HEQ5 Pro Alignment Questions

[Carl Reade]

The little circle only really comes into play when you line up the Plough and Cass with the sky and polar scope as a way of getting Polaris position in relation to the NCP. As Knobby says the home position is weights down scope up. If you have the clock position of polaris at a given time then you just place Polaris to that position. I would prefer a polar scope with clock points rather than the small circle as it does become confusing and the handset gives you the position anyway.

When you think about it if you use the circle to align the mount you then rotate the scope into its home position then its already out of the small circle. The polar scope dosnt move after that but Polaris will continue to rotate the large circle. If that makes sense.

[stargazerslivingroom]

Great thread guys...Loads of useful links here that are going to take a bit of studying!

Steve

[Russe]

That's why I didn't see the point on putting Polaris into the little circle.

I just put it onto the larger one in the time position given by polar finder / or synscan then have my weights 90' down and the scope pointing north.

Then I align first visually, then with my CCD with alignmaster. Then off I go.

[Daddystu]

That's why I didn't see the point on putting Polaris into the little circle.

I just put it onto the larger one in the time position given by polar finder / or synscan then have my weights 90' down and the scope pointing north.

Then I align first visually, then with my CCD with alignmaster. Then off I go.

As you are using alignmaster you don't have to be very accurate in your initial polar alignment as the software is supposed to account for it in the final alt/az adjustments. I'd probably just put polaris on the crosshairs of the polar scope before firing up alignmaster.

[Andreas]

I would recommend you to let your PC control the mount, since it gives you a lot more opportunities with all those great programs that exist for free.

If you get EQMOD and Cartes du Ciel, which both are available for free, you can just locate an object with your scope (whatever you want), tell Cartes du Ciel what object your scope is looking at, and your done!

This works very well for me!

Andreas