short cut to aligning telescope -

[MikeMS]

All.

I guess everyone knows this already, but to align a LX90 in alt az mode, instead of having it choose alignment stars and then slewing to them, I just enter the date and time and daylight saving part and press mode when you get to the align options. With the RA and Dec clamps still off I align a bright known star, get it in the centre of the eyepiece. Then lock up the clamps, select the star as an object to be found, but instead of goto, press enter twice to centre align the star. This sets the RA and Dec co ords and the alt and az location. And because the date and time are correct it is aligned.  

I think to do two star alignment, you would choose the star you are on, center and then choose a second star and the scope would need to get there under the motors.

I may be stating the obvious on this, sorry if this is so.

I assume this would work on other scopes and mounts. To get the goto to work the mount needs to know where it is starting from, but it does not have to be driven there.

Regards,

Mike MS.

[ronin]

Only problem is that the scope cannot determine the tilt in the 2 horizontal axis and so cannot compensate for any deviation from perfectly level. Works OK if on a polar aligned piller.

The alignment is more to determine the amount of error in the system that needs to be compensated for. If I recall the ETX's do not even need you to centre a star, but the presumption is that the scope is absolutely flat and pointing perfectly North. If you decide to do in effect no alignment then that is the position they presume they are at and take things from that datum. That is the way to do it when solar viewing - get it as level and North as you can (minimise the errors), ignore all alignment, and tell it to go find the sun. No stars or centering at all.