Polar aligning my Celestron Advanced VX Mount with the iOptron iPolar

[@ronaldburch1213]

Very nice video that explained the process well.

[@Naztronomy]

Thank you :)

[@stevenickolls8016]

Thanks for your video. 😁 You have a very relaxed approach to your iPolar which it obviously respects. I see you are employing v2.6 software for which iOptron has released (Jan 2022) a new manual with quite a lot that is new, particularly the automatic way the ability to press the 'take dark frame' button appears around 20 seconds after the device has initialised. The iPolar can be very fast in plate solving Position 2 after Position 1 sometimes before you can even move the mount head making me suspicious of the resultant position of the NCP. In practice I find my imaging rig, a RedCat 51 and ASI178MC shows a tendancy to slip slowly in DEC over a session which I wonder may be down to the polar alignment? I intend to check the accuracy of the iPolar alignment with SharpCap Pro. Thanks once again for taking the trouble to make a video showing the use of the v2.6 software. Incidentally I'm using v2.6.05.

[@Naztronomy]

Thanks for mentioning the manual! I had no idea they released an update to it. I'll definitely read through it. I agree that position 2 can sometimes be very fast, I almost kind of appreciate it since It removes one extra click that I need to do. If you see slipping, make sure your rig is completely level before you polar align. I've had that happen to me where one leg was just a little too off and my image started dragging faster than it should. I've been using my 6" SCT and I can easily take 5 minute exposures without any star trails (without guiding) as long as I have my mount leveled and my polar alignment is spot on. If it still slips for you, after you polar align, rotate your setup on the RA axis while looking at the iPolar software and see if the cross hair on the red dot moves or if it stays centered. If it's polar aligned correctly, it'll keep the crosshair on the dot as you rotate the axis. Glad this video was helpful! Let me know if you have any more questions. I still use my iPolar every time I setup and it's been perfect for me.

[@stevenickolls8016]

@@Naztronomy Yes I'm going to try and check the accuracy of the iPolar polar alignment against SharpCap Pro as clear nights allow. I'd appreciate your thoughts on the new manual, I feel it could be written more clearly for the avoidance of doubt on the part of the user. In your video the ability to take a new dark frame seemed to take around 20 seonds after the iPolar had connected, that 20 second delay is mentioned in the new manual but could do with better phrasing. Anyway good luck with your imaging in the future and dark, clear skies.

[@Naztronomy]

@@stevenickolls8016 That sounds like a good experiment. I'd be interested to know how it compares to SharpCap. And I agree with you, the manual could be better. There are also several typos in the manual as well. It definitely looks better than the version I read when I first got the iPolar but it still needs more work. Maybe I will write written version of it from my perspective and upload it somewhere. I used to write a ton of documentation for work so this shouldn't be too difficult. Clear skies!

[@moonraft24]

Thanks for you video. I have just bought an iOptron GEM28 mount with iPolar. I am able to polar align now but I have a doubt. My current latitude is around 21° (which means the polaris should be near 21°) and when i polar align I have to bring the latitude down to somewhere around 17-18° as I get a down arrow on iPolar software when at 21°. Is this correct behaviour of ipolar or there is an issue with it?

[@Naztronomy]

That's very interesting. After you polar align, can you track objects? Or do they go off center very quickly? If it tracks properly then maybe the markers on the mount are off or maybe double check to make sure you are indeed at the 21° latitude line. I use an app called "Polar Clock" on my phone and it's been very precise for me. I use an AVX and I just checked and can confirm that the marker is just about where I'd expect it. My latitude is about 42.6° and the marker is right on there between the 42° and 43° mark. If your tracking isn't working then I'd probably double check that your mount is perfectly level on the ground. If it is level, then maybe remove the iPolar software, remove anything associated with it, and download/install it again. iPolar uses plate solving to find the celestial north pole so it may not be a software issue but reinstalling is a good way to rule that out (if tracking isn't working that is).

[@moonraft24]

@@Naztronomy yes it is not able to locate objects correctly. They are way to off and i have to do a lot of corrections to make them appear in FOV. I will check with the mount level next time probably at a different location

[@Naztronomy]

@@moonraft24 Once the object is in your FOV, does it track properly? Meaning does it stay in the FOV or does it slip off very quickly? If it tracks then your polar alignment should be okay and you should make sure your mount is properly setup and aligned with 3-star align (or whatever method you use). Also make sure the time and location in both iPolar and your hand controller is correct. Having the wrong time and location will throw GOTO off quite a bit. Good luck! Let me know if you were able to figure it out, I'm curious what you're running into.

[@moonraft24]

@@Naztronomy I will try these things out and let you know. Thank you so much for your support 😇

[@Naztronomy]

@@moonraft24 Anytime :)