Quote:
Originally Posted by cplloyd42
Thanks for your input, Peter - that was quick work.
I'm pretty sure that my mount is levelled. Before putting the mount on the tripod I check the level of the top of the tripod with a spirit level, switching it through 180-deg to ensure there are no errors in the spirit level. I do this in 3 places, once over each leg of the tripod. Also, I find that I'm pretty close to alignment when I start Alignmaster as the target stars are within the field of a 35X reticle eyepiece, and Alignmaster reports that both axes are <15 arcmin out.
I have tried your method of "centring" the star in the correction phase, this seeming to be the logical way of doing it. On my first occasion I did get steady reduction in the errors. However, on my second occasion I ended up just cycling around the initial error, with first one axis reducing while the other increased, and the next iteration swapping the axes around. That's why I decided to post this query to see it anyone found a reliable method. This last time I gave up after 4 iterations, and the result was a slow drift - too much for 5min exposures. Perhaps I need to use the program more to get some experience with it.
I noticed that someone suggested unticking the "Correct axes separately" option on Alignmaster's startup screen, allowing you to alter both axes at the same time to bring the target star into the true centre. Unfortunately, there was no follow up on this comment as the original query poster found an alternative in his HEQ handbox software. Has anyone tried this, and if so, what success did you have? I will try it - I can always go back to the method you suggested, Peter, if it doesn't work. All I have to do is wait for a clear night!
Clear skies,
Paul.
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Ok, if your errors are not getting better there is a few things you can check. I have correct axes seperately ticked so that should be left alone. The thing that is probably happening now is in EQmod, there can be no sync points when you start, and if you have it set to "append on sync" alignmaster will add sync points to the model. You do not want this to happen, so in EQmod, set it to "dialog based" and click to clear any saved points it has.