Polar alignment with SharpCap

[Desmond]

Hi all,

I need to start working with EQ mode on my GTI mount and will need to polar align.

Would my ED72 be too 'zoomed in' for this?

If so, would I be able to polar align with say a 135mm lens on the camera and then mount the scope afterwards?

Thanks in advance!

 

[nephilim]

12 minutes ago, Desmond said:

Hi all,

I need to start working with EQ mode on my GTI mount and will need to polar align.

Would my ED72 be too 'zoomed in' for this?

If so, would I be able to polar align with say a 135mm lens on the camera and then mount the scope afterwards?

Thanks in advance!

 

The 72ED will be fine.

[wimvb]

SharpCap needs a minimum 1 degree field if view, I believe. With the 72ED that should not be a problem, but if you also want to use it with long fl telescopes, you should be aware of this.

I don’t use SharpCap myself, but a friend who tried to use it with a 1150mm fl telescope and KAF8300 sensor, had trouble doing a polar alignment.

[jm_rim]

I’m using SharpCap with a 750mm and and aps-c sensor with no problems. 

[david_taurus83]

I have about 1.5° fov with my Atik 460 at 450mm focal length and Sharpcap polar align works great as well.

[Synchronicity]

Will you be guiding?  Sharpcap PA works perfectly with my Starshoot Autoguider camera and an unbranded 50mm guide scope.

One thing that has caught me out a few times is that you need to be aligned within a few degrees (5 I think) before the PA routine will work.

Michael

[Desmond]

1 hour ago, Synchronicity said:

Will you be guiding?  Sharpcap PA works perfectly with my Starshoot Autoguider camera and an unbranded 50mm guide scope.

One thing that has caught me out a few times is that you need to be aligned within a few degrees (5 I think) before the PA routine will work.

Michael

Guiding is next on my list...

I'm going to run my mount in EQ mode for longs exposures as over 90 seconds is too much for the mount in AZ mode.

All part of my education

So for initial alignment. If I manually get Polaris in the center of my view then I should be ok for the 5 degrees needed?

Thanks for the help 👍