Polar Alignment with a EQ6 errors!?

[edd209]

Hi,

Hopefully someone can help me from pulling the last strand of hair out of my balding head!!

I've been into Astronomy for a very long time learning my wy around the darkened skies with a couple of pairs of good bins.

In the last few months I thought I'd splash out after being made redundant and bought an observatory, EQ6 Pro, SkyWatcher 200, also with a guidescope and cam. I Downloaded EQMOD and PHD with CDC.

I have everything in place and set up in my observatory and thought I'd get everything ready, collimation of the SW200 and calibrating the mount.

I've been reading 'Polar Alignment with HEQ5 and EQ6 Mounts' by the Chanctonbury Observatory and it's confused me and tied me in knots. I've also read and tried to use

AstroBabys polar alignment guide which also confused me!

So where do I start...I've made sure the polar scope reticule is centered so a distant object follows the ring when I turn the RA axis. Did that fine.

I then tried the Calibration of the mount as per number 3 on the Chanctonbury Observatory guide. Everything goes fine using the PolarFinder app that I downloaded. So I know that from my location on 19th Oct at 00:40 the North Star is i transit. So I turn the RA axis making sure the reticule is pointing straight down (I have no idea if it actually straight down as the weight pole doesn't point straight down if the reticule does, it points off to the right a few inches is that normal?)

Then I set the RA setting circle to 00:40 using the top set of numbers, then I set the date to 19th Oct using the date circle aligning it with the silver pointer.

I then unscrew the index marker and offset the small white line to 1 East.

So at this point the time and date are set to the arrows marked on mount and the index marker is set to 1 East. Can someone tell me what needs to be done from here as

this is where I get lost as the Chanctonbury Observatory guide tells me to "Unlock the RA setting circle by loosening the set screw. Rotate the RA Circle so the pointer indicates 'zero' and lock the RA Circle".

It's this and everything after that I dont understand as at one point the guide says "Rotate the telescope around the RA axis so that the RA circle indicates zero and lock the RA axis. The view through the Polar scope should be the same as before".

Following the instructions through to that point the reticule doesn't!!!

I realise that this has been asked many times before so I 've read through the forums and Google'd it 100s of times but I can't see anything that sinks in.

I plan on taking a few pics of the moon with a webcam and then much later some deep space stuff, so I presume that need a very acurate polar alignment even though I am and will be using a guide cam and EQMOD.

Thank you for your time and help.

[Helen]

Welcome to SGL!!

I can't help with the technical side of the polar finder, sorry, but for shots of the moon with a webcam a rough polar alignment will do (the shot times will be really short).

I've got an EQ6 and I use Alignmaster Alignmaster von Matthias Garzarolli to get polar aligned. The program guides you through the process - locate first star and centre, then similarly a second star, then the program slews and asks you to re-centre the star using the polar axis adjustment bolts rather than the handset. Do that a couple of times and you're very close.

Helen

[Merlin66]

Ok

The handcontroller tells you the RA and "clock" position of Polaris.

So:

Look through the Polar scope and rotate the RA axis until the small circle is at the bottom.

Set the RA circle to read zero and lock the circle; then rotate the RA axis until you get the RA shown on your handcontroller.

The small circle should now appear in the clock position which matches the handcontroller position.

Use the Alt/ Az adjustments to bring Polaris into the small circle.

( This is extracted from a previous thread - not mine - so I don't take credit, but it works 100%)

Ken

[Astro_Baby]

Merlin - that assumes its a Synscan equipped mount

Sorry I cant advise right now as I have some fairly major problems in my life.

[Earl]

Have a look at this:

[AstroNerd]

Align Master sounds really good, am I right in thinking there would be no need for changing the date and time circles on the mount using that? Also do you adjust the star into the middle of the telescope or polar scope?

Ok

The handcontroller tells you the RA and "clock" position of Polaris.

So:

Look through the Polar scope and rotate the RA axis until the small circle is at the bottom.

Set the RA circle to read zero and lock the circle; then rotate the RA axis until you get the RA shown on your handcontroller.

The small circle should now appear in the clock position which matches the handcontroller position.

Use the Alt/ Az adjustments to bring Polaris into the small circle.

( This is extracted from a previous thread - not mine - so I don't take credit, but it works 100%)

Ken

So using this method there is no need to change the date circle, just the time? Is this as accurate as using Align Master as I've never used the hand controller or that software?

I use the EQMOD way which is good, the video tutorials that have been posted help and are a long time coming.

[Merlin66]

Yes, no worries about date circles no worries about EQMOD etc etc

just follow the handcontroller settings.

Life is to short at the best of times........

[Helen]

For alignmaster you don't use need to use the polar scope (although its easier to align if the alignment is closer to start with). You do it all through the eyepiece.

Helen

[edd209]

I think I will try it with EQMOD after watching that video, it makes it look very very easy. If not I will try the hand controller follows by align master, 3 ways is better than my zero way!!

Thank you