PS Align Pro - Laser/Hop align star

[rohanpai]

Has anyone tried the new Laser/Hop align feature on PS Align pro app?

Seems pretty useful for people like me who cannot see the Octans, thanks to all the light pollution.

[ecuador]

I haven't had much feedback about it, I did think the southern hemisphere is one of the best use cases. It would be great if you shared your thoughts if you get to try it.

[rohanpai]

Tried it, didn't work

1. All the metal and electricals from the mount interferes with the compass on the phone..

2. I was using HEQ5-pro. The Az movement using the screws does not have enough movement to swing from the closest visible star to Octanis (this may be a user error as well). But with the light pollution that I have in the south direction, my closest visible star is Alpha Centauri, Hadar and Acrux

But I'll give it another try when I get clear night in Sydney...

[ecuador]

On 10/05/2021 at 03:23, rohanpai said:

Tried it, didn't work

1. All the metal and electricals from the mount interferes with the compass on the phone..

2. I was using HEQ5-pro. The Az movement using the screws does not have enough movement to swing from the closest visible star to Octanis (this may be a user error as well). But with the light pollution that I have in the south direction, my closest visible star is Alpha Centauri, Hadar and Acrux

But I'll give it another try when I get clear night in Sydney...

Oh, you are not expected to use just the AZ movement for distant stars, just move the tripod legs, shouldn't be too hard on an HEQ5 

[michael8554]

Tie a long rope to the south leg of your tripod.

Take your phone and the rope south, and push a stick into the ground when the rope is tight and to the true south of the tripod.

Eyeball the tripod to point to the stick with the Az adjustment centred, or sight along the OTA.

Michael