Query with Drift aligning

[Spookyer (Brett)]

Hi all, I have been using Alignmaster to polar align and think I have that worked out. However I also want to practise drift aligning with PHD2 as well in case Alignmaster won't give me decent stars. I would also like to be able to check my Alignmaster accuracy.

I have found some instructions on the net however it talks about guide camera focal length and pixel size so I assume they are using the guidescope and camera to align rather than the main scope.

I normally align using alignmaster with a reticle eyepiece inserted into my main scope.

If after aligning using the main scope, I then used the guide scope and guide camera to align or check my alignment by drifting with PHD2 does this create an issue?
What if my guidescope is not quite lined up exactly with my main scope or the polar axis of my mount? Would this give me a false result or does it not matter?

thanks
Brett

[Rigel003 (Graeme)]

You would normally use your main scope for classical drift aligning. The longer the focal length the more accurate the result should be (or at least the error will show up sooner). Whether you use the main scope or guidescope won't make a difference to the process however, as you are aligning the mount, and anything attached to it should be polar aligned.