another goto help thread :(

[garethmob]

i know theres threads like these popping up but im well and truely stumped on what im actually doing wrong

i'll lay it all out here

first

place mount (no weights) n leg facing north

attempt polar allign (but cant really set the constilations accuratly as i cant really see them)

place scope on

place weight on

check polar allignment (move scope 90degrees then back to where "park" is)

turn on

enter all details lang lat correct, date (american way, cnt get this wrong as its the way my watch shows it) time, +1 DS,

then 3 star allign

first usally alioth, usally out so unlock cluches correct in 32, 25,10mm eyepeices, then denub (same eyepeices) then vega

my problem is the allignment, its always way way out on all 3 stars i try correct it but it still out

i know the powertanks important and yes it did run out of juice tonight which i understand to be quite dangerious but what else am i doing wrong???

appoligies for spelling im a little tired so my self correcting is a little slow tonight

thanks in advance

[steelfixer]

Hi Gaz.

Just to let you know you are not alone.

I have an 8" Newt that is pier mounted, spot on polar aligned and I am haveing the same problems.

I am running a mains power supply so I know it is not a power issue.

I set it off to Vega and manually realign using higher and higher power EPs. Send it off to the next star and it is miles out. Realign again send it back to Vega and it is nowhere near again.

I hope someone on here can answer your question as it might sort out mine as well.

Best of luck with it.

Graham

[malc-c]

i know theres threads like these popping up but im well and truely stumped on what im actually doing wrong

i'll lay it all out here

first

place mount (no weights) n leg facing north

Is the tripod head on which the mount sits perfectly level ?

attempt polar allign (but cant really set the constilations accuratly as i cant really see them)

The markings in the polar scope are only there for an indication as to how to orient the mount, ie Ursa Major below Polaris rather than above. You don't need to try and position them over the constellations.

place scope on

place weight on

check polar allignment (move scope 90degrees then back to where "park" is)

How are you doing your alignment. Polaris orbits the north celestial pole, so ideally you need to place Polaris in the small circle on the ring around the cross of the recital. Your handset will give the position of Polaris on its orbit as a 24hr clock as part of the set up procedure. So if for example it give a HR position of 07:00 hrs then with 00:00 at the bottom of the circle (remember the view through the scope in inverted) when viewed through the polar scope, 07:00 hrs would be around 2 O'clock position if we used a normal clock face. So rotate the mount until the small circle on the ring is at the bottom of the ring and centre Polaris on the cross of the rectical. Now use the alt bolts to place Polaris in this circle. Now rotate the mount counter-clockwise (in this example) until the circle is at approx 2 O'clock position (ie 07:00 hrs if the circle was divided into 24 segments) and lock the RA. Now use the alt/az bolts to place Polaris in the circle. The mount is now polar aligned for visual work.

turn on

enter all details lang lat correct, date (american way, cnt get this wrong as its the way my watch shows it) time, +1 DS,

then 3 star allign

first usally alioth, usally out so unlock cluches correct in 32, 25,10mm eyepeices, then denub (same eyepeices) then vega

Don't unlock the clutches. Use the direction keys to center the stars. This will allow the handset to work out any cone error.

my problem is the allignment, its always way way out on all 3 stars i try correct it but it still out

i know the powertanks important and yes it did run out of juice tonight which i understand to be quite dangerious but what else am i doing wrong???

appoligies for spelling im a little tired so my self correcting is a little slow tonight

thanks in advance

Power can have an impact, but normally alignment is done at the beginning of the session when the battery should be fully charged.

Try the suggestions on polar alignment above and hopefully the positioning will be better. Goto will always be near, never spot on, especially over a wide area. But it should be close enough that with a low power eyepiece the target should be in it's field of view

[daz]

You can download a utility called polar204 from Steppenwolfs site here, then go to Technical Notes on the left, then the first article, which is also a page on alignment (albeit for HEQ5/6)

This shows you where polaris should be positioned in the polar scope

[BertUK]

google polarfinder and use it...it tells you where polaris should be on your polarscope reticule for any given time,also you dont have to have polaris in the little circle on the reticule.i use a 200p on a custom made pier and just get polaris as near as where it should be on the big circle and my tracking for imaging is sweet