[noeyedeer (Matt)]

Hey Meagan,
I have an old Meade 114eq .... With worn out slow motion controls etc, but what I do is, set the tripod so its facing in the gerneral direction of south, using the compass in the tripod, then slewing the tube around so its in the direction I want to look at, loosen the screws on the other 2 axis, then try and get what I want in the finder scope, tighten it up and the use slowT motion (worms?) To get in in the eye piece.
I think its a lot if fun, its a crap scope off gumtree, but I've seen more things than I've imagined. Like others have said all that ra/Dec is complicated ... Use your finderscope and neck bending angles once you get use to it, it's a lovely sight. Another tip is use an eyepiece that's around the 22-20mm mark to locate and pinpoint what you want to see then get into the higher powers.

That's if everything is aligned and collimated?(I can't spell) what you see in your finderdscope should be in your eyepiece. (My finderscope is intentually offset so no one else can use my scope lol)y
Ps, lovely site too
Matt

Edit : that's how I find anything, plus some help from mobile observatory, so I can star hop. I've yet to find Neptune or Uranus ... Not that I've bothered, but mercury mars Venus Saturn Jupiter are easy to find using the old point and shoot as they're the brightest stars around the time they're up