Appreciate you sharing this with the community!

Glad you enjoyed it!

Hey Jonny! Thanks for the welcome. Go ahead and polar alignment before pointing to your target, but make sure that after polar alignment that the star didn't stray off the circle on the reticle!

@@highpointscientific that's typically how I did my alignment with the Star Adventurer. Set the reticle to "Home" position (i.e. the date was 10/31) and the 12/6 line was vertical. Then I'd align Polaris in the clock circle according to the app (used Polar Align Pro). After I'd completed alignment, I'd "slew" to my intended target. Once I had everything framed, I'd look through the polar scope again to make sure Polaris was still in the clock circle.

There’s a way to still align in polar align pro. There’s a video that shows how. I’ll look.

@@JonnyBravo0311 kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jM2fmc2S36fGe6M.html go to 38 min. He shows you how to polar align no matter where you are with 0 and 6.

I found that it does help in all conditions! That being said, If you have light polluted skies, you can faintly make out the marking within the polar scope against the brighter sky but if you live in rural conditions, the light will definitely help!

Hey Douglas! The plate is a 4" Universal Dovetail plate: www.highpointscientific.com/apertura-essentials-vixen-v-style-4-inch-universal-dovetail-plate-vup4 As for the rest of your question, you only need to adjust the latitude knob for your present latitude. For example, let's say you're located at 30 degrees north: the latitude should be set to 30 degrees on the mount. It shouldn't be moving when you're polar aligning, except for fine-tuning adjustments. If you have any more questions, please reach out to us via our website: www.highpointscientific.com/email-us Alternative, you may call us at 800-266-9590

Hello Lukas! 600mm is a pretty long focal length for this mount. By the sounds of it you might also have a slight polar alignment error. These two factors combined may be resulting in a gradual drift, despite round stars.

@@highpointscientific thanks for the answer. will try it again with a shorter setup und double check the pollar alignment.

The Skywatcher Star Adventurer 2i does not have a version without WiFi. You do not have to use the WiFi on the mount in order to use it.

Thanks for the feedback!

Hello Elizabeth! You don't want to lock down the clutch until you've centered on your target, as then your mount will be unable to move. After polar alignment, unlock the RA clutch, point to your target, focus, then lock down the clutch. And finally you can take your exposure. Hope this helps!

@@highpointscientific well, that doesn't make sense. If I lock the clutch before I take the shot, how does the camera move? There's no other point of mobility? Won't that burn up the motor? Forgive my ignorance! I just don't understand that part. I get it that it should be locked to set it up... but then I don't see a way for the camera to move with the sky if the clutch is locked. How does the camera move? Thank you for responding, I asked 4 other people and you are the only response, so thank you for your time and patience with me.

​@@elizabethbaker699 No problem, we're happy to help! Locking the right ascension (RA) clutch engages the RA motor. By not locking the clutch, the motor will not be engaged and the mount will not track. Your two points of mobility should be along the RA axis and the declination axis. The declination axis is not motorized. So your setup from polar alignment to imaging should be this: 1) Unlock the RA clutch. Balance your equipment in right ascension. Now lock down the clutch to tighten everything down for polar alignment. 2) Turn on your mount & Perform a polar alignment routine. 2) Now unlock the RA clutch. At this point, you should be able to rotate your camera along the RA axis. Point to your target. 3) Once you've found your target, lock the RA clutch to engage the motor. The mount will now track your target at your desired rate.

@@highpointscientific ok thanks. Still didn't answer my question... what makes the camera move. And I called the company directly and the answer is... the motor inside makes the white part (the part in front of the locked black clutch) move ever so slowly, so slowly I probably wont notice it move at al!

@@elizabethbaker699 Yes, that's correct. The motor tracks at a very slow rate (~15 degrees per hour) to match Earth's rotation. You're not going to notice it move at first glance, but over the span of a few hours you'll see it slowly rotate. Sorry we didn't understand your question, but glad you were ultimately able to find the answers you're looking for.