Mel, Maz and the NEQ6

[MattT]

The NEQ6 has this polar alignment 'feature' Any one know what to do with the numbers the handset throws up at the end of an alignment?
From memory the Mel (elevation) was +00.05º.30. Does that mean the mount is 5º above or needs to go 5º up to the pole? Had no problems with alignment routine or goto's, so should I ignore the Mel's and Maz's?
The manual in doesn't say what to do with the numbers.

The manual doesn't say what happens when a battery runs low either as I found out after 6 hours use last night...was running Skyfi as well off a 17amp jump start battery. All was great until the Dec axis ground to a noisy halt while slewing and the handset started flashing...thought I was in for a strip down for a bit, til a light bulb went on in the ol brain.

Input greatly appreciated..
Matt

[MattT]

The Mel numbers are 05m and 30 sec off on elevation not 5.30º as I put in the first post! Whoops...numbers are not my thing.

[Steffen]

You can ignore the Mel and Maz values if you're going to do a polar alignment (by drifting or using the PA routine in SynScan) anyway. The values show you how far off your polar alignment is, and whether you need to bother improving it. If the error is large (esp in Maz) you may want to reposition the mount before doing fine-alignment.

I believe a positive Mel value shows your mount is pointing too high, and a positive Maz value that it's pointing too far east. It could well be the other way around ;) , but that's very easy to confirm by introducing a large known error.

Cheers
Steffen.