[quote='[1ponders];328858']
Alternatively get a piece of dowel about 1 meter long and insert it into the polar alignment scope tube (assuming you don't have a polar alignment scope). It will need to go all the way through so you will need to cut a "bung" with a hole dead center to fit the dowl, at the "front" end of the RA Axis. Try to get it as orthagonal as possible to the RA axis. Now cut a right angle triangle out of 12 mm ply with one angle equal to your latitude. Place this on your dowel with "your angle" towards the top, and put a level on top. Adjust altitude until level is...well..level
Next get your compass and use the dowel as an extension to the RA axis to line your compass up on. 11.5 deg east of magnetic south is what you want. Then check your altitude again.
It helps if you tripod head is already level, but this really isn't essential.
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Thanks Paul, this is nicely "agricultural" and so makes good sense to me. I do have a poar alignment scope, but I can probably pull that out for all the good it does me. I'll give this a go.
Might be worth then combining with the Goto technique that John (thanks too John) mentions below
