polar finder - polar align woes, HEQ5

[mgirdwood]

Hi all, i know this is a question asked so many times - and i have read a number of the posts regarding this but i find that i must be the most incapable of person here but even Astro baby's Idiots guide just doesn't do it for me. i don't believe i am normally so thick so i must be missing a fundamental somewhere. i think i get the basic idea.

- align and level mount

- set local latitude

- on viewing through the polar finder i see the alignment markings for Polaris.

- revolve the RA until the the polar circle sits insider the marked circle in the finder. use latitude and azimuth bolts to place as accurately as possible. (using the PoleFinder software should tell me if this placement is correct.)

what i am not understanding is the use of the RA time and Date Clock and how that works ?

anybody who can point me at the Real Idiots Guide to setting up the HEQ5 will have my appreciation

[Cornelius Varley]

Polar aligning a Synta goto mount has just been made easier http://stargazerslounge.com/discussions-scopes-whole-setups/183490-synscan-3-28-beta-polar-re-alignment-feature.html.

Peter

[Black Knight]

Yes, the new beta Polar Re-alignment feature takes away a lot of the headaches associated with polar alignment, and it's worth having a look at as long as you happy to flash your synscan handset with beta software.

To use the new feature, the mount just needs to be reasonably polar aligned. A reticle eyepiece is a good idea for extra accuracy as well, although I used my DSLR and APT Live View using APT's reticle crosshairs.

[mgirdwood]

thanks for the replies, i am more than happy to flash software, -

i do it all the time with my tablets and phones (downloading now) , this is why i dont understand why i can not figure out how to do the standard method.

cheers

[Tinker1947]

I wouldn't worry to much about this part of getting the mount aligned "use of the RA time and Date Clock and how that works ?" the Polar Alignment will allow you to track stars unguided for maybe a couple of minutes if you have it done accurately, i assume this if for imagine, if not then a rought alignment will do, once you have it sorted mark the spot the tripod feet sit at, so you can just place the mount back there another day and not need to polar align again, mine has indents in the patio slabs i aligned it last November seems to be ok up to now, the Ra and Date stuff is something i have never bothered with i use a Telrad to find DSO's ect.