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Another step forward


Synchronicity

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Clear Outside said it was to be a clear night so I got set up and set about tonight's challenge - Polar Alignment.
I've struggled to do this properly since I got the scope, lack of visibility of Polaris being the major issue as I set up close to my house facing south.  I've now got the camera, mount and guide camera running through a USB hub and have managed to set up far enough from the house that I could see Polaris. 

It took me a while to find the star, and longer to convince myself that I was looking in the right place.  Looking at the image in the finder scope didn't work for me as I'm looking over the city of Glasgow but once I had spotted it I was able to roughly align it by sighting along the side then top of the scope, and then centre it in the camera frame.  Once this was done the final adjustments in the finder scope were a breeze.

What a difference that has made!  I've thought I was very close before but the goto proved me wrong every time as it never reliably switched between targets.  Like most things, it'll be easier to do in the future now that I've done it correctly.  There's no substitute for practice!

This is a good example of why it is so important to stick to the basics and keep it simple.

 

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Nice, always good when you go out to accomplish a goal and you get there. One step at a time and we always get there :) Very right in keeping it simple, I always get side tracked! I now use SharpCap to PA as it is so simple and quick.

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Improving routines can be very rewarding and almost a hobby itself. Here is a trick you could do with the "where-is-Polaris" issue when sky conditions make it hard to see. After doing the standard procedure (level mount in home position, CW bar pointing north checked with a compass) skip the star align (for now). Instead, GOTO some star, then center it in the camera using ONLY the mechanical Alt- Az adjustments. The PA will now be close, and you should see Polaris in the polar scope - just go on and fine tune it. Then it´s time to do the star align.

You will need carefully made home position index marks on the mount, and also exact time and position defined in the handset for this to work.

Ragnar

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