>On the LX10, 50, etc., anybody out there use "analog" setting
circles...i.e.,
>get a good alignment on the pole star, then use declination/right acension
>from a star atlas to navigate?

Fred,

I have a LX50 and use my setting circles all the time. In fact, I couldn't
find half the objects I view without them. I find that I get pretty
accurate (within a degree of RA/DEC on a bad day). But to do it, I have to
be perfectly balanced, perfectly level, drift align to get the most accurate
polar alignment, find a star of known RA and DEC to calibrate the circles,
and return to the calibration star every so often to make sure I'm still
calibrated. It's not as bad as it sounds. The only pain is the drift
alignment. I'm hoping my polar alignment scope I'm making will eliminate
the need for drift alignment (well, at least for visual observing).

>I've not had luck doing this on my ETX (part of the problem, as Randy
pointed
>out, was the fact that I haven't been able to get a bead on Polaris yet!),
but
>I want to make sure I'll be able to do this when I do get a good sighting
>(after which I'll mark the ground somehow to always be able to set my
tripod
>again) and when I "upgrade" to one of the ETX's "big brothers".
>
>Thanks all!
>
>Fred Kiesche

One note about marking the ground. I'm sorry to say it doesn't work, no
matter how hard you try. Unless you leave the scope permanently up, you'll
never get the same alignment. I've tried it multiple times. The closest
I've found to achieve a permanent alignment is leaving the tripod outside
covered and bring the scope in. I left the wedge, so the tilt plate was at
the correct altitude and the wedge was left at the correct azimuth. But,
when I set the scope down the next night, I still had to drift align for
about 10mins to get the alignment again (I think it was weight shift that
disrupted the tripod when I removed and then replaced the scope).

My web page has some information about how I drift aligned and calibrated my
setting circles for star/Deep Sky Object hopping.
<http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/1107/> Just go to the astronomy
section and then the LX50 Tech. Archive section. If you have any questions,
just e-mail me.

Good luck,

Josh

View index by [date] [author] [subject]
Previous message: [M]: Off-Axis Guiding, Dave Bair
Next message: [M]: Re: Off-Axis Guiding, Joshua Kent
Next message in thread: Re: [M]: [M] "Analog" Setting Circles, Mcub
Previous message in thread: [M]: [M] "Analog" Setting Circles, FKiesche