SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Step one: Level headed.
I have a tool I got probably 15 years ago to help setting levels and angles in my shop. It is called a SmartTool and measures down to 1/10th of a degree.
So my step one has been to get the tripod as level and stable as I can, setting for repeat 0.0 degrees.
Then checking again after the mount is installed, and using the tool to get my latitude as close as possible.
Last night I hit very close I guess, I was impressed with the AVX's tracking over the evening. (Without any guide scope)
Knowing I had set the tripod to as close to level as I knew how, I dialed in on Polaris with the AltAzimuth adjusters, the latitude adjusters, and then went to alignment.
I used 4 stars. At one point things were getting so bad I took a drastic step backwards. :shock: It was going to places way beyond a near miss. It couldn't even find the moon.
I took it way back, I reset the mount to its factory settings. Then started alignment again. That worked.
(I was afraid it might mess up the updates I had installed at Celestron's advice. It didn't.) http://www.celestron.com/c3/support3/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=2584

It bears repeating my procedure to prove it out, of course. ;)
But I'm of the opinion that if the base isn't rock solid, absolutely plumb, and mechanically aligned first, then tracking issues can arise.
So if you are finding you have hit & miss tracking, you might consider rethinking your basics when setting up.
I don't even like my phone level apps, as they are not accurate enough for my needs. (I can't get flat from a rounded case.)

Albuqshutterbug Loc: Albuquerque NM

I have found that the phone apps are not suited for this for the very reason you state. They in themselves are not level.
That said, I use my woodworking bubble level to align e/w and n/s. I then align ne/sw and nw/se. This gets me pretty nicely setup to align.
When you aligned on Polaris did you center Polaris?
That will get you to within 2 degrees of polar North.
Polaris is actually not quite there but its close and will work pretty well. Centering is how I used to align my big scopes since I didn't have the polar scopes.
Sounds like your starting to get the hang of all of this.
I suspect you'll soon be imaging and posting.

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

You are so correct in getting the basics first. I find with the mount every step has to be done correct and in order.
Way to go Sonny. Can't wait to see your first postings with photos.
Craig

skylane5sp Loc: Puyallup, WA

Sonny, quit farting around. Take at least ONE pic to slake us... Even if it's just a hole in the clouds.

I just pulled the trigger on a C8/AVX... My ETX-90 just doesn't cut it anymore.

My ultimate goal is to build a Newt with a Zambuto mirror.

http://www.zambutomirrors.com/

northcoast42 Loc: Puget Sound, Washington

Sounds like you're getting close Sonny. Really looking forward to first images!

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

Congratulations Skylane you are going to love the AVX Mount.
It takes all the Tom-Foolery out of astronomy.
Craig

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Yes I did try and get Polaris fairly centered. I know it isn't the center, but don't have anything to go on for the off-set. :( Maybe after a get a few more whiskers at this I can guesstimate better. :)
I, too, have a wood shop. I got this digital level so I could zero it on surfaces and then do my setup to get a more precise angle for my joinery. I put some stick-on magnets on it's base so it will hold on the iron while I get anal. :lol:
So far it has worked out very well, but I wish for something like screw adjustable feet. I might have to make some saddles the toes go in with screw down adjustable landings.
Check these bad boys out:
http://tpiastro.com/levellers.htm
They're even on what appears to be an AVX mount. :shock: :twisted: So easy to get the tripod level that way.

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

You are going to be disappointed...

Since I'm such an awesome Post Processor... NOT! I tweaked this with Auto. It toned down the light pollution.

Jupiter, first go at it. (I've barely begun to play with the filters, and have NO clue as to what I'm doing.
I just wish I could photograph what I'm seeing. :roll:

I'm pretty sure I could see the moons. In the picture they remind me of jellyfish. Not sure what brought that on, but I wasn't trying very hard either. (I hand released the shutter instead of remote release.)
Venus looked like a light bulb.
And the Moon was mooning me. :lol:

This grasshopper hasn't hatched yet.
I do have a filter wheel coming, but as of yet, no clue how to utilize filters.

Jupiter, first attempts.


