day time alignment

[ponytale]

Hi all , I have just found a way to check my scopes setting circle alt and az accuracy alignment in the daylight ,firstly safety.!!! as i am using the sun my dobs primary mirror is covered , in my case the dob is open tube type so i have a ply cover that drops into the mirror tube over the mirror, it is resting on the mirror clips so does not touch the glass.

important!! there is NO eyepiece in the focuser, it will not work if there is.

first step :

I placed my dob with its zero reference pointon the base facing in the South position ( i am in Australia) i turned my scope so the focuser tube is facing the sun i tilted the tube on the alt axis to get the sun light reflecting off my secondary which in turn reflected a small disc of unfocused light onto my mirror cover, NOT my Mirror !!, this cover has a knob in the centre, i checked the suns position with stellarium , in this case it was +250 degrees so i jiggled the dob base keeping the zero point facing south until my base read 250 degrees on the az circle pointer and the light disc was still on centre of cover, i then marked the floor with a felt pen so i can place the base exactly in the correct position next time. i then set the

alt reading with the alt scale protracter to match the current alt which was 14 degrees . so i will leave the scope there until dark and in theory i will be able to swing the dob to an alt/ az reference and get the object in the FOV, i will post results later,

I hope this is a clear enough explanation of what i am doing .

please note this is only an experiment with a dob to check placement

and alt az readings in daylight , please do not try this with eyepieces in or primary mirrors uncovered you will most likely damage your mirrors /eyepiece !!!!!! and of course do not place lenses or eyes in the light path. if you don't get it do not try it .!!!

update I have just tested the system on th moon and it is spot on !! yeah i am well chuffed with result.