Rant: my telescope mount took 3 nights to align, not 30 minutes

Bought a new equatorial mount last month and thought the polar alignment would be quick after watching a YouTube guide. Took me three clear nights in Tucson and a borrowed laser collimator to finally get it locked, turns out my tripod legs were uneven and the bubble level was lying. Anyone else waste more time on setup than actually shooting?

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1 Comment

hannahw304d ago

Feeling your pain on this one. My first real EQ mount had me outside at 2am shoving washers under one tripod leg because the built in bubble level was off by a mile. The next night I got everything lined up perfectly, then bumped the tripod with my knee and had to start over. It's maddening how the smallest thing like a crooked leg can waste hours of clear sky time.