Specifications

3.2 INSTALLATION OF PYXIS 3-INCH

To attach the Pyxis 3-inch to the telescope, one of the TELESCOPE MOUNTS for TCF-S3 or

Pyxis 3-inch is needed. The most current selection is listed in the Optec price list. At this time,

mounts are available for:

17801 Meade Telescope for 4” Rear Cell Thread - LX200 16” telescope

17802 Meade Telescope for 3” Read Cell Thread – most mid size telescope

17803 Celestron Telescope for 3” Rear Cell Thread -11” and larger sizes.

17808 AstroPhysics 2.7” mount

17809 Takahashi 2.8” mount

Attach the telescope mount first to the telescope and then add the Pyxis 3-inch. Secure at the

proper rotation angle by tightening the three #10 setscrew in the front with the supplied allen hex

key. Tighten the screws evenly so that the face of the Pyxis is flush with the shoulder of the mount

and no air gap is seen. When the Pyxis 3-inch is turned on, it will rotate to position angle 0.

The camera side of the Pyxis presents a 3-inch I.D. port. This is currently a non-standard size for

telescopes so an Optec adapter to fit various cameras or other devices is needed. At this time,

adapters are available for:

17804 3” to 2” reducer bushing to allow any standard 2” diameter accessory to be inserted.

17805 3” to Optec IFW filter wheel mount

17806 3” to STL camera mount that fits the 4-bolt pattern on the STL camera from SBIG

17807 3” to AstroPhysics 2.7” mount.

Check with the current price list or Optec web site for an up-to-date listing of available telescope

adapters and camera side mounts.

Make sure that there is enough cable slack for the attached instruments to allow for

rotation. The torque of the Pyxis 3-inch is sufficient to pull out cables which may do

damage to your equipment. After finding the 0 position angle, the Pyxis 3-inch will not

rotate anymore than ±180 degrees from the 0 position angle.

To connect the Pyxis 3-inch to your Windows PC, you should order the #17695 Serial Port

Converter and a Reverse cable of proper length. Figure 4-1 shows the proper pins to connect for

the cable and converter for users wishing to fabricate their own cable.

Install the software as described in Section 4.0 below. All Pyxis operational commands are

provide through software.