This method can be assisted by software such as eqmod that will rotate your mount in. The equipment used in this example a skywatcher heq5 german equatorial mount. Drift alignment software for german equatorial mounts tpoint by software bisque, used in conjunction with thesky tpoint will provide polar alignment data which can be used to polar align the mount. Its often referred to as the gold standard of polar alignment methods and has a reputation for being the most accurate. I tried the drift alignment tool in phd2 and found it to be very easy to use and resulted in very good polar alignment with little difficulty. Drift alignment seems to be a major stumbling block for amateurs who want to move up to serious astrophotography i. I said no way, shouldnt drive car with this pulling alignment 3. Back at it again with the incar just some crappy driving from final bout.
The rear is not an alignment but an adjustment to make sure the rear is centered. In late fall of 2014 i began to realize, i needed some sort of project in my life, not just a turnkey car. I would drift in the rain at 50psi, in the dry it was as high as it would go, 80psi wasnt uncommon. Level your tripod or fixed pier it makes life easier. Plenty of guys on the driftworks forums run 5s and you can pick stuff up from them. I used to have this which i did myself when i had to access to an alignment machine front camber 2. The closer you get here, the shorter time you will spend drifting. As a result youll find many writeups on this subject on the internet. Click on the polar elevation button to calculate alignment correction. Most sequence alignment software comes with a suite which is paid and if it is free then it has limited number of options. In order to drift align, you need an eyepiece with cross hairs and an equatorially mounted telescope. In the second part we saw the influence of refraction on the precision of the elevation adjustment of a mount, and how it affects the elevation at which the mount actually ends up pointing. I read that i need one near the meridian, and one near the east. I have high hopes that i will be able to do better this time around if i.
The drift alignment tool is a wizardlike sequence of dialogs that can help you work through the drift alignment process and get quantifiable results. Can anyone tell me the better sequence alignment software. Altazimuth mounts, driven or not, dont qualify for drift alignment. Use one of the many methods to roughly align using polaris. Here is an excellent youtube video on how to use the phd2 polar alignment process. Ill just be using the lx200 as a reference for where the user is looking, compared to the scope orientation, and what will be seen from that perspective. I said no way, shouldnt drive car with this pullingalignment 3. Drift alignment with phd2 the drift align tool in phd2 can be used to quickly obtain a precise polar alignment of your equatorial mount. First perform a quick alignment using the proceedure described above.
Does anyone have the alignment specifications for the smart handy. This can be greatly speeded up using a ccd camera, since subpixel centroid measurements can easily be made. The drift method of polar alignment requires the use of an illuminated crosshair eyepiece. Personally, i find many of these not to my liking because they involve a stream of references to updown, leftright with. Polar alignment sharpcap lunar, planetary, solar and deep. If you havent already run over to roadster drift and have a read, please note their site is nsfw. For a long time, i used the cookbook method of drift alignment. For instructions on polar alignment using drift align in the southern hemisphere, visit how to polar align easily in phd2 drift align. The drift alignment method is one way of achieving this. This is also a job to be done if youve recently fitted new suspension or you find your roadster s tyres have an odd wear pattern, perhaps wearing out on one side more than the other. Polar alignment astronomical society of south australia.
Determining polar axis alignment accuracy by frank barrett 2nd edition 9212016 abstract. Sharpcap pro polar alignment is quick, accurate and easy to use. I know that many of you out there are purists and dont see the point in complicating an otherwise straightforward process with electronic gizmos, but ill admit, im a bit of a techno geek. Easy polar alignment for astrophotography step by step. Car drifts to the right after new tires and alignment.
The drift align tool in phd2 can be used to quickly obtain a precise polar alignment of your equatorial mount. The process takes a little bit of practice, but after doing it a few times, you should be able to obtain an accurate polar alignment in minutes. Drift alignment frustration getting started with imaging. The process takes a little bit of practice, but after. Method set scope to near meridian and celestrial equator start phd and do a calibration, start guiding with the dec turned off, turn on the graph and change the. In fact it seems rather tricky to make a reliable adjustment by the standard driftalignment method at all. A technique known as drift alignment has been used for many years, and can achieve an extremely accurate polar alignment. Before taking it in they mention it is a software bug and to put it into comfort and wait for software update road crown caused by fw alignment wont resolve this issuechange to comfort modeno ecd on future fw release. Alignment specifications operation and maintenance. What else to check if car drifts right but alignment ok. If long exposure photography several minutes or more is planned, then a better polar alignment is required. Orient eyepiece crosshairs with northsouth and eastwest axis of mount.
