Quote:
Originally Posted by Visionary
As I didn't polar aline I used manual slewing to keep Jupiter in the centre of my field of view. The variable slew rate of the Meade made this an easy task.
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It's well worth taking the two minutes or so that it takes to set up a basic Easy (Two-Star) Align, as spelt out on page 19 of the manual:
1. Turn on the power as soon as you have the scope outside on the tripod, and start the initialisation process. Allow a couple of minutes to let the GPS get the location and time / date - get the rest of your gear ready while it is getting a fix. (You need to be outside for this - it probably won't be able to get a fix indoors.) First time around, it might take a few minutes to get a fix, but it should be much quicker on subsequent set-ups, because it remembers your previous location, and will have a fairly up-to-date ephemeris of GPS satellite data.
2. Loosen the axis clamps, and manually level the tube and point it to magnetic North (using the supplied levelling bubble / compass in the star diagonal). Tighten the two axis clamps, and don't release them again in this viewing session. Follow the prompts to tell Autostar that you have the scope in the Magnetic North Home position.
3. Follow the prompts, and align on the two target stars, using the motor controller to fine-position the scope alignment.
Voila! As long as you only move the scope using the motor controller (DON'T release the axis clamps and manually slew it!), it will find targets and track them for the rest of the night. With even a quick-and-dirty Two-Star Align, you should find that it will keep a target in the field of view for 15 minutes or more without needing to touch the controls.