AZ-EQ5 Polar Align help.

[OzMaz]

Hi Folks,

I have a question regarding polar aligning an AZ-EQ5 mount.

Skywatcher make a point to polar align the mount before trying a star align.

My question is as follows: After doing a polar align with SharpCap and getting as close as practically possible, do you have turn the power off and on the mount?

I do the following:
1. Point as close to South as possible in Azimuth.
2. Point the scope as close as possible to my latitude.
3. Use SharpCap to locate the South Celestial Pole.
4. At this point, do I turn the power off and then back on, so that the mount uses the new Azimuth/Elevation positions? i.e the 'Home' position.

Any assistance would be appreciated.
Thanks.

[Avocette]

I also have an AZ-EQ5. When you have polar aligned then the mount is in the ‘home’ position whether or not you switch it off and on again. So it wouldn’t do any harm but shouldn’t make any difference.

[Avocette]

Make sure you turn off the ‘freedom find’ encoders if you’re using the Hand Controller for further functions. I drive my mount from a planetarium program so I always switch off the auxiliary encoders.

[admin]

Hi,

my technique is not to turn on the mount until after polar align - I unlock the clutches and spin in RA manually. Then put it back to the home position and power on.

As long as you have powered on in the home position then I think it would be best to leave it on.

cheers,

Robin