The crazy world of polar alignment?

[Catweazel]

Hi everyone

I have been trying out some AP, and therefore need to get my polar alignment pretty spot on. Up to now, I have been pointing the mount roughly at Polaris and Bob's yer uncle, the motors pretty much do the rest. Not so for AP

So, my EQ5 has a polar scope, and when I look through it, I can't tell which one of the stars I'm looking at is Polaris? Also, the reticlue cant be seen in the dark, so I have the palaver of shining a red torch across it to try and work out where the disc is to place the star (if I can find it)? This is on top of the contortions that I have to go through to get a view through the polar scope in the first place. Anyway, my questions are:

1. Am I missing something obvious here, or is it really this complicated?

2. Is having the mount on the grass a non starter for AP, as I fear this may be contributing to my troubles.

Any advice much appreciated, as always. Many thanks CW

[eddy]

It shouldnt be that complicated, i can only ever see 1 star when i have it roughly pointed at Polaris, and thats Polaris (as far as i know!) lol i also have the none illuminated problem and spend a great deal of the rest of the night in pain in my neck from trying to look through the polar scope, so sympathy with you there! lol

With regard point 2, not sure why/if that would make a difference, ive not got a choice but to be on grass, although thinking about getting some wood flats under the feet of the tripod to try and even it out if not make it more stable

But, in general it shouldnt be too hard to the point of not finding polaris....

Sorry my response is a little sketchy!

[Redpaul]

I've spent the last 3 months doing exactly the same as you, roughly pointing the tripod leg marked N towards Polaris. Fortunately for me the street lights in my cul-de-sac were off the other night so I could set up in the driveway and used the polarscope. Massive difference especially in the tracking.

Judging by your amount of posts you've been here a while so I hope this doesn't sound patronising, have you set the latitude to your location?

For me Polaris was pretty easy to find in my polarscope as there weren't many stars near it but this could have been because I set up at dusk when the nearby fainter stars were not yet visible so maybe you could try setting up a bit earlier if possible?

Hope this is of a bit of help.

Paul

[Viv]

Also what may help - put your degrees angle, to you latitude.

The one thing that I love, is the polar scope webcam mod. Rolling around the garden, double bent over, didn't appeal to me. So made one of these (there is a video on astronomy shed).

[pel]

Hi CW ,

I'm going through the same thing as you. Trying to illuminate and match up the images in the polar scope with Polaris. Some people have a little light setup at the end of it to illuminate it.

My tripod is on the grass, it seems stable so I would have thought that was ok. Surely it's less likely to slip, but more likely to sink I guess.

Perry.

[eddy]

Didnt think about it sinking...im sure that could throw the PA off through the night if its a slow sinking grass type thingo....lol you get the idea!

So, ill be off to B&Q to get some wood boards today for feet and another webcam for the polar scope i think, thats a dead good idea, how do you stick it to the PScope though?

[Viv]

another webcam for the polar scope i think, thats a dead good idea, how do you stick it to the PScope though?

a 32mm (think - double check) drain plug (99p B&Q).

It's exactly the right size to push over the polar scope

[eddy]

**Off to B&Q**

[sanmatt]

This is where I have been going wrong I think. I have been aiming roughly North, then aiming at a star or planet in the cross hairs then looking through the ep, and adjusting the crosshairs till its all centered. Fine for gazing but my AP is shocking and this is probably why. I need to be more accurate and align with the pole star I think.

[Viv]

**Off to B&Q**

while you're there ....

Also make sure you have a 21mm drill & sand paper ..... (again double check the size on the astro shed video).

[Scott]

i too see my than 1 star, and yes its a pain and i am also on grass. being on grass i now have 3 "craters" where the legs go so i'm almost polar aligned before i start. i then put a plastic sheet on the ground and actually sit on the ground, line up polaris, have a ciggy and take another look to check i,ve got the right star. that polar cam is sounding better all the time...

wife's not happy about the craters in the grass but she's gunna be less happy after i pour a concrete slpab over summer.lol

[pel]

Get me one too Eddy :-)

Will an Xbox livecam make a good polar-cam?

[Yimini]

Did I read somewhere that a quick way to check your polar alignment is to point your 'scope at Polaris, unlock the RA axis and rotate it. If Polaris stays centred then you are correctly aligned.

[pel]

Hi Yimini ,

I think that would only work for rough polar allignment, for accurate polar allignment (for AP) you actually want to point your mount at the NCP.

This is what the polar scope is for, it allows you to position Polaris so that you are pointing at the NCP. Bearing in mind that the polar scope may not even be calibrated correctly.

I'm new to all this too though, it's just what I've read and tried.

Am I the only one that thinks Polaris isn't that bright. I can't see the pan handle that well at all.

Perry.

[Tinker1947]

When i first set-up my Polar Scope, finding Polaris was a pain, but once its found it shows in the Polar Scope with or with out the internal light on, setting the Latitude helped but it still needed some adjustment, i have small indents in my patio slabs so its allways goes in the same place and hasn't needed re-aligning, if your on grass then there's going to be a problem, the Tripod feet may sink in more one side than the other therefore upsetting your alignment, so if its got to be on the grass try to place something solid where the tripod feet will sit, maybe tubes knocked to ground level so the mower misses them and the tripod feet are always in the same place. Last night M51 1 minute exposures showed pin sharp stars, the last time i aligned would be last Oct/November....

[pel]

Good one Tinker. I did the same sort of thing, but my patio isn't located well for the best objects.

[Viv]

I've got 3 big indents / pencils stuck into the grass !!

lol

[pel]

I might try the pencils. Cheers.

[Tinker1947]

I've got 3 big indents / pencils stuck into the grass !!

lol

I would properly go for galvanized 1" gas pipe so the tripod feet sit in the pipe, getting it level would be easy and the pipe tops could be slightly lower then the ground level, so the wife don't complain when she mowers the lawn...

[Catweazel]

OK all, well thanks for the replies so far, I'm pleased that it's not only me having these problems

I do have my altitude set correctly, and have had no problem for visual use with R.A tracking, but the accuracy needed for AP is a different thing entirely. I have a lot of LP in my garden, and that's not helping much either. I do, however, have a xBox webcam, so might look into making a polar cam with it, so thanks for that suggestion Scarlet

Anyway, back to the drawing board for now

[pel]

CW ,

I've just had a look at this for callibrating your polar scope. I'm going to do it asap. -

Perry.

[pel]

Webcam polar scope mod -

[pel]

Is the this the drain plug Scarlet/Eddy ? -

FloPlast Pushfit Socket Plug Black 32mm | Screwfix.com

[glowjet]

All who are troubled with illuminating the Polar reticule has been covered in Astronomy Shed. You can purchase from Maplins a 12V DC red LED, standard brightness, code CJ66W or high brightness, CJ70M, both are of the 3mm size, this is simply mounted in a piece of pipe which will fit your Polar scope tube in the mount and of course can be fed direct from your 12V DC supply source, if you want to vary the brightness, a 470Kholm variable resister can be introduced into the circuit, the design of the thing is up to the individual HTH

[Viv]

Is the this the drain plug Scarlet/Eddy ? -

FloPlast Pushfit Socket Plug Black 32mm | Screwfix.com

that's look like the beastie you'll need.