homemade dob setting circles

[kniclander]

mine has never worked

1.. my wixey keeps freezing - it worked for a bit when I put in a new battery but then froze again. Anyone else had this problem?

2. does the gound have to be completely flat? i thought not because the wixey would still show alt correctly even if the ground was sloping but is that right?

3. I recall somewhere seeing that you had to set your software to Universal Time (which is not BST I think?) - is that right?

Thanks all

Dan

[Doc]

1. I have a wixey and it's very reliable, never freezes. I've changed the battery once in maybe a year.

2. In my experience Yes the ground needs to be level. I have the option to view from my tarmac drive which is level or the patio which looks level but is made from sandstone with a little ups and downs in it. The tarmac is alot more accurate. It's not much maybe just 0.5° but there's a difference.

3. I use CduC and I set it for BST and it's fine.

[haitch]

1. I have a wixey and it's very reliable, never freezes. I've changed the battery once in maybe a year.

2. In my experience Yes the ground needs to be level. I have the option to view from my tarmac drive which is level or the patio which looks level but is made from sandstone with a little ups and downs in it. The tarmac is alot more accurate. It's not much maybe just 0.5° but there's a difference.

3. I use CduC and I set it for BST and it's fine.

I'd guess that is because the Wixey only measures the angle in a single plane. If the tube has a sideways tilt because the ground isn't reasonably level it will read out (it will then only read accurately when the scope is pointing straight up or down the slope).

[Gonzo56]

1. To date, my Wixey has been reliable.

2. You need as flat a surface as you can get to increase the reliability of the manual setting circles. I put leveling feet on my Skywatcher for that reason. I set the base down, install the tube, level it up and I'm good to go.

John

[kniclander]

thanks guys. looks like I need a new wixey.... and a new patio:o