Polar Aligning with the iOptron Polar Scope by: Paul
Contents
1. Polar Aligning with the iOptron Polar Scope by Paul Chasse aka Astronewb The Basics First establish a mount level by adjusting the tripod legs until the bubble level is as perfectly centered as you can get it With the ZEQ25 mount due to its location it s a bit easier to check for front to back level by looking from the left side of the mount To check for horizontal level step to the back of the mount and look between the plastic covers Simply place the bubble centered when looking from both the side and the back of the mount Once the mount is leveled make sure the RA and DEC axes are on the zero marks you established The mount should be pointed to True North by moving the entire mount tripod to face in that direction and adjusted to your local latitude using the latitude adjusting screw and the latitude scale built in to the mount Recheck your level if you have to move the mount at any time If everything was done correctly up to this point you should be able to see Polaris northern users in a 25mm EP or on the Live View of a camera on a wide field telescope F5 to F7 At this point you may want to reduce cone error between the mount and the telescope This is done by using the azimuth and latitude adjusters on the mount to first center Polaris in the polar scope reticle Then once Polaris is centered in the polar scope you can center Polaris side to side in your EP or Liveview by using the DEC slew buttons You cannot2. center it vertically without shimming the front or rear of the ota Now Polaris is centered in the polar scope and in your EP Live View hopefully It s time to use the hand controller go to the Align menu and scroll down to Polaris Position and hit enter If your time and date are correct in the hand controller it will display Polaris position on a neat illustration You simple have to position Polaris at the same position on the polar scope reticle by using the mount s azimuth and latitude adjusters Do not use the hand controller slew buttons Once you are pretty sure your polar scope reflects the same image that s displayed by the hand controller it s time for the fun stuff At this point you may not be able to see Polaris in your EP or Liveview that s normal you just moved Polaris 40 arc minutes from its original position Now reach around and shut the mount off Now turn itbackon You have just established a base pointing model for the mount Go back into the hand controller menu select Align and then select One Star Align Choose a bright star that you can see easily Sirius Rigel Altair Kochab etc and then hit enter The mount will slew to the selected star The hand controller will now ask you to center the star by using the slew buttons It may not be in the field of view no worries it may take a 5 second slew at speed 5 in either right ascention or left ascention to bring the star into view As soon as
3. e mount The ZEQ25 polar scope cannot be aligned to the mount s axis by the user the adjustments are buried within the mount housing It can be done with an aftermarket polar scope spacer however
4. you have centered the alignment star hit Enter and then you can slew almost anywhere in the sky and have the target in the field of view To center a subsequent target just use the hand controller s Select and Synch feature to center it Tip If your hand controller battery is weak it will not store the correct date or time and it will default to 2011 If it does that it s time to replace it Tip If you consistantly use the Select and Synch feature at the end of the night the mount will return to your zero marks perfectly If you just slew around to center the target the mount will not return exactly to the zero marks Nota big deal just use the hand controller slew buttons to align your marks in RA and DEC then shut the mount off Tip With the ZEQ25 and CEM60 mounts the polar scope view is available at all times To check your polar alignment during the night just look through the polar scope Note that the hour scale will have rotated but Polaris should still be in the correct position on the radial circle le if your polar alignment was spot on Polaris movements will always be in a counter clockwise rotation and will remain in the correct position on the degree radial circle in the polar scope Tip If Polaris position changes or moves away from the radial circle it may be due to the polar scope axis not being aligned to the mount s axis Refer to the iEQ45 User Manual for instructions on how to align the polar scope to th
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