How do you Align your EQ Mount?

September 18, 2018

How do you Align your EQ Mount?

To Align using a Computerized AZ mount with wedge, click here. To Polar align an EQ mount, click here.

Polar Alignment of your computerized EQ mount consists of 2 steps to polar aligning your scope.

Steps:

  1. Rough Align
  2. EQ Align

* NOTE: In the Southern Hemisphere, substitute EQ South Align for EQ North Align.

Rough Align

  1. Place your telescope setup roughly north (facing Polaris), use compass if needed
For Southern Hemisphere, face your telescope setup south or Sigma Octantis.

 

EQ North Align

  1. Turn on mount and pick up your hand control and follow instructions provided on the screen
    1. Push ENTER for alignment
    2. Set Index (done in step 2), push enter
    3. Verify RTC (real time clock) is displaying your local time in MILITARY TIME. If not, click back to edit.
    4. Select Method of aligning (i.e. Quick Align, 1-star align, 2-star align, etc.)

    NOTE: Even though there are about 250 named stars in the hand control database, only 82 can be used for alignment and related tasks. Here is the list.

For demonstration purposes - EQ Auto alignment
  1. Pick and slew to first star
  2. Center star in the middle of the eyepiece
  3. Align telescope on first star
  4. Pick and slew to second star
  5. Center star in the middle of the eyepiece
  6. Align telescope on second star

After you align the second star in EQ Auto alignment, you are EQ North Aligned.