Just a quick question
I have just updated to synscan 3.35 and want to try out its polar alignment feature.
Do people switch to EQDIR after polar alignment or just leave the handset as is and attach guider?
If you switch to EQDIR after handset polar alignment, can you do it while the mount is tracking, or should one park and connect EQDIR (or switch off, connect cable and switch on?)
Thanks
Bo
These days, I don't use Synscan at all. Indeed, I've taken the HC off and put it in storage! I just connect using an EQ Direct cable to my mount and run it all from my PC. I start in the home position, fire up EQASCOM and Stellarium scope, and go from there, adding sync points as is convenient and using the 3-point + nearest model.
If you are approximately polar aligned then EQMOD will know roughly where you are pointing when you start from home (park to home each time you quit), because it knows the sidereal time. The better the polar alignment, the better your initial pointing will be. Although my mount is not currently set up permanently, I've got ground markers so I get pretty close, and just finish it off with a quick CCD-based DARV alignment to get within, say, <10 arcsecs.
Thanks Barry, just realised what I said below about switching to EQDIR when the mount is running, probably not the smartest thing to do
It's windy in. Melbourne tonight, but all set up and give things one more try.
Bo
You can certainly do what you propose, i.e. do a star alignment on Synscan and then switch to EQ Direct via EQMOD, but you will need your EQ Direct cable to go via the HC instead of the mount port. (and select PC Direct from Synscan). Your EQMOD should then read in the coordinates that the mount is reporting. It's just that there is no value in doing this (that I can see) over just doing it all directly from EQASCOM.
Remember also that polar alignment and GOTO alignment are two different things. You could do the Synscan polar alignment routine, then switch off your mount, and then switch it on again and use EQMOD to do the sync points. That would make sense if you want to try the Synscan (physical, i.e. knob turning!) polar alignment before you do software-based GOTO corrections using EQMOD.
Thanks Barry, will try the handset polar align, park, switch off and then EQDIR connect to see if I can get a better starting point with eqmod.
Will also try your other suggestions too.
Bo
