Gday Julian
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If you skip the two-star alignment procedure, you can drive the mount as a dumb powered Alt-Az, but it won't track stars, or GoTo targets.
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Not quite true. If you start the scope as AltAz when it is pointing North and level, and enter the correct time, it will still "assume" that it was aligned ( but maybe not too well ) and start tracking as soon as you set its Targets to "Astronomical". It is better to do a one or two star align ( even if dummy ), as that will automatically start it tracking.
I suspect its more a drive train / rubber banding error.
Using a 10mm EP is like looking through a straw with a 10" scope, and any slight drift/rubberbanding will allow Mars to drift from the FOV.
An easier test is to use the 32mm EP and "goto" a starfield near Mars, then watch and see if it has a delay before tracking resumes when you use the slew keys. Speeds 2 and above on the Hbx can cause the motors to reverse and hence invoke backlash application, which can be woofy if the drive train nos dont match the real gear slop.
Andrew