HesperLiz

1 hour ago, Albir phil said:

Bet your are sooo relieved now , and it wasn't your eyesight👀

Absolutely! It was a toss up between my eyes or losing my mind 😃 😄 .

2 hours ago, Grifflin said:

@HesperLiz Now you've got it in the polar scope field of view, you might want to mark in some fashion where your tripod legs are set so it is easier to repeat on future nights.  Unless you've got a more permanent set up in which case ignore  

Neil

Hi Neil,  have thought of this and yes, marked out the legs. So excited now, I can get on and try out all the ideas which have been causing a traffic jam in my head.

As I stated before, I am incredible thankful to everyone who contributed to solving my conundrum.

Liz

UPDATE!

I did it! I started over, rechecked all balances, levels, pointing geo. North, the park settings, etc and ensuring nothing was obstructing the polar scope passage during the day - I then worked on the assumption I was missing Polaris by millimetres due to the narrow field of view.

Therefore to help me know exactly where in the cosmos I was actually pointing, I shone a laser light through the polar scope eyepiece (i kept an eye flout for aircrafts)  - once I could see that I started on the adjistment bolts, checking every now and then on the progress.

Bingo, Polaris was finally close enough to appear in my polar scope! I was about to finish up when the clouds rolled in, but alas, I got there!  Just taken me 4+ bloody weeks and lots of doubts abouts my eyesight.

Thank you everyone who responded to my call for help. All the answers got me to the finishing line as I was able to double check things, discounts others, you gave me new ideas to try and encouraged me to keep going.

You are ALL amazing - much gratitude to everyone here 👏 👏. 

Liz 

18 hours ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

If you put your scope in the Home position, you should be able to see Polaris in the finderscope, if not in the main telescope.  A red-dot finder works well here, as you can easily see how far you are off, assuming the red-dot finder is aligned to the main telescope. 

Polaris may be the only star visible in the polarscope, when it is in focus.  Once you have found it, the next step is to get Polaris positioned in the right part of the graticule.

If you ignore the fine mechanical polar alignment and go ahead to a 2 or 3 star alignment, the Synscan software (recent version) will report in degrees and minutes just how much the polar alignment is in error.

Thanks, am just waiting for moon to wax and a clear sky, a tad to try again.

Everyone's suggestions have been most enlightening.

18 hours ago, neil phillips said:

I know i polar aligned recently with that mount. You have to slow down, and make sure its engaged before turning. Even then it still slips occasionally

A poor design, especially as one hand is turning the bolt on the front and the other is trying to engage this awkward spring, lever thingy.

30 minutes ago, neil phillips said:

 I doubt it. its really just out of view trust me. setting it at 52.5 gets you in the ball park. but it can still be slightly too high or low. A small turn of the lever hardly registers on those scales 

Thanks, will definitely give it a go.

Just now, neil phillips said:

First try up and down before east or west. its most often too high or too low

Thanks for that tip - figures, the spring loaded altitude bolt on the EQ6R-Pro is a pain in the proverbial rear end. 😀 

2 hours ago, Stu said:

@HesperLiz perhaps a picture of your setup tonight would be informative, so we can see what’s what. As Steve has said, Polaris will be at 52.5 degrees (or whatever your latitude is) above your horizon and that is what needs to be set on the mount’s physical adjustment. With the mount pointing north, the top of the tripod level and the latitude set correctly, the polar axis should be pointing directly at it.

I’m sure it will be something relatively simple to resolve though so do keep us updated, plenty more help available I’m sure.

This is what has been frustrating me. Therefore the only other variable must be my eyes. 

2 minutes ago, neil phillips said:

Your problem i will wager is either declination isn't straight, Which cuts off the scope, or Polaris is just outside the field of view. I've polar aligned a 1000 times. And even i can sometimes play cat and mouse up down left right. When its just out of view. 80% of the time its up and down that needs adjusting. If the mount is facing the general direction of Polaris. Hence explaining that's the first port of call  a mount can be in the home position. But Polaris can still be slightly out of view in the scope. The scope also should be checked for alignment. But didn't want to complicate this until you can it in the scope

I will start form scratch again and recheck the park positions and go through to polar aligning to make sure everything is where is should be.

I may have to mentally do a grid search around the area where Polaris should be.

3 hours ago, bosun21 said:

If you can see Polaris when in the home position with your telescope adjust the focusing on your polar scope. The reticle can still be seen with an out of focus polar scope.

I attempted this and had no luck. I can see thevreticule, just not beyond it. I think must to pointing the PS to an empty space near Polaris - tad needle in haystack. Positioning, the mount looks like it should be in the correct vicinity - am suspecting I need new eyeballs. 😃 

14 hours ago, neil phillips said:

In the daytime test the polar scope on a far away object a building or roof or Ariel. Focus the polar scope so the far away object is sharp, that should at least determine your not grossly out. I also find it difficult to get under the polar scope. I have to raise the mount somewhat to make that easier. or i just can not do it. I don't turn the illuminated reticle on. when finding Polaris, it can make it difficult to see. first thing i do is try to eyeball the direction of the mount facing Polaris. just stand behind. look at the mount and where Polaris is, try to guess the direction of the mount facing Polaris. A compass is another option. Setting the mount elevation. will only get you close. Polaris could be slightly too high. or low in the scope.

