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Originally Posted by raymo
It drives me mad trying to use the actual PA
function ...
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You're not alone. I know some people who like and others who don't. I'm in the group that has problems with it (with an NEQ6).
Using the polar scope, I can get within ~5 arcminutes, or so it seems, though that's probably not good enough for long subs - I'm still working up to that myself so can't really comment more.
However, Alignmaster (on a laptop wih ASCOM/EQMOD) is well recommended for better polar alignment.
As for firmware, I'm using v3.27, which I find less troublesome in general - v3.27 is "old faithful", IMHO.
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An example. Error approx. Alt 1.5 degrees, Az 2.2 degrees. After adjusting Alt 0.75 degree, Az 4.7 degrees. How can this happen when I didn't touch the AZ.
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If the tripod is not level, then the axes will not be truly independent and adjusting one will affect the other. But that degree of effect does seem a bit large. Do you level your tripod with a decent bubble level/digital inclinometer? Don't use the little bubble level built into the mount - it's terribly inaccurate. Also, a solid mount footing will help prevent tripod movement from affecting your levelling - I use fence paling offcuts to stop the tripod feet from sinking into soil at different rates, which would ruin levelling and introduce pointing/tracking errors.
As for the variance in your results - I experienced some of that myself, though not as bad as you seem to. That's one reason why I don't use the PA feature.