Etymology question for the group. Why is this kind of mount called a german equatorial mount? I assume the first word is from the country in which it was invented or popularized. The third word is obvious. But why equatorial instead of polar? It's aimed at the pole not the equator. Bill B On Sep 7, 2005, at 10:32 PM, Patrick Wiggins wrote:
William Biesele wrote:
You didn't say if your mount has the goto option. If so I can't help. If not, leveling the tripod only makes the polar more logical. The mount only cares that the r.a. axis is aimed at the pole.
I'll second that. I don't know that I've ever taken much time to level the tripod.
I typically just set the wedge and telescope (C-5 or C-8) on the tripod and use a polar finder scope to point the polar axis at the pole.
Quick, easy and it works.
Patrick
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