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I’ve had my Skywatcher 12” Goto dob for 3 years without any alignment issues
A few key points for alignment which may not have been mentioned
1/ Power Supply
As you run off mains like I do , make sure you use at least a 5amp preferably a 7.5 amp 12v power supply ( I use the Powertech 12VDC 7.5amp Power Adaptor model no MP-3575 available from Jaycar or Bintel )
2/ Home Position
Your OTA or truss tubes central axis should be horizontally level and aligned to True North / South , end of OTA facing True North ( as close as possible) Not Magnetic North / South ( I have 2 small drill holes marked in the concrete driveway 1.8m apart to align my OTA or truss tube ( see attached how to find True South using the Sun )
Your base must be level on all sides as well using a bubble level or digital inclinometer
I don’t use the level indicator provided by Skywatcher just above the main pivot as when you set it zero 0, the OTA is not level , it’s usually a few degrees out which can mean alignment will be way out
3/ 2 Star Alignment
Choose 2 alignment stars on the “same side of the meridian” , that are between 35 and 55 degrees in elevation and no further apart than 100 degrees in azimuth
Important !! Disable your Star Alignment Filter in the Syncan to allow a wider choice of alignment stars
Go to Set up > Alignment Stars > Adv Filter > Enter, then choose Off
In Perth at the moment around 8.00pm I would choose Altair and Altair as your alignment stars ( 1st Star Alnair )
1st Alignment Star is always a manual slew with Syncan HC to the first star and centre it in your eye piece then press Enter. Choose 2nd alignment star and press Enter , scope will slew to second star ( within FOV )The accuracy of your Home Position set up and the 1st alignment Star centering determines how close to centre you will be on your 2nd Star
4/ Alignment Accuracy
These Skywatcher Goto dobs only have accuracy up to 5 arc minutes so don’t expect the star or object to be perfectly centered after a successful alignment and Goto . I always have to use the Syncan HC to move the Star or object into the centre of FOV
5/ Alignment Centering Eye Piece
For visual 2 star alignment process with the Syncan, I use the Orion 20mm 70 degree illuminated reticle eye piece for star alignment centering. The Celestron mini centering eye pieces are junk (I sold mine immediately and bought the Orion 20 /70 ) as your squinting into a very small optics )
It’s a brilliant eye piece with wide field , good eye relief and good optics plus a red illuminated reticle which is a must for better alignment accuracy
6/ Like everyone else mentioned , Date MM/ DD/ YY, local Time , Time Zone , Longitude and Latitude are extremely important
Good Luck and hope you get to the bottom of your alignment issues
Cheers
Martin
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