[anthony2302749]

I am not sure whether is will be any help now after all the other comments , but may be useful. Sheeny comment about setting the time is an interesting conundrum indeed.

Welcome to the world of Synta (the real manufacturer of this mount) Skywatcher/Celestron CG5

First of some basic question.

• Is the tripod level prior to placing the EQ Head on top?
• Is the polar axis pointing due south (counter weight on the southern side of the mount) and set to the correct elevation?
• Does the mount have a polar alignment scope and if so can this be used to accuracy align it with the constellation of Octans which is located near the SCP and if the scope did not come with one ask the supplier why?
• Is the mount/scope balanced properly?

If you’re southern view is obstructed by housing use a compass to find magnetic south and then adjust for magnetic variation to find true south. Mark it on the ground so that you can use it for later reference.

What I have done is gone through some of the basic set for an EQ mount.

Time to set up the GO-TO, I would recommend that you do a factory reset and set your location for Sydney. We will worry about enter your location data later, mainly because the software is written for the northern hemisphere e.g. the good old USA.

Now for the alignment process, ensure that the index marked in both R.A. and Dec are aligned. This is very important as the mount need to know were it is starting from. Go to the Two Star Alignment Menu, now you are going to choice two alignment stars it the Eastern part of the sky. There is an obvious reason for this and that is Meridian Flip. We are keeping things simple.

Choice two stars that lie about 45 to 90 degrees apart. Choose the first alignment star and allow the mount to slew to it. Align on the first star press enter to accept the alignment select the second alignment star and allow the mount to slew to it. Align on the second star; press enter to accept the alignment. Job done, the scope should point accurately enough to find most object in the eastern part of the sky (most objects will end up in the FOV of a standard 26mm Plossl EP). When you flip over to the western part of the sky you should be able to locate a know object and from the software menu you may have some this like “Align on Object or Sync” this should sync the scope for operation in the western part of the sky.

Finally go back to the manual and have another read. Remember it is written for the northern hemisphere.

P.S. I will get back to you about setting your location data later.