The program satellite antenna alignment is used to calculate the angles necessary for installing satellite dishes. Alternatively, are there any other methods of polar alignment i could use. The car is feeling good, but certainly need some more seat time to feel better pushing it harder. Obviously there could be others that i am not aware of. I started by picking an area where the galactic equator crossed due south, found that there was. Garage vary nd5rc garage varys car for tas this year was a nice surprise, among all of the overdone wide kits that were so prevalent. Both my back tires are leaning inward from the wheel wells and are wearing on the insides of the tires. Somewhere on the internet, i found an article similar to the following. Drift alignment using a dslr camera getting started.
Unfortunately it is very time consuming, since the drift of a star over time must be observed. Z3 rear cambertoe foobard bmw z1 z4 z8 z3 forum and. The drift alignment tool is a wizardlike sequence of dialogs that can help you work through the. Using high magnification, observe a star to the south. In order to photograph dim celestial objects, long exposures on the order of minutes or hours are required. Car was pulling right on a long road trip last week and i stopped at an ntb to have it checked i have a 5 year alignment with them. They are rarely dead vertical and facing dead straight as adjusting these figures can. Drift alignment is discussed as a way to prevent field rotation in images. My car wore rear tires off on the right side of each tire with lots of wear left on the rest of the tire.
The purpose of drift alignment is to get the polar axis of your mount parallel to the earths axis. Method set scope to near meridian and celestrial equator start phd and do a calibration, start guiding with the dec turned off, turn on the graph and change the radec button to dx,dy. Prior to roadster, lisa held hr leadership roles at popsugar, weebly and leanplum. Her 15 years of experience in culture development and employee experience has enabled her to create winning talent strategies for bay area tech companies. A lot of basic alignment services like the ones offered at tire shops, for example only adjust the front toe, which is the angle of the two front wheels in comparison to each other. Onsite implementation and personalized followup come standard with any roadster product you purchase. Ive spoken with a couple shops that say they can do it no problem as long as i can get them the alignment specs. Oct 28, 2016 i go align the miata, head to the shop for pumpkin carving, then do some drifting with the new lights.
Pick star in east, just north of celestial equator, about 20 above horizon. Jun 21, 2007 does anyone have the alignment specifications for the smart handy. Today we build everything we need to do alignments at the shop. Probably the most common reason for frustration with drift alignment is that amateurs dont practice it enough. Youve seen how to detect and correct the various drifts of.
Located in ocala, fl email is the best way to get a hold of me email protected cell phone just in case 3526153340 this is my 91 mazda miata. Whats your favorite software to facilitate drift alignment. I should have said that i use astrotrac with 200mm lens and as far as i know in order to use phd polar alignment feature one have to have a separate guider camera like qhy, orion etc. I tried drift aligning another time previously and my results were not too good.
Im in the us and need to have a 4 wheel alignment done. Polar alignment free polar alignment software download. Drift alignment getting the longest exposure possible with precise. I have been told and cannot seem to verify that only a 2 wheel can be done, and this is a known issue for the earlier z3 for the back tires. Regardless of what you plan on doing with your car an aggressive alignment is key. In 2016, we pivoted the business and began offering our software as a service to dealerships. An eyepiece with illuminated cross hairs or reticle is needed for the drift alignment method. Guys,murphys law, both my batteries have just died whilst spending the night to set the mount up usinng the attached guide, so time to post a question. The car was designed to grip and grip as much as it could do, its partly why its the best selling roadster ever. If star drifts up, adjust mount in altitude to move star down.
