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NOTE: If you are located in southern hemisphere, Sigma Octantis will be chosen for Polar Alignment.
For example, on May 20, 2010, 20:00:00 in Sydney, Australia (Lat S33º51’36” and Long E151º12’40”),
600 min ahead of UT, the Sigma Octantis Position is 1hr21.8m and 64.4m.
BrightStar Polar Alignment
For those who do not have a polar scope, take off the Polar Axis Cover and Polar Scope Cover.
Look through the polar scope opening to locate the Polaris. Slightly turn tripod Center Rod Knob to loosen
the mount head. Adjust the Azimuth Adjustment Knobs to do a fine adjustment of the mount to center the
pole star in the azimuth direction. Tighten the Center Rod Knob to secure the mount. Slightly loosen two
Latitude Locking T-bolts on the side of the mount, turning the Latitude Adjustment Knob to adjust the
latitude (altitude). Re-tighten the locking screws. Use the BrightStar Polar Alignment procedure below to
further align the mount.
If the mount is not equipped with a polar scope or the pole star cannot be seen, you can use this
BrightStar Polar Alignment procedure.
(1) Level the ZEQ25 mount and set it at Zero Position. Make sure the telescope is parallel to the
pole axis (R.A. axis) of the mount. If a finder scope is used, adjust it to be parallel to the
telescope optical axis. Turn the mount power on. Set correct R.A. and DEC backlash numbers.
An eyepiece with cross hairs is recommended.
(2) Pressing the MENU button, then select “Align” and “Polar Align”. The HC will display the
azimuth and altitude position of several bright stars near meridian. Select one that is visible with
high altitude as Alignment Star A. Follow the HC instruction to move the Star A to the center of
the eyepiece with the combination of Latitude Adjustment Knob and “◄” or “►” button. Press
ENTER to confirm. Next, select a bright star that is close to the horizon as the Alignment Star B.
Center it using the Azimuth Adjustment Knob and “◄” or “►” button (The “▲” and “▼” buttons
are not used here). Press ENTER to confirm.
(3) The telescope will now slew back to Star A to repeat above steps. The iteration can be stopped
when it is determined that the alignment error is at the minimum. Press BACK button to exit
alignment procedure.
NOTE: It is highly recommended to use an eyepiece with crossed-hair line for accurate centering.
NOTE: The movement of the alignment star in your eyepiece may not be perpendicular but crossed,
depends on its location in the sky.
STEP 11. Return Mount to Zero Position
After polar alignment and balancing OTA, return the mount to Zero Position, as shown in Figure 20.
The Zero Position is the position with the CW shaft pointing toward the ground, OTA at the highest position
with its axis parallel to the polar axis and the OTA pointing to the CP. Loosen the DEC and R.A. Gear
Switches to adjust the mount to the Zero Position. Engage the clutches after each adjustment. Remember,
the hand controller needs to be at the Zero Position as well! The simplest way is turn the mount power
OFF and ON again to reset the hand controller.