[rochler]

Howdy hoo! Glad the doc. was some help. Must admit that I've never even tried a drift alignment yet. Haven't progressed beyond the basic 'looking at stuff' yet hehe... I've only got a cheapie starter scope (6" newt & GEM). Basically a chinese starter model.

Until I get a decent EQ mount, with motor drive(s) so I can do some astrophotography, I really don't need to get much alignment accuracy. Even just pointing the polar axis due south is good enough for basic viewing - if you don't mind giving it a nudge every now & again.

In your case, of course, you probably want accuracy since you're tracking with motors otherwise why bother having them. I imagine that once you've done the drift alignment a few times it'll become second nature & quite quick. You'll probably get a 'feel' for how much to adjust, given the apparent speed it deviates. Then the skies will be your celestial oyster so to speak!

Good luck with your scope, see if you can piggyback an SLR on it and take some nice widefield shots, or if you've got a webcam try some planetary? You will have a hoot I reckon....

Cheers 4 now, Fred...