In which case first going up and the down with the levers to see if its just out of view. It could also be slightly out of view on the sides. East and west. As was mentioned earlier if there is no obstruction in the scope, Make sure declination is straight, as that can cut off the polar scope if it is not. the declination locking lever has to be straight behind or in front of the mount. If all this is ok. I am guessing polaris is just out of view either up down left or right. Also to find your feet try all this on a dark sky. no lunar full moon. or foggy night. you want polaris to be bright so it jumps out to you the first time

Thanks, I will do as you suggest - silly of me not to try the PS in the daytime really.

I had to get the 90° eyepiece as I have a dodgy knee - I would not be able to stand back up if I knelt down. I had been using my teen child to look through the built in eyepiece.

As you state, full moon is not a great time to attempt polar aligning. I am is a semi rural area and my back garden backs on to other back gardens - it is quite dark usually.

I too suspect Polaris is just beyond where I am looking, it's a nuisance trying to lock on to it.

14 hours ago, Albir phil said:

I have a similar problem that is difficulty seeing Polaris when I use a polar scope .I were glasses and I found if I remove them and keep my eye a little away from the eyepiece I c.an then see Polaris.This may not help in your case but it maybe worth a try🤔

Thank you! I will definitely try that.  Good to know someone else has this problem. I was seriously thinking I must be going daft, being the only person who can 'see' past the reticule lol.

55 minutes ago, Steve Ward said:

I had to shrink the Stellarium screen to get it all in as the cardinal points will tell.

Polaris sits about 52.5 degrees above the horizon from your location , a little over half way between the horizon and the zenith. 

Thanks, I will check it again tomorrow.

This still does not address the issue of not being able to see any stars beyond the reticule. I will go through the entire process again.

6 minutes ago, M40 said:

Been a while since I  have used the inbuilt polar scope, but don't you have to rotate one of the axis 90'? All the best and welcoje to the site.

Thank you fir the welcome. Yes I rotated DEC axis. 

4 minutes ago, Steve Ward said:

As it is now ..... 

 

I use Stellarium to double check - not sure if various star maps all have the same error in pointing me to Polaris at 11pm-ish. Where I am, Polaris is certainly not that low to the horizon - my house would infact block it.

Just now, HesperLiz said:

Hi,

Yes, I have set up the home position. Thx.

I also can look at Polaris tfhrough the scope with no issues.

7 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

Have you set the home position on the mount yet? Once set and pointing North if you put your scope on it with a low power eyepiece you will definitely see Polaris. This will give you an indication of where you are.

Hi,

Yes, I have set up the home position. Thx.

Just now, Steve Ward said:

Well that'll be your problem , Polaris can't be overhead unless you're at the North Pole ... 😏

Not sure how that works, I know how to locate the North Star visually and I used Stellarium to double check it.

Okay daughter has corrected me, she thinks it is more like 75-80° up from the ground, with myself as the 90°marker.

11 minutes ago, Steve Ward said:

You say in the OP  " it seems as though polaris is at a higher elevation"  ... how far off does it appear ?

It is almost directly above me, I have to literally look straight up.

Just now, bosun21 said:

Is the mount still set at the previous owners latitude?

I changed that, as it lived up in Scotland before and I am sort of East Midlands. 

9 minutes ago, Steve Ward said:

No use getting too technical if the mount's not pointing in the right general direction.

 

I have the mount pointing to celestial North and tried eyeballing towards the, Polaris. The field of view appears to be  fairly narrow and I seem to always missing it. Quite difficult as I cannot see any other stars to even give me a clue as to where i am looking. Honestly, am usually fine with technical devices - this one manual step has me rather baffled.

9 minutes ago, Steve Ward said:

Have you shone a torch down the hole while looking through the polarscope to check that there's not some obstruction , might need another pair of hands.

That, I have not tried. Will do that next. Thanks.

4 minutes ago, knobby said:

Could be the the polar scope is out of focus ....was it new ?

 

It was 2nd hand, but in excellent condition  - I can focus the polar scope and can see the reticule, just can't see anything beyond that. I have tried adjusting the LED brightness and it makes no discernible difference.

4 minutes ago, Albir phil said:

Steve as probably hit the nail on the head, I what mount you have🥺

A Skywatcher 6 R - Pro.

14 minutes ago, Albir phil said:

Hi I use pole master it very simple to use as it giv instructions on the computer at each step . As already been said use a compass to get north .  And your mobile will give you your coordinates.Pole Master will then allow you to set your mount accurate .just take your time and follow the prompts on your computer. Hope this helps good luck.

Thank you so much for the info on the Pole Master. It's helpful to have that feedback.