Quote:
Originally Posted by Zuts
Hi,
In this case his mount does work. As he said he can actually do a 2 star alignment so i doubt there is anything wrong with it.
(1) 3 star alignment is best. The stars you say it offers which are not available probably are; they are just obscure and you may not have heard of them?
(2) Plonking the mount down on wobbly uneven pavers is asking for trouble. If you cant use the polar scope to get a 'rough' visual use only polar alignment you must at least spend 10 to 15 minutes doing a drift alignment. This will take into account and overcome any uneveness and/or deviation in the initial setup from true north. If you dont do this your goto's will be way way out.
(3) Since you will only be doing a rough drift alignment when you attempt a goto leave your lowest power largest FOV eyepiece in the scope. A 26mm 68 degree would be ideal. This gives you a better chance of finding the object in the initial FOV after a slew.
I spend 30 to 40 minutes minimum doing a drift alignment on my EQ6; for astro photography. After doing a 3 star alignment my gotos leave the desired object in the FOV of an 11mm eyepiece on a 600 ml FL scope.
Cheers
Paul
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Hi paul,
thanks for your reply, as well.
a few comments: i can do an alignment but Achenar and Rigel are way off the mark, and after aligning, on say Achenar and Canopus, then GOTO Rigel is not really possible.
Still that is probably related, as you say, to my poor set up.
- the pavers. they are not wobbly just uneven so it is a bit tricky to level but i should try harder.
- 3-star alignment- unfortunately there is a building right (West) beside the telescope's location. the better placed area in my backyard is above an ant hill! there are probably a few stars available in the SSW that i just need to find the names for. your comment has prompted me to look a bit harder.
- Alex gave me a good drift-alignment guide and there are a few others around as well, so...
You have given me much to look at on the next clear night.
cheers,
DJDD