polar alignment EQ2, did i do it right?

[Guest]

ive only had one outing with my new scope a few nights ago. to start with i chose a leg to point north. i used a compass app on my phone to point me north using a flat wall on the accessories tray to make it as flat as possible. the app also has a spirit level built in and it looked level. then i set my latitude scale to approx 53 degrees, balanced the scope then ensured the scope was in the start position. 

i was under the impression that the red dot finder should fall very close to polaris. what i actually found was the red dot was about 10 degrees away. im a little rough on gauging measurements still so might be a bit more or less. so do i just need to keep tweaking till i get the red dot on polaris and polaris in my 25mm EP? was there anything i missed or does that sound about right?

i swung the scope around and found m42 (oh my that was a beautiful sight) and watched that for a while till the clouds rolled in. using the RA controls worked to keep it in view for the most part but i did notice it slipping up slowly in the view after each RA tweak.

also do you have any tips on locating things using setting circles as a guide? im thinking if i can use the setting circles i might have a slightly easier time finding things.

cheers

[BXRO]

Hi

 

It's the mount that you are polar aligning not the scope. Like you I have an EQ2 mount they work but are not perfect. My proceeded is

Level the tripod so that the head of the tripod is level North/South, East/West

Using the mount adjuster point the mount (not the scope) approx due north, set the latitude adjuster to you latitude, set the mounts Dec to 90

Wait till it gets dark, and locate the pole star

Using the mount adjusters locate the pole star in the middle of your eyepiece, 

Defocus the polestar slightly so that it becomes a circle rather than a point source

Confirm the circle is still nicely balanced in the middle of the eyepiece

Gently tighten up your mount adjusters and check nothing has moved

Now if you wish to is a good time to check your Finderscope/RDA is properly aligned and adjust if nesacary 

You are now resonable poloar aligned and good enough for observing

To use the setting circles you will need to set the ASs circle to a known star, on an EQ2 do not expect miracles as the graduations and engineering are not particularly accurate, they will however get you into the right area and a wide FOV EP should enable you to do the rest

 

 

[Guest]

Thanks. I ment align the mount. If It sounded like align scope that's my mistake. Thanks for the tip about defocusing polaris. I hadn't thought of that. As for the setting circles I know it won't be a perfect lock on but the right region of sky is what I'm hoping. I'm still learning a lot. 

[kens]

If you are using a compass to align, get a non-magnetic straight edge and align it east-west. Then use it to line up the two "back" legs of the tripod.

[skfboiler]

There is nothing like an EQ mount that tracks.  Here is an article on using the setting circles.  I've had some success using the setting circles and some failures.  More success however.  Here is a link to the article on how to use the setting circles.  It sure helped me.  You really need to get a very good polar alignment in order to have a chance for the setting circles to work.  To improve accuracy of the setting circles go to and use the coordinates of a bright star near the object you are trying to find.  For example, due to my light pollution I had trouble star hopping to M11.  Therefore, I moved the scope to the star in Aquila, Altair.  I dialed in the coordinates of Altair and and then dialed in the coordinates of M11.  There is was at the very edge of the field of view of my 24mm eyepiece.  Similarly with M3 and M5 I use the star in Bootes, Arcturus as the starting point.  Sometimes the object may be outside of the field of view of the eyepiece.  Slow turns of the RA knob may bring it into the field of view. A  test in using the setting circles since they are close together is to try to find M51 using the coordinates of Alkaid in the Big Dipper.

http://astro-tom.com/telescopes/setting_circles.htm