EQ Polar Alignment mission

[paulee]

Like many suburban amatuers, the Octan asterism is near impossible to locate quickly, let alone see in a polar-scope. I received a new EQ6 GOTO mount for my B'day in March & spent many frustrating nights(when clear & no moon) trying to set it up crouched on my knees, fogging up the retical, swearing & massaging a sore neck. But now I have a solution, other than toss it over the fence into the neighbours pool. Besides the drift method, I have a polar-scope & I will damn well use it.

With binoculars I had familiarised myself with the location of the asterism near to Sigma Octan, finding a clear position in the backyard to setup. Having a green laser & laser mount, I decided to double side tape the laser mount to the side of the EQ mount, strenghthening it with black gaffa tape. Then aligning the laser through the polar-scope to one of the asterism points in the retical. Then simply use the binoculars to locate the asterism( I have a reference above the neighbours TV antenna), crank the alt-azimuth to point the laser to the corresponding point of the asterism. Then look into the polar-scope & low&behold the faint dots are there( inverted ) to be fine tuned into place, swithing the mount off & on to illuminate the image in the polar eyepiece & a bit of squinting to get them aligned.
Then the clouds suddenly came over last night just when I was searching for the second alignment star for the GOTO...

[Zuts]

Congratulations

Whatever you went through i reckon i will have twice, no ten, no a hundred times the difficulty. My wedge will be here on tuesday for my alt/az scope.

I wish i could plug a polar finder in but i dont think i can, anyway i hope i eventually get to where you are, but i dont know. No polar sight, no binnos, setup in a park 2km from downtown sydney.

Still its really good to hear that you tried and got there, i hope i do as well.

Paul

[paulee]

Thanks Paul,
if only the weather was kind to me I could finally get to see a spiral galaxy with a push of a button. I just read your post & feel for you. I have a skyscout & find it invaluable for locating the alignment stars, that's how I located the approxiamate location of the SCP (they aren't pin-point acurate).

Good luck with your wedge & maybe investing in a cheap low power binnos (10x20 ), tripod & laser ensemble will assist. Then site the laser point through your scopes EP for a rough start.

Anyway, I bet you have a long list of guides to try...Light pollution sucks!

[KG8]

Hi paulee, I just picked up one of those mounts myself. Have you aligned the polar scope with the mount itself yet? I found mine was way off and this could hinder alignment somewhat too. The manual spells it out, it's a daytime job, but the manual is ambiguious about which screws are the adjustment screws. Here is pic of them I borrowed from the yahoo EQ6 group, http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-...Q6recticle.jpg If you have a go at it just be careful to only losen the screws by fractional turns and then take the slack up straight away, too lose and the rectical can drop out of its mount. Not a real hassle to get back in by it is to be avoided. Also don't over tighten the screws too much as you can crack the rectical in so doing.

[leon]

Hi Guys,

Yep I to tried all sorts of varies ways to align my mount, and your right it can be frustrating, at the least, however although it sounded scary, and difficult to understand, I learned, with much help from fellow members, how to drift align, and never looked back.

Leon

[JohnG (John)]

Learn how to Drift Align, you won't look back, once you get the hang of it you will be up and running with acurate GOTO's in no time. Takes me about 20 minutes during twilight and I only use the Setting Circles on my field mount to find objects.

If your Polar Scope is not aligned with the Polar Axis of your mount will never point at the SCP. A Drift Align will get you close enough to spot on everytime.

Do a search on this forum and you will find a mountain of information about Drift Aligning.

Cheers

JohnG

[paulee]

Thanks KG8,

I found those screws eventually, but looks like i'll need to adjust again - I used a reference point that was only 20m away, had it adjusted 1st go - thought it was too easy. Last night, had the polar alignment done in within 15 mins & failed the 3 star alignment every time, got a 2 star alignment, but when slewing to Jupiter it was no where to be seen in the EP...didn't expect it to be that far off? Jupiter remains in the centre of the eyepiece for a long time with very minimal drift using the 6mm EP - re-checked the polar alignment & the asterism appeared in the rectical...Will try to find a target further away to setup the rectical( too many trees swaying in the breeze though... thanks for the image as I forgot where the screws where
I will SUCCEED!!! If it kills my neck & I'm covered in dew from head to toe.

[paulee]

Originally Posted by JohnG

Learn how to Drift Align, you won't look back, once you get the hang of it you will be up and running with acurate GOTO's in no time. Takes me about 20 minutes during twilight and I only use the Setting Circles on my field mount to find objects.

If your Polar Scope is not aligned with the Polar Axis of your mount will never point at the SCP. A Drift Align will get you close enough to spot on everytime.

Do a search on this forum and you will find a mountain of information about Drift Aligning.

Cheers

JohnG

Thanks JohnG, have ordered an illuminated EP as a backup, mainly thought to centre the target star for the 3 star allignment. Was using a 3.5mm & thought that would be enough...oh what a hobby

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Paulee, that sounds familiar

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...lignment+laser

[paulee]

& you have pictures.. I knew that green laser would come in handy, other than sitting out on a balcony one starry night holidaying with fiends trying out the new skyscout, the perfect moment arised..."which star?"...I whip out the laser & point to it....had them in stitches . The wife didn't even know I had it(still dosn't know how much it cost , amongst all the other accessories )

[JohnG (John)]

Been in this hobby for close enough to 40 years now and still learning.

Cheers

JohnG

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Originally Posted by paulee

& you have pictures.. I knew that green laser would come in handy, other than sitting out on a balcony one starry night holidaying with fiends trying out the new skyscout, the perfect moment arised..."which star?"...I whip out the laser & point to it....had them in stitches . The wife didn't even know I had it(still dosn't know how much it cost , amongst all the other accessories )

are wives supposed to know?

[paulee]

She bought my first 8"Dob, hasn't noticed it's grown to 10"... snuck that in prior to getting the EQ6. What to buy next? & how do I hide it?

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Originally Posted by paulee

She bought my first 8"Dob, hasn't noticed it's grown to 10"... snuck that in prior to getting the EQ6. What to buy next? & how do I hide it?

A Dome

Just tell her they are trendy new garden sheds that are a 'must have'

[paulee]

Better still, she want's to renovate up & out...could sneak a dome in as the roof gets built

[Kal (Andrew)]

If you want to practice drift method in a Java webpage try the link at http://www.petesastrophotography.com/

You will be a master of drift in no time!

[leon]

Why sneak, and hide stuff, wouldn't it be easier to just come to an agreement on different needs for different hobbies.

Leon

[KG8]

Are you married leon ?

[leon]

Certainly am.

[paulee]

Originally Posted by Kal

If you want to practice drift method in a Java webpage try the link at http://www.petesastrophotography.com/

You will be a master of drift in no time!

Makes it look easy...with a combination of the polar scope & a drift tweak, I should get a 3 star alignment. Must get a sleep in on the weekend...oh forgot I have kids .