|
Hi Ian,
I think the HEQ5 comes with a polfinder scope similar to the EQ6Pro. If you run into any hurdles gettig reasonable polalignment (provided you have clear view to south) sent me a private message and I tell you how it works best - the sky is full of signs that point at anything you want.
I haven`t been able to use the GOTO on my mount for almost a year as couldn`t see Octans, so I never really managed to polalign and it took me a while to recognise the constellation part when I finally had visual access. It now takes me less than 3 minutes (without Scheiner-process) and I have to admit: learning from a book where all the nebulae and galaxies are is one thing but learning it from a push of a button is just awesome - and saves so much time in AP for finding and framing.
All the best weatherwise for your upcoming 9 free nights!
PS: hooking it the laptop makes actually much more difficult to use (esp. during the align-process, framing), unless you have a wireless gamepad. I did it once via EQDIR - never again, the handcontroller has it all.
|