Drift Alignment: Am I trying to hard

[Mav359]

Hi Guys

I have been practicing drift aligning my scope but no matter how i much i try i cant expose for more then about 40secs before i start seeing stars trailing in an image.

I have a C.925 with a F6.3 reducer on it and i am using a 9mm illuminated reticle (ive tried this with & without a 2x barlow).

I dont know where i am going wrong, Im starting facing south with a star on the meridian (approx 40/45 degs of DEC. above the equator) and it doesnt seem to drift.

I am manually slewing the scope in RA to keep the star centred in the eyepiece whilst checking for drift in DEC and i seem to have no movement for about 10mins. Doing the same when i switch to the east.

* Should i 2 star align first and then check for drift letting the scope slew itself?

* Am i too close in using a 9mm (4.5mm W/Barlow) eyepiece?

* What kind of exposure times should i expect if i'm using this technique? Am I expecting to much?

I think i understand the princible but maybe i am missing something

Any thoughts?

[rfdesigner]

Don't go too low down on the eastern part. Remember the earths atmoshphere acts as a giant lense so will give you incorrect alignment for altitude if you're not careful. This doesn't happen with the Azimuth because the stars are not rising or falling in the southern part of the sky.

Derek