I’m very happy this helped you! Let me know if you need anything or have recommendations!

You are very welcome, I’m happy it helped!

I love the question! Yes, if I don’t perform the second round of polar alignment in NINA, I have had issues with PHD2 calibration and have been as far off as 25 arc minutes. The disclaimer I point out in the video is what prompts you to do the second round and in the early days, I never noticed that so that might be why Cuiv doesn’t mention it. Since doing the second round I have had 0 PHD2 calibration issues related to polar alignment. In fact, I’ve had 0 polar alignment issues as far as heavy drifting etc since doing the second round. I like to think of it as NINA is plate solving the first photo and then slews to the second spot to plate solve and it’s expecting to be in a specific area. After plate solving that, it goes to the third spot and plates solves that area so it can calculate the error of the expected location compared to actual (this is also why your focal length and camera information need to be accurate as well. The second round gives it a final and more accurate idea of exactly what the error is since it’s an average based alignment. This is a very accurate and reliable alternative to using a system like SharpCap or ASI air where you are required to be in a specific part of the sky with a specific field of view that might cause you to need a different camera to obtain. The trade off is NINA just asks you to perform the procedure twice. PHD2 drift align is a very accurate polar alignment method, but also very time consuming and not very practical to perform every time you’re going to image. It would be a good procedure for a permanently mounted pier though.

@@Hidden.Light.Photography Thanks, I'll give NINA polar alignment another go. I reviewed a couple of videos on PHD2 drift align and it seems very tedious, one youTuber said the fastest he was able to do the drift was 40 minutes. I have a polar scope in my AVX. In locations where I can see Polaris I'll use that first, can't hurts, and only takes a couple of minutes.

Persistence, patience and practice is key to this hobby. I love your drive in this and I know you will master this! I am actually going to be making a second part to this video once skies clear to demonstrate the process more clearly and include the second run as well

Polar alignment has caused me to pack up as well in the beginning. I remember completely giving up on polar scope and moving to the hand controller on my AVX. That led to more time used because after I was done with that, then I had to set up my imaging gear. I tried SharpCap’s polar alignment, but my FOV wouldn’t work for its restrictions. I then finally found NINA’s 3PPA. Yes, setting up can sometimes take some time, and as with anything, practice makes perfect. Always remember, it’s not a race and rushing leads to mistakes. Set up is your foundation so let experience be your speed. Just focus on smooth and steady and you will master the art! Saturn is an amazing target and I’m happy you got a shot you’re happy with! It is definitely an amazing feeling, but you should never be disappointed in anything you capture at all, even if it’s not something you’re necessarily happy with! That’s your gauge for your progress and you should always hang onto those! I am glad you enjoyed the video and if you need help with anything, I’m always here!

These are great questions. As far as I am aware, this is the only polar alignment method in NINA, but there’s always a chance someone else with develop a different method. As with any software, there’s always a risk of support going away. After I did the initial alignment, I stopped and restarted as the first set is not 100% accurate (and this is the instruction I point to in the video). When you restart, it goes back to the initial position as set by the altitude/azimuth coordinates that we set in the beginning and then it’ll move in the increments you set and plate solve. It shows your distance off in the error field after it does the last plate solve in the set and will loop exposures and plate solve until you stop the process. I hope this helps and if you like, I can make a separate video showing this process alone from start to finish. I apologize, I cut the second process short as the video was getting long and it was the same process.

Great question! No, I just hit the play button again. Once you command the mount to move from the home position with a slew to target or polar alignment in this case, the computer always knows where the mount is located through the encoders. When you stop and hit play again, NINA will automatically put it back to original coordinates you set for the start position of NINA’s 3PPA. If you unlock and move manually, NINA will have no idea that happened so it’ll think the scope is in one position when in fact, it is in another position.

OK, I'll test that the next session. Thanks

You are very welcome. Think of the play button as a go to command. Let me know if you run into any issues and I’m more than happy to assist! 😀

Great question! Any phone that can lay flat and has or can download a compass will work beautifully for this. If that isn’t available, then a basic compass will work perfectly as well, just make sure you set it on the tripod the same way each time so you are consistent from night to night.

Sharp Cap and ASI Air are great programs, but if you run into inability to be in the sky region or field of view requirements set by ASI Air and Sharp Cap, this is a good alternative.