I had set the scope up for a public viewing during the warmer months and people started appearing and asking what I was looking at. I had to say, "nothing at the moment, but when the Sun goes down I will just have to align it and I will be ready to go, come back around 8:30 or so".
Well, it started to get dark and people were standing around waiting for me to align the scope. I turned it on and slewed to my first target (Alpha Cen, lowish in the south west), the scope slewed over to where the Sun had just set! So I do the usual "have you tried turning it off and on again", it did the same thing. Then I realised I had swapped the declination and RA axis cables....doh! Swap them over and start again....what the! Still wrong, then I realised I had put the south leg facing west....double doh!
Last year I was again setting the scope up for a school viewing, got it all out (yes pointing the right way, with the right cables). Go to plug the power in....no cable from the battery to the mount...
