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Thanks for all the advice and encouragement.
I will incorporate it into my work.
I am using an old Sky-Watcher-equivalent EQ3 mount with analogue dual axis motors and matching steel tripod. The ‘equivalent’ caveat is that it looks just like a Sky-Watcher mount, but it does not have a logo on it. I am not sure if this means it is a Sky-Watcher that lost its logo, or never had a logo, or whether it belongs to another brand. Either way, it looks so much the same that I suspect it came out of the same factory.
For an old mount, the RA motor seems quite reliable. I tried some drift alignment on Venus at the meridian during the day and there was definite declination drift, so my current challenge is in learning how to adjust the mount for precise north-south alignment. The mount altitude setting seems good for my location in Melbourne when checking with a smartphone inclinometer and planetarium app. I am still learning manual techniques using a compass, spirit level and drift alignment – early days.
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