[xelasnave]

I still forget to make sure I have covered some of these points☺ (and pay a high price☺) but if starting make these a good habit.

Positioning tripod.
Make sure the ground is firm..real firm. I place down paver bricks but you must make sure they wont move even if that means triming the grass with a knife and hitting the ground with a sledge hammer☺.

Make sure the tripod is level...dead level ..use the bubble on the mount but better to use a decent spirit level...some say a phone app is ok but personally I prefer a dedicated spirit level.

I level the tripod before adding the mount and check again when I have added the mount...and yet again when all the gear has been placed on the mount and again after everything has been balanced.

And I often check during the night just in case something has moved a little.

Make sure you know where South is and treat a compass as only the start of the process.

If you have a dslr camera and can sit it on your set up take a long exposure to see the point that the stars circle...which is your Celestial South Pole...If you make sure the camera is in sync with the polar scope (during the day) you can get a pretty good polar alignment for visual and even for photos it will get you real close.

Balance everything and check all screws bolts etc are tight...particularly the tripod legs as you can easy overlook one when adjusting the level...also as temp changes things can go off.

If possible do as much as possible in the day time.

Also make a silver cover for the gear to keep it all dry and cool.

There is more but the basics are...Find South, level and check the level when all is set up, and balance everything.

Also make sure your finder scope is looking at what your main scope sees as you dont want to be doing this in the dark.

Alex