Polar alignment without Polaris

[Luis]

Hi Dave,

Yes, Skywatcher hand controllers also have that feature. However, I do not use the hand controller. I run the mount directly from my laptop, via USB. If SharpCap had such a feature implemented, I would be able to do everything with it. Otherwise, I would have to use the controller to get polar alignment, turn off the mount, remove the controller, and then restart the mount with the USB-computer connection.

Regards,

Luís

[admin]

Hi,

I am going to move this thread to the 'not currently planned' section to indicate that I have no intention of adding this feature in the near future. I know that it is handy for people without a view of the pole, but as mentioned further up the thread there are usable alternatives including handset implementations and (I think) a plug-in for NINA.

cheers,

Robin

[Gfischer]

Hi everyone,
Been at this astronomy business for a lot of years. Drift alignment is an excellent method to pa when view of ncp is obscured. I still use it sometimes. Phd2 has an excellent interface to accomplish this.

Clear skies

[Luis]

Hi Gfischer,

I am aware of PHD2's drift alignment tool and have used it occasionally. In my experience, it takes a long time to achieve precise alignment, and I have limited access to the western/eastern horizons in the city. Nevertheless, my main point was to adopt an integrated approach to polar alignment (SharpCap only), rather than switching between applications (SharpCap, PHD2, NINA) and/or hardware (hand controller/direct USB control via PC).

Regards,

Luís