With
a 3 star alignment the Skysensor is capable of great pointing accuracy,
however sometimes
Users have problems achieving a 2-point alignment let alone a 3 point.
This point of this article is to provide the new user of the Skysensor
(SS2K) with some of the common problems associated with getting the
Skysensor setup to achieve a 3-point alignment
The Basics
The number 1 thing to take care of is the configuring of the SS2K. Time,
Date, Time Zone and your latitude and longitude are very important to the
SS2K. They must be entered correctly. For your latitude and longitude if
you have a GPS or a friend who has one take it to were you will be
observing and write down you latitude and longitude. If you do have access
to one of these then you can use any of the many sources available on the
web to get your information. Once you have this it is entered into the
SS2K.
Next we deal with the Time and Time Zone. Enter
your time also as the current time regardless of daylight saving if
observed. The Time Zone entered depends on daylight savings. If you are
observing daylight saving then enter your Correct Time Zone – 1 if
daylight saving is not in effect or observed enter the true Time Zone for
your area. I live in Texas, my TZ is normally –6, currently entered into
the SS2K is –5 because of daylight savings.
The Mount
After this is entered then the next item is to be sure that the OTA is
mounted correctly in regards to the mount. With your mount facing north,
turn the OTA to point due west (Fig 1). With the OTA in this
position look at the DEC motor, this should now be on the north side of
the mount. If not, then remove your OTA. Turn the mount in DEC until the
DEC motor is on the north side of the mount once there you can return the
DEC to north and remount the OTA. Again turn the OTA to the west and
verify that the DEC motor is o the North side of the mount.
This makes sure that you system is going to move
correctly when slewed to the first alignment star.
The Worm Gear and Backlash Compensation
The first word here is try your system out before making any changes to
your worm gear.
Reworking your Mount
One Site has all the help you’ll ever need, see the Astronomy boy at http://www.astronomyboy.com
I suggest trying and using your SS2K before deciding to do
this rework of your mount. Done properly this will improve the
SS2K's pointing and accuracy and the overall ease of movement in both RA
and DEC.
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