Hi,
I have an 11 month old EM200 that I have had a great time imaging
with. However, for the last 2 weeks, I have had problems with polar
alignment and CCD guiding. I usually use the following sequence for
setup and alignment:
1. I perfectly balance the scope. The tripod is also close to being
level. I make sure the bubble on the back of the mount is perfectly
centered.
2. I use Pacific daylight savings time (I live in Anaheim, CA). I
usually set the alignment circles on the date and local time (ie. in
the Summer, if I am imaging at 10 PM on 7/10, I set the circle at
21:00 (an hour behind) 7/10 and in the winter months, I set it at 21:00 and 7/10.
3. I have my offst scale set at +3 since my location is 117W (anaheim,
CA)
4. I place polaris exactly in the center of the box at 2006.
5. I slew the scope to a known star (eg. Vega) and using the Sky 6, I
sync the mount on Vega.
6. Then, I ask the Sky to go to another star (eg. deneb or altair)
andd when the mount is done slewing the star is completely off field.
My Guiding CCD camera has a hard time correcting the errors and
therfore with any exposure over 5 min, there is a significant star
trail. I have also tried setting the hour an hour back or forward and the problem still exists
The puzzling problem, is that 3 months ago, I was not having any of these problems.
My mount has been well cared for and had not traveled. Somtething is causing the polar alignment to be off.
I would greatly appreciate your input
Ashton
I have an 11 month old EM200 that I have had a great time imaging
with. However, for the last 2 weeks, I have had problems with polar
alignment and CCD guiding. I usually use the following sequence for
setup and alignment:
1. I perfectly balance the scope. The tripod is also close to being
level. I make sure the bubble on the back of the mount is perfectly
centered.
2. I use Pacific daylight savings time (I live in Anaheim, CA). I
usually set the alignment circles on the date and local time (ie. in
the Summer, if I am imaging at 10 PM on 7/10, I set the circle at
21:00 (an hour behind) 7/10 and in the winter months, I set it at 21:00 and 7/10.
3. I have my offst scale set at +3 since my location is 117W (anaheim,
CA)
4. I place polaris exactly in the center of the box at 2006.
5. I slew the scope to a known star (eg. Vega) and using the Sky 6, I
sync the mount on Vega.
6. Then, I ask the Sky to go to another star (eg. deneb or altair)
andd when the mount is done slewing the star is completely off field.
My Guiding CCD camera has a hard time correcting the errors and
therfore with any exposure over 5 min, there is a significant star
trail. I have also tried setting the hour an hour back or forward and the problem still exists
The puzzling problem, is that 3 months ago, I was not having any of these problems.
My mount has been well cared for and had not traveled. Somtething is causing the polar alignment to be off.
I would greatly appreciate your input
Ashton
