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Oh dear...2nd attempt with our scope


Celeste

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Well, after watching metcheck for the last week, and watching Tuesday (no cloud) we decided to put the scope up out the back. Being as this is only the 2nd time I have tried polar aligning I wasn't expecting to get it perfect, but close. OMG I was way out :D First up I balanced the mount using the bubble in the mount, then I used the GPS module and that set the time/date/location, then I tried 3 star align after what I thought was polar aligned and the scope was out a touch, I centered what I assumed to be the named star, went to the 2nd centered and so on. Alignment succesful! came the reply....erm no lol...on sending the scope to Jupiter...it went waaaaay off course, I must have done something totaly wrong :) I retried the star aligment.....even checking on Stellarium to be sure I got the right star....and I was still way out! Hmmm fed up I just used the controls to move the scope to Jupiter, but as it wasn't aligned right it didn't stay on track :( I so wanted to see M31 but couldn't find it, I managed M45 (as they are obvious) and the moon too. The handset did bleep at me once and said Polaris out 0.60deg...what was that about? I gather I wasn't aligned right but why did it bleep to tell me how out it was? couldn't it compensate knowing how out I was? SIGH lol....I will work it out....one day ;)

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Hi Celeste - usually when it bleeps and tells you its a few degrees out, you can press "escape" and hold for two seconds (the display will show "realign"), then recenter the object (the last goto object) and press "enter" it then stores the new alignment and recalculates the sky.

This is the PAE feature (pointing accuracy enhancement). It's only however accurate for the section of sky you're looking at. You may need to do it once again on another goto object if you move to another section of sky. It refines the pointing after one or two further realigns accross the sky.

I'm taking it given the mount was level and roughly polar aligned before you started :)

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Hiya, it's a Skywatcher 150PDS on an EQ3.2 goto mount.....I know it all works right as the guys from EMS helped me set up 1st time and it was spot on then. It's most certainly something I got wrong somewhere,I just gotta figure out where.

Edit: Kim, yes the mount was level and aligned as best I could do (about the same as the darksite was) I do wonder, maybe I put the weights on a tad off? would that cause it to be out? Also at the dark site the scope was 'parked', remebered settings etc, but Chloe accidentally turned the head...could that have made it think it was somewhere else? These things are so sensitive lol

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Yes if the head was turned manually by accident it will have thrown the alignment out because the scope memorises movements on both drives. If it had been moved electronically you would've still been aligned :)

We'll show you how to balance the scope up next time - a slight misbalance will make it drag a bit and possibly spoil the tracking a little but barely noticeable unless way overweighted.

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Ahh so there we have it thanks Kim, I did my best to put the scope in place but I guess just being that tiny bit off and it goes to pot. Thanks for the offer of showing us how to balance it right, I shall try to remember to bring some tape or a marker pen.

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