No problem Michael - I'll take the Argo and encoders of your hands for $50 - save you the frustration!
When everything is right, the Argo works well. When one or two things are wrong - it can be very frustrating.
A few times, in a rush, I have incorrectly identified alignment stars - I kick myself when I work out I've been calling Alpha Centauri, "Acrux"
When I do that and get the other alignment star correct, objects are not far enough out to think major problems, but you start to suspect some minor encoder slippage - you don't want to go down that path of thinking when you are out in the dark cold field!
The manual takes you through all the necessary steps. Yes, it often looks very straightforward and one can be inclined to jump ahead and skip a few steps - I suggest that you don't. The Argo can also give you very useful diagnostic information - on every setup, I will always flick it to show "encoder steps" and work the tube from horizon to zenith and around a full 360 deg of azimuth to check nothing looks odd.
Though it is probably one simple thing - like one encoder sense reversed as Geoff suggests - best if you start from the beginning - eg. daytime encoder test - and work through all the steps.
It'll work and you will love it.
)
