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Subject: Polar allignment
From: Steven Williams
Reply To: mapug@shore.net
Date: Sun Dec 11 06:29:37 1994

Steven Williams, Astronomer. email: stevew@geko.com.au fax: int+61+2+558-2721 (24 hrs)

Hi Everyone,

Well, as I am now working out how to use the Pictor, I've been setting up my 10" LX-200 on a pier near my club's observatory that has a huge welded (no adjustments) wedge that was built for that location.

Regretably, the wedge can not be adjusted.

I was surprised at the ease of the two star alignment when my 'scope was in alt/az mode and how very acurate it was, but the procedure for the POLAR aligment seems very poor.

I set the scope up to -90 using the dec circle, and the fork arms level with the mark. Turned it on. It asked me to find Sigma Octans (you must be kidding trying to do that in Sydney) and then asked me to align it to some star up the top. I did all this.

I was expecting for it to ask me to sync on two stars, but it seems you can't do a two star aligment to "average out" any errors you may have with your wedge.

Well, I can't MOVE the wedge, and it is a little out. What can I do? It's very much out of alignment, I can snync on Rigel and tell the LX-200 to go to, say, M1 (fairly close, really) and it's just in the VEIWFINDER, let alone smake in the middle of the field of the 'SCOPE as I am used to in the ALT/AZ mode.

Am I missing something here? Can I do a two star aligment when in Polar mode?

Steven.