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Hi Geo and well done getting some gear and having a go.
I have recently purchased the same mount and have been enjoying the "challenge" of alignment. I at least have nearly 7 years of observing behind me so I at least know most of the bright stars!!
Couple of things. Time spent getting things perfect is time that can be spent observing or imaging so try to do what is necessary. Levelling the tripod is OK but really only needs to be done in the east west direction. Polar aligning will take care of the other direction. I check it to make sure it is not grossly out but never spend more that 30 seconds adjusting it. (just to clarify, I use a simple spirit level to level the tripod. When I say east west direction, I mean the level is lying with one end pointing east)
Alignment cannot take care of all the errors that can occur. Cone error is one. That is misalignment of the optical with the RA axis of the mount. A three star alignment will take care of some of the cone error. There is a procedure in the manual that came with my mount to checking for cone error but the procedure for rectifying it is Northern Hemisphere based. I have just done the check and it would appear that most of my pointing errors are due to it.
I have found with these mounts they are not perfect, but once you have it reasonably setup tehy do a pretty good job.
Cheers
Malcolm
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