Help!

[hardsma]

Hi, I purchased an Explorer 130P AZ GOTO SynScan recently and am having difficulty in successfully completing the initial alignment. I'm thinking it may be something to do with the finder not being in alignment with the scope. Obviously am a complete newbie this being my first scope so any advice would be most gratefully received. Would also like advice on a Barlow lense but first things first!!

[Shibby]

Congrats on your new scope! I started out with the exact same one...

The finderscope, you should ideally align it to the main scope in daylight using a distant object.

When doing the alignment, make absolutely sure that you are entering the correct location, date and time. I seem to remember the US date format catching me out several times. Put in the 25mm eyepiece (without the barlow) and use stellarium to identify some bright target stars for your alignment.

Good luck!

[hemihaggis]

yeah like shibby says enter your co-ords in degrees , hours ,mins ...not the decimal format . also also for the date it is months/day/years

just line up the red dot with whatever you point the main scope at during the day ..ie pylon church ect .. you dont need to switch scope on for this ..

get tripod nice and level , and do alignment , a few goes and you will have the hang of it !!

[hardsma]

Thanks v. much. Pretty sure I'm setting the coordinates correctly but think I need to be doubly sure about level (I read somewhere else that the bubble on the tripod shouldn't be relied upon for accuracy!). This is probably a dumb question but once the finder scope is aligned with the main tube, should I leave it on the mount permanently. The only reason for asking is that I get super views of the night sky from the open forest (new forest) as opposed to my back garden which means a short car ride! Cheers H

[cspindley]

That's right aim your finder scope up with something far in the distance and get the image in the centre of the eyepiece. Also I recommend that you get you mount level and manual spin the scope all the way round watching the bubble and don't over extend the legs. Great scope you've got I had the same one. Good luck and clear skies

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