Quote:
Originally Posted by Startrek
Thanks Ryan
As I’m using EQMOD and Stellarium for Goto now my Synscan 2 star alignments are only important for the polar alignment procedure and not for Goto anymore ( once polar aligned I unplug the hand controller and install my EQ cable direct to my laptop )EQMOD and Stellarium is so quick and accurate to find objects I can’t believe I put up with the hand controller for so long.
As far as Synscan polar alignment I’ve been using a 2 star alignment followed by PA ( the last 2 or 3 months I’ve been using Hadar and Spica as my alignment stars and Spica as the PA star ) You mentioned using a PA star close to the SCP !! Maybe this why I can’t get below a minute
Is your PA star one of your 2 star alignment stars ? Or do you choose a third star close to the SCP as your PA star ?
I have no view of the SCP so the closest I could get on the same side of the meridian would be 35 to 40 deg in Alt and 30 to 40 deg in Az
Next time I’m out I might use
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I’ve never used EQMOD or Stellaruim so my knowledge of that is zero. As far as my PA stars go, I’ve been using Hadar or Alpha Centauri and Acrux. I tend to start with Acrux as it’s easy to identify with a second smaller star next to it. This kind of confirms that my red dot finder is pointing correctly too. When I do my iterations I alternate. I would start with my alignment on Acrux then slew to Hadar for example. Then Hadar for the polar alignment. Then do another star align starting with Hadar, slew to Acrux and then do a PA on Acrux. So on and so forth till my numbers get to where I want them. Now don’t get me wrong, this is a method I’ve come up with and others might say this is wrong but as I said before, I think it’s about finding a way that works for you and this method seems to work for me. I do also have my hand controller set to no meridian flip. That way when the alignment stars start to cross the meridian, my mount isn’t doing almost 180 RA rotation which would introduce cone error, I work out what side my target will be on for the majority of the session and this is the side of the meridian I do my alignment from. I hope this all helps
