AlignMaster
1. Level the base of the mount or tripod.
2. Do a rough alignment of the mount to Polaris in the Northern Hemisphere or to Sigma Octans in the Southern Hemisphere. Rough initial alignment can also be done using a compass with the magnetic deviation (from true North set) and adjusted on the compass.
3. Connect the mount and computer and start Alignmaster
4. Make sure the time and location are set very accuarate either by downloading the correct time from the Internet or by using a connected GPS unit. The GPS can also be entered manually.
5.Select your location from either the inbuilt list or by downloading it from the Internet.
6. Follow the instructions given by the program to follow the alignment steps i.e. click "NEXT".
7. The program gives you the choice of a selection of star pairs which are grouped together as good, better or best choices for the alignment pairs.
8. Select one of the pairs which sattisfy either your recognition or visibility criteria.
9. The Alignment Procedure is as follows:
The programm slews to two stars in succession and then computes the error
information (i.e. offset from the pole after the second slew).
10. After calculating this offset the program asks if you wish to adjust
(in turn) the AZ (Azimuth) and the ALT (Altitude) axis of your telescope/mount.
On answering yes to either question, the program tells the scope to slew
to the computed difference or offset from the star's true position;first
in AZ and then in ALT.
11. A manual turn of the alignment screws of your mount will move the last star of the pair selected such that the star is now centered.
12. Your mount should be well aligned to the pole (a second round of alignments may be done to verify your alignmnet result or improve upon your adjustments).
