Drift alignment help

[TidaLpHasE]

Hi all, i have just purchased an Antares illuminated reticle to use with my Eq6 and ED80.

I am wondering if anyone could tell me the steps needed to align the Eq6.

Do i get a rough polar alignment with the mount, and then use the illuminated reticle to get more accurate, and then do a 1,2 or 3 star alignment, or, do i do a star alignment before using the lumo reticle :shrug: or do i just, rough align, drift align and then image:shrug:

[[1ponders]]

Hi Trevor, if you're only doing visual work then a rough polar alignment using a polar finder scope is all you need (if you have one). Imaging needs a much finer alignment using drift alignment.


So rough for visual, then drift for photographic.
Check here
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=7371&highlight=drift
and here
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=5899&highlight=drift

[avandonk]

Have you got a webcam you can put on the 80ED? If not try this. Get the mount as close as you can by setting the latitude angle on the mount and RA axis aligned with true north.
Point your telescope north to a star near zero degrees declination. Get a star in the crosshairs with the drive running. Lock it in. Dont worry about drift left or right wait till the star moves up or down. leave the drive running and move the mount adjustment in azimuth till the star is back at the same height as the crosshair centre. Ajusting azimuth will move the star up or down. Repeat.
When the star takes longer to drift up or down, you are headed in the right direction for correction.

Now move the telescope to point west or east to any star lowish at again at about zero declination. Repeat the same step as above watch for movement up or down (same direction of crosshair line as before) but this time get the star back by adjusting the altitude of the mount (the latitude angle). Repeat.

Go back to the north and repeat that ajustment. and back to west or east. and very soon the star will not move up or down even after 10 or 20 minutes.

You are now very accurately polar aligned.

Notice this entails getting the star back to where it was in height,not some convoluted eastwestupdownetc meaningless recipe.

This works just as well for a webcam, better in fact as the movement is more sensitive.

I hope this is clear.

Bert

[casstony]

Nice, clear explanation Bert. I haven't taken any notice of drift alignment previuosly as I'm only starting to venture into astro ccd. I've imagined the arcs drawn across the sky by the star and scope and I've come up with this: for the first part of the alignment, if the star moves down in the eyepiece the mount is pointing off to the east of the SCP. Have I got that right?

-Tony