Align Meade mount using south instead of north?

[dewo]

Hi all,
I have a Meade LT-6 ACF (with Audiostar controller) that I use from my suburban backyard. I have a south facing view of the sky so it's a bit of a pain to have to start with it pointing north every time and then swing it around to the south to point it at the alignment stars, especially because my neighbours are very close and the mount is pretty loud in the silence of the evening. I do use quiet slew but it's a pretty slow process to align, particularly if for some reason alignment doesn't work and I have to redo it (rare but it has happened).

So I was wondering if there is any way to align from the south instead of north? Some kind of trick that I'm unaware of perhaps?

Or is it possible to align these Meade goto alt-az scopes through external means (e.g. computer, skysafari, ASIair Pro which I have) rather than using the handset? My understanding is that I still need to use the handset...

Not a big problem but I'd be very happy to find a neat solution!

Cheers,
Dean

[astro744]

See previous thread on similar issue.

https://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/archive/index.php/t-173742.html

Hope it helps.

[dewo]

Thanks. I took a look at that link but my mount actually works fine when aligning as per instructions though, i.e. starting facing North. So it's not going to work facing south.

I was hoping for a trick of some kind that I hadn't thought of, or the ability to align using external means rather than using the handset. I suspect it just might not be possible! :(

[PLR]

Good day Dean,
You dont have to point exactly North only more or less because after you sync on the first alignment star any true north error would be eliminated. If the first alignment is not visible press the down scroll arrow and the Audiostar will pick the next one on its list. The mount can not function without the controller, one reason is that all your settings like gear ratios, motor calibration and drive training is set in the controller. If you use software to control the mount, I use Stellarium, the software only sends the Ra and Dec to the controller and it does the rest.