Another Jupiter first attempt.

(Download)

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Absolutely, like Craig said, you'll love the AVX.
It's almost unfair how it slews around taking you from place to place.

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

I have the polar scope, and it is a big help. I am able to determine where Polaris should be in order to hit true north.

Alignment usually goes well, unless of course I align to a wrong star! That really messes things up!

Oknoder Loc: Western North Dakota

I also purchased the polar scope for the AVX, to say the least I was not impressed.

A) It should come standard with the mount, add an extra 50 bucks, at twice the cost of one new it would be worth it, if they collimated it to each particular mount.

B) It should be illuminated, or have an easy way to illuminate it without being a hideous DIY, like pvc sticking out of the front of the mount.

C) It is nothing more than the polar scope for the CG-5 with the setting ring removed.

I used mine for a couple months and had inconstant results some days it was dead on other days 5-10 degrees off. I tested its collimation, to determine it was horrendous off. I never bother trying to collimate it before just because it sounded complex.

With the wife's help and a tiny allen wrench I set about fixing its error to the best of my ability. Here is how I accomplished it.

During the day, when it is easy to actually view through it properly, site it on a distant object like a church steeple telephone pole or really anything that you will be able to judge the rotation of.

With nothing in the saddle, I did have the counter weight bar on, but no weights. You do not have to worry about being level, that is one of the benefits of a German Equatorial Mount.

Start with the RA axis being horizontal with the saddle facing East-ish. rotate the mount so the saddle is now facing to the complete opposite side of the mount. How far you are off of your original centering point, in my case a pulley on a barn roof .25 of a mile away, is half of the amount of error your polar scope has.

When I tried to perfect my polar alignment I was spinning the eye piece not the mount through its RA axis. This in reality was just exacerbating the error but I didnt know.

By rotating the mount back and forth all the while adjusting the three little screws on the polar scope so that there is absolutely no movement of the reticule while the mount traverses along its RA axis.

Then with the freeware Stellarium and utilizing the ocular plugin that comes standard with Stellarium, just needs to be turned on and your information added. Your sensor size in mm dimensions, resolution and pixel size. then your scopes info and it will show you the exact field of view you will see from your camera. With this it shows me how far off of Polaris in relation to the frame of my image I need to be. Doing this you should be able to get within seconds of perfect alignment.

All in all it took me about three days to do it all. Hopefully this helps someone, because my night was a complete waste again, LOL. Some nights it works great, others like tonight are a complete flop.

Matthew

I will bet it will be drastically off,

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Thanks Matthew, it does reaffirm what I suspected. I usually make pretty cold calculated moves on my gear.
And to me, a polar scope sounds nice. But from a practical point of view, I'm not sure I really, really, need one.
Not with so many targets out there to aim at.
Maybe down the road, but for now I seem to be getting by without. (Thank You Celestron.)
Now, an Off-Axis guider sounds nice to me. It sees what I see... supposedly. It can give the guidance an eye on the sky through the same glass as I'm seeing.
But if the AVX keeps up the way it has, that might fade away as well. ;)

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

Sonny that is a great start. Unfortunately getting a clear view of Jupiter and the Moons in the same shot is pretty difficult. And requires a lot of Post Processing techniques. If you turn down the exposure to 1/60 and ISO 100, there abouts. You will see Jupiter with much more detail. That D3300 is a good camera congrats. I'm going to play with the shot you provided and see what I can do with it on my own if you don't mind???
Craig

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

Here are the procedures I us in my alignment. I would love to hear what others are doing too.
Level the tripod, take my polar alignment scope shot, do my 2 star alignments, do all 4 calibration stars and do the polar alignment procedure. By then I am so right on I can do 5 minute exposures with minimal trailing. Next I setup the NexGuide for my guide star and shoot away with only minute corrections during guiding.
I like the NexGuide because it doesn't require a computer in the field. Less gear to hall around.
Most of my seeing is in the field because of the fog until Sept.
Craig

Albuqshutterbug Loc: Albuquerque NM

Well it does say they have them for our mount but at $350 for the set.
Ouch but I agree, I like the idea.