Has anyone used a Polemaster at these latitudes?

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orly_andico
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Has anyone used a Polemaster at these latitudes?

Post by orly_andico »

Haven't gotten to try mine, but wondering if anyone's had success. If not.. well I can still use it when traveling.
1DegreeN
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Re: Has anyone used a Polemaster at these latitudes?

Post by 1DegreeN »

Polaris and some of the surrounding stars must be visible in order to use the Polemaster - a bit challenging perhaps if you are in Singapore or Malaysia! The current version of SharpCap, 3.1, includes a PA routine that can work on stars up to 7 degrees from the NCP. I live in Thailand now, 14 degrees north, and use both Polemaster and Sharpcap. For me, Polaris is just above the treeline but the second star which Polemaster uses for the Fine adjustment phase is hidden so I can only do the Coarse adjustment and then I use Sharpcap for the final adjustment. Polemaster is easier and quicker to use and because it uses a wider field of view and uses the brighter stars, works better if there is mist or murk on the horizon. Sharpcap takes more fiddling to get a stable plate solving solution and has been defeated by the horizon haze.
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