Polar Align HELPPP

[Jen]

:help:
Hey guys i finally tried to do this on the weekend with no success :confused2:
And i only had one can honest :lol::P
My star kept drifting up north in the eyepiece :help: Now if i read in here somewhere right if thats the case move the scope to the right :question:
Now if i kept doing that i would end up facing West not South :lol:
I had the drive motor going and after 15 minutes the green light started flashing (is that supposed to flash:help:):rolleyes::rolleyes:

And yes i did learn how to Never Eat Soggy Weeties :lol::lol:
:screwy:

[supanova]

Jen

You might find a lot of useful information here:-http://www.petesastrophotography.com/

There is also a guiding simulator on this site,which can be helpful,and you can practice when it is daylight or the weather just sucks outside.

enjoy and practice,practice ,practice

Wayne

[Bassnut]

Jen

There are sooo, many instructions out there, most are confusing :P.

Lately, I downloaded and tried this (http://www.andysshotglass.com/StarTarg.html) , Startarg2, its unbeliveably simple and easy to use, play with it with your mouse (the audio is a bit annoying).

[jjjnettie]

Star Targ is great.
Good luck Jen.

[Liz]

That's why I have a Dob ;);)
Good luck Jen ... you poor thing :confused2: :)

[Astro78]

Here's the best instructions I found a few years back, hope it helps (sorry cannot remember the source) +it's for southern hemi's like us:

Drift Alignment in detail
The explanation of how to polar align using the drift method is as follows. In this procedure, adjusting the RA isn't important, just leave it, drift in the RA is just a case of your motor being slow/fast, not an alignment problem.
1. Point the telescope to a bright star low-ish (20 degrees say) on the eastern horizon, near the celestial equator (the line of 0 degrees DEC, something like the Orion nebula is fairly close, and good to look at in the mean time (given the right time of the year - it may be too high/not visible.) At this point the east/west rotation of the mount has minimal effect, leaving you to correct the angle of elevation of the mount.
1. If the star drifts NORTH your polar axis is too low. So you have to change the axis to angle up into the sky more. (the latitude knob on your eq mount.)
2. If the star drifts SOUTH your polar axis is too high. So you have to change the axis to angle down into the ground more. (the latitude knob on your eq mount.)
What do I mean by "drifts NORTH" and "drifts SOUTH" ? In the field of view or what??. Well this is what got me stuck for ages. The way I do it now, is you let the star drift for a bit, you then move the telescope to 'catch up with it' by using the DEC control. If you find the telescope is heading north, then the star is drifting north! :-) and that's what they mean by "drifts North".
2. Point the telescope to a bright star on the Meridian and on the celestial equator. So this is basically straight over your head somewhere. This way the angle of elevation of the mount (corrected above hopefully) will have minimal effect, leaving you to just correct the east/west rotation of the mount.
1. If the star drifts NORTH your polar axis is too far East, so rotate the mount west. (Rotate clockwise looking down on the mount).
2. If the star drifts SOUTH your polar axis is too far West, so rotate the mount east. (Rotate anti-clockwise looking down on the mount).
Again, What do I mean by "drifts NORTH" and "drifts SOUTH"? Well even though we are testing the rotation not the angle of elevation, it's the same as I described above basically.

[Jen]

:thanx::thanx::thanx:
Thanks guys/gals i will give it another go on the weekend :question:
Yes there is a lot of info out there but now im all confused :confused2: which isnt that hard to do haha :lol: If i get shown something i can pick it up much better and quicker than reading it then doing it :rolleyes:
:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[bmitchell82]

jen is your mount a go to? if it is there is a method FAR EASIER and for normal observing will be ample sufficient.

as for moving your scope left right up down, go one way, if it starts drifting faster, go double the distance in the oppisite direction. I cant remember all the details of if the star drifts this way. if the star drifts that way meh :) thats my method. and admittedly i actually do alot of man handling, not trying to do it with the screws on the eq6, i just loosen them off all the way for the RA and twist it till im in the ball park.

- you also need a decent compass to get you there sooner rather than later...
- and level your mount (not using the bubble level as on most scopes its off

[Jen]

:thanx: Brendan no its not a goto :confused2:

[bmitchell82]

what mount is it?

[Jen]

eq-3 :)

[tlgerdes]

With a single axis motor drive.:thumbsup:

I was just asking Dad what happened to the motor, he said he gave it to you.

[stephenb]

Are you bringing it to SV camp, Jen?

[Screwdriverone]

Hi Jen,

Have you tried setting up the scope pointing towards the SCP? Swan Hill's Magnetic declination is 10.2 deg so you will need to point one of the legs of the scope to 170 deg rather than magnetic south on a compass.

I found a REALLY good guide here http://www.iceinspace.com.au/63-466-0-0-1-0.html with pictures and everything! :P

This allows you to recognise what the SCP looks like and identify it in the finder so you can check and correct the altitude of the scope (mine was wrong) and plonk the scope in the same position night after night with minimal drifting if at all.

By the way, the flashing green light means the RA motor batteries are wearing down.

See how you go.

Cheers

Chris

[Jen]

:lol::lol::lol: really :thumbsup:


Yep i sure am ive got some learning to do ;):D

[Jen]

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: :thanx: Chris :D
Oh bugger the batteries have only been used for about half an hour
:confused2:

[Waxing_Gibbous]

Have you compensated for magnetic off-set - the diff between "magnetic" south and true south. There is a" .gov.au" website that will give it you, but I lost it migrating to this PC. Sorry that's not very useful.

[mithrandir]

Probably this one:
http://www.ga.gov.au/oracle/geomag/agrfform.jsp

[Waxing_Gibbous]

Andrew,
That's the one!

[Screwdriverone]

That's funny, I could have sworn I had already worked out the magnetic deviation for Jen in my previous post......

I am sure I put it in there somewhere?? :P

Cheers

Chris

[Robbie]

Ahh the hellish polar and drift alignment learning curve.

1. make sure you do your alignments with accurate levels and compass dont trust the ones attached to the mount.!!!!

2. once you get it right mark the tripod legs position on the concrete and put an alignment mark on the back fence to where you find north.

3. its as frustrating as hell but once the penny drops and you do it once its easy from then on.

[Jen]

:thanx: Thanks guys i wish that dam penny would drop dam it :lol::lol:
I dont think my compass is right :confused2: i end up neally facing west :mad2:
Whats a good compass to get these days :shrug:

[erick]

Here is the one you want, Jen:-

http://www.paddypallin.com.au/default.aspx?page=78&product=647&Group=0

Silva Field 7 Compass.

On maybe the Katmandu version if you want to save some dollars:-

http://www.kathmandu.com.au//60488/Kathmandu-Compass-v2.html

Do you want me to pick one up for you and bring it to camp?

Eric

[Jen]

:eyepop: cool yeah that would be great thanks Erick i could do with a decent compass but i better hide it from my son :lol::lol:
:thanx:

[erick]

OK, I can check out the Katmandu tomorrow and grab one if it looks fine (and it does on the site). If I'm not sure, I'll go the whole hog and go round to Paddy Ps' and buy the Silva.

[Jen]

:thumbsup::thanx:
Thanks Erick i will trust your instincts on that one cheers i dont mind spending the money as long as it works ;) see you soon :D

[erick]

In that case, there are these great Silva ones for some hundreds of dollars..................:D

[Jen]

:eyepop::eyepop:
:lol::lol:

[erick]

Got the Katmandu one - it looks like it will do just what you need. :)

[Jen]

Awsome Erick thank you see u soon :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Robbie]

A wixey digital angle meter is a godsend as well, great for levelling and setting up polar alignment.

If your compass was out or levels inaccurate all you do is spend the night chasing your tail.

Hope you are making progress