Procurion

I regret having stopped the astronomy whilst the young ones were needy. It is even easier now to do astrophotography than 12 years ago when I got back into it. My problem was that I jumped in because I was making good money and quickly got in over my head with the complexity of things. I finally joined an astronomy club and at the first meeting when people were making nice and trying to make the newcomers feel at home, I mentioned my frustrations in trying to get things working...anything, working, lol. I had no less than 10 solid offers from very nice, knowledgeable people to either come over or go to their place with my equipment. At a good club there will be Dobs observers, refractor observers, reflector, SCT people and astrophotographer's from all of the above. The forums are full of good people but it can never even approach the knowledge learned from even one evening with another knowledgeable person under the sky. I have also made some lifelong friendships in my club and have since done the same with frustrated people I meet at the club meetings. I have a regular schedule and most people know my hours-I get Skype calls and Zoom meetings while I am supervising my 'scopes! DO NOT give up until you have tapped the best resource we as amateur astronomers have-club members. Even if there are no clubs nearby you will find that there are astronomers in your area that joined the club but live away also. My club has had both live and online visual meetings for several years. Now with the virus it is all online of course but we still offer to go help if someone needs it. The equipment you have will serve you well-and it is likely you will find people who have either used your combination or something close to it. Polar alignment is a closet monster, but has all but been eliminated with plate solving for a lot of people-look into that with someone who uses it and they can suss out the problems you are having. Not everything costs money as there are a number of programs that do not cost anything and your new friends can steer you in that direction while showing you how to use it. I hope you do well and make use of a club if there is one. It is a great source for new friends and learning from others who have walked in your shoes.