casting at the top of the shaft is threaded clockwise as far 
as it will go before attaching the shaft. Once the shaft is 
installed, turn the casting counter-clockwise until the top of 
the casting is flush with the mount.
7. Remove the knurled “toe saver” retaining screw on the
bottom of the counterweight shaft and slide both counter-
weights onto the shaft. Make sure the counterweight lock 
knobs are adequately loosened to allow the counterweight 
shaft to pass through the hole. Position the counterweights 
about halfway up the shaft and tighten the lock knobs. 
Replace the toe saver at the end of the bar. The toe saver 
prevents the counterweights from falling on your foot if the 
lock knobs happen to come loose.
8. Attach the slow-motion control knobs to the right ascen-
sion and declination worm gear shafts of the equatorial 
mount by sliding them onto the shafts. Line up the flat on 
the end of the shaft with the corresponding feature on the 
interior of the knob to attach them properly. The knobs can 
be attached to either end of the shafts; use whichever end 
is most convenient.
9. Attach the tube rings to the tube ring mounting plate using
the attachment screws that are on the tube rings. The 
screws should go through the holes on the outer ends of 
4
Figure 2.
Orient the equatorial mount so that the post on the
tripod head lines up between the azimuth adjustment knobs on the 
equatorial mount.
Post
Azimuth
adjustment
knobs
Finder scope
Finder scope bracket
Nylon 
alignment 
thumbscrews
Focus lock ring
Figure 3a.
The 8x40 finder scope.
Tensioner
Figure 3b.
Pull-back on the tensioner and slide the finder scope
into its bracket until the O-ring is seated in the bracket ring.