Celestron Nexstar 11 GPS owner wanted

[bloodhound31]

Any celestron nexstar11 GPS owners got skype? I need to talk to someone real-time during polar wedge alignment.

Please help.

Baz.

[jase]

No skype, but happy to assist in your query online. I've used the wedge align feature a few times. Ultimately, it simplifies the slewing between a star in the east or west and the other near the celestial equator. I often found I would simply do it manually, then a two star alignment.

[bloodhound31]

Thanks for the reply Jase.

I've cooled down a bit from my frustrations with it last night. There's a few things I've gotta try when the clouds rack off.

Can you tell me how you ensure that the tube is perfectly parallel with the fork arms so there is absolutely no drift of a target directly in line with the centre of the FOV on one full rotation of the azimuth drive? Heres a pic.

Baz.

[jase]

Hi Baz,
There are a few ways to do this, but generally you don't need to be so accurate. If you can, get hold of an inclinometer (http://www.micon.com.au/Products/ProdIndex_inclino.htm or similar) to verify your fork arms are indeed at the right elevation for your location. You can then also measure the OTA. This will ensure both are parallel. Actually, I only did this once to confirm the heavy duty wedge latitude reading was correct.

Seriously, it doesn't need to be perfectly parallel for the initial alignment. You'll be able to refine the polar alignment through the drift align process using the Nexstar wedge align feature.

Hope this helps.