Compass

[philhas]

Any one tried these http://tinyurl.com/oqvdze8  and are they reasonably accurate? Wired with a red led illumination so though it might be useful for my Alt Az 

[gkec]

Any one tried these http://tinyurl.com/oqvdze8  and are they reasonably accurate? Wired with a red led illumination so though it might be useful for my Alt Az 

I suspect that they are as accurate as any magnetic compass.  However I found my mount was magnetic so I have to position compasses well away from the body of the mount.

[Charic]

similar........

I had something similar a few Years back in my motor, which  was affected by positioning in relation to the vehicles  metal work. but  on a Telescope base, should be ok. Only thing with that is that this type of compass needs to be viewed only from the front, almost eye level to 45° incline to read the compass. You cant read the compass by looking down on it as the Cardinals are reversed. There is  a  warning on the web site.

[philhas]

I suspect that they are as accurate as any magnetic compass.  However I found my mount was magnetic so I have to position compasses well away from the body of the mount.

Good point, I was thinking of mounting on a bracket off to one side, just as a guide when in the middle of nowhere. Think I will get one and give it a go. Cheers for the input.

Phil

[Carina Lass]

Download a smart app compass. They work very well

I also use a spirit level app to set up the rig.

Sky eye can be used too if you're short of space for other apps as it shows ra and dec and can be used for guiding if Strapped to the ota correctly!