Re: [APML]: [APML] GM-8 Polar Alignment Scope

[Christopher Go <rigel@mozcom.com>]

The Astro-Photography Mailing List
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But this polar scope if only built for two star alignment...  I do star
drifting for better accuracy.  Having three stars would indeed be better
but this polar scope is not built for that.  And from what I have been told
by other people, the third bar is basically for southern hemisphere use...
BTW, I'm not really a GM8 fanatic.  I have one but I get annoyed with it
most specifically because it has no slow motion controls!  Worse of all, it
has only one port for both the autoguider and the handcontroller.  This
really drives me nuts especially when I have to do minor adjustments in the
dark!  Sadly, I just live with it.  That is also the reason why I also have
an AP900.  Honestly for me I would have prefered an AP400 (but it's more
expensive than a G11!!) instead of a GM8.  But for what it's worth, the GM8
is pretty good.

Chris

At 06:00 PM 7/12/98 -0700, you wrote:
>The Astro-Photography Mailing List
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>
>>I have the polar scope for my GM8, I've been using 2 star alignment and I
>>get good alignment throughout the night!!   I wonder if you guys read the
>>manual before using the polar scope.  The manual states that this IS A TWO
>>STAR ALIGNMENT!!  One of the grids is for northern hemisphere while the
>>other is for southern hemisphere.
>
>Manual? We don't need no stinkin' manual. Actually, if you consider a
>handfull of Xeroxed pages to a manual and if you take what it says to be all
>there is to know about the polar scope, then you would believe it could not
>be used in the southern hemisphere. There are no instructions for southern
>hemisphere use at all.
>
>My understanding is that the dotted lines and broken crosses are for
>southern hemisphere use, and the solid lines are for northern hemisphere
>use. There are three solid lines with gaps for stars. For visual observing,
>two stars are sufficient. I find I get better accuracy if I use three stars.
>
>Robin Casady
>http://www.CarmelCoast.com
>
>Casady & Greene, Inc.
>http://www.casadyg.com
>
>