Help Please for a newbie! Problems with Sky Align on Celestron Nexdstar 127

[kellstar]

I'm hoping that I'm just doing something really stupid but having just purchased my new Celestron Nextar 127 SLT I'm having issues with the Go To Sky Align system. After a few attempts to actually get a sucessful alignment (according to the system) I then realise it's not aligned at all. Even asking it to point to the moon last night saw it pointing in an entirly defferent direction...and this happens on more than one occasion!

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm also having problems with eye pieces and focus too but that's a different issue!

Many Thanks

[valleyman]

The commen mistakes are the date entererd incorrectly. The system is MM/DD/YY

inputting the correct daysaving time

Also having 12v at the power input......this scopes are power critical so it is best to have a power tank or a mains 12v adaptor as the power supply. never use recharge batteries. and normal batteries will only last a few hours at most.

Hope this helps

[spaceboy]

I maybe and hope I am wrong but I think you will find this is a common issue and that as long as the error is visible in the finder scope all is good as you can still locate the object with relative ease. It is a frustration when some objects will fall dead center of a 40' FOV but yet others are hugging the side of the finder scope view. For me it defeated the idea of GOTO but none the less on some targets it's easier having the object slightly off than get a pain in the neck trying to find it manually.

[kellstar]

hmmm thanks both. I'll make sure T&D entered correctly but I think it is. I wouldn't mind if an object was slightly off but it literally points across the sky in the opposite direction....not anywhere near?

[philhas]

Make sure daylight saving and time zone are correct, also try using your exact long & lat as this makes it more accurate. Finally try changing the goto approach method, I find mine more accurate if I use a positive Alt & Azm approach.

[Capricorn]

You have got the Lat and Long the right way round, one of them has Long entered first.

What is the time zone you are setting?

Think they default to one of the zones in the US.

If all is simply not going right then reset the whole thing, read the manaul twice and have another shot.

If you say it is pointing the wrong way then I suspect the time zone.

I had one that for some reason decided that it was on an equitorial mount not an alt/az. Three hours of trying to convince it that it was really on an Alt/Az I gave up and cleared the whole lot.

[kellstar]

thanks all, first uncloudy night this week will try again...fingers crossed!

[ponte carlo blue]

Also make sure you are putting in the long and lat in degrees etc and not the decimal version. I had this probelm during the week and that change sorted it all. Also I dont always get a dead centre object, but it is always pretty close and that is good enough for me.

Rich