KStars And Ekos Plate Solving - PA Error?

[Ian McCallum]

I've been using KStars and Ekos on my RPi for quite a while now, but have been getting large errors when it comes to coordinates for plate solving.  I'm wondering if this is due to poor polar alignment?  Can someone take a look at this log file, please and let me know what you think...  I've removed my lat and long references from the log, for privacy reasons.

log_18-40-54.txt

[Rallemikken]

First solve is 9 degrees out, next 8 minutes and last 26 seconds. Don't look strange, the rig is quit accurate on the first slew. It don't know where it's pointing at power-up. If you are one of those that loosen the clutches and check balance before each run, this is normal. The guiderings and numbers on the mount (if any) can't be trusted. Never done this myself, but you can slew the scope in a random direction, shift Ekos to the "Solve" tab, tick "Syncronize", then "Catch and solve" (not sure if that is the exact text, mine is in norwegian). Now the scope should know where it is in the world, and first target solve should go faster. Or just leave the clutches. I think my HEQ5 remembers where it points between sessions, first solve is often spot on.