Assembly and User Instructions for the Mounting Kit for ZWO ASIAIR and EAF Belt Drive for the William Optics RedCat and MiniCat 51 WIFD Telescopes

The mounting kit for RedCat and MiniCat 51 WIFD can be assembled in around 20 minutes. Please use this guide before purchasing as well to see how optional parts of the kit can be used.

Besides the telescope itself, ZWO EAF, ASIAIR and the parts of the kit, you will need 3 mm, 2.5 mm and 2 mm hex screwdrivers, whereas the 2 mm screwdriver is only needed to place the pulley on the EAF. Keep in mind that the new ZWO EAF have a thinner (4 mm) axis.

On all assembly steps, keep in mind that we work on an optical instrument: do not tighten the screws too much. This guide mentions the use of screws and other fasteners for reference purposes, and for those customers who bought a download version of the kit. If you bought the printed version of the kit, all screws and fasteners are included.

Note that cable management rings and the choice of how you mount the guide scope are options while purchasing the kit.

On the first step, we remove the original handle bar.

Depending on which option you choose, you might need the handle bar later. The two original screws will not be used in the kit and become your spare ones.

We also remove the blind screws on the left side of the scope. They will not be used in the kit and become your spare ones. We will mount the holder plate for the EAF here on the next step.

The EAF holder is placed as it is shown on the picture below.

We use two M4 8 mm thread, 13 mm total height, round head screws (DIN 912) for this.

The EAF frame is mounted on the three embedded nuts on the top of the holder.

We use three M3 6 mm total height, flat-head screws (DIN 7991) for this.

Now we continue with mounting the ASIAIR. It is mounted with two parts on the right side of the main rings where you may once have noticed four holes and never knew what they were for.

We start with the holder plate. We use two M4 8 mm total height, flat-head screws (DIN 7991) for this.

The holder clip will be inserted into the holder with ASIAIR on it. We will use another two M4 6 mm total height, flat-head screws (DIN 7991) later for this.

Beforehand, you should review how ASIAIR will be mounted. It depends on your final setup, but the orientation with the antenna towards the front is probably the most optimal one.

Depending on the orientation of ASIAIR, you mount the clip on ASIAIR with the shorter 6 mm screws as mentioned above.

The clip is mounted on the holder with another two M4 8 mm total height, flat-head screws (DIN 7991).

On the next step we continue with mounting of EAF. First, mount the pulley on its axis. For this, you will need a 2 mm hex screwdriver.

The EAF is mounted on the frame with two M4 screws which are supplied by ZWO in the EAF package.

EAF drives the coarse knob of the focuser via an adapter. It is easier to first put the belt on the pulley and then slide the adapter on the knob.

The tension screw on the frame is used to adjust the tension. Not much tension is needed here! Remove tension from the belt after using the telescope.

There are two options for placing the guide scope. One uses the original handle bar with a riser block. The other uses a new clamp which replaces the handle bar.

If you want to use the handle bar, you use two M4 40 mm total height, flat-head screws (DIN 7991) and mount the block between the handle bar and the scope.

If you use the handle bar, you can still use it to lift and hold the telescope.

The option with the clamp block is more compact and is probably better for the MiniCat 51.

Use the two M4 30 mm total height, flat-head screws (DIN 7991) for this.

The cable management rings are an optional purchase. These rings are useful to tie all cables which now run only locally anyway. With this kit, you will have only the 12V power cable and the USB cable from the mount going down from the kit with the telescope.