
#1
Posted 27 September 2013 - 10:07 AM
#2
Posted 28 September 2013 - 01:26 AM
#3
Posted 28 September 2013 - 05:01 AM
#4
Posted 28 September 2013 - 06:01 PM
http://www.lowes.com...ge=2&facetInfo=
#5
Posted 28 September 2013 - 08:29 PM
#6
Posted 29 September 2013 - 04:40 AM
Go to a good hardware store and buy a 2 way plastic mounted level. Buy some double sided foam mounting tape and stick it to the right side of the base, to the right of where the handset rests. I did this on my LS8 and leveling takes 2 or 3 minutes.
http://www.lowes.com...ge=2&facetInfo=
So the link you posted is exactly the two-axis level I am currently using. It looked to me that the head of the tripod is approximately under the speaker grill so thats where I place it to measure level. I got a slightly different answer about level if I placed the level to the right of the handset which I agree is the natural place to put it. I just bought this level : http://www.amazon.co...0?ie=UTF8&psc=1. I think this may work better so that I can see precisely which angle I am off in and then adjust those legs. I would also prefer not to have to rotate the level to check other orientations. Are you using the true north or magnetic north alignment routine? It sounds like in general people are spending a few minutes leveling the base and as long as it is relatively close to being level there are no major problems. The only other question I have for you is: don't the LS models level themselves? BTW I also downloaded a bubble level app for my iPhone and I will check that out and report back.
#7
Posted 29 September 2013 - 04:59 AM
#8
Posted 29 September 2013 - 06:42 AM
In fact, I cannot understand why to try to get perfect levelling - each level of precision has it's own costs... including time costs. When I set my LT-8 onto the snow, sand or soft ground, the surface will always slowly "wrinckle" under a telescope's weight, so all your attempts to level a tripod/mound perfectly will be in vain. Plus/minus one degree is in my opinion enough precision for LT alt-azimouth... Ah, yes, I never use magnetic north alignment - only true north.
Yeah I agree. Its just if I don't get the base level I fail alignment. On the next clear night I will only spend 5 minutes aligning the base and get it within one degree and then use the true north method. I strongly suspect that the true root cause of the alignment failures is using magnetic north. I will report back once I verify it. Thanks so much for your input.
#9
Posted 29 September 2013 - 01:38 PM
The only other question I have for you is: don't the LS models level themselves? BTW I also downloaded a bubble level app for my iPhone and I will check that out and report back.
I have watched my LS8 and I can't see that it physically levels itself. I think it's more a case of feeding corrections into the alt & az settings so that it appears to be level. I get a reasonalbly close level and then let it do its alignment and it does just fine each time. The only time it's failed is when there was too much twilight, the sky was too bright. If you don't get a fairly good level your goto will be off and things won't line up correctly in your eyepiece.
#10
Posted 30 September 2013 - 06:14 PM
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#11
Posted 30 September 2013 - 08:41 PM
#12
Posted 04 October 2013 - 04:37 AM
#13
Posted 04 October 2013 - 05:46 AM
#14
Posted 09 October 2013 - 06:10 AM
#15
Posted 09 October 2013 - 05:00 PM
Several times I used a compass to set up my telescope, but not via "Magnetic North" on the Autostar remote. I took a normal compass, a table of magnetic deviation (~ 10 degrees to East for my area), and set up a north point taking 10 degrees left from the point a compass needle points to. It is very useful for searching planets just after the sunset, especially Mercury.
#16
Posted 10 October 2013 - 11:50 AM
#17
Posted 10 October 2013 - 12:04 PM
#18
Posted 10 October 2013 - 07:50 PM
#19
Posted 11 October 2013 - 09:14 PM
Bill Steen
#20
Posted 14 October 2013 - 07:17 PM
P.S. http://astrodummies....3/2013-10-15-31
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