Quote:
Originally Posted by rustigsmed
hi dave does your method end up with you being able to take photos? sounds really simple!
Rusty
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Merlin66
I think we may have to differentiate between EQ5/EQ6 running under Syscan V3.xx and the AZ/EQ6 and EQ8 running V3.35 (this ver does provide an Alt/Az error reading....)
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Sorry, by "software" I should clarify that I mean AlignMaster controlled from my computer.
Yes, if I choose the star pair well (maximise the distance in both altitude and azimuth from each other) then I can start with my polar alignment severely out (e.g. +/- 10 degrees in azimuth) and within three iterations - slewing from one star to another, followed by corrections - I'll generally be within 30 arc sec of the SCP. This is sufficient for me to take 60 min subs using a KAF-8300M chip at 1625 mm focal length, and have no field rotation.
What I was trying to point out is that Ken's approach gets you closer to the SCP, but it can't separate small azimuth and altitude errors in polar alignment. This is because the conversion from celestial coordinates (RA/DEC) to terrestrial coordinates (alt/az) is not linear, i.e. moving in RA will usually result in both alt and az changes. Software-assisted approaches help by crunching the maths to determine the alt and az errors separately, so you know exactly how much your mount bolts need to be adjusted by.