Nexstar SLT alignment question

[ezza123]

I spent 4 hours last night trying to get my new scope aligned and i'm not sure what I was doing wrong.

I tried Sky align, two star, two star auto etc. when it did succeed, it did not align to any of the other bright stars i used to test. I made sure the scope was set up was level and then had to enter my co ordinates not sure if i was getting this part right! I put in the correct date in the MMDDYYYY format and did daylight saving time...does anyone else or did anyone else ever have novice issues when setting up?

I'm sure its something i am doing wrong and I should read the manual another 7 times maybe!

Any pointers or help will be greatly appreciated

Aaron

[rawhead]

How are you powering your mount?

Batteries can be very unreliable...

[davy999]

Hi ezza

You may want to remove the detail of your location, otherwise we can all track you down.

I have the nexstar 6se and on first attempt it aligned no problem, but after that it was a pain, I ws running from mains but the power connection is a little poor and I think this wasn't helping. If you suspect this then I suggest using a couple of cable ties to hold the power connector in place.

I try sky align first but if that doesn't work then I go to two star manual, this usually works, the other night i aligned using the moon and to be fair it was quite accurate even with just the one alignment point.

When you enter the time how accurate are you? I have a radio controlled watch so I know i am very accurate.

[ezza123]

good point! - I am using mains power adapter - 12v 2 amp.

[Cornelius Varley]

You should input your coordinates as 1'3" w, 51'16" n - note you put the longitude coordinate in first then latitude ignoring the seconds.

Peter

[ezza123]

I believe the time on my iphone is correct - I can always double check but I think its bang on.

[ezza123]

peter, thank you- i will try that also - ~OK I leave the seconds blank - gotcha

Tis all new to me so apologies for stupid questions!

[Demonperformer]

When I use the SLT mount, I sometimes find that, once I have positioned the object and pressed ALIGN, the alt drive does a quick jerk and the object is no longer central. To overcome this, I do a one-object align (centring it before I tell the system I am going to do it, so I don't have to move it), then GOTO another bright object, centre it and tell it the system to replace the unassigned object with this one - effectively giving me a two-star alignment without having to move the scope during the align procedure (if that makes sense).

Your situation may be totally different, but it may be worth checking the object is still in the centre after you have confirmed the ALIGN.

[ezza123]

I will also try that DP , Thank you.

[Budgie]

One other thing, what time zone did you input?

It should be set to "Universal Time Coordinate" or UTC and not Zone 1.

[ezza123]

Martin,

That was one thing I was selecting "UTC",

I will try again when its less cloudy with correct location - correct time trying star align, then the others.

Aaron

[jgs001]

Something to think about, when aligning you should try and approach the alignment star from the same direction the slew completes... I think it's up and right, but I'd suggest checking that, it's been a while since I used mine. This helps remove the slack from the drive train, and should in theory stop the jump mentioned.

A very useful resource is

http://www.nexstarsite.com/index.html

[ezza123]

You have all helped! Thank you so much :-)

aligned with Planet - 25mm supplied eye piece

Venus ----check - could see the phase

Mars ----check - tiny spec but it was there.

Saturn----Check--OMG - thats a thing of beauty even with the low power i can see its ears! im going back out now to have a go with the 9mm.

Revelation eye piece kit comes tomorrow, so im looking forward to that!

Clear skies

Aaron