JIm19130

Hi. Sounds like one can polar align using a guide scope, but is there a spec for the guidescope or the camera that would be required. In my case, I have a Williams Optics 50mm guide camera and a ZWO ASI120MM MINI mono camera attached to it. Would this work, or would I be best served with an upgraded camera like the ASI 290Mm Mini?

Can I ask a rather dumb question. With all the machinations that people seem to go through with trying to figure out why the Skywatcher polar scope reticle is basically upside down and with a horizontal axis that isn't parallel with the horizon. Why doesn't Skywatcher align it correctly at the factory? And update their horrendous polar alignment section in their manual, getting a writer who can write English as a first language and revise it for a beginner? And why don't they have a couple arrows on the mount to show the home position? Am I missing something? This discussion seems to arise out of a reticle that is confusing from the outset and a manual that is outdated and isn't written well at all. My two cents.

I actually did something slightly different to make the scope's crosshairs "vertical." Based on some advice, I focused the polar scope on the edge of a far away building, aligning the side of the building with the reticle's vertical crosshair by rotating the mount's RA axis slightly. Manually. (The numbers on the scope's reticle were still upside down, but I ignored them. At least the crosshairs were +, not an x). I marked the RA axis with a marker to record the axis rotation. So, at night when i pull up the Polar Align app and see the position of Polaris around the circle on the app as an X, I simply memorize the position of Polaris, rotate my mount's RA axis to the designated mark (this reorienting the reticle crosshairs to vertical) and then place Polaris around the reticle circle to match the position indicated in the App. After I'm finished, I unclutch the RA axis and bring it back to the home position. Then turn the mount off and back on and fast forward the GoTo to star alignment (as my mount is in the home position and polar aligned). Is this all correct? Jim

Well, my particular installed Polar Scope doesn't have constellations like the Big Dipper in it. My scope's reticle looks like the one featured in Polar Align in the pic. Regardless, I'm told you have to rotate the RA axis manually to align the cross hairs in the reticle such that the vertical one is straight up and down and the horizontal one is parallel with the horizon. I did that during the day using the side of a building and marked it on my RA axis so at night I can quickly turn the RA axis you make the "x" crosshairs in the reticle look like a "+". (The 0,3,6,9 numbers on the crosshairs aren't the same, but I ignore them). That way, the crosshairs align in the same way as what I see in the Polar Align app. Like a +. But regardless, the GoTo HH:MM for Polaris is the a different Hour Angle than the app is telling me. I guess I'll just disregard the GOTo and use the position of Polaris in the app to align with where I place Polaris in the reticle diagram. Odd, though

I'm in Philadelphia. It's 39 degrees N latitude and 75 degrees west longitude. If it were China, longitude would be EAST, not West. What's the error that you see?

I just bought a Skywatcher EQ6R Mount which I read is great. But I am confused about polar alignment and the GoTo. When I first turn on the mount and the GoTo, it "initializes" with my inputed long/latitude, elevation, and I input the time, date, time zone etc. It then gives me two figures-Polaris Position and Polaris Hour Angle. I have to push "Enter". I can't adjust these figures. Then it proceeds to ask me about Star Alignment. I then manually rotate the RA axis slightly so that when I actually look into the illuminated polar scope reticle, the cross hairs are vertical and horizontal with the horizon. This is so I can "match" Polaris around the reticle circle with the display of Polaris in the Polar Align app, which I use. Ive noticed that the Polaris Hour Angle figure calculated by the GoTo differs from the HA figure displayed in the Polar Align App. I don't know why this would be the case, since the long/lat, elevation, date time etc are inputted identically in both. I end up using the HA that is displayed in the App, since I think it would be more accurate. But I'm concerned as to why there is a difference.

I too am a little confused with the answers here. Some say you don't need a marked home position. This sounds inaccurate to me. I have a Skywatcher EQ6-R Mount. When I Polar Align, I set the mount toward Polaris, approximating the altitude of Polaris on the altitude dial. I also try to approximate the azimuth so when I start looking through the polar scope to align, Polaris can be located fairly quickly. Next, I have come to learn that I need to slightly rotate the RA axis so that the illuminated reticle circle (I had to adjust the illumination down to 4% with the GoTo utility control) with crosshairs is vertical with the mount. I've been told I should use the GOTo controls to move the RA axis. I adjust the RA axis so I can duplicate the position of Polaris on the circle with what I will see in the Polar Align display, since in the display the crosshairs are positioned like a + (vertical and a horizontal line that matches the horizon). I ignore the 0,3,6 and 9 on the crosshairs Then, using the altitude and azimuth control knobs, and looking through the polar scope, I carefully position Polaris precisely in HH:MM position that I see in the App around the circle that I see inside the polar scope. I then return the RA axis to the "home position" using the hand controller. This is why I don't understand why some people say home position is irrelevant for both the Dec axis (which is at right angle so I can see through the polar scope) and the RA axis. If I didn't return the axes to the home position, the mount's GoTo wouldn't be starting in the correct position. (By the way, I have noticed that when I first initialize the GoTo and input the long/latitude, time zone, date, time, etc, the GoTo calculates an "Hour Angle" and the figure given does not match the HA figure given in the Polar Align App. I don't know why this is the case, but I use the HA given in the app. It would seem to me that they should match, but they don't.) Has anyone else noticed that the figure given for HA by the Skywatcher GoTo doesn't match the HA figure given by the Polar Align App??