Daytime Polar Alignment

Daytime Polar Alignment by Fongky VP of StarFinder2014 Update video

Wouldn't it be nice if you can polar-align your equatorial mount during the day. You can track the Sun accurately, imaging planets during daytime, or doing long exposure imaging right after sunset without wasting time to drift-align. I¡¯m sure you will come out with more applications. Well, here how you can do that with the help of smartphone. First, aligning the azimuth to the true north:
1. Place a 360-degree protractor on the flange of your tripod or pier with the 0/360 scale align to the alignment peg or peg-hole (red circle) and the center of protractor align to the center of the flange.
2. Install an apps on your smartphone that tracks the Sun such as Sun Tracker for Windows Phone, Sun Surveyor for Android. Use the apps to find out the direction (azimuth) of the Sun in the morning or evening.
3. Place a ruler on top of the protractor to form a radius according to the direction of the Sun obtains from the apps. Put a pin along the radius.
4. Rotate your tripod or pier until the shadow of the pin and the radius overlap (view from top) or in parallel.
5. Install the equatorial mount as usual.
Next aligning the altitude:
1. Install a GPS apps that tells you the current position in longitude and latitude. Find the latitude of the current position.
2. Install an inclinometer apps. Calibrate the apps on a flat surface. If the apps doesn¡¯t have a function for calibration, (set to zero), just take note of the error.
3. Place the smartphone on the dovetail saddle with the inclinometer apps turns on. Adjust the inclination of the mount to the same as the latitude with the offset.