The following is a list of all the polar alignment software that i am aware of. The drift alignment method is the most precise way to polar align a mount. A simple doublecrosshair shown below works perfectly, although a fancier eyepiece such a celestrons micro guide eyepiece will work fine as well. An easytofollow tutorial on how to polar align a telescope mount using the drift align utility available in the free phd2 guiding software. This is also a job to be done if youve recently fitted new suspension or you find your roadsters tyres have an odd wear pattern, perhaps wearing out on one side more than the other.
You may have even put money into another tool to solve your alignment problems, tools that may rely on the potentially inaccurate or imprecise. I dont know if this is related or not, but from day one i have noticed that my smart sits about 12 inch higher at the drivers side when sitting unloaded on. However what i can guarantee they will say is just put a good seat in that will hold you first and get some seat time in not on road. This can be as rough as just getting polaris in the center of your sighter scope. Mx5 roadster nc wheel alignment if your mx5 feels like its pulling to one side or handling strangely, it could be your wheel alignment needs adjusting. Oct 26, 2011 can a 4 wheel alignment be done on a 1997 z3. Preparation make sure your mount is reasonably level. While an azimuth mount is the easier option for first time telescope owners, an equatorial mount offers a plethora of benefits that will ultimately be more beneficial in the long run. Repeat adjustments until no drift is seen for 5 minutes.
The need for drift alignment light vortex astronomy. Polar alignment wcs fast and accurate polaralignment. For drifting the general rule of thumb is 23 degrees of negative camber, max caster allowable, and toe set to the drivers taste. When you first select the polar alignment tool, sharpcap will try to plate solve each frame. Id like to drift align using either my existing st. In the following discussion, ill be emphasizing drift alignment as applies to a wedge mounted lx200 or other sct, but the principle for drift alignment is actually the same for all scopes. Thread in technical questions started by thenextdk, mar 29, 2016. Drift alignment with phd2 practical astrophotography magazine. For example, if your bmws wheels are toein, the front edges of the wheels are. After much thought, going between another roadster or maybe a simple schassis, i decided to build a corolla. Phd2 drift alignment the drift align tool in phd2 can be used to quickly obtain a precise polar alignment of your equatorial mount. The roadster express product portfolio has been shaped and sharpened by countless conversations weve had with our dealer partners. However what i can guarantee they will say is just put a good seat in that will hold you first and get some seat time in.
The drift align method can be used in either hemisphere by using free software called phd2 guiding. Aug 23, 20 mx5 roadster nc wheel alignment if your mx5 feels like its pulling to one side or handling strangely, it could be your wheel alignment needs adjusting. Alignment is the angle, tilt and direction that the wheels and tyres face on the car. Before taking it in they mention it is a software bug and to put it into comfort and wait for software update road crown caused by fwalignment wont resolve this issuechange. Lisa is roadsters people person responsible for hiring, developing and retaining its team members. While many of us have worked out suitable ways to store, transport, assemble and pack up our portable telescopes, we are all still presented with the problem of accurately pointing the polar axis of the telescope at the south celestial pole scp. Click on the star and again measure the drift for a few minutes. Waiting until the stars come out on a moonless night which is perfect for imaging is the wrong time to try drift alignment for the first time. I go align the miata, head to the shop for pumpkin carving, then do some drifting with the new lights. The main difference from similar software is the possibility to calculate the position for all satellites at once. So the polar drift method has the same precision as normal drift alignment. Can a few people please suggest a few stars for me to use for drift alignment. Understanding drift alignment there are various methods for aligning the orientation of a telescope mount with the pole, but one of the most popular is drift alignment.
Ive had this car for almost 5 years now, with every mod intended to make this a purpose built drift car that can drive to the. Definitely something to keep in your bag of tricks. Polar drift in practice since the size of the polar offset is easily calculated from the length of the star trail and the direction of the offset can be deduced from the orientation of the trail, the correct adjustment can in principle be made immediately. I intend to include more detailed comparisons, but in the short term, i hope that the following is useful. The alignment of the car is crucial to performance. Nov 24, 2010 i spent some time last night between clouds using phd to do a drift alignment, and by george it works a treat. To perform this process successfully the mount needs to rotate to compensate for the earths rotation.