[glenc (Glen)]

A Crazy Idea? or a Cheap GoTo Scope?

If you set your telescope up so that it can only point to the meridian and so that you can only move it from due north to due south through the zenith you can find objects using this sidereal clock and a large circle on your telescope that gives declination.

The objects RA would be given by the sideral clock and its declination by the circle on your telescope.

You could then take a list of objects with their RA and dec and look at them one by one as they transit.

The telescope must be set up to follow the meridian exactly.
The declination circle must be accurate and you only get a short time to view each object, but you do get to see it at its highest point.