[gary]

Originally Posted by DJVege

I can't seem to align my AN correctly. Can someone tell me what I'm doing wrong? I think the problem is to do with my first star alignment, but it would be good if you guys can confirm this, please.

Thanks for the post. However, don't forget support is always available by emailing
sales@wildcard-innovations.com.au

By using that support mechanism, you can typically guaranteed the quickest response
as it is difficult for us to monitor so many groups in real time.

Process
---------
1) Do all that initial stuff to setup the AN. (Assume all cables are correctly connected, and settings are correct)

2) Mode Fix Alt ?? I put the scope flat on the east side of the mount (balance point) and turn the scope to 90 degrees perpendicular to the Polar axis, and hit enter! (So far so good).

3) Mode Align star: Here is the problem, I think. For my first star, so I NOT move the mount in RA? Only move in declination? If so, my problem is that there are no bright stars that fall in that path? ACRUX is probably the closest, but would still require both axes be moved. So, anyway, I had to move both axes to align ACRUX.

It seems you've added yourself an additional procedural rule that is not there.

After performing the FIX ALT REF, you can align on the first star by moving
the scope in both RA and Dec.

Your SETUP ALT ENCODER direction sense sign will be either a + or -.
What side of the mount you align first should be consistent with this sign.
If you want to align on the other side of the mount, simply reverse the sign.

This is an attribute of spatial geometry rather than some caveat of Argo Navis.
When the scope does a meridian flip, the direction sense of the Dec (Alt)
encoder reverses.

To ensure an unambiguous encoder direction sense, if the OTA is East of
the meridian, align on a star West of the meridian and if the OTA is West of
the meridian, align on a star East of the Meridian. This ensures that geometrically
the Dec encoder direction sense will be guaranteed to be consistent for when the
OTA is on one side of the meridian or the other.

4) Align second star: I used Achernar.

Now, if I want to find anything, it's off by a lot. In the right vicinity, but still waaaay, off (26mm EP). If you just use your fingers to measure the error distance, I'm talking 3 or 4 fingers. Of course, I can point to Achernar perfectly, though.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

Ensure that the FIX ALT REF point is as close as possible to the Dec=-90 degree
point. Alternatively, use the Dec=0 degree point where the OTA is at right angles
to the polar axis.

Move the scope in both RA and Dec to align the first star. if you need to do a
meridian flip, reverse the SETUP ALT STEPS encoder direction sense sign and
then perform your alignment.

In the longer term, we recommend you use the GEM EXACT ALIGN setting
combined with a short TPAS run.

Email sales@wildcard-innovations.com.au for further assistance.

Best Regards

Gary Kopff
Managing Director
Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd.
20 Kilmory Place, Mount Kuring-Gai
NSW. 2080. Australia
Phone +61-2-9457-9049
Fax +61-2-9457-9593
sales@wildcard-innovations.com.au
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au