Advantages having a guider.

[Nerro]

Hi,

lately i started to think about getting myself a guider for my set up.The whole problem is that it costs quite a bit and with the recession and all don't know if it worth spending that much ?

I have a F/5 Newtonian telescope on NEQ6 mount.It does it job for 20-30s shots if i get the polar alignment right,anything longer getting those good old star trails...

So my question would be does a set up with guider needs as precise polar alignment as without the guider?as now its really a matter of luck getting good polar alignment.What i would like is just bring it out set it up and be able to do long exposures without too much trouble...

Thanks for your advice.

[dmahon]

It take me around 2 minutes to polar align my mount and all I do it put Polaris in the centre of the circle (after EQMOD has kindly put the circle in the right place) so no, you don't need perfect polar alignment with a guided setup - though if you can get perfect alignment